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| Makoto Inaki's POW Camp Sendai 5-B |
She has written about this in other publications, generally conservative ones. She wants to believe that he was not a war criminal and that he did not make conditions in the POW camp so miserable that men died.
Her quest is a tricky one as she is dependent upon her hope and the memory old, traumatized men. POWs of Japan had their very survival dependent upon their ability to please; they curated their memories in order to coexist with them; and they barely had the strength to remember one day from the next. Among these fragments of memory she sought and found forgiveness. She should not, however, interpret this as absolution or confirmation that her grandfather was not fanatically cruel.
The lesson for her and what all historians grapple with is that POWs simply need to forget.
The lesson for her and what all historians grapple with is that POWs simply need to forget.
The following is a provisional translation by George Washington University graduate students who intern at Asia Policy Point, Han Yanchu and Lu Pengqiao. They used the piece to practice their translation skills with the hope of making this available for the personal use of the POW families mentioned in the article and to assist the POW the research community. They welcome your suggestions, edits, and comments.
SEEKING A SENSE OF CLOSURE
遠い記憶の先に終止符を探して
Granddaughter of a Former WWII Camp Commander Faces an ex-POW of Japan
元捕虜収容所長を祖父に持つ記者が日本軍の捕虜だったアメリカ兵と向き合う
By KOGURE Satoko
小 暮 聡 子(本誌編集部)
8月15 日、日本は戦後70周年を迎える。日本が語る「国家」としての歴史が議論される一方で、第二次大戦には当時を生きた一人一人の物語がある。それはそれぞれの国で、体験者それぞれの「真実」として、多くの場合苦しみを伴いながら今後も語られていく。その戦争の記憶に「終止符」を打てる日は来るのだろうか
On August 15th, Japan marks its 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. While Japan’s historical narrative as a “state” has been discussed, there are also stories of individuals who lived through the war. These stories were of people from different countries, each with their own “truth”. In most cases these stories were accompanied by suffering, and will continue to be told in the future. Will the day come when we can put an end to the memory of war?
捕虜たちが見た地獄
The Hell Prisoners of War Had Seen
6月初め、私は祖父が残した物語といま一度向き合うため、赴任先のニューヨークから米南部のニューオーリンズ空港に降り立った。ジャズの街ニューオーリンズは既に夏真っ盛りで、空港を出るとむわっという熱気が身を包む。車で30分も走れば音楽と酒にまみれた繁華街フレンチクオーターに到着するが、私を乗せたタクシーが向かう先は陽気な観光地ではない。
In order to look once more into the story my grandfather left behind, I flew to New Orleans International Airport in southern United States from my new post in New York. It’s already at the height of the summer in the Jazz town of New Orleans, and when I walk out of the airport I’m immediately surrounded by hot air. A 30 minute drive can take you to the downtown French Quarter filled by music and liquor, but the destination of my taxi is not a cheerful tourist destination.
旅の目的は、戦時中にフィリピンのバターン半島とコレヒドール島で日本軍の捕虜となったアメリカの元兵士や民間人、その家族や遺族が集う戦友会に参加すること。この「全米バターン・コレヒドール防衛兵の会 (ADBC)」年次総会では、1つのホテルに集った参加者が数日間にわたり戦中・戦後の体験を共有し、次世代に語り継ぐ。私がこの戦友会に参加するのは22 歳だった03年以来、 12年ぶりだ。
The purpose of my journey is to attend a comrades-in-arms meeting of veterans, civilians, and bereaved families. These veterans became prisoners of war (POWs) of Japan when defending Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island, Philippines during WWII. On this annual meeting held by the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor (ADBC), participants will gather in one hotel and share their stories during and after the war, and hand down their war experiences from generation to generation. It has been 12 years since my first participation of the meeting in 2003, when I was 22 years old.
日本軍に捕らわれた捕虜たちにとって、捕虜生活は「生きるか死ぬか」の戦いそのものだった。1941年 12月 8日、日本軍が真珠湾を攻撃して太平洋戦争に突入すると、本間雅晴中将率いる日本軍はダグラス・マッカーサー米極東陸軍司令官下のフィリピンに侵 攻を開始。首都マニラからマニラ湾を挟んで対岸に位置するバターン半島とコレヒドール島の米軍とフィリピン軍は、日本軍との戦闘を経て42年4月以降相次いで降伏、捕虜となった。
For those POWs captured by Japanese military, life was the very fight for survival. On December 8, 1941, Japan attacked the Pearl Harbor and initiated the Pacific War. Japanese military led by lieutenant general Homma Masaharu invaded the Philippines under the command of Douglas MacArthur, Commander of United States Army Forces in the Far East. Stationed in Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island on the opposite shore across the Manila Bay from the capital Manila, American and Filipino militaries fought several battles with Japanese troops, before surrendering and being taken prisoners after April 1942.
その後、日本軍が7万人余りの捕虜を約100キロ先の収容所まで炎天下のなか飢餓状態で歩かせ、約3万人の死者を出した「バターン死の行進」は、アメリカでは今も旧日本軍の残虐性の象徴とされている。
After that, the Japanese army forcibly transferred more than 70,000 Filipino and American POWs to a detention camp 100 km [or 65 miles] away. Starving POWs were forced to walk under the scorching sun in Bataan, and around 30,000 POWs died along the way. The so-called “Bataan Death March” is remembered by Americans even today as a symbol of the brutality of Japanese Imperial Army.
日本の市民団体「POW (戦争捕虜) 研究会」によれば、第二次大戦中、日本軍がフィリピンなどアジア・太平洋地域で捕らえた連合軍の捕虜は約14万人。そのうち約3万6000人は水や食糧、衛生設備が欠如した輸送船、いわゆる「地獄船」で日本に送られた。航海中は連合軍からの攻撃も加わって多くが命を落としたが、生き延びて日本に到着した捕虜たちは全国約130カ所の捕虜収容所に連行され、炭鉱や鉱山、造船所や工場などで働かされた。戦争末期にかけて日本側も疲弊するなか、捕虜たちの生活は過酷を極め、 終戦までに約3500人が死亡したという。死因は飢えや病、事故や虐待、連合軍による爆撃などだった。
According to Japanese civic group POW Research Network Japan, Japanese captured around 140,000 Allied POWs in the Philippines and other Asian Pacific regions during WWII. Among these POWs, an estimate of 36,000 POWs were sent to Japan via “hell ships”, transport ships with a significant shortage of provisions and unpleasant health conditions. Many of POWs lost their lives as a result of Allies’ attack on the sea, and those who survived the trip were taken to around 130 POW camps on Japan’s homeland, and were forced to work in mines, shipyards, factories, and other facilities. As Japan became impoverished towards the end of the war, life of POWs turned extremely harsh. An estimate of 3,500 POWs had died before the war ended. Causes of death include starvation, disease, accident, maltreatment, and Allied bombing.
ADBCのメンバーは、こうした悲惨な捕虜生活を生き抜いた人とその家族、または捕虜のまま亡くなった人の遺族たちだ。元捕虜の年齢が90歳を超え、組織の主体はその子供たちの世代に代替わりしているが、子世代もまた親の苦しみを受け継いでいる。元捕虜の多くが帰還後も心的外傷後ストレス障害(PTSD)に悩まされ、捕虜体験に口を閉ざす一方で、父親を理解しようと調べる内に日本に対して憎悪を抱く子世代も多いという。
Members of ADBC are former soldiers who lived through such miserable life, and their family members, as well as those bereaved families of those who died as POWs during imprisonment. As most of ex-POWs are over 90 years old, the majority of members are now from their children’s generation and they inherited their parents’ sufferings. Many of the ex-POWs have been haunted by PTSD after returning from Japan, and never talked about their experiences as POWs. On the other hand, many from the children’s generation began to harbor hatred against Japan while doing research to find out what their fathers had gone through.
