A letter from Tokyo

[dhermann1]

I had a great aunt who was a Pentecostal missionary in Japan from about 1910 till about 1967. This letter pretty much speaks for itself. Pretty amazing.

 

[CanadaDoll]

Wow! That's an amazing glimpse of a story. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Lincsong]

Thank God she wasn't killed. Great piece of history there.

 

[dhermann1]

I suspect she would have faired much worse if she had been in conquered territory. I believe she was in Yokohama, and she had a large flock in her mission, so there must have been people who knew her and looked out for her. When she was finally repatriated, around 1944, war she was telling everyone how wonderful the Japanese were and how well she'd been treated, which the government was not anxious to have spread around. She was sort of the black sheep of the family. The rest of them were pretty straight laced Baptists, and they thought it a disgrace that Harriette was "preaching hellfire and damnation to those poor people." I'll post some pix later.

 

[dhermann1]

More Aunt Harriett

OK, here's more:

Harriett and her "devoted companion" Mine Sugamoto, ca 1918?

and in 1961, the caption reads: Tachikawa Pentecostal Church, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 1961

Harriett round 1945(?)

and finally, the Christmas Pageant, 1961:

 

[PADDY]

An amazing woman!

What a strong looking character she is! The first picture with the Japanese lady is great. Those are lovely mementoes to have in your family.

The name 'HARRIET' I have a particular fondness for anyway. It just has nice associations for me and is classically vintage too!! What a lovely thread.

 

[dhermann1]

"Harriett"

Yes, in "Old Rockin' Chair's Got Me", the line "My Dear old Aunt Harriett, how long in heaven she be?" always makes me think of her. I think I met her only once, when she was about 88 years old.

 

[LaMedicine]

It may surprise many, but Americans and Europeans in Japan who were unable to return to their respective countries during WW II were treated relatively well, although they didn't have freedom to live or go wherever they chose to. Many in the greater Tokyo area were interned in surrounding cities or strategic places to deter the Americans from bombing these places. Karuizawa, now a stylish and popular summer resort that is less than an hour and a half by bullet train from Tokyo, is well known as being one of the towns where foreigners were interned.
Regretfully, this didn't apply to Chinese and Koreans who were given sub-human treatment, and treated as second class citizens, even though they were given Japanese citizenship because of Japan occupying their homelands.

Tachikawa is a city within the limits of the greater Tokyo metropolitan area about 50 minutes by train out of central Tokyo, that was home to a US AF base until 1972.

The pictures of the Christmas Pagent looks so much like the pictures I have of my kindergarten's Christmas Pagent in the early '50s, it's uncanny. I was living in the US in 1961, but I guess some things didn't change much until later.

 

[dhermann1]

I found more info on her. She apparently was repatriated during the war, maybe 1943? I believe she came via Capetown. She spent the rest of the war teaching children in the internment camps on the west coast.

 

[RAF Man]

That's a lovely piece of history, and certainly has a side to it, that I never thought or could imagine ever existed.

 

[dhermann1]

It may surprise many, but Americans and Europeans in Japan who were unable to return to their respective countries during WW II were treated relatively well, although they didn't have freedom to live or go wherever they chose to. Many in the greater Tokyo area were interned in surrounding cities or strategic places to deter the Americans from bombing these places. Karuizawa, now a stylish and popular summer resort that is less than an hour and a half by bullet train from Tokyo, is well known as being one of the towns where foreigners were interned.
Regretfully, this didn't apply to Chinese and Koreans who were given sub-human treatment, and treated as second class citizens, even though they were given Japanese citizenship because of Japan occupying their homelands.

Tachikawa is a city within the limits of the greater Tokyo metropolitan area about 50 minutes by train out of central Tokyo, that was home to a US AF base until 1972.

The pictures of the Christmas Pagent looks so much like the pictures I have of my kindergarten's Christmas Pagent in the early '50s, it's uncanny. I was living in the US in 1961, but I guess some things didn't change much until later.

My impression is that it was really the Japanese Army that were the monsters. I don't believe the Navy was ever accused of any atrocities. At any rate Aunt Harriett got home and went on and on about what lovely people the Japanese were, and they sort of stuck a sock in her mouth.
The interesting thing about that Christmas pageant to me is that they were indoctrinating people into American culture, in the guise of religion, quite unconsciously.

 

[LaMedicine]

My impression is that it was really the Japanese Army that were the monsters. I don't believe the Navy was ever accused of any atrocities. At any rate Aunt Harriett got home and went on and on about what lovely people the Japanese were, and they sort of stuck a sock in her mouth.
The interesting thing about that Christmas pageant to me is that they were indoctrinating people into American culture, in the guise of religion, quite unconsciously.

