Under the Flag of the Rising Sun (1972) - full transcript
One woman's search to find the truth about her husband's death in World War II.
Co-produced by
TOHO AND SHINSEI EIGASHA
TOHO CO., LTD.
OUR NATION'S MILITARY HAS ALWAYS
SERVED AT THE DISCRETION OF THE EMPEROR
- IMPERIAL EDICT TO OUR SOLDIERS
UNDER THE FLAG OF THE RISING SUN
Produced by
SEISHI MATSUMARU and SHOHEI TOKIZANE
Based on the book by
SHOJI YUKI
Screenplay by KANETO SHINDO,
NORIO OSADA and KINJI FUKASAKU
Cinematography by
HIROSHI SEGAWA
Production design by
TATSUYA IRINO
Music by
HIKARU HAYASHI
CAST
TETSURO TAMBA
SACHIKO HIDARI
ISAO NATSUYAGI
SHINJIRO EBARA
SANAE NAKAHARA, YUMIKO FUJITA
NOBORU MITANI, TAKETOSHI NAITO
KANEMON NAKAMURA
Directed by
KINJI FUKASAKU
NATIONAL MONUMENT TO FALLEN SOLDIERS
Twenty-sixyears after the war,
it still pains our hearts
to recall the many who fell in battle,
those who lost their lives
to the ravages of war,
and the families they left behind.
EMPEROR AND CONSORT
I stand here before
the citizens of our nation,
praying for world peace
and our national progress,
in solemn tribute to
those who perished.
AND YET, AMONG THE THREE MILLION
JAPANESE MILITARY CASUALTIES
SOME ARE DENIED A PLACE AMONG
OUR HONORED HEROES
SERGEANT KATSUO TOGASHI
JAPANESE ARMY
DESERTED IN THE FACE OF THE ENEMY
IN AUGUST, 1945, ON NEW GUINEA
EXECUTED
MINISTRY OF WELFARE
REJECTED
CLAIM OF SAKIE TOGASHI
RESEARCH SECTION CHIEF
I've kept you waiting.
You've been filing claims
since 1952,
when the Survivor Benefits law
first passed.
I was transferred here in April,
so your case is new to me.
You file your claims
on the anniversary of defeat.
That's right.
Is there a reason?
It's unclear exactly when
my husband died...
So I chose August 15th
for the anniversary of his death.
Please look at this.
DEATH NOTIFICATION
NEXT OF KIN: SAKIE TOGASHI
...DATE OF_______, AUGUST
DIED IN COMBAT
(TEXT REVISED) DECEASED...
Honey, there's another
new Section Chief.
How many times do I have to tell
this same story over and over again?
How can I forget the moment
when I first got that notice...
Didn't my husband die in combat?
Well, it's just...
Why was it changed from "died in combat"
to plain "deceased"?
Well, for instance,
if he died of illness...
If he'd been ill, they'd write
something like "Combat-related..."
Besides, this notice isn't dated.
I won't accept this crazy postcard.
The truth is...
Togashi san was executed.
Executed?
We'd only been married for 6 months.
TEMPORARY DRAFT NOTICE
Don't you worry.
I'll be fine.
Look after yourself.
Here I'm leaving you to fend
for yourself when you're pregnant...
Honey.
I wept in the toilet.
I couldn't bear to let you see me cry.
Five months later,
Tomoko was born.
Did you ever get the picture I sent?
WAR ENDS
AUGUST 15, 1945
Finally, the war had ended
and I was sure you'd come home...
I couldn't even die,
because of Tomoko.
Why's she workin' her ass off
like that?
She has to wear herself out
to get any sleep.
A widow with youthful passion.
APRIL, 1952
MILITARY FAMILY
SURVIVOR BENEFITS LAW ENACTED
My husband died in the war, too.
How come I don't deserve
what the others get?
Well, that's because in your case,
Togashi san died
following a court-martial.
And just who saw my husband's
court-martial?
Nobody saw it, but the government,
the Welfare Ministry, sent a notice.
Please don't say that.
Please let me see the Village Chief!
Please!
Thank you.
And your family now?
My daughter has married.
- And grandchildren?
- Yes.
That must be a comfort.