そんな戦友会で受付登録を済ませた私は、03年にこの会に参加して以来元捕虜やその家族と面会するたび幾度となく経験してきた「居心地の悪さ」を感じた。もちろんここは、見知らぬ日本人がハグとキスで歓迎されるような場所ではない。だがそれ以上に、私 には参加者を遠ざける肩書があった。私は、「元捕虜収容所長の孫」。そして祖父は戦後、「戦争犯罪人」として裁かれた人物だったからだ。
I’ve been a registered member of ADBC’s meeting since 2003, and time and again I have an uncomfortable feeling when I meet with ex-POWs and their families. Of course this is not a place to welcome strange Japanese people by kissing and hugging, but my identity makes me even more alienated from participants—I’m the grandchild of a former POW camp commander, and my grandfather was tried as a war criminal after the war ended.
波乱含みで始まった取材
The interview with an unexpected start
参加1日目、体験談を聞くセミナーが続き、元捕虜のうち一人と翌日に個別にインタビューする約束を取り付けた。自己紹介の際には「記者」を名乗った。元収容所長の孫だと言えば、相手を怒らせるか、傷つけかねない。何より、先入観なく本音を語って欲しかった。だが結局、この取材は思わぬ方向に走り出すことになる。
On the first day of the meeting, a seminar on war experiences continued, and I made an interview appointment with one of the ex-POWs on the next day. I introduced myself as a journalist. If I introduce myself as the grandchild of a former POW camp commander, I could have offended or hurt him. Most of all, I wanted to hear what he really thinks without any prejudice. However, this interview ended up unfolding in an unexpected direction.
元捕虜ダレル・スターク（92）のインタビュー当日、約束の時間の少し前にホテルのロビーに行くと、別の捕虜の娘で、知り合って二年になるパム・エスリンガーが男性と談笑していた。エスリンガーは、私の祖父が元収容所長であることをこの会場で知る数少ない一人だ。そこに、スタークと娘のジュディ・ギルバードが現れた。
On the day of my interview with ex-POW Darrell Stark (92 years old), as I arrived at the lobby of the hotel a little earlier before the promised time, I found that Pam Eslinger, the daughter of another ex-POW whom I’ve known for two years, was chatting with a man. Eslinger is one of the few persons present that know my grandfather’s identity. Then, Stark appeared with his daughter Judy Gilbert.
エスリンガーはスターク親子と知り合いらしく、二年前に私がオクラホマ州に彼女の父親を訪ねたこと、今年秋には日本に行って私の両親に会うことを嬉しそうに話す。スタークの娘が私たちの関係を尋ねると、エスリンガーは少し戸惑い、間をあけたあとこういった。「彼女のおじいさんは、父がいた収容所の所長だったの」
Eslinger seemed to know Stark’s daughter, and she happily talked to them about my visit to her father in Oklahoma two years ago, and her visit to Japan in this fall to meet my parents. When Stark’s daughter asked about her relationship with me, Eslinger was a little puzzled. She thought for a while, and answered: “Her grandfather was the commander of the POW camp where my father was held.”
エスリンガーの父親ジャック・ヴォーナー（93）は、祖父が管理していた収容所にいた捕虜の一人だった。二年半前にニューヨーク支局に赴任した私は、知人を通してその存在を知っていたヴォーナーに連絡を取り、翌年に彼の自宅を訪ねた。ヴォーナーには祖父や日本への憎しみや敵意は全く見られず、私は彼の四世代にわたる大家族から思いもかけないもてなし出迎えられ、そのあとも交流が続いている。
Eslinger’s father, Jack Warner (93 years old [Mr Warner will travel to Japan October 2015 as part of the 6th POW Friendship Delegation), was one of the POWs held at the camp my grandfather managed. Two years ago when I was appointed to the New York bureau, I got in touch with Warner through an acquaintance and visited his home the next year. Warner didn’t show hatred or hostility towards my grandfather and Japan at all. Instead, I received a warm welcome that I’d never thought would come from his big four-generation family. We have been in touch since then.
だがスターク親子はそれを知らない。そのあとの数分間、これまでなんども見てきた光景と同じだった。祖父の話を切り出された相手は一様に、表情をこわばらせたまま固まる。
However, Stark and his daughter didn’t know that. For several minutes, I was seeing what I’ve seen for so many times—when told about my grandfather’s identity, every listener’s face stiffens and freezes.
驚いた様子のスタークの娘は、耳が悪くて聞き取れなかったオヤジにエスリンガーの言葉を繰り返す。すると、今度はスタークが目を大きく見開いてこちらを見た。エスリンガーがすかさず「父は、彼女のおじいさんはいい所長だったと言っている」というと、父娘の表情はいくらか和らいだ。そしてスタークは「君には、すべてを話す。私が知っているすべてを話す」と、怖い顔をして立ち上がった。私は自分の心も、みるみるうちに固まっていくのを感じていた。
With a surprised face, Stark’s daughter repeated to his father, who has a bad hearing, what Eslinger has said. This time, it’s Stark’s turn to look at my direction wide-eyed. Eslinger said immediately that “my father told me that her grandpa was a good person”, and the facial expressions of Stark and his daughter became somewhat softened. Stark stood up with a scary look, saying “I’ll tell everything to you. I’ll tell you everything I know.” At the time, I felt my heart was stiffening quickly.
元捕虜が語る70年の物語
A 70-Year Story of an ex-POW
スタークが米陸軍に入隊したのは41年3月、18歳のとき。一ヶ月後にはフィリピンに送られ、日本軍との戦闘を経て42年4月9日にバターン半島で捕虜になった。彼は「バターン死の進行」を歩いていない。当時マラリアで入院していたため、トラックでマニラ近郊のビリビッド収容所に移送されたのだ。移送中には「進行」のルートを通った際には、日本人に目を向けただけで銃剣で殺されかけたという。ビリビッドの次に送られたのは、マニラの約120キロ北に位置するカバナツアン収容所。収容所正門のポールには切断された人の頭部がぶら下げられており、「逃亡を企てれば同じ目にあう」という注意書きがあった。捕虜は10人で一つのグループを組まされ、一人が逃げれば残りの9人が処刑されるというルールが告げられた。そこでは、飢えや病気で毎日平均30人の捕虜が死んでいった。
Stark was enlisted in the US Army in March 1941, when he was 18 years old. After one month he was sent to the Philippines, and became POW in Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942 after fighting with Japanese. He wasn’t involved in Bataan Death March. Because of malaria he was hospitalized, and he was transferred to Bilibid prison camp in Manila suburbs by truck. When passing through the route of Bataan Death March, he was almost bayoneted by Japanese merely because he turned his eyes towards Japanese soldiers. After Bilibid, he was transferred to Cabanatuan prison camp 120 km [or 75 miles] north of Manila. At the front gate of the camp stand a pole, where severed human heads were hung with a note of caution on the side—“This will happen if you try to escape”. POWs were grouped with 10 persons in each one, and were told that if anyone in the group escaped, the remaining nine would be executed. At the camp, an average of 30 POWs died daily because of starvation and disease.
そのあと、ミンダナオ島のダブオ収容所に移されたスタークは、44年に地獄船で日本に送られた。62日間かけて命からがら福岡県北九州市の門司港に着くと、三重県四日市市の捕虜収容所に送られ、紀州鉱山の鉱石を精錬する石原産業四日市工場で働かされた。
After that, Stark was transferred to Davao camp on Mindanao Island and finally sent to Japan via a Hell ship. After 62 days of miserable life on the ship, he arrived at Port Moji in Kitakyushu city, Fukuoka Prefecture. Then he was sent to the camp in Yokkaichi city, Mie Prefecture, and was forced to work at Ishihara Sangyo’s Yokkaichi factories where ores from Kishu mines were refined. [Nagoya #5-B Yokkaichi was Stark's POW camp where he was a slave laborer at a copper foundry owned by Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha in Nagoya, a port city south of Tokyo.]
