Chapter 35 Chapter Eight Between Humans and Ghosts——The Confession Monologue of a Japanese Soldier

I was conscripted into the army before the China Incident (that is, the Battle of Songhu in 1937), and I spent the time from the age of 20 to a little over 30 on the battlefield.When I got to the battlefield, I fought on the front line as a frontline officer. The task of the frontline soldiers is to fight the enemy directly and win.Because it is necessary to continuously accumulate combat experience to be a victorious army, the frontline officers and soldiers are dedicated to the battlefield as frontline personnel.Although officers and soldiers on the front line have a corresponding sense of superiority, there are also many annoying things.

The first is to kill.Because it is a soldier on the battlefield, it is impossible to kill people in battle, but sometimes innocent civilians are killed.Not only that, but also plundering, arson, rape and other things that humans should not do.When I returned to normal society, I once lamented that I was able to do such a cruel thing. I sometimes think that if I had been born 15 years earlier or later, I would have saved myself from doing brutal things on the battlefield.It's hard to do anything about it now, but the battlefield is just so annoying to me. ... (After the medical examination was completed, Kazuo Sone was assigned to the regiment of the Japanese army. From this day on, he began his active military career for about two years—and all of them were "devil" careers on the battlefield of the invasion of China.)

From then on it was a soldier.I entered the barracks with anxiety and worry about the unknown world, and the army was stricter than I imagined.On the second day after we entered the camp, we gathered in the squadron auditorium, and the squadron leader gave us a lecture on future military life.The lecture said: "The Japanese army is linked by love and trust between superiors and subordinates. Shangguan pities his subordinates like sons, and subordinates respect his superiors like fathers. You must know that the squadron you are assigned to is a family of soldiers. The squadron leader is your father. The squad leader is your mother. The second-year soldier who enlists first is your elder brother who will kindly guide you in your daily life."

(The so-called "second-year soldiers" are veterans who have been in the army for the second year in Chinese terms.) Before enlisting in the army, I heard people who served in the army talk about life in the army, so I was a little skeptical, but I was relieved.However, after entering the actual life of the army for a period of time, I realized that the words of the squadron leader were all rhetoric.Because the squadron leader is in a high position, he has no direct relationship with me, but the internal affairs squad leader and second-year soldiers who have been in contact with him all the time are like terrible devils.A junior soldier in the camp is like a slave driven by the devil.

Although the second-year soldiers and the first-year soldiers both enlisted through conscription and have the same status, the difference between them is simply worlds apart.The junior soldiers are like the servants of the second-year soldiers. The second-year soldiers overhaul their weapons, wash their clothes, and wipe their shoes. These things are all done by the junior soldiers.Because these things can only be done outside of the daytime (military training and teaching during the day in the army), the junior soldier is very busy every day. A day's life for a junior soldier begins with the wake-up call.Wake up at the same time as making the bed, folding the blankets, and going for a quick run to the morning roll call.Because they are queued in order of arrival, it is a competition.After the roll call in the morning, the junior soldiers didn't even have time to wash their faces, so they had to go to morning bayonet practice...

Because there are so many things to do before and after breakfast, if it is not handled well, it will usher in preparations for the call of the daily class before the work is finished.Once the summoning preparation is issued, according to regulations, everything must be stopped and wait for the summoning.If you were still in a hurry at that time, the non-commissioned officer on duty would come round and shout: "Hey! Don't you know what it means to call for preparations? You fool!" Then beat with a wooden gun. Once called up, the soldier's job - military training - begins.Originally, the military education was very strict. When we joined the army, we were affected by the Manchurian Incident. The military education policy is to build an army that can adapt to actual combat, so it is very strict.Because the education policy of the upper class is "just as the iron is hammered and forged, the soldiers should be hammered and tempered", so the officers of the lower ranks are also educated according to this policy.

The junior officers who directly educated the soldiers encouraged the non-commissioned officers who were teaching assistants and the privates who were assistants by saying, "It is better to beat into the body than to teach with words", so the junior soldiers had a hard time. Because the teaching assistants and assistants who provide practical technical guidance to junior soldiers are based on the above-mentioned purpose, violence is preferred over words.When junior soldiers fail to do their moves well during military training, they will roar, "Hey! Won't you do what I taught you?" and punch them at the same time.

After the lesson is over, they will say, "Well, does it hurt?" Because they were beaten with all their strength, it must be painful, so they honestly answer, "Yes, it hurts." Then they will say, "What? Does this hurt?" There was another blow.The next time they insisted on saying "it doesn't hurt", they would say "What? It doesn't hurt?" and then they kicked. They're going to have a good time no matter what we say, so there's nothing to do but let them have a good time.Among the soldiers, the junior soldiers at the bottom can only be right in whatever the other party says.

He was trained harshly in the military training, and after the morning class was exhausted, he returned to the class and had no time to take a breath before preparing lunch.After lunch, it is the same as in the morning. After the meal, tidy up, clean up, and exercise like a mouse. As soon as the daily classes in the afternoon started, they had to go to the barracks square and training ground for military training. In the evening, the first thing after returning from military training is to shine shoes, and of course dinner must be prepared.Dinner is most relaxing at home, but junior soldiers don't have time to savor their meals.Pour bean miso soup over the rice in the lunch box and just munch on it.If you savor it slowly, the second-year soldier will stare at you as if to say "you are too slack"!