Until my husband can rest in peace,
I'll have no comfort.
I can understand your feelings.
However, under current law,
survivors of court-martialed soldiers
receive no benefits at all.
And your particular case
falls into that category...
I don't come back year after year
because I want military benefits.
I'm here because I want to know the truth-
was he really executed for desertion?
That's why I come.
But it's all here in the military records
of war casualties... You saw it.
But I hear that the military patched
together those records of the dead...
in the confusion,
right after the war.
I've heard they're unreliable.
Who says so?
The captain said so
in the letter he wrote me.
Oh, this man
I've received a petition from him, too...
This petition is based on
pure speculation...
Also, according to the colonel,
there's no record of
the court-martial's verdict.
See?
Apparently, all classified documents
were burned at the end of the war.
If that's true, there's no proof
that he was sentenced to death.
Which is why we have to trust this
military record of casualties.
Unless you've got some other
persuasive evidence.
That's exactly right.
I really understand how you feel, but
until you prove your husband's innocence,
I'm in no place to overturn
my predecessor's decision.
As I left the house this morning,
this is what my daughter said.
Mom, why don't you give it a rest?
They'll never listen to you anyway.
Besides, do you know
what people say?
She's got some nerve
begging for her husband's pension.
In the old days,
the whole village would have shunned
a deserter's family forever.
But this is what I said to her.
"You can't stop other people
from talking."
It's not like it's anything new.
Back when my daughter married...
Watch your step.
Don't go peeping at those newlyweds.
If it's too much for you,
come to me.
I'll be happy to give you some advice!
They may just have been joking,
but it hit me hard.
People congratulated me
over my son-in-law,
but it all only made me realize
how horribly I miss him.
My love...
My love!
I'll never give up.
Because if I give up,
my husband will never rest in peace.
It's been 26 years since he died.
All the other survivors,
attend the War Memorial Service
with the Emperor
and offer chrysanthemums...
Why is it only my husband,
without a shred of evidence...
I, too...
would like to join the Emperor...
and offer a chrysanthemum
for my husband.
I was remiss...
The truth is,
we also take this matter
very seriously...
and sent inquiries to everyone
from your husband's unit.
But unfortunately, we haven't received
any meaningful responses.
However, there are 4 men here,
who never answered our inquiries.
I'm sure each has his own reasons,
but if you contact them directly,
as his widow,
perhaps they'd be willing to share
new information with you.
Why don't you try to meet them?
TSUGUO TERAJIMA
FORMER PRIVATE FIRST CLASS, ARMY
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
I never got any letter
from the Ministry of Welfare.
What are those bureaucrats thinking
when they say that?
If I had gotten anything,
I would've written right back.
Because I owe my very life
to Togashi san.
To my husband?
Yes, that's right.
What an awful front that was.
On New Guinea, then,
the Americans and Australians
had begun fighting back.
Our unit shipped out from La Paul
as reinforcements...
But as we were crossing
the Dampier Straits...
DESTROYERS-3 SUNK
TRANSPORT SHIPS-7 SUNK
WEAPONS AND ORDNANCE-2,500 TONS SUNK
PERSONNEL - 3,600 DROWNED
Our strategy was impossible
from the start.
Less than 800 of our men
made it ashore.
We attempted to locate
the established defensive units.
In this situation, we could
all depend on Sgt. Togashi.
Don't shoot.
Don't shoot.
Don't move.
Sgt. Togashi!
Our scouts are in danger,
rescue them.
- No point.
- What?
Yank's surrounded us,
wants to flush us out.
- Move now, we're in their hands.
- How do you know?
Experience.
You mean to abandon our troops!
Your carelessness
made us easy targets.
Listen up!
Our platoon will attack the enemy
on their flank, attacking at...
The River Styx
Stay put or you're dead.
Damn you!
Insubordination
I'll have you court-martialed.
The rest of you, follow me.
The plateau ahead is your objective
Attack!
There's no winning in dying.
Thanks to him, not a single man
in our unit died.
But it was the beginning
of hell on earth...
