The suffering of orphans remaining in China blown out by the corona wreck November 6, 18:19

In the turmoil of the Pacific War, many children were left behind in China as residual orphans.

After the war, many returned to Japan, but half lived quietly in Japanese society without being able to meet their relatives again.

75 years have passed since the end of the war.

Now that the corona is terrible, more and more people are suffering from the painful memories of the war and the postwar period as they stay at home and become isolated from society.

(Yokohama Bureau Photographer Yoshito Kuwahara, Metropolitan Area Bureau Director Rioko Yanagita)

Memories of war spit out one after another

In early August, a meeting was held at a nursing care facility in Tokyo to talk about the experience of the Pacific War.

By sharing the painful experiences of the past, it was opened to heal the wounds of the heart as much as possible, and 20 people including the elderly of orphans remaining in China participated.

Participants began to talk about the painful experiences of the past, which they would not want to remember, with tears, sometimes quivering, and coughing.

"I had already died when my mother dropped her sister, who had fled the Russian army and moved through three villages."

"At the camp, my mother died, saying,'I have something to tell you. My hometown is Yamagata Prefecture.'"

"As I ran away, people were shot one after another. I was shot and screamed. The scars still remain."

Old age of Chinese orphans who live close to each other

The talk session was held at the day service "Ichishoen Itabashi" in Itabashi-ku, Tokyo.

It opened three years ago to support the old age of Chinese orphans living in Japan.

About 90% of the elderly people who come to visit are orphans and their families.

Conversations in the facility are in Chinese.

Home-cooked food from northeastern China is served for lunch.

The average age is over 80 years old, and many of the outpatients are certified as requiring long-term care due to dementia or physical difficulties.

He doesn't speak Japanese fluently, so he has few neighbors.

I will come to Ichishoen, where orphans in the same situation gather, to find a place to stay.

"At least I want you to laugh at the end of your life."

The facility was set up by Takayo Mikami (48), a third-generation orphan.

In his later years, Mikami's grandmother, Masae, had fewer friends to talk to, and was isolated from the community and spent her time lonely.

I don't want you to have a lonely old age like my grandmother.

With my own regrets, I started the facility.

Residual Orphan III Takayo Mikami

"I want the residual orphans who have lived a difficult life to laugh at least at the end. I think this is my mission."

Elderly people who go to Ichishoen have had a harsh experience during and after the war.

At the facility, stories of war experiences are heard on a daily basis.

However, this year, when the corona was devastated, there were days when I couldn't go to the facility and stayed at home.

It is said that many elderly people suffer from fear of infection and uncertainties about the future, as their memories of the past become traumatic and revived.

Residual orphanage III Takayo Mikami

"

I

get phone calls that complain of anxiety day and night. I remember the story of running away from the old defeat and the story of being an orphan and being sold to my adoptive mother. In addition, I may be abandoned, I hear various delusions and hallucinations. Some people panic because they are infected with Corona. "

Many of the orphans who returned to Japan did not get used to Japanese society ...

During the Pacific War, many Japanese moved to northeastern China (formerly Manchuria) due to national policy.

The number is said to be 320,000.

However, on August 9, 1945, just before the end of the war, Soviet troops entered the war and invaded Manchuria.

During the battle, many Japanese children were entrusted to local Chinese.

According to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of orphans remaining in China reached 2818.

Diplomatic relations between Japan and China became normal in 1972, and in 1981, the Japanese government began a survey of visiting Japan (searching for families of orphans).

The orphans appealed for reunion with their families on TV and newspapers every day, and the moving reunion scene became big news.

To date, a total of 2,557 orphans have returned to Japan permanently.

However, about half of the orphans still do not know their parents' identities.

It is said that many orphans have lived quietly without becoming accustomed to Japanese society due to cultural differences and language barriers, and even when they get a job, they are not stable.

"I wish I had killed me ..."

"I want to see my parents, but I can't help it. I have a grudge against my parents now. I wish I had killed me ..."

Tomiko Inaba (83) spilled her painful chest at a talk session at Ichishoen.

Tomiko died from her parents in China when she was young and became an orphan.

But I don't remember how it happened, the face of my family, or even my name.

It was sold to five homes and survived as a labor force by taking care of household chores and livestock.

In 1982, Tomiko finally returned to Japan as a member of the study team visiting Japan.

I was 44 years old.

Tomiko desperately complained after many detailed careers were reported on TV and newspapers in order to find her family.

"Look at me, my family. I don't know if I'll see you again this time. If you can, come see me. I don't remember my past clearly. I forgot everything. Forgive me. Please give me"

Returning to Japan, which I have been wishing for since I was little, and reuniting with my family.

However, no family was found.

Tomiko takes one letter from the Chinese name "Tomishuun".

The surname was obtained from the person who took care of him, and he acquired Japanese nationality as "Tomiko Inaba".

However, the real name is still unknown.