四日市での生活は、フィリピン時代に比べればずっとましだった。休日はほとんどなく、毎日12時間働かされたが、「思いやりのある」日本人もいた。
Life in Yokkaichi city, however, was much better than that in the Philippines. Although Stark was forced to work 12 hours a day with almost no days off, he encountered a Japanese who showed sympathy to him.
ある日、骨のように痩せ細っていたスタークは工場で働く日本人の弁当を盗んで食べてしまった。だが、その日本人は一言も問い詰めないばかりか、翌日から弁当を二つ持ってきて、一つをスタークに手渡した。弁当の差し入れは、45年5月にスタークが富山市の収容所に移されるまで毎日続いた。スタークが富山で終戦を迎えたとき、体重は44キロにまで落ちていた。
One day, Stark, who had turned into a bag of bones, stole a box lunch from one Japanese working in the same factory and ate the food. Yet the Japanese didn’t say a word to him. On the contrary, the Japanese began to bring two lunches and handed Stark one every day since then. This continued until Stark was transferred to a POW camp in Toyama city. When the war ended, Stark was in Toyama, and his weight had dropped to 44 kilograms [or 97 lbs].
娘のギルバートによれば、戦後PTSDに苦しめられていたスタークは、長い間子供達に捕虜生活について語らなかったそうだ。だが79年にイランの米大使館で起きた人質事件を機に、数日間「まるで洪水のように」話し続けたという。捕らわれの身となり生死の境を彷徨う人質の姿が、かつての自分と重なったのかもしれない。
遠い記憶の先に終止符を探して
Granddaughter of a Former WWII Camp Commander Faces an ex-POW of Japan
元捕虜収容所長を祖父に持つ記者が日本軍の捕虜だったアメリカ兵と向き合う
By KOGURE Satoko
小 暮 聡 子(本誌編集部)
8月15 日、日本は戦後70周年を迎える。日本が語る「国家」としての歴史が議論される一方で、第二次大戦には当時を生きた一人一人の物語がある。それはそれぞれの国で、体験者それぞれの「真実」として、多くの場合苦しみを伴いながら今後も語られていく。その戦争の記憶に「終止符」を打てる日は来るのだろうか
On August 15th, Japan marks its 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. While Japan’s historical narrative as a “state” has been discussed, there are also stories of individuals who lived through the war. These stories were of people from different countries, each with their own “truth”. In most cases these stories were accompanied by suffering, and will continue to be told in the future. Will the day come when we can put an end to the memory of war?
捕虜たちが見た地獄
The Hell Prisoners of War Had Seen
6月初め、私は祖父が残した物語といま一度向き合うため、赴任先のニューヨークから米南部のニューオーリンズ空港に降り立った。ジャズの街ニューオーリンズは既に夏真っ盛りで、空港を出るとむわっという熱気が身を包む。車で30分も走れば音楽と酒にまみれた繁華街フレンチクオーターに到着するが、私を乗せたタクシーが向かう先は陽気な観光地ではない。
In order to look once more into the story my grandfather left behind, I flew to New Orleans International Airport in southern United States from my new post in New York. It’s already at the height of the summer in the Jazz town of New Orleans, and when I walk out of the airport I’m immediately surrounded by hot air. A 30 minute drive can take you to the downtown French Quarter filled by music and liquor, but the destination of my taxi is not a cheerful tourist destination.
旅の目的は、戦時中にフィリピンのバターン半島とコレヒドール島で日本軍の捕虜となったアメリカの元兵士や民間人、その家族や遺族が集う戦友会に参加すること。この「全米バターン・コレヒドール防衛兵の会 (ADBC)」年次総会では、1つのホテルに集った参加者が数日間にわたり戦中・戦後の体験を共有し、次世代に語り継ぐ。私がこの戦友会に参加するのは22 歳だった03年以来、 12年ぶりだ。
The purpose of my journey is to attend a comrades-in-arms meeting of veterans, civilians, and bereaved families. These veterans became prisoners of war (POWs) of Japan when defending Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island, Philippines during WWII. On this annual meeting held by the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor (ADBC), participants will gather in one hotel and share their stories during and after the war, and hand down their war experiences from generation to generation. It has been 12 years since my first participation of the meeting in 2003, when I was 22 years old.
日本軍に捕らわれた捕虜たちにとって、捕虜生活は「生きるか死ぬか」の戦いそのものだった。1941年 12月 8日、日本軍が真珠湾を攻撃して太平洋戦争に突入すると、本間雅晴中将率いる日本軍はダグラス・マッカーサー米極東陸軍司令官下のフィリピンに侵 攻を開始。首都マニラからマニラ湾を挟んで対岸に位置するバターン半島とコレヒドール島の米軍とフィリピン軍は、日本軍との戦闘を経て42年4月以降相次いで降伏、捕虜となった。
For those POWs captured by Japanese military, life was the very fight for survival. On December 8, 1941, Japan attacked the Pearl Harbor and initiated the Pacific War. Japanese military led by lieutenant general Homma Masaharu invaded the Philippines under the command of Douglas MacArthur, Commander of United States Army Forces in the Far East. Stationed in Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island on the opposite shore across the Manila Bay from the capital Manila, American and Filipino militaries fought several battles with Japanese troops, before surrendering and being taken prisoners after April 1942.
その後、日本軍が7万人余りの捕虜を約100キロ先の収容所まで炎天下のなか飢餓状態で歩かせ、約3万人の死者を出した「バターン死の行進」は、アメリカでは今も旧日本軍の残虐性の象徴とされている。
After that, the Japanese army forcibly transferred more than 70,000 Filipino and American POWs to a detention camp 100 km [or 65 miles] away. Starving POWs were forced to walk under the scorching sun in Bataan, and around 30,000 POWs died along the way. The so-called “Bataan Death March” is remembered by Americans even today as a symbol of the brutality of Japanese Imperial Army.
日本の市民団体「POW (戦争捕虜) 研究会」によれば、第二次大戦中、日本軍がフィリピンなどアジア・太平洋地域で捕らえた連合軍の捕虜は約14万人。そのうち約3万6000人は水や食糧、衛生設備が欠如した輸送船、いわゆる「地獄船」で日本に送られた。航海中は連合軍からの攻撃も加わって多くが命を落としたが、生き延びて日本に到着した捕虜たちは全国約130カ所の捕虜収容所に連行され、炭鉱や鉱山、造船所や工場などで働かされた。戦争末期にかけて日本側も疲弊するなか、捕虜たちの生活は過酷を極め、 終戦までに約3500人が死亡したという。死因は飢えや病、事故や虐待、連合軍による爆撃などだった。
According to Japanese civic group POW Research Network Japan, Japanese captured around 140,000 Allied POWs in the Philippines and other Asian Pacific regions during WWII. Among these POWs, an estimate of 36,000 POWs were sent to Japan via “hell ships”, transport ships with a significant shortage of provisions and unpleasant health conditions. Many of POWs lost their lives as a result of Allies’ attack on the sea, and those who survived the trip were taken to around 130 POW camps on Japan’s homeland, and were forced to work in mines, shipyards, factories, and other facilities. As Japan became impoverished towards the end of the war, life of POWs turned extremely harsh. An estimate of 3,500 POWs had died before the war ended. Causes of death include starvation, disease, accident, maltreatment, and Allied bombing.
ADBCのメンバーは、こうした悲惨な捕虜生活を生き抜いた人とその家族、または捕虜のまま亡くなった人の遺族たちだ。元捕虜の年齢が90歳を超え、組織の主体はその子供たちの世代に代替わりしているが、子世代もまた親の苦しみを受け継いでいる。元捕虜の多くが帰還後も心的外傷後ストレス障害(PTSD)に悩まされ、捕虜体験に口を閉ざす一方で、父親を理解しようと調べる内に日本に対して憎悪を抱く子世代も多いという。
Members of ADBC are former soldiers who lived through such miserable life, and their family members, as well as those bereaved families of those who died as POWs during imprisonment. As most of ex-POWs are over 90 years old, the majority of members are now from their children’s generation and they inherited their parents’ sufferings. Many of the ex-POWs have been haunted by PTSD after returning from Japan, and never talked about their experiences as POWs. On the other hand, many from the children’s generation began to harbor hatred against Japan while doing research to find out what their fathers had gone through.