During the period from after dinner to roll call in the evening, the squad must be cleaned, and weapons such as rifles and bayonets must be overhauled.If you waste a little time, it's too late just to do these things. Clothes are washed after the evening roll call is over and the lights are turned off.It would be too easy to wash in the washing machine like it is now, when it was done by hand.After the lights were turned off, I washed clothes in the outdoor laundry place in the environment of light snow, and the running water seemed to freeze my hands, which was very painful.After the laundry, the day's work is done, and I can finally sleep in bed.

"A five-foot bed with straw mats, this is where we dream." As the military song sang, this bed is the ultimate paradise for junior soldiers.Missing my hometown and crying are also at this time. The above is a day in the junior soldier's education.This is very difficult to do in ordinary society, but in the military if you say you can't do it, you will be punished violently. Violent punishment of subordinates by superiors and superiors in the military was shown in movies and television after the war and became a well-known fact.It can be said that in a military-themed feature film, there must be scenes of superior officials violently abusing subordinate soldiers. Some people say that this is "intentionally fabricated to publicize the evils of the old army", but it is definitely not the case.Although it varies somewhat depending on the year and period, the violent punishment of the Japanese army has continued since the founding of the army in the Meiji era. Those who have lived in the barracks will have many unforgettable memories.Although the memories vary from person to person, no matter who they are, no matter what age they are, they have all been punished violently.Some people who have experience in the army will say: "In the first year of entering the army, you will be beaten for no reason. Anyone who has lived in the army must have experienced it. No not being spanked. Anyone who says they haven’t been spanked once is lying.” I can also be sure of this.So much for violent punishment in the Japanese military. There are also various methods of violent punishment, the most common of which is slap in the face, which is called "slap in the face" in military terms. The methods of "slapping the face" include: slapping with palms, fists, leather products such as slippers and belts, etc.Because it was a young man who hit him hard, even with the palm of his hand, it hurts. If he hit it with a leather product, the pain was so painful that he could hardly stand up.By the next morning, his face was swollen and dark purple, and he looked like a monster.As a result, not only the appearance, but also the mouth is swollen, and I can't even chew food. The face is really deformed.Although he received such cruel and violent punishment, when he went to the infirmary for treatment, he lied and said: "I accidentally fell and got injured." Because if you truthfully say "I was beaten", the assailant will be punished, and in retaliation, he will be punished more severely.Although the military doctors knew that this was the result of violent punishment, they remained silent.The result of violent punishment in the army can only be that the beaten suffers, and then falls asleep crying.Of course I was slapped. There was a rumor in the army at that time: "The first five days after entering the camp, the first-year soldiers were guests, and the next five days they were under the fence. After ten days, they would be slapped in the face." It is said that the rumor is a bit exaggerated. But this is the rule that second-year soldiers treat first-year soldiers.In more colloquial terms, "be nice to them at first. Don't give them a good look after five days or so. After ten days, you can treat them harshly." I was slapped when I enlisted in the army for about ten days.I heard about it before I joined the army, and knew that there were violent punishments in the army, but I was naive at the time, thinking that "it's the army no matter what, and it doesn't beat people who are not at fault." After roll call ended that night, the former privates announced their disbandment. I was thinking, "It seems that today is over safely", and then I breathed a sigh of relief. At this time, a second-year soldier came over and said, "Juniors, wait a minute." Pause to dissolve. The second-year was the worst kind of guy of all the second-years.He made all the junior soldiers line up in a horizontal row as if he was amazing, and then stood in front of the queue and said: "I said junior soldiers, do you know how many days you have been enlisted in the army? When are you going to be guests? Army But the one who feeds you, clothes you, and pays you salaries. You can’t be so ignorant all the time. I’m here to encourage you. Everyone bites the bullet! Those who wear glasses, take them off!” We need to clench our teeth so that the inside of the mouth will not be injured after hitting the cheek, and we are asked to take off the glasses to prevent the lenses from being broken.This is a precursor to being slapped.I thought "Finally I'm going to be slapped", and stood upright, and the slapping sound of the fist hitting the flesh was heard from the right.The sound was harsh and sad, and it felt like it was hitting yourself.While thinking this way, it was my turn to be beaten.At the same time as the "slap" sound of being slapped on the cheek, there were stars in the eyes, as if the burning pain rushed straight to the forehead, making people dizzy.Even so, I barely managed to stand still without falling down. Before that, I had been thinking "how can I be discouraged because of such a thing" and tried to cheer myself up, but when I thought "it's finally over", tears came out suddenly.The tears didn't stop until bedtime.I don't know why I cried, but later I thought it was because I was wronged by being beaten for no reason. This is the first time I have been slapped since enlisting in the army.Just like this, in the collective life of the army, even through no fault of their own, they can be beaten.Since then, there will often be incidents where all junior soldiers are slapped because one junior soldier got into trouble and all the junior soldiers are jointly and severally liable.In