Even though the Imperial Navy wasn't accused of atrocities, there were many officers who were tried as war criminals and imprisoned. My sister-in-law (my brother's wife) 's paternal grandfather was a high ranking Naval officer who was a commander of a naval cruiser during WW II, and was tried and imprisoned in Hong Kong for 7 years before he came back home. He was a devout Christian, BTW, born to Christian parents in 1899.
So, though it may look as if the Christmas pagent pictures may seem an indoctrination to American culture, actually, Christianity in Japan already had a steady base before WW II. Christianity was first brought to Japan in mid 15C by St. Francis Xavier, and spread rapidly, though it was prohibited in 1612. Many Japanese Christians were expelled to South East Asia from Japan at this time, or killed, while others went into hiding and kept their faith, although it was altered through time to prevent discovery by the authorities. After Japan opened her doors to the outside world in 1854, and once Christianity was reconized in early Meiji era, missionaries from Europe and the US came back to Japan, the faithful who had been waiting "came out". At the same time, many young Japanese went abroad to study in order to modernise Japan, and some became Christians during their studies.
Western culture streamed into Japan at a great speed during this era (the Meiji-Taisho era 1868-1925) and a lot was Japanese-ised since we are very good at assimilating, digesting, and making Japanese versions out of foreign cultures, rather than being indocrinated and being immersed in foreign cultures and losing the originality of Japanese traditions.

Incidentally, my kindergarten was Anglican/Episcopalian, but the pictures still resemble the ones you have posted.

 

[dhermann1]

More documents

Just dug this out of the pile. It's a letter from a State Dept bureaucrat to my Great Aunt Caroline, telling her about the note that is coming to her from Tokyo (the one at the beginning of the thread). You can hear the tone in this letter of "Lady, there's a war on, in case you and your sister didn't heard about it!" But ever so polite and professional. On the back is scribbled "in re Harriett's return on Gripsholm, July/44.
Without further ado:
page 1

page 2

I, of course , am in possession of the above mentioned Caroline Dithridge's 1933 passport. This is the result of 150 years of NEVER THROWING ANYTHING AWAY!
Aunt Harriett was always supremely indifferent to the degree she put other people out for her own benefit. Drove her dear sisters crazy. She knew that God would provide. And He did, usually in the form of some family member or other.

 

[Diamondback]

My impression is that it was really the Japanese Army that were the monsters. I don't believe the Navy was ever accused of any atrocities. At any rate Aunt Harriett got home and went on and on about what lovely people the Japanese were, and they sort of stuck a sock in her mouth.
The interesting thing about that Christmas pageant to me is that they were indoctrinating people into American culture, in the guise of religion, quite unconsciously.

Not entirely accurate, sir--while MacArthur blamed and hung General Yamashita for the Rape of Manila, it now appears that Admiral Iwabuchi, acting in violation of an "abandon city" order from Yamashita, was the real perp. Source: Perret, Old Soldiers Never Die

Most of the Navy guys weren't so bad from what I've read, then again there's always been a certain respect for the enemy as fellow people in men of the sea that most landlubbers just don't have. Clancy's Marko Ramius said it best: "The sea... she tries to kill us all no matter which flag we fly." Probably butchered the quote, but you get the point.

 

[Smithy]

Fantastic stuff dhermann, what wonderful photos and letters :eusa_clap

In terms of Japanese Navy versus Army atrocities, I believe it was more of a case that the Army had more opportunities. Unfortunately this was a mindset which appeared fairly widespread within the Imperial Japanese armed forces.

Two of my great uncles had the dubious pleasure of being guests of the Emperor in Japanese POW camps. Incredibly enough both survived, but some of the things they experienced would make you sick.

 

[carter]

Dhermann1, What terrific memories. You should try to preserve these items with a photographic or DVD back-up. Your Aunt Harriet must have been quite an independant and resourceful woman.
There are books regarding the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII, however, I am not aware of any regarding the internment of foreigners residing in Japan. That would be a fascinating book to read. It appears that you have the basis for a very interesting novel.
Thanks for sharing! Carter :eusa_clap

Ya gotta Love the Lounge.

 

[Twitch]

The Imperial Japanese Navy personnel conducted themselves with a far higher code of honor than the Army did. Firstly most of the Samurai class joined the IJN and as most armies in the world they took whatever was left. There were no large scale IJN debauchery as was the case with the Army from 1932 Manchuria onward on the Asian mainland.

With the unspeakable bio-chemical experiments and live vivesections performed on Chinese and other asians the Imperial Army seal its fate on an ongoing basis from 1932-1945. The IJN had nothing to do with any of that and had a cadre of warriors that produced the most positive examples in combat.

I did deep and long research for a multi-part article I wrote on the IJA's atrocities in Asia and the Navy was never in the picture. The Navy and Army was like an upper class and lower class- the Army being much filled out by ignorant peasants and low lifes. These guys were far more succeptable to ratonalize orders to commit atrocious acts against defensless populace in Asia.

The Imperial Army's acts in Asia were as perverted as the Nazi's and were responsible for as many or more non-combatant deaths.

Foreigners who found themselves in combat areas were generally treated decently. John Rabe was the chairman of that 2.5 square mile International Safety Zone in Nanking. He recorded the Japanese atrocities in his 2,117 page Diary of War. Like Oskar Schindler, the German industrialist who saved so many Jews, Mr. Rabe and few other western foreigners risked their lives to help save 250,000 Chinese refugees from being killed. Episcopal Reverend John McGee was responsible for the 16mm films documenting a tiny portion of the mayhem.