SEPTEMBER, 1943
U.S. ARMY LANDS ON EASTERN LAE
AUSTRALIAN AIR UNITS
ATTACK WESTERN LAE
JAPANESE ARMY ABANDONS LAE
2,200 DIE OF STARVATION IN MOUNTAINS
OCTOBER, 1943
U.S. ARMY ATTACKS FINSCHHAFEN
AUSTRALIANS LAND ON CAPE ANT
JANUARY, 1944
U.S. ARMY LANDS ON CAPE GUNBI
JAPANESE ARMY RETREATS TO MADANG
3,500 STARVE IN MOUNTAINS
APRIL, 1944-JAPANESE
DEFEATED AT HANSA, WEWAK, AITAPE
At that time,
our unit was stranded
in the jungle.
The minute we walked out of there,
the enemy would've picked us off.
We were out of ammunition
and food,
and a third of our men, suffering
from malnutrition or malaria,
could neither move forward
nor retreat.
Those of us who were sick,
whispered among ourselves...
Piss your pants,
you've only got 3 days left.
Can't speak, it's 2 days.
Can't blink means you’re dead,
tomorrow.
How's it going?
Don't you need to piss?
Up we go, here we go.
You OK?
We finally got orders
for an offensive.
Tonight.
Any man who can't walk...
You understand.
Suicide, isn't it?
Yeah, right.
Will it be grenades or cyanide?
- Air.
- Air?
They take an empty syringe...
and force air into your heart.
Is that how you want to die?
If not, just beat it.
I hear there are still Japanese troops
30 kilos west of us.
- You'll manage.
- But...
Just listen to me
You've got a chance, take it.
If you decide you're better off dead,
use this.
It sure beats an empty syringe.
See you.
Sergeant.
That was the last I ever saw
of Sgt. Togashi.
Which means,
my husband didn't desert, did he?
Right.
I'm the one who deserted.
Togashi san died nobly in battle.
I'm sure with his instincts,
he charged the enemy brilliantly.
Charge!
Would you mind telling the Ministry
of Welfare the story you just told me?
You mean, me?
Yes, I'd be grateful.
But...
it's not like I saw him
die in combat.
I doubt they'd take it as proof.
But you're a living witness.
Nobody's going to accuse you of lying.
Please, Terajima san.
It's been 10 years...
since I moved to this place,
a virtual garbage heap.
On the map, it's part of Tokyo,
but I have no citizen's rights
Legally, I don't exist...
I've never been to town,
not once since I came here.
I have no need to go.
I hate seeing people, talking to them,
in the city that's so cleaned up.
No, I don't have the confidence.
But...
But Terajima san, you can't...
I would like to help you and repay
the debt I owe Togashi san,
but I must ask you to spare me this.
I'm sure you'll meet
with the other men.
But no matter what anyone says,
Togashi san died nobly in combat.
That's what I believe.
TOMOTAKA AKIBA
FORMER CORPORAL, ARMY
Wanna fight!
You really shouldn't.
Say there.
Say there I know how you feel.
- Bully.
- I'm not a bully.
I really do know how you feel.
But you see,
Japan lost the war, 26 years ago.
What?
What'd you say!
I said, Japan lost, 26 years ago.
Lost? You idiot!
When did Japan ever lose a war?
The Sino and Russian wars,
Manchurian Incident, all victories.
After that, we got creamed.
- Creamed?
- It's true. Ask anyone here.
- Did we really lose?
- No, we didn't!
Listen to what he says.
- What country are you from?
- He says we didn't lose.
He's just lying,
go ask the guy behind him.
- Did we really lose?
- We sure did.
- He must be an enemy man.
- Are you nuts!
How dare you insult
our paying customers!
Then, what have I been doing
all this time?
You've been pointing
the tip of your rifle,
charging at airplanes
on South Pacific Islands.
What an idiot.
I said, I understand.
What's this draft notice, then?
I definitely remember
the name, Togashi.
Can't place the face...
Don't you think you met him?
We were in the same unit,
so no doubt I did meet him.
Back in those days,
everybody looked alike.
Skinny necks, bulging eyes,
hollowed out cheeks.
Besides,
no one had enough humanity left
to recognize anyone's face.
But Terajima san told me,
he charged nobly
and died in combat.
Well, that's fine, then.