そんな戦友会で受付登録を済ませた私は、03年にこの会に参加して以来元捕虜やその家族と面会するたび幾度となく経験してきた「居心地の悪さ」を感じた。もちろんここは、見知らぬ日本人がハグとキスで歓迎されるような場所ではない。だがそれ以上に、私 には参加者を遠ざける肩書があった。私は、「元捕虜収容所長の孫」。そして祖父は戦後、「戦争犯罪人」として裁かれた人物だったからだ。
I’ve been a registered member of ADBC’s meeting since 2003, and time and again I have an uncomfortable feeling when I meet with ex-POWs and their families. Of course this is not a place to welcome strange Japanese people by kissing and hugging, but my identity makes me even more alienated from participants—I’m the grandchild of a former POW camp commander, and my grandfather was tried as a war criminal after the war ended.
波乱含みで始まった取材
The interview with an unexpected start
参加1日目、体験談を聞くセミナーが続き、元捕虜のうち一人と翌日に個別にインタビューする約束を取り付けた。自己紹介の際には「記者」を名乗った。元収容所長の孫だと言えば、相手を怒らせるか、傷つけかねない。何より、先入観なく本音を語って欲しかった。だが結局、この取材は思わぬ方向に走り出すことになる。
On the first day of the meeting, a seminar on war experiences continued, and I made an interview appointment with one of the ex-POWs on the next day. I introduced myself as a journalist. If I introduce myself as the grandchild of a former POW camp commander, I could have offended or hurt him. Most of all, I wanted to hear what he really thinks without any prejudice. However, this interview ended up unfolding in an unexpected direction.
元捕虜ダレル・スターク（92）のインタビュー当日、約束の時間の少し前にホテルのロビーに行くと、別の捕虜の娘で、知り合って二年になるパム・エスリンガーが男性と談笑していた。エスリンガーは、私の祖父が元収容所長であることをこの会場で知る数少ない一人だ。そこに、スタークと娘のジュディ・ギルバードが現れた。
On the day of my interview with ex-POW Darrell Stark (92 years old), as I arrived at the lobby of the hotel a little earlier before the promised time, I found that Pam Eslinger, the daughter of another ex-POW whom I’ve known for two years, was chatting with a man. Eslinger is one of the few persons present that know my grandfather’s identity. Then, Stark appeared with his daughter Judy Gilbert.
エスリンガーはスターク親子と知り合いらしく、二年前に私がオクラホマ州に彼女の父親を訪ねたこと、今年秋には日本に行って私の両親に会うことを嬉しそうに話す。スタークの娘が私たちの関係を尋ねると、エスリンガーは少し戸惑い、間をあけたあとこういった。「彼女のおじいさんは、父がいた収容所の所長だったの」
Eslinger seemed to know Stark’s daughter, and she happily talked to them about my visit to her father in Oklahoma two years ago, and her visit to Japan in this fall to meet my parents. When Stark’s daughter asked about her relationship with me, Eslinger was a little puzzled. She thought for a while, and answered: “Her grandfather was the commander of the POW camp where my father was held.”
エスリンガーの父親ジャック・ヴォーナー（93）は、祖父が管理していた収容所にいた捕虜の一人だった。二年半前にニューヨーク支局に赴任した私は、知人を通してその存在を知っていたヴォーナーに連絡を取り、翌年に彼の自宅を訪ねた。ヴォーナーには祖父や日本への憎しみや敵意は全く見られず、私は彼の四世代にわたる大家族から思いもかけないもてなし出迎えられ、そのあとも交流が続いている。
Eslinger’s father, Jack Warner (93 years old [Mr Warner will travel to Japan October 2015 as part of the 6th POW Friendship Delegation), was one of the POWs held at the camp my grandfather managed. Two years ago when I was appointed to the New York bureau, I got in touch with Warner through an acquaintance and visited his home the next year. Warner didn’t show hatred or hostility towards my grandfather and Japan at all. Instead, I received a warm welcome that I’d never thought would come from his big four-generation family. We have been in touch since then.
だがスターク親子はそれを知らない。そのあとの数分間、これまでなんども見てきた光景と同じだった。祖父の話を切り出された相手は一様に、表情をこわばらせたまま固まる。
However, Stark and his daughter didn’t know that. For several minutes, I was seeing what I’ve seen for so many times—when told about my grandfather’s identity, every listener’s face stiffens and freezes.
驚いた様子のスタークの娘は、耳が悪くて聞き取れなかったオヤジにエスリンガーの言葉を繰り返す。すると、今度はスタークが目を大きく見開いてこちらを見た。エスリンガーがすかさず「父は、彼女のおじいさんはいい所長だったと言っている」というと、父娘の表情はいくらか和らいだ。そしてスタークは「君には、すべてを話す。私が知っているすべてを話す」と、怖い顔をして立ち上がった。私は自分の心も、みるみるうちに固まっていくのを感じていた。
With a surprised face, Stark’s daughter repeated to his father, who has a bad hearing, what Eslinger has said. This time, it’s Stark’s turn to look at my direction wide-eyed. Eslinger said immediately that “my father told me that her grandpa was a good person”, and the facial expressions of Stark and his daughter became somewhat softened. Stark stood up with a scary look, saying “I’ll tell everything to you. I’ll tell you everything I know.” At the time, I felt my heart was stiffening quickly.
元捕虜が語る70年の物語
A 70-Year Story of an ex-POW
スタークが米陸軍に入隊したのは41年3月、18歳のとき。一ヶ月後にはフィリピンに送られ、日本軍との戦闘を経て42年4月9日にバターン半島で捕虜になった。彼は「バターン死の進行」を歩いていない。当時マラリアで入院していたため、トラックでマニラ近郊のビリビッド収容所に移送されたのだ。移送中には「進行」のルートを通った際には、日本人に目を向けただけで銃剣で殺されかけたという。ビリビッドの次に送られたのは、マニラの約120キロ北に位置するカバナツアン収容所。収容所正門のポールには切断された人の頭部がぶら下げられており、「逃亡を企てれば同じ目にあう」という注意書きがあった。捕虜は10人で一つのグループを組まされ、一人が逃げれば残りの9人が処刑されるというルールが告げられた。そこでは、飢えや病気で毎日平均30人の捕虜が死んでいった。
Stark was enlisted in the US Army in March 1941, when he was 18 years old. After one month he was sent to the Philippines, and became POW in Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942 after fighting with Japanese. He wasn’t involved in Bataan Death March. Because of malaria he was hospitalized, and he was transferred to Bilibid prison camp in Manila suburbs by truck. When passing through the route of Bataan Death March, he was almost bayoneted by Japanese merely because he turned his eyes towards Japanese soldiers. After Bilibid, he was transferred to Cabanatuan prison camp 120 km [or 75 miles] north of Manila. At the front gate of the camp stand a pole, where severed human heads were hung with a note of caution on the side—“This will happen if you try to escape”. POWs were grouped with 10 persons in each one, and were told that if anyone in the group escaped, the remaining nine would be executed. At the camp, an average of 30 POWs died daily because of starvation and disease.
そのあと、ミンダナオ島のダブオ収容所に移されたスタークは、44年に地獄船で日本に送られた。62日間かけて命からがら福岡県北九州市の門司港に着くと、三重県四日市市の捕虜収容所に送られ、紀州鉱山の鉱石を精錬する石原産業四日市工場で働かされた。
After that, Stark was transferred to Davao camp on Mindanao Island and finally sent to Japan via a Hell ship. After 62 days of miserable life on the ship, he arrived at Port Moji in Kitakyushu city, Fukuoka Prefecture. Then he was sent to the camp in Yokkaichi city, Mie Prefecture, and was forced to work at Ishihara Sangyo’s Yokkaichi factories where ores from Kishu mines were refined. [Nagoya #5-B Yokkaichi was Stark's POW camp where he was a slave laborer at a copper foundry owned by Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha in Nagoya, a port city south of Tokyo.]