the army, this is called "the total slap". In addition to this kind of physical injury by violence among soldiers, there is also lynching, which brings mental pain to junior soldiers, and it is carried out in a sadistic way for the torturer.The method of lynching is somewhat different according to the difference in arms, but each regiment is similar.The most commonly used of these is "raise the gun".At that time, the rifles used by the troops were engraved with the emblem of the sixteen-petalled chrysanthemum, which was regarded as a gift from His Majesty the Emperor.So everyone cherishes it very much. After the roll call in the evening, the maintenance situation should be checked.The lynchings are for those found to be poorly repaired during the inspection.The method is to let the person who is rated as bad in the inspection of the rifle raise his gun, and apologize to the rifle and say: "I apologize to the 38-type rifle. The maintenance work was reprimanded by the second-year soldier. From now on, not only in the active duty, but also in the reserve and reserve forces, I will not be lazy again. I swear, please forgive me." It's okay if it's over like this, but for the junior soldier who was forced to raise his gun to apologize, the next thing is called pain.Hold the gun no matter how many hours until the rifle says forgive.But even with a million apologies, it's impossible for a dumb rifle to say "forgive you."As time went on, the rifle got heavier and the arm that held it began to tire.After lifting for an hour, the arm was so numb that I couldn't feel it.Even so, the gun is not allowed to be put down. The physical pain alone is already very painful, coupled with the mental pain, it makes a big man feel like crying.After such torture, before releasing him, he was followed by a slap that almost distorted the face. Another form of lynching for people who overhaul their rifles is called "Hey Brother."The method is to regard the gun rack located at the junction of the squad and the central corridor as the window of the brothel, and treat the soldiers of other squads passing through the corridor as the guests coming and going, and let the people who are not well-maintained imitate the soliciting prostitutes and say "hey , brother, come here", while attracting guests. Because the soldiers who came and went knew this kind of lynching, no one would come no matter what the other party called.The victim had no choice but to go out to pull people. At this time, the passer-by yelled, "Are you kidding?", slapped him, and walked away.So the second-year soldier who was executing the sentence would curse, "Let the distinguished guest run away."The second-year soldier who was executed was only half-joking, but the first-year soldier who was executed was very serious.A big man is forced to do such a boring thing, so whether he regrets it or is ashamed, he will cry in the end. There are several other types of lynching like bad games.The representative ones are "Racing Bicycle" and "Huang Ying Crossing the Valley".The so-called "bicycle racing" is to let the prisoners come between the beds placed side by side in the class, support their bodies with their hands, and then turn their feet in the air, making the movement of pedaling bicycles. Although the action is not difficult, it is quite a physical lynching.In less than five minutes, the arms will be very tired due to bearing the weight, which is almost unbearable, and the rotation of the feet will also slow down accordingly, and then the second-year soldier who is watching will curse, "Don't get down. It's time to go uphill. Hey, take a good ride," and laughed at it.After doing this kind of movement for a long time, even in the cold winter night, you will sweat profusely.No matter how good the physical strength is, people will complain endlessly. "Yellow Oriole Crossing the Valley" is the same as "Racing Bicycle", it is also carried out using a bed.The prisoners were asked to lie down under dozens of beds lined up in the class, and each time they climbed over a bed, they raised their heads to imitate the cry of the yellow warbler.The second-year soldiers joked with him at this time: "Hey, please sing better. This year's oriole's voice is terrible." "Let us listen to it again. Don't you feel bored? " This kind of lynching has no physical pain, but it is very uncomfortable mentally.Don't know who came up with such a boring thing, there are some other similar lynchings.It would be endless to list them one by one. Let me give you the last example of the "squad tour" that is said to have been staged in every alliance. This type of lynching was used to punish people who were rated badly in shoe shine inspections.The army stipulates that the shoes worn during the day must be cleaned of dirt and dust at night, and then painted with maintenance oil.The shoe shine inspection is carried out after the roll call at night, and if it is handled carelessly, it will fail.The lynching of unqualified people is the "round trip". The method is to hang the shoes rated as bad in the inspection around the neck with shoelaces, crawl in the corridor on all fours like a dog, and turn all the squadrons around, stop at the door of each squad and say "Wow!" "Wow", imitating dog barking, and then widely advertised that "a private of a certain army so-and-so was lazy and didn't shine his shoes properly, and was reprimanded by a second-year soldier. I would like to report this." It's fine if that's all, but there are always bad-hearted people waiting in every class I've been to.Those evil-minded guys seemed to have found someone to play tricks on, and blamed them: "You guy, why didn't you shine your shoes properly? You still have the face to come to another class. Did you eat too much and smoked so much oil? It's almost coming out of the ass, so I don't have time to shine shoes? Or I'm bored and don't want to shine shoes. If you have that goddamn idea, I'll beat you again and teach you how to shine shoes." Then The slap made the other party shake.This is not just a class, it doesn't matter which class you go to, so when you come back after transferring to all the classes in the squadron, your face is stained red from the nosebleed, and you can't see your face clearly. The above is not a special thing, but a violent punishment that is common in the army.