But he didn't actually see him die...
I want to know the truth.
Well, he's not going to
badmouth his Sergeant.
But that doesn't help you much, right?
Does that mean you know the truth?
No, not necessarily.
But from what I remember,
back then, nobody was nobly charging
anything, even when they wanted to.
So there was no offensive,
no charging the enemy?
Not even close.
We were in no condition.
In our unit, there were 12 cannons
worthless, every last one of them,
1 working machine gun out of 48.
Only two thirds of us even
had standard-issue rifles.
The rest had bamboo spears
They ordered us to fight with spears.
So back then, you did exactly
what you do on the stage now.
Weapons and ammo weren't the worst,
we didn't even have any chow.
They say tea will stave off hunger,
but there was no water in the jungle.
What a ridiculous war.
The big shots in charge of tactics
didn't have a clue.
There was no way we could win.
As defeats mounted,
some were captured,
others abandoned the front lines.
But the division big-shots...
No matter!
Kill any man who tries to escape.
Who needs a court-martial!
But the thing is...
it wasn't just the enlisted men
that ran.
Officers were right there with 'em.
Scum!
You scum! You're an officer!
Have you no shame!
Deserters get the firing squad!
Butterflies! Butterflies!
Mommy!
Acting like you've lost your mind.
Asshole!
Fool!
Get back to the front!
The soldiers who couldn't fight
or run away,
had no choice but to wander
into the jungle.
And that's where we caught
and ate them...
Snakes and lizards,
go without saying.
Worms, spiders, every last insect.
As long as it was alive, it was OK.
When it came to food,
it was every man for himself.
A mouse!
The strong ones
went high into the mountains
to raid local farmers.
Impossible!
It's impossible
my husband could have...
I'm not saying everyone
did that stuff.
I know, I remember.
It was... a little before
the end of the war.
I was on my way to Regimental HQ
to collect orders.
- What!
- Potato thieves!
How dare you!
You accuse my husband
of stealing potatoes!
Where's your proof! Proof!
I have no proof.
But I'm positive it was a Sergeant.
That's the only case I can remember
of anyone being executed,
right before the end of the war.
Awful...
Awful...
Sir, it's about time.
Ma'am, please don't
hold it against me.
There's no definite proof.
That's a nightmare I reeled in,
by forcing myself
to relive those memories.
It's just possible
that everything I've said,
is just bits of my comedy routine.
Here I am alive and well...
but this is just the dregs of my life.
My real life...
ended over there...
Mom, why won't you give it a rest?
You may have your heart set on this,
but what's the point?
Honey.
Which of them is telling the truth?
One says you charged nobly,
the other called you a potato thief.
You should've called it quits
after you got the noble story.
But you had to wander all over.
What if you get sick?
Dad'll never rest in peace.
What are you doing?
I'm going back to Tokyo
first thing in the morning.
- I may have to stay the night.
- Mom!
Let her do what she likes.
I know best
how to give Dad his peace.
He won't rest in peace
until the truth is told.
NOBUYUKI OCHI
FORMER MILITARY POLICE SERGEANT
Excuse me, are you Ochi san?
Yes.
I'm...
Is that so?
But I can hardly tell you,
which story is true.
At least I want to know,
whether he was executed.
- You said he was Togashi san?
- Yes, Sgt. Togashi.
I don't remember any Sgt. Togashi.
As far as Sergeants go...
Oh, my, a guest.
- My wife.
- I'm imposing.
Oh, please, don't get up.
Oh, I'm worn out.
I was up all last night
working a party.
Waitressing this way is hard labor.
I snuck in a nap at the restaurant.
Excuse me, but I have to lie down.
Enjoy your visit.
She's lying.
My wife is seeing the chef
at a fancy restaurant.
I'm sure she was with him again
last night.
Hey! How dare you,
in front of a guest!
Tell me, isn't it written
all over her face?
How can you joke about it?
Last night, I...
I'm starting to wonder
if there's any point in living...
Maybe I would've been better off
if I'd faced a firing squad back then.
Firing squad?
The Australians captured me,
charged me as a war criminal.
I talked my way out of it
and made it home...
Back here, the Americans harassed me
for being ex-military police.