It was the harsh reality of Japanese society that awaited Mr. Inaba who returned to Japan.

For Mr. Inaba, who could not attend elementary school and had insufficient reading and writing, it was difficult for him to learn Japanese and he could only get a limited job such as physical labor.

He is said to have been treated as a Chinese in his daily life and spoke discriminatory words.

Even so, he worked day and night and desperately raised three children.

Homeland who returned home believing that he could meet his immediate family.

However, while living a difficult life, Tomiko's feelings turned into hatred.

Under such circumstances, the days of staying at home due to the corona sickness continued, and he said that he became more suffering as he remembered the harsh memories of the war and the postwar period.

Tomiko Inaba

"Recently, graves always appear in my dreams, and everyone collapses and dies. I can't sleep at night because of anxiety, and I think about various things."

One day, Tomiko went shopping in the downtown area.

Tomiko sits alone at the bus stop.

After a while, I started looking around.

Tomiko Inaba

"Look at the faces of older people to see if they look like me. Whether you're on the bus or walking along the road. It hurts because I haven't found a family. I want to see my family."

It has been 38 years since I returned to Japan.

There was Tomiko, who was still searching for her family, even though she said she was resentful.

August 15.

Tomiko was watching the National Memorial Service for War Dead on TV.

After a minute of silence, Tomiko quietly began to speak.

Tomiko Inaba

"Where are you, mom and dad? No war. I've had a hard time. I'm worried about my dad, mom and daughter. Where are you?"

Tomiko stood still for a while with tears in her eyes.

"It's been 75 years. Mom, I think every day ..." he

muttered.

And he told us in his heart.

Tomiko Inaba

"When I feel frustrated, I lived because I wanted to meet my family, hug me, and cry. I want to

tell my

mother and siblings about the pains and emotional problems I have experienced so far."

"I'm dead. I want you to sow the remains in the sea. Keep looking for your mother in the sea. "

"I lived thinking that my brother sold me to the Chinese."

"Recently, I read my brother's memoir and I couldn't stop crying. I knew for the first time how hard it was."

This is Yukichi Sato (84), who said so at a facility gathering.

Yukichi moved to China with his family as a pioneer team at the age of four.

In the post-war turmoil, my parents died one after another, and I lived thinking that my brother had sold them to the Chinese.

I returned to Japan at the age of 38 and reunited with my brother Ryutaro for the first time in 30 years.

When

I asked Mr. Ryutaro

, "Why did you sell yourself to the Chinese?"

, He said he didn't want to talk about that time.

Ryutaro passed away 14 years ago, and Yukichi couldn't get rid of his long-held stalemate with his brother.

However, this year, Yukichi will have a turning point.

My wife, who has been caring for many years, died in February.

In addition, Yukichi, who has spent more time at home alone due to the corona sickness, is said to have come to think back on his life.

"What was it like for more than 80 years in my life? There was no happy day."

The thoughts of my brother who first learned about the corona sickness

At that time, he reread the memorandum that his brother had left behind in his lifetime.

A memorandum handed over from my family after my brother's death.

However, my wife's long-term care was busy for many years, and the memorandum was written in Japanese, so I couldn't understand it very much and kept it away.

However, this year, my wife's death and Corona's death triggered me to face my brother and my life through my memoirs.

Yukichi used a dictionary and took the time to read it.

Then, the thoughts of the three brothers who survived the death of their parents when they were living in the camp were spelled out.

According to my brother's memoir,

"What will happen to my younger sister and younger brother? I have to live. If my sister stays in the camp as it is, my three brothers will starve to death, so with my brother. I told him to survive at the Chinese. I couldn't help but see my sister and brother moving away. "

I also learned that my brother did not return home after parting in China and was forced to work hard to clean up the corpses of the dead Japanese.

Yukichi Sato

"If my brother didn't give me and my sister to others, we were destined to die. For the first time, I could understand how hard my brother had been."

The feelings of my brother that I first learned 75 years after the war.

Yukichi told me with tears that he finally got rid of his brother by facing his brother through his memoirs.

This year, 75 years after the war, when the corona was devastated.

In a corner of Tokyo, there was an orphan who remained in China suffering from the memory of the war being revived more than ever.

Tomiko Inaba continues to ask herself, "Who am I?", Even though she says "I have a grudge."

Yukichi Sato, who faced his brother through his memoirs and read it while reading.

The two eyes quietly appeal to our generation, who are unaware of the war, that "the trauma of the war will not heal for the rest of our lives."

Yokohama station photographer

Yoshito Kuwahara

joined the

station in

2002.

After working in Okinawa, Osaka, Tokyo, etc., he is in his current position.

Covered war orphans in the Philippines and China for many years.

Metropolitan Area Bureau Director

Rioko Yanagita

Joined in 2013.

After working at Matsuyama Bureau and "Good Morning Japan", he is in his current position.

He continues to cover the themes of war and minorities.