四日市での生活は、フィリピン時代に比べればずっとましだった。休日はほとんどなく、毎日12時間働かされたが、「思いやりのある」日本人もいた。
Life in Yokkaichi city, however, was much better than that in the Philippines. Although Stark was forced to work 12 hours a day with almost no days off, he encountered a Japanese who showed sympathy to him.
ある日、骨のように痩せ細っていたスタークは工場で働く日本人の弁当を盗んで食べてしまった。だが、その日本人は一言も問い詰めないばかりか、翌日から弁当を二つ持ってきて、一つをスタークに手渡した。弁当の差し入れは、45年5月にスタークが富山市の収容所に移されるまで毎日続いた。スタークが富山で終戦を迎えたとき、体重は44キロにまで落ちていた。
One day, Stark, who had turned into a bag of bones, stole a box lunch from one Japanese working in the same factory and ate the food. Yet the Japanese didn’t say a word to him. On the contrary, the Japanese began to bring two lunches and handed Stark one every day since then. This continued until Stark was transferred to a POW camp in Toyama city. When the war ended, Stark was in Toyama, and his weight had dropped to 44 kilograms [or 97 lbs].
娘のギルバートによれば、戦後PTSDに苦しめられていたスタークは、長い間子供達に捕虜生活について語らなかったそうだ。だが79年にイランの米大使館で起きた人質事件を機に、数日間「まるで洪水のように」話し続けたという。捕らわれの身となり生死の境を彷徨う人質の姿が、かつての自分と重なったのかもしれない。
According to Judy Gilbert, the daughter, Stark had been suffering from PTSD after the war ended and didn’t talk about the life as a POW with his children for a long time. However, when Iran hostage crisis happened in 1979, Stark loosened his tongue and went on talking “like flood had been released” for several days. In Stark’s eyes, the image of those hostages may have overlapped with Stark’s former POW self who was also taken in captivity and hovered between life and death every day.
忌まわしい記憶と付き合っていくためには、自分の身に起きたことを客観的に理解しようと努力するしかなかったのだろう。スタークは何度も「私は何事も大局的にとらえようと努めている」と言った。「我々が経験したことの多くは、人々の残虐そのせいで起きたのではない。主な原因は物資の不足だった。だがそこに人々の残酷さが加わったとき、状況はさらに過酷になった」
In order to cope with his abhorrent memory, Stark probably had no choice but to strive to objectively understand what happened to him. “I’m trying to look at the big picture when dealing with anything”, he said repeatedly. “Most of what I’ve gone through was not the result of human’s brutality. The main reason was the shortage of goods. And human cruelty had worsened the situation, making life extremely harsh.”
残酷な仕打ちの一つが、捕虜を理不尽な理由で殴ること。「ハヤク」という日本語を理解して即座に反応しなければ、殴られる。捕虜の側にしてみれば、自分たちがなぜ殴られているのか、単に日本人が残虐だからなのか理由がわからない。スタークは「推測するしかないが」と前置きした上で、特にバターンにいた日本軍は米軍と戦った直後で、仲間を失うなどの経験をしていれば、敵に憎しみを抱くこともあっただろうと語った。
One example of Japanese cruel treatment is beating POWs unreasonably. If POWs cannot respond immediately to the Japanese word “hayaku”, they would get beaten. From POWs’ view, they didn’t understand why they got beaten, and thought if it was simply because Japanese were cruel. After making it clear that it was only his guess, Stark said that Japanese in Bataan treated Allied POWs badly out of hatred, because they lost many fellows at the hands of Allies.
戦後もずっとPTSDに苦しめられてきたスタークだったが、昨年10月、69年ぶりに彼の物語を大きく展開させる出来事が訪れる。日本外務省による元戦争捕虜の招聘事業で、娘のギルバートとともに訪日したのだ。日本行きを決意させたのは、弁当をくれた日本人が終戦5年目にスタークに書き送った手紙だった。
In October last year [2014], one big event happened to Stark, who had been suffering from PTSD ever since the end of war in 1945. Through one program by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to invite former POWs to Japan [as a gesture of reconciliation], Stark visited Japan with his daughter Gilbert. Five years after the war ended, Stark received a letter from the Japanese who had given him his lunch during his imprisonment in Yokkaichi city. It is this letter that made Stark determined to visit Japan.
手紙の返事を書けなかったことをずっと後悔していたスタークは、その日本人を探すために92歳で重い腰を上げた。訪日中には見つからなかったが、石原産業四日市市工場から真摯な対応を受け、工場関係者が後日その人物の息子を探し当ててくれた。それ以来、スタークは息子との文通を続けている。
Stark regrets very much that he hasn’t written a reply letter to the Japanese. In order to find the Japanese, he, being 92 years old, made up his mind to visit Japan. While he didn’t find the Japanese during his stay in Japan, he got in touch with the son of that Japanese with the sincere help from people in Ishihara Sangyo’s factory in Yokkaichi city. Since then, Stark has been exchanging letters with the son.
かつての敵国日本と向き合うことで、70年以上に及ぶ苦しみの歴史を一つ前に進めることができたからだろう。そこまで語ると、話題は現在の日米関係に及んだ。これまで築いてきた素晴らしい日米同盟を堅持すべきこと、日本は「正直な」歴史を語るべきであること、そうすれば自分に対する謝罪など必要ないことなど、スタークは時折語調を強め、こちらに同意を求めながら語った。
It’s probably true that by squarely facing the former enemy Japan, [Stark, and other Americans] are able to overcome more than 70 years’ history of suffering and move forward towards the future. Speaking of this, we have to mention the US-Japan relations today. Stark said, toning up his voice while seeking our approval at times, that the wonderful US-Japan alliance should be adhered to, that Japan should talk about its history “squarely”, and that he doesn’t seek individual apology (if Japan is able to face its history squarely).
そして改めて私の方に向き直ると、突然こう言った。「さて、今度は私が君に聞く番だ。君はアメリカにいて、居心地がいいか。この大会にいて、友好的なものを感じるか」意表を突かれた思いだった。唐突な展開に付いていけず何度か質問の意味を質したが、「さあ、正直に言ってごらん」と言われ、ますます言葉に詰まった。辛い経験を振り返り、心の内をさらけ出してくれたスタークに表面的な答えを返せば、彼の誠意を踏みにじることになる。
Then, Stark turned to my direction and said unexpectedly: “Well, it’s my turn to hear your story. Do you feel comfortable in America? Are you feeling a friendly atmosphere during the meeting here?” I was taken by surprise. I wasn’t able to follow the abrupt development of our interview and asked him repeatedly what he meant. “Come on, please tell me honestly.” Stark said. I began to stumble over my words. Stark has looked back on his past misery, and showed me what he felt openly. If I reply to his question with superficial words, I would be trampling on his sincerity.
忌まわしい記憶と付き合っていくためには、自分の身に起きたことを客観的に理解しようと努力するしかなかったのだろう。スタークは何度も「私は何事も大局的にとらえようと努めている」と言った。「我々が経験したことの多くは、人々の残虐そのせいで起きたのではない。主な原因は物資の不足だった。だがそこに人々の残酷さが加わったとき、状況はさらに過酷になった」
In order to cope with his abhorrent memory, Stark probably had no choice but to strive to objectively understand what happened to him. “I’m trying to look at the big picture when dealing with anything”, he said repeatedly. “Most of what I’ve gone through was not the result of human’s brutality. The main reason was the shortage of goods. And human cruelty had worsened the situation, making life extremely harsh.”
