A+Japanese+soldier+in+the+Kwantung+Army+2

Name:Takeshi Yamamoto Age: 17 Gender: Male Occupation: Private Appearance: 165 cm tall, oval face, pointed zygomatic bone, small eyes, no double eyelid, strong body, around 58kg (small and slim), bent legs (because most babies were carried on their mothers' backs). Location: Changchun (During his serve in the Kwantung Army) Personality/Quirks/Unique Personality Traits: Family: Father(47), Mother (37), Older Brother (21), Younger Sister Education: Primary education at a local school. Quit secondary school midway. Languages you speak: Japanese Your main concerns at this time and in life: Surviving through the war and earning enough money to send to home. Worried that parents will not be able to pay off the tenant fee because it was a lean year in Hiroshima.

Portrait (an image that you and we can live with): 

Diary 1 (September 12, 1937)- Dear Diary, Ever since my father depleted all our money on gambling (I mean, how does that work? All our land, all our treasures, everything our ancestors had passed down to us...), life has been chaotic. The time when I happily attended primary school seems like an eternity ago. Soon after quitting secondary school, I had to find a job quickly to support our family. Even my mother, who had retired a long time ago, started working for a dye factory, where she dyes fabric for various usages. Forced to face the reality, I also went around looking for jobs. Unable to find any other jobs that were willing to pay me, I joined the army with my brother. We were put in different squadrons; I was placed into the IJA 24th division of the First Area Army of the Kwantung Army (Call-sign: Mountain Division). As a part of the Imperial Army, we must go fight for our country in this great war. Knowing that my brother will also be fighting near me is a comforting thought. After a basic training with the gun (Those stingy officers didn't even let us shoot real bullets!), we left from the ports of Shimonoseki to Pusan... Not used to ship rides, I suffered from constant seasickness. After a long journey, I arrived a few hours ago at Pusan. With very few hours to spare, I was put in a train that is heading straight for Manchuria. I am worried about my family because none of us were ready for sudden bankruptcy. We don’t know how to deal with this new lifestyle that we are forced to face. I am also worried about the battle I will shortly be attending…will I survive this conflict? I have no doubts about the Japanese army being victorious over the Chinese, of course. And I am willing to sacrifice my life for my country, but going to a battlefield still scares me. My comrades and I have been singing to boost our morale and confidence. I wonder how brother is doing…I am positive he would be doing a much better job in the army; he was always more athletic and socially active than I was. On the other hand, I am here, helpless and undecided. My mind is still unorganized after going through so much without anytime to process. I am starting to get homesick from this rough trip; but according to veterans, worse is to come soon…so I’d better get used to this soon.

Yours, Takeshi Yamamoto

Diary 2 (December 8, 1941) Dear Diary, The weather in Manchuria was the worst I have ever experienced in my life. I have only heard of coldness to this degree from stories of the Northern Islands that my parents used to tell me. We, soldiers, went through more intense training for the past months to get ready for battle anytime. Although not directly involving the usages of weaponry, we were trained physically. Together with the extreme cold, the squadron is being driven beyond the limits. Unlike when I last wrote a diary entry on this book, I have grown more used to the life in the army. Yet, I am still unable to get used to the extraordinary cold. Although I have engaged in battle several times between these two diary entries, I have yet never done anything (Neither killed nor got injured) in a battle. All I know about this fighting is that this is the best for our country and that I am honored to have such an honorable position. Our army was divided. Some remained in Manchuria, many others were sent to Russia, fighting where help was most needed. I have now almost arrived at Hong Kong, where a battle has just begun.  I just wanted to talk about father… that is, before he became such an alcohol addict. Before, I he was a really fine person: he had pride, dignity, and was bright. His future looked bright because of his family background and his good-willed nature. However, his encounter with gambling was destructive. Since then, he started drinking, which must have brought some problems to his brain, for, he seems to have lost all sense of morality or guilt for bringing this catastrophe to our family. There is no denying that he was a great father. But now, looking at the once fantastic man is just painful for me to endure. I wonder how brother is. To think that he must be enduring similar pains as I am, I feel sad, yet relieved that someone is there to understand my feelings. Unlike I, brother was more enthusiastic about attending the war at the beginning. And my parents too. I was unable to hear from anyone in my family since I got here. Although I am worried, thinking that they would be worried just the same, I will be persistent and stay firm. I will not let myself die before going safely through the war and back to my hometown.