Got so I couldn't get to sleep
without a drink.
Remember "bomb"?
That postwar black market booze.
The stuff finally got to my eyes.
But getting back to our conversation.
The truth is, when I got that letter
from the Ministry,
I hesitated whether or not
to tell them...
Do you know something?
Towards the end of the war,
there was one incident
I've never been able to forget.
But...
I'm sorry, this is all I have.
So...
what kind of incident was it?
I must warn you.
It's not a very pleasant tale.
And there's no certainty
that your husband was involved.
All I'm sure of is that
the man was definitely a Sergeant.
Won't you have one?
Please, please tell me.
He killed his buddy and ate him.
AUGUST, 1945
I don't remember the name of
the place or the unit,
but about 10 starving soldiers
were stationed at a look-out
on the beach.
And one day...
You say it's meat? What meat?
Wild boar.
Where'd you catch it?
Around here?
In this heat, it'll rot in no time.
If you've got any salt,
I'll trade this for it.
The trade took no time at all...
and they stewed it with rice
and ate it.
But this Sergeant
refused to tell
where he'd caught the wild boar,
or where his unit was stationed.
One private got suspicious
and followed him.
He probably figured on
stumbling on a good catch.
But that private
was never seen again.
Then, 3 or 4 days later,
the same Sergeant came back
to trade meat for salt.
Hey, it's rotten.
Cook it up and it'll be fine.
Trade it for some salt
and next time I'll pickle it for you.
Where are all these wild boars?
The Sergeant confessed
relatively quickly.
He had deserted with a buddy,
but he'd killed him in a rage
over a stolen potato.
He got so hungry,
he ate his friend's buttocks...
Stop it!
So...
that private that never returned...
Turned him into
the second tin of meat.
Was that Sergeant executed?
Yes.
- Did you kill him?
- No,
I just attended.
Did he...
mention his family before he died?
Nothing.
But he did have one photograph.
A photograph of what?
I think it was a young woman
holding a baby.
Did that Sergeant look like him?
I'm...
I'm sorry, how thoughtless of me.
That's all right.
Every soldier who fought
on that front,
learned just how terrible
human beings can be.
In those days,
when a soldier died,
his buddies would burn his little finger,
for ashes to bring home.
Whenever I smelled burning flesh,
before I'd had a chance
to cover my nose,
I couldn't stop my own
hunger pangs.
I was hardly any different
from that Sergeant.
My husband, eating a man.
Just stupid.
Just stupid.
It can't be true, my love.
Everybody's lying.
Nobody knows... the real truth.
Say something?
How dare you!
Cut it out!
That hurts.
Stop it.
You disgust me.
I said, no! No!
Nobody knows what happened, shit!
Nobody!
Stop!
TADAHIKO OHASHI
FORMER 2ND LIEUTENANT, ARMY
"On a journey,
with grass for my pillow,
for my beloved I yearn,
disturbed as scythed rushes".
This poem,
describes the turbulent emotions
of a traveler,
remembering his wife at home,
pining for her everyday.
That's the subject of this poem.
I had...
completely forgotten about it.
In my exhaustion,
I suppose I lost the will to recall it.
I stand in awe of
your persistent obsession.
What was the meaning of our youth?
When I began teaching,
after my repatriation,
it was all I could think about.
The meaning of my life
and my friends' lives, lost to the war.
A precious sacrifice,
that was essential,
for a new and peaceful Japan.
That was the only answer I could find.
Young people know nothing of war.
Nothing of its horrors.
If I have a right
to teach anyone anything,
it is only to convey the misery
of war to new generations...
BLOODY MAY DAY
REARMAMENT
MASSACRE
PATRIOTISM
Is this what we fought for?
Is this what we fought for?
I kept asking myself.
However,
ultimately, I could do nothing.
U.S. BASES OUT OF JAPAN
SUPPORT THE FIGHT
AGAINST NARITA AIRPORT
ANTI-WAR
Comrades, the actions
we are about to take,
in the face off...
Everything overwhelms me.
I can't keep up.
In my exhaustion,
I was only falling behind.
I did answer
the Ministry's letter of inquiry.
But I doubt anyone actually
paid any attention to my response.