残酷な仕打ちの一つが、捕虜を理不尽な理由で殴ること。「ハヤク」という日本語を理解して即座に反応しなければ、殴られる。捕虜の側にしてみれば、自分たちがなぜ殴られているのか、単に日本人が残虐だからなのか理由がわからない。スタークは「推測するしかないが」と前置きした上で、特にバターンにいた日本軍は米軍と戦った直後で、仲間を失うなどの経験をしていれば、敵に憎しみを抱くこともあっただろうと語った。
One example of Japanese cruel treatment is beating POWs unreasonably. If POWs cannot respond immediately to the Japanese word “hayaku”, they would get beaten. From POWs’ view, they didn’t understand why they got beaten, and thought if it was simply because Japanese were cruel. After making it clear that it was only his guess, Stark said that Japanese in Bataan treated Allied POWs badly out of hatred, because they lost many fellows at the hands of Allies.
戦後もずっとPTSDに苦しめられてきたスタークだったが、昨年10月、69年ぶりに彼の物語を大きく展開させる出来事が訪れる。日本外務省による元戦争捕虜の招聘事業で、娘のギルバートとともに訪日したのだ。日本行きを決意させたのは、弁当をくれた日本人が終戦5年目にスタークに書き送った手紙だった。
In October last year [2014], one big event happened to Stark, who had been suffering from PTSD ever since the end of war in 1945. Through one program by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to invite former POWs to Japan [as a gesture of reconciliation], Stark visited Japan with his daughter Gilbert. Five years after the war ended, Stark received a letter from the Japanese who had given him his lunch during his imprisonment in Yokkaichi city. It is this letter that made Stark determined to visit Japan.
手紙の返事を書けなかったことをずっと後悔していたスタークは、その日本人を探すために92歳で重い腰を上げた。訪日中には見つからなかったが、石原産業四日市市工場から真摯な対応を受け、工場関係者が後日その人物の息子を探し当ててくれた。それ以来、スタークは息子との文通を続けている。
Stark regrets very much that he hasn’t written a reply letter to the Japanese. In order to find the Japanese, he, being 92 years old, made up his mind to visit Japan. While he didn’t find the Japanese during his stay in Japan, he got in touch with the son of that Japanese with the sincere help from people in Ishihara Sangyo’s factory in Yokkaichi city. Since then, Stark has been exchanging letters with the son.
かつての敵国日本と向き合うことで、70年以上に及ぶ苦しみの歴史を一つ前に進めることができたからだろう。そこまで語ると、話題は現在の日米関係に及んだ。これまで築いてきた素晴らしい日米同盟を堅持すべきこと、日本は「正直な」歴史を語るべきであること、そうすれば自分に対する謝罪など必要ないことなど、スタークは時折語調を強め、こちらに同意を求めながら語った。
It’s probably true that by squarely facing the former enemy Japan, [Stark, and other Americans] are able to overcome more than 70 years’ history of suffering and move forward towards the future. Speaking of this, we have to mention the US-Japan relations today. Stark said, toning up his voice while seeking our approval at times, that the wonderful US-Japan alliance should be adhered to, that Japan should talk about its history “squarely”, and that he doesn’t seek individual apology (if Japan is able to face its history squarely).
そして改めて私の方に向き直ると、突然こう言った。「さて、今度は私が君に聞く番だ。君はアメリカにいて、居心地がいいか。この大会にいて、友好的なものを感じるか」意表を突かれた思いだった。唐突な展開に付いていけず何度か質問の意味を質したが、「さあ、正直に言ってごらん」と言われ、ますます言葉に詰まった。辛い経験を振り返り、心の内をさらけ出してくれたスタークに表面的な答えを返せば、彼の誠意を踏みにじることになる。
Then, Stark turned to my direction and said unexpectedly: “Well, it’s my turn to hear your story. Do you feel comfortable in America? Are you feeling a friendly atmosphere during the meeting here?” I was taken by surprise. I wasn’t able to follow the abrupt development of our interview and asked him repeatedly what he meant. “Come on, please tell me honestly.” Stark said. I began to stumble over my words. Stark has looked back on his past misery, and showed me what he felt openly. If I reply to his question with superficial words, I would be trampling on his sincerity.
私は震える声で、こう切り出した。「私の祖父は、捕虜収容所の所長でした」。さっきまで取材相手だった人が、「オーケー」と続きを促す。今度は私が話す番だった。
With a trembling voice, I began to talk: “My grandfather, was a POW camp commander.” “OK,” said Stark, the person being interviewed until a while ago, and encouraged me to go on. Now, it’s my turn to tell the story.
祖父とアメリカの間で
Between My Grandfather and America
祖父、稲木誠は４４年４月から終戦まで、岩手県釜石市にあった収容所の所長として日本製鐡釜石製鉄所で働く連合軍捕虜約４００人を管理していた。捕虜の国籍はオランダ、アメリカ、イギリス、オーストラリア、ニュージーランドで、その多くは若者だった。祖父も当時２８歳だった。
From April 1944 through the end of the war, my grandfather, Inagi Makoto, worked as the commander of a prison camp in Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture. The camp held about 400 Allied POWs who worked in Kamaishi Steel Mill owned by Japan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. POWs were from the Netherlands, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Many of them were young. So was my grandfather. He was 28 years old at that time.
[The POW Camp was Sendai 5-B Kamaishi providing slave labor for Nippon Steel, today's Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal. It was washed away with the 2011 tsunami, Ms. Kogure’s grandfather was Makato Inaki (Commandant from April 1944); HERE is his trial document.
終戦が迫った４５年７月と８月、釜石市は太平洋から連合軍による艦砲射撃を浴び、釜石収容所でも捕虜３２人が犠牲になった。祖父は戦後、艦砲射撃の際の安全管理責任や捕虜への不法待遇などを問われて「B級戦犯」となり、A級戦犯らと共に巣鴨プリズンに５年半拘禁された。祖父は広島文理科大学で英語や哲学を学んだ後に学徒兵として徴集されたため、フリズンでは英字誌のタイムやニューズウィークを読んでいた。アメリカの質の高いジャーナリズムに触れて日本の敗北を思い知ったという祖父は、出所後に時事通信社の記者になり、晩年に自分の体験をいくつかの手記として発表した。
In July and August 1945, when the end of the war was imminent, Allied vessels bombarded Kamaishi city from the Pacific Ocean, which led to the death of 32 POWs in the Kamaishi camp. After the war, my grandfather became one of “B-class criminals” due to his safety management responsibility during the bombardment and illegal treatment to POWs, and was held in detention with A-class criminals in Sugamo prison for five and a half years. Since my grandfather studied English and philosophy at Hiroshima University of Arts and Sciences before being recruited as a student solider, he kept reading English magazines such as Time and Newsweek in the prison. Exposed to high-quality American journalism, my grandfather realized the defeat of Japan. After being released, he became a journalist for Jiji Press, and published several memoirs to share his experience in his late years.
祖父は「戦犯」だった。私がそれを知ったのは、高校２年のある夏の日だ。祖父は私が７歳のときに他界していたため、戦争体験については残された手記などを通して初めて知ることができた。手記には祖父が捕虜の管理に尽力したことが事細かに記され、戦犯とされたことに納得できない様子がにじみ出ていた。著書の１つにはこうつづられている。「戦争中の捕虜の苦痛を思い、自分の収容所から多数の死傷者が出たことを悲しんだ。その遺族の人たちの嘆き、怒りを想像すると、石をもって打たれてもいいと思った。だが、犯罪を犯したとは、どうしても考えられなかった。
My grandfather was a war criminal. It was one day in the summer of my sophomore year in high school that I got to know this. Since he passed away when I was seven, I was able to know his wartime experience for the first time through reading the memoirs he left behind. In his memoirs, he described in detail how he made efforts to manage POWs and how he felt unfair being treated as a war criminal. In one of his books, he wrote as the following “when I recalled the suffering of POWs during the war, I felt sad that lots of people died or were wounded in my camp. When imagining the grief and anger of their bereaved family, I thought it was reasonable even if they hit me with stones. However, I had never considered that I committed a crime.”