A while ago, the troop was severely depleted of food supplies. I heard that some soldiers of my squadron were going to go to the town and rob food and some necessary supplies from the villagers… although I was aware that this was not the right thing to do, the actions I carried out were necessary for my survival;I followed the soldiers to the town where we killed, stole, and did a lot of terrible things. However I will state again that it was all for our own survival…  Yours, Takeshi Yamamoto



Diary 3 (December 11, 1941) Dear Diary,We arrived in the midst of the ongoing battle yesterday. Although we were all over-fatigued from the long journey, we were hardly given any time to recover before being forced to move to the defense lines set up by the British, Indians, and Canadian soldiers. Whilst moving, I have thought about a lot of different things. My mind is now much more...stable, now that I have had the time to process all the events occurring around me. I am truly able to feel happy that by participating in this great war, I am able to both support my family and my country. Now that I am able to think better, I often find myself worrying about my parents back at home. While moving, I thought about how my family would be doing...even at home, my parens and my sister would be having a tough time; the money that I am earning is far from enough to support my entire family... Back to the topic of the ongoing war in Hong Kong, although it hasn’t been very long since we initiated the battle, the victories of our great Kwantung Army is splendid. We are doing an excellent job of pushing the enemy backwards; we have pushed them back all the way back to the Lap Sap Bay. Although i haven’t been to the battle here yet, I have hear that our soldiers have been dominating the enemy troops without any serious losses. From what I hear, I have no doubt of our victory in Hong Kong. Although I am a bit nervous about going to this battle, I am not as unsure, especially because our soldiers are doing so well already. There are countless rumors in the army and in one, I hear that our brilliant leader Tojo Hideki (I even had the honor to have an interview with him), who recently has become the Prime Minster, has been authorizing mass murders and human experiments. Although I am positive that our leader will not make any mistakes, I sense that along with I, numerous people are feeling uneasy for conducting such misdeeds, as a human being. Still, I have all faith in the decisions of our leaders and I end with a note that I can already see the defense line in the horizon. Yours, Takeshi Yamamoto



Diary 4 (August 15, 1945) Dear Diary,Everything is over now. There is no longer a point in living...for me. Miraculously, for four years since I last wrote a diary entry, I have survived. Survived through the battles in Hong Kong, and most of the islands throughout the Pacific. I fought so hard. For my country, for my family. Now I with I were killed in one of those fierce bloodbaths that I endured. I am now going home. Home? Home...that no longer exists. Few days earlier, my hometown of Hiroshima had been bombed by one of the new bombs created by United States. After enduring all the pain that I was forced to endure, I now lost my entire family and home to this damned war. Our country has surrendered. Even through the deterioration of my family, the terrible voyages and training I had to go through, I acted with resilience and never lost sight of hope. Now, not only that I cannot think of what I left in life, but I can’t even find a meaning in my existence. I am sad. Most definitely. However, tears don’t even come to me because of shock. Although my life has lost all meaning, the most rational thing I can say is that the war is terrible and that it must be avoided at all costs. The thousands of civilians...no families that were killed as a result of this unreasonable war, the millions that were killed in the battles, and the billions of people that were affected by the entirety of this war. Unlike wars of the past, the modern warfare, as I observed from this terrible war, is nothing like what wars were like in the past. It is an irreversible calamity that should never be repeated again in human history. Hoping that someone will one day read this diary and learn the truths of the war, I end this entry, lost and with no one to rely on. Yours, Takeshi Yamamoto