When it's time to take responsibility,
they have no integrity.
If the truth is not clear,
they should interpret
in favor of the deceased
26 years later, they're still wondering
whether someone deserted or not.
In the meantime, a Class-A war criminal
has become Prime Minister...
During the war or today,
people from the bottom of the heap,
never rest in peace.
The people who died on that island,
were all the same.
No one can discriminate against them
or judge them.
Those who fell under enemy fire,
those who took their own lives,
those who were executed,
those who starved to death,
they all died in combat.
My husband wasn't like everyone else.
Why was he executed?
That's what I want to know.
I want to know the truth.
After the war, a certain incident
came to light.
It wasn't desertion
in the face of enemy fire.
Some soldiers conspired...
to murder their superior officer.
In my unit,
there was a 2nd Lieutenant, Goto.
2nd Lt. Goto had graduated from the
same Home Guard training unit as I.
He always swaggered around,
Eager to be taken seriously
by non-commissioned officers
and military academy graduates.
One day,
an American pilot crash landed
near Goto's command post.
Go ahead! Kill him!
Major Senda, the Division
Staff Officer gave the order.
He should have known better,
but Goto volunteered to decapitate him.
No, perhaps,
Senda singled Goto out,
as a way of toughening up
someone from the Home Guard.
You! M.P.
Finish it!
Move!
After that, Goto seemed to become
increasingly hysterical.
Scum!
Get up!
Forcing his men
to unnecessary hard labor,
striking and kicking them
for no reason.
He took personal control of
the food supply, hoarding it for himself.
He dragged a terminal
malarial patient out to work,
killing him.
When the Sergeant protested,
unable to tolerate it,
You dare to oppose
your superior officer!
The way it's going,
that 2nd Lieutenant's going to kill us.
That Sergeant...
Are you saying he was my husband?
Why? You weren't there
when it happened!
But the details of this incident...
were disclosed after the war.
AUGUST 15, 1945
When word of the war's end spread,
men who'd abandoned the front,
began to creep out of the jungle.
"It's finally over".
We were all so relieved,
as we gathered at the former
Division HQ.
Among the men,
there were 5 who had survived
2nd Lieutenant Goto's command.
Where's 2nd Lieutenant Goto?
What happened to your 2nd Lt.!
- He took his own life.
- Crap!
You think you can fool me
with that crap!
Major Senda was terrified...
that his botched execution of
the prisoner would come to light.
When one of the men confessed to
2nd Lt. Goto's murder...
Executed for murdering
a superior officer.
There was no court-martial.
Without even a trial...
The war was already over...
Unbelievable.
I can't believe it.
Before he executed the 5 men,
Senda apparently told them,
"I swear, 30 years from now.
Japan will rise from her ashes,
to take revenge,
against the bestial Americans
and English.
But our motherland
has no need of traitors like you,
who murdered
their own superior officer!"
My love.
How furious you must have been.
I've needed you, my love.
For 26 years,
I've needed you each and every day.
Hurry, Grandpa.
Coming, coming.
TAKEO SENDA FORMER MAJOR, ARMY
Senda evaded prosecution as a war criminal...
and returned home safely.
Until recently,
he was a Board member of
the Southeast Asian Development Corp.
Now, he's retired
to a life of leisure.
I've heard that he's even writing
a memoir about the New Guinea front.
I met him once by accident.
My stomach churned with rage.
I wanted to kill him,
with all my heart.
I got close enough to look at him.
He barely even noticed me.
He had no recollection.
I could do nothing.
That's right.
I was powerless.
Let's go.
That's a misunderstanding.
Either that, or malicious
slander against my record.
It's true, the men were executed.
But they were sentenced to death
by court-martial under military law.
Then, where's the court-martial verdict?
I have no idea where it would be
after all these years.
Either it was lost in the chaos
at the end of the war, or...
it was destroyed with other
classified military documents.
In any event, it's noted
in the military records of war deaths.
You know that record's useless.
If that's the way you think,
we have nothing to discuss.
For what crime was he executed?
Murder of a superior officer, of course,
as well as collective desertion.
"Collective" implies a group.
But all it says in the military records
is "desertion".