しかし戦後30年が過ぎた頃、祖父の心を救うニュースが舞い込んでくる。釜石収容所にいたオランダ人の元捕虜ヨハン・フレデリック・ファン・デル・フックから釜石市長宛てに手紙が届き、「収容所での取り扱いは良く、重労働を強いられることはありませんでした」と書かれていたのだ。これをきっかけに祖父とフックは文通を始め、収容所での生活を振り返ったり、互いの家族の話や日蘭関係の歴史について語り合ったりと、敵味方を超えた友情を育んでいった。
However, around the time when 30 years passed after the end of the war, news that saved my grandfather’s soul came. A former Dutch POW who worked in the Kamaishi camp, Johann Frederique Fan Der Hook, sent a letter to the Kamaishi mayor, in which he wrote, “The treatment in the camp was good and hard labor was never imposed (on me).” Since then, my grandfather and Mr. Hook had been exchanging letters with each other, recollecting the daily life in the camp, talking about each other’s family stories, and recalling the history of Japan-Netherlands relations. A friendship beyond war and enemies came into being.
ここにいて、居心地がいいか──。中学時代、アメリカのドラマや映画を観てアメリカに憧れ、ホームステイを経験していた私は、そのアメリカが祖父を裁いたことを知ると複雑な感情を抱くようになっていた。フックが評価してくれた祖父が、なぜ「戦犯」として裁かれたのか。祖父を裁いたアメリカとは、どんな国なのだろう。
How do I feel when staying here? I, as a person who longed for America during my middle school years because of American dramas and movies, and experienced homestay in America, began to harbor mixed feelings after knowing that it was very country of America that put my grandfather on trial. Why had America sentenced my grandfather, who was praised by Mr. Hook, as a war criminal? I began to wonder what kind of country America is.
その答えが知りたくて02年にアメリカの大学に留学すると、アメリカは翌年にイラク戦争を始めた。祖父側の視点で語られる物語に親しんで育った私の心には、彼の無念さが染み付いていたのかもしれない。祖父が勤めた時事通信社のワシントン支局でインターンとして働き、イラクに空爆を繰り返すアメリカの様子を追い掛けながら、私はやるせなさを感じていた。「勝っても負けても戦争ほど愚かしく、残酷で、むなしいものはない」と祖父が書き残し、終戦後も人々の心に大きな傷痕を残す戦争を、アメリカはまだ続けている──。
To seek the answer, I began my study in an American university in 2002. In the following year, America waged the Iraq War. My grandfather’s regrets might have affected me, who grew up communing with the stories from his perspective. That’s why I felt depressed when I was following the news of U.S.’s repeated airstrikes in Iraq as an intern working in the Washington bureau of Jiji press, where my grandfather had worked. “No matter whether you win or lose, there is nothing more foolish, cruel, and meaningless than waging a war,” my grandfather wrote. America is continuing wars that leave large scars in the hearts of people even after the end of them.
一方、祖父のことを調べる過程で、祖父を追及するアメリカ側の視点も見えてきた。米国立公文書館で見つけた祖父の裁判資料や、偶然手にした釜石収容所にいた元捕虜のアメリカ人先任将校が書いた本の中には、オランダ人のフックが手紙の中で回想する祖父像とは懸け離れた記述が並んでいた。
On the other hand, in the process of examining the stories of my grandfather, I got to know the perspectives of Americans who investigated my grandfather. In the court documents about my grandfather that I found in American National Archives, as well as a book written by a former U.S. senior officer who was held at the Kamaishi camp, there are largely different descriptions of my grandfather when compared to the one recollected in the letters by Mr. Hook from the Netherlands.
「オネスト・マネジメント（不正なき管理）」がモットーだったという祖父は、この先任将校から見ると規則にかたくななほど厳格で、捕虜側の申し入れに耳を貸さないとっつきにくい所長だった。また捕虜が規則を犯した際、暴力的な私的制裁を避けるために祖父が科した「営倉（拘束施設）に入れる」という処罰は、捕虜にとっては苦痛であり屈辱だった。
My grandfather regarded “honest management” as a motto. However, from this senior officer’s view, my grandfather was a unfriendly commander who was obstinate about rules and turned a deaf ear to POWs’ requests. In addition, when POWs broke rules, although my grandfather confined POWs in guardhouses and avoided punishing them privately and brutally, it was still a suffering and humiliating experience from the POWs’ stance.
03年に初めてＡＤＢＣ総会に参加すると、国内外で捕らわれていた捕虜たちが語る「捕虜側の歴史」が目の前に広がった。この戦友会で目の当たりにしたのは、今まさにスタークが私に語ってくれたような、元捕虜やその家族が戦中から戦後もずっと苦しみ続けてきたという現実だった。
In 2003, when I attended ADBC general meeting for the first time, I began to learn “the history of POWs” told by ex-POWs held at camps in Japan and abroad. In this veterans meeting, what I saw was exactly what Stark told me – the fact that former POWs and their families continued to suffer in the post-war era.
以来、私はずっと、捕虜側の苦しみと祖父の苦しみの間で立ち往生してきたのだと思う。仕事やプライベートで元捕虜やその家族に会い、彼らの苦しみを前にするたび、心の底から申し訳ない気持ちになる。祖父の側に、もしくは日本の側にどのような事情があったとしても、日本軍の下での捕虜生活が精神的、肉体的に筆紙に尽くし難い苦難であったことは、紛れもない事実だ。だがそうしたとき、元捕虜たちに何という言葉を掛ければいいのだろう。自分がやっていないことについて謝ることはできない。それでも、「アイム・ソーリー」とは言いたくなる。そう言ったとして、それは相手の心に届くのだろうか──。
Since then, I think that I have been in a fix when feeling both the suffering of POWs and the suffering of my grandfather. Whenever I meet POWs and their families due to work or private reasons and face their sufferings, I have this feeling of deep apology. No matter what distress that my grandfather had, or Japan had, the life of POWs under Japanese military was a great suffering both physically and mentally that goes beyond description. This is an unshakable fact. However, when I feel this way, what I should say to these former POWs? I cannot apologize for what I did not do. That said, I really want to say, “I am sorry.” Will my apology reach the heart of them if I did?
１つの歴史を日米双方の視点から追い掛けてきたことをかいつまんで話し、アメリカへの屈折した思いまで吐露していた私は、気付くとそんな問いを口にしていた。するとスタークは、ほとんど間を置かずにこう応じた。「その言葉はとても、心に響くよ」。そして、瞳を潤ませた。
I, who narrated my experience of following the same history from both Japan and America’s viewpoints and expressed my complicated thoughts toward America, asked this question unwittingly. At that point, Stark responded immediately, “This word deeply resonates in my heart.” And then, his eyes teared up.
戦争をまったく知らない世代の私の言葉が、祖父と何の面識もないスタークの心に響いている。心が通じたという大きなうれしさはあったが、自分の言葉がなぜ意味を成すのかが分からなかった。だがその後に続くスタークの言葉で、私は彼の心の動きを身をもって知ることになる。
Words from me, a member of the generations who didn’t experience the war at all, resonates in the heart of Stark, who had never met my grandfather. Although it was a great joy for me that our hearts were connected, I was still confused why my words made sense. However, I got to know the movements of his heart deeply thanks to his words.
自分の話を切り上げ、取材する側に戻ろうとする私を、スタークは「いや、聞きなさい」と制した。「心の内を話してくれて、ありがとう。私も同じような経験を何度もしてきたよ。私はあなたのおじいさんを知らないし、彼が追及されたようなことをやったのかどうかは分からない」。そして彼は目に涙をためながら、私がまったく想定していなかった言葉、だが心のどこかでずっと聞きたかった言葉を発した。
Finishing telling my stories, I was about to resume the interview. Stark stopped me, “No, please listen to me.” “Thank you for telling the story out of your heart. I had similar experiences many times. I do not know your grandfather, and I do not know if he had engaged in the wrongdoings that made him guilty.” Then, with tears in the eyes he told me what I did not expected at all but had always hoped to hear.
「もしやっていたとしても私は彼を許すし、もしやっていなかったとしたら、間違いが起きてしまったことを謝りたい」。そこで彼は１度言葉を止め、こう続けた。「だが私が最も申し訳なく思うのは、君がこんなに傷ついていることだ。戦争は地獄だ。単なる地獄、それ以外の何物でもない」
“Even if he engaged in wrongdoings I will forgive him. If he did not, I would like to apologize for the mistake occurred.” He stopped speaking for a moment, and continued, “However, what I think I most want to apologize to is that you have been hurt so much. War is hell. Just hell, nothing else.”
パンドラの箱を開けて
Open A Pandora’s Box
地獄の記憶に完全に幕を下ろせる日は、それが生々しく語り継がれている限り、おそらくやっては来ないのだろう。その一方で、戦争を体験した世代は戦後の人生でいくつもの「終止符」を打ってきた、いや打とうとしてきたのかもしれない。そうしなければ、生きていけなかったからだ。
As long as the memories of “hell” continue to be told vividly, the day that they disappear might never come. That said, the generation who experienced the war might have achieved, or I should say, have been seeking the “closures”, because otherwise they would not be able to live through (all the memories).
スタークは、日本を訪れたことが１つの終止符であり、私と会話したことも「大きな終止符」になると言った。戦後、軽犯罪の受刑者ばかりを収容する郡立刑務所に勤めたことが大きな幸いだったとも語った。自分と同じようにＰＴＳＤで苦しむ帰還兵の囚人と対話することで、自分自身も救われたという。そうやって少しずつ人生を前に進めてきたのだろ。
Stark said that the visit to Japan was a closure, and a talk with me was also a “big closure”. He also told me that working in a county jail that housed only the misdemeanor cases after the war was good fortune. By talking with the prisoners suffering from PTSD the same way he did, he was also saved. By doing this, his life also moved on little by little.
祖父もまた、終止符を求めていたに違いない。巣鴨プリズンで今度は自分が米軍の管理下に置かれ、敵の支配下で生きるしかなかった捕虜たちの苦しみを理解したという。一方で彼は、連合軍だけでなく戦後の日本社会からも「戦犯の烙印」を押されたと感じ、苦悩していた。そんな祖父にとってオランダ人の元捕虜からの手紙はこの上なくありがたい終止符だっただろうし、「地獄の苦しみだった」という手記の執筆は、自分の手で終止符を打つ作業そのものだったと思う。
My grandfather must have been seeking closure as well. Only when my grandfather was put into Sugamo prison and placed under American military’s management did he begin to understand the sufferings of POWs who struggled to survive under the rule of the enemy. In addition, being labeled “a war criminal” not only by the Allied army but also by the post-war Japanese society, he had felt depressed for a long time. That’s why the precious letter from the former Dutch POW might have provided my grandfather with an unparalleled sense of closure. And the reason that he wrote his memoir named Sufferings in Hell might also be that he aimed at seeking a closure through his hands.
私は祖父が打った終止符に気付かず、パンドラの箱を開けてしまったような気がする。そんな私に、03年のＡＤＢＣ総会でこう言ってくれた元捕虜がいた。「おじいさんについて始めた勉強を、最後までやり抜くんだよ。だけどそれが終わったら、それを保存して先に進みなさい。楽しいことを見つけなさい。幸せな家庭を持って、幸せになりなさい」
I feel I opened Pandora’s box while ignoring the closure that my grandfather sought. A former POW in ADBC general meeting of 2003 told me the following words, “The research about your grandfather is going to be finished by you. However, once you finish this, please preserve it and move on. Please discover joyful things. Please have a sweet family, and live a happy life.”
言い換えればそれは、ある時点で「終止符を打て」というメッセージだったのかもしれない。だが私のその後の12年間は、祖父が残した物語をひもときながら、逆に新しい扉が開いていく経験の連続だった。こうして記者になったのもその１つだし、ウォーナー一家との出会いやスタークとの対話は、自分が次の世代に語る物語に必ず組み込まれていく。それは過去を美化するということではなく、祖父たちの体験をありのままに踏まえた上でその先に新たな歴史を紡ぐということだ。
In other words, his message might be that you should seek a closure at some point. However, in the next 12 years since then, I had been experiencing a feeling of new doors opening in my heart, while unfolding the story my grandfather has left. That is one of the reasons that I became a journalist. And my story with the Warners and my conversation with Stark will surely be told to the next generation. That story is not to beautify the past. Rather, it is to write a new chapter of history on top of preserving my grandfather and others’ experience honestly.
今年のＡＤＢＣ総会では、参加者の間から「（この戦友会は）世界一のセラピーだ！」という声が上がっていた。癒やしの場になり得る戦友会に参加することさえできず、孤独に戦い続けた人もいれば、そうした父親を理解しようとここに集まる家族もいる。
In this year’s ADBC general meeting, the voice that “(this organization is) the best therapy in the world!” evoked strong responses among the participants. While there are people continuing to fight alone who cannot find a healing place like the veterans meeting, there are also family members who gather here in order to understand their lonely fathers.
最終日の全体ディナーでは、生涯父親を苦しめ続けた捕虜生活の足取りを追おうと、数年前からこの会に参加しているという男性と隣の席になった。亡き父が戦争の記憶を語ったのは、たった１度だけ。海に行った際に父親の足にある傷痕の理由を聞くと、地獄船での移送中に死んだと勘違いされ、水分を求めた他の捕虜が父の足から血を吸おうとしたと聞かされた。この男性は、父親の苦しみを自分や子供たちも受け継いでいるなか、孫が生まれたのを機に「家族のために」父の足跡を調べ始めたという
In last day’s dinner that everyone attended, I sit next to a man who began to attend this meeting several years ago. He wanted to trace his father’s life footprints as a POW. The memories of life as a POW had afflicted his father throughout his life. His late father only mentioned his memory of the war once. That was when he asked the reason for the scars in his father’s legs during their trip to sea beach. He heard that these scars were left during the transfer by the “Hellship”, when he was thought to be dead and was cut in the leg so that other POWs badly in need of water could suck his blood. This man, who inherited the miserable memory of his father and wanted to hand down it to his children, began to trace his father’s footsteps “for the family” when his grandson was born.
苦しみの記憶は、過去と向き合うことでしか癒やせないのかもしれない。03年のＡＤＢＣ総会には約１００人の元捕虜が参加していたが、今年は13人に減っていた。子世代に代替わりしつつあるこの会の目的は、過酷な時代を生き抜いた父親たちをたたえ、その記憶を次世代に語り継ぐこと。その記憶の先に、新たな扉が開くことを願ってやまない。
Perhaps only when you face the past squarely can the memories of suffering heal. In 2003, about 100 former POWs attended ADBC general meeting. This year only 13 people attended. The reason that the sons and daughters continue to participate in this meeting is to praise their fathers who survived the harsh era and to hand down the memories to the future generations. I sincerely hope new doors will open beyond the memory.
War is hell. When you have experienced it you will never be able to escape from it. I was just a child only 5 years old when we were freed from the Japanese, but I know that my mother and her sister struggled the rest of their lives with what the Japanese had done to them.Night after night I would wake up from my mothers screams. She hardly ever spoke about our three and a half years in these horrible concentration camps.My father died a horrible death on the infamous Birma railroad and my mothers sister lost her husband fighting for our freedom at sea.We children have seen a lot during that time, through the eyes of a child, not be able to understand. Why did my mother get a beating?, because I had not bowed! I was at the time time only 4 years old.There were many Japanese madmen, who seemed to enjoy to inflict pain to innocent women and children.My mother and her sister were raped by these madmen, not able to defend themselves.Seeing children die from starvation, while the Japanese had plenty of food. Many of their friends lost forever. War is hell, from which you never escape.Once a warvictim, always a warvictim.War is evil, PERHAPS THERE IS SOME GOOD IN ALL MEN, AND MAY THE PASSING YEARS PROVE SO.
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