Some kind of error,
perhaps a clerical error or some such.
Were the operations of the former
Imperial Army really that sloppy!
I understand how you must feel
and I do feel sorry for you.
But there's nothing to be done
He violated the law.
I had no direct role
in that court-martial.
However, I believe that the sentence
of execution was merited.
I still believe that, today.
At the time, our soldiers
were in a state of shock.
Understandable, given their faith
in the Imperial Army's invincibility.
But we officers...
could not afford to abandon ourselves
to grief over our defeat.
We had lost,
but we had to uphold order
for the sake of patriotism and honor.
For those reasons, the trial
and executions were inevitable.
We swallowed our tears
and carried them out.
In fact, after that,
discipline was restored...
and Japanese soldiers were able
to return home with honor.
You're saying you made my husband
an example to others, a sacrifice...
Not at all.
We have to maintain order
under any circumstances.
Don't we owe the postwar
recovery and prosperity,
our new found stature among
the world powers in the line of battle,
entirely to the firm imposition
of national order?
Unfortunately, your husband...
murdered his superior officer.
He may have had good reason,
but when you kill, you are judged.
This is true even in
our present democracy.
You...
You're telling me
you didn't kill anyone!
Not with your own hands, but you ordered
others to, in the Emperor's name!
Japan fought the war
as an entire nation.
Don't confuse the two.
- Grandpa, what's wrong?
- Nothing at all.
Here.
It may be impossible
to ask that you forget.
However, if we are to move on,
we must also learn to forget.
If we're obsessed with the past,
we are powerless.
Not for me...
For the record and my own honor,
let me add the following:
2nd Lt. Goto murdered
that American prisoner himself.
I had nothing to do with it.
To claim I executed witnesses
to cover it up
is outrageous slander.
Also, we did not execute all 5.
Only the 3 actively
involved in the murder.
The other 2 went to prison.
One of them died of an illness there.
I hear the other made it
home safely.
I believe his name was
Private First Class Terajima.
Private First Class Terajima?
But no matter what anyone says,
Togashi san died nobly in combat.
That's right...
It's coming back now.
It was Terajima who confessed that
Togashi and others were murderers.
That's right.
I'm the one who revealed the crime.
All I cared about was getting out alive
so I betrayed my buddies.
So you made up that whole story?
To escape responsibility
for what you did,
you lied to me?
You have every right to accuse me.
But...
there's more to the story than that.
Will you hear me out?
When we heard that
the war was over,
Togashi's squad was posted at a
look-out 10 kms from HQ.
We had eaten everything
we possibly could,
and were one step away
from starvation.
So, when we got the order
to assemble at Division HQ
no one had the will
to get up and start.
For a while,
we just lay around blankly
in my case, particularly,
malaria and malnutrition
had reduced me to such a state,
I couldn't even walk.
Then, suddenly,
2nd Lieutenant Goto turned up.
Salute.
Listen up, our platoon
is launching an offensive.
Take up your weapons.
We've been ordered to assemble
at Division HQ.
No need for that!
Defeat is just a rumor!
"God's land is immortal,
the Imperial Army invincible!"
We will fight to the bitter end!
We'll cut off every last enemy head!
Why are you looking at me like that!
Why don't you pick up your guns?
You bastards would rather lose the war?
Don't you care what happens to Japan?
How about it, Sgt. Togashi!
Say something!
You scum! Challenging my authority
because I'm from the Home Guard!
I love my country!
I love it more than any of you scum!
Why are you lying around!
Get up!
I said, get up!
Get up!
You bastard!
A soldier like you...
Scum!
I'm your superior officer!
Cut it out.
Then, what happened?
Sergeant, sir, you've...
The 2nd Lieutenant...
The 2nd Lt. killed himself.
Went mad when he heard of our defeat.
Got that?
The 2nd Lt. killed himself.
And then,
Togashi san and the other 3
left for Division Headquarters.
They left you to die.
Each of them could barely walk.
Of course they left me behind,
I couldn't take a step on my own.
They said they'd send someone to get me
when they got to HQ.
I had no choice but to trust them,
and wait...
It's salty.
There was something so delicious
left in my own body.
This was a new discovery.
And with that,
I felt such hunger.
I wonder...
if I can eat this...
I ate a man...
A man...
But the world didn't change.
So you ate a man, so what?
I'm going to live
I'm going to get out of here.
I'd gone and eaten it.
The meat of the man
your husband had killed.
Thanks to that, I found
the strength to get up and walk.
By the time I straggled into
Division Headquarters the next day,
Senda was already interrogating
Togashi and the others.
Of course they accused me, too.
They threatened me with a firing squad
unless I told the truth.
I was desperate to live.
Besides, if I told them
that the 2nd Lt. had gone mad,
Togashi and the others' sentences
would be lighter.
That's what I told myself
as I confessed everything.
Leaving out, of course
that I'd eaten human flesh.
But, Togashi and the others
were executed.
Corporal Nakamura,
who wasn't involved directly,
died of disease
before he got home.
I'm the only one
who made it back to Japan.
Tokyo was a vast,
burned out wasteland.
People were living among the ruins
without shame or inhibition,
their naked and
raw humanity exposed.
I found that so comforting.
"Everyone's just like me".
I forgot all about eating human flesh,
and betraying my comrades,
and I felt utterly at peace.
But that didn't last for long.
Order was soon restored.
MILITARY PROCUREMENT BOOM
As the streets, the houses
and how people dressed,
rapidly improved,
I found myself...
all alone,
left behind like an idiot.
And the terrible memories
of eating flesh
and betraying my comrades,
began to weigh on my heart,
day and night.
I ran away.
The world was after me
and I ran away.
And I settled into
this Korean shanty-town.
But this place, too,
won't last another month.
The kind of place
where I feel at home,
the carefree world
of burned out ruins
no longer even exists in Japan.
Terajima san.
Please tell me how my husband
spent his final hours.
Didn't Ochi san tell you?
Ochi san?
Ochi san was the military policeman
who executed him.
My...
You...
I remember.
Your husband...
That night, after you came,
he was run over by a truck.
That night, oddly, he got drunk
before going to work.
They say he crossed on a red light.
He was such a cautious man
I wonder what happened...
Of course he was blind,
so he couldn't see the light...
Madam, the photograph.
Oh, dear, I forgot.
It happened so quickly,
this was the only photo.
Togashi san,
before he died,
apparently he told Ochi,
he wanted some rice.
Rice?
That's right, I'm Japanese
I want to eat white rice.
I can't rest in peace on this!
- Any rice left?
- Not sure...
You can't execute me
until I've had rice!
This is all we've got.
You'll have to make do with it.
Which way is Japan?
Sakai, Kobari, hold out your hands!
Your hands! Listen!
They drafted us together
and we'll stick together in death.
Emperor!
He called out to the Emperor?
You think he meant to say"Banzai,"
to honor him?
No, it didn't sound that way to me.
It was almost an accusation...
Like a protest.
That's how he cried out...
What happened to the families
of the men who died with my husband?
Private First Class Sakai's widow...
married Sakai's younger brother.
They're farmers,
deep in the mountains up north.
They don't want to remember
anything about the past, at all.
Private Kobari came from Hiroshima.
They say he lost his parents,
his whole family,
to the atomic bomb.
The government didn't ask
anybody's permission to start the war,
but we're the ones stuck
paying for all of it.
REJECTED CLAIM
OF SAKIE TOGASHI
My love, it turns out,
we can't have the Emperor
dedicating any flowers to you.
Besides, no matter what anyone does,
your spirit will never rest in peace.
JAPANESE SOLDIERS DEATHS
IN THE PACIFIC WAR
COMBAT-2.2 MILLION
NON COMBAT-.9 MILLION
TOTAL 3.1 MILLION
THE END
English subtitles by
LINDA HOAGLUND
TOHO AND SHINSEI EIGASHA
TOHO CO., LTD.
OUR NATION'S MILITARY HAS ALWAYS
SERVED AT THE DISCRETION OF THE EMPEROR
- IMPERIAL EDICT TO OUR SOLDIERS
UNDER THE FLAG OF THE RISING SUN
Produced by
SEISHI MATSUMARU and SHOHEI TOKIZANE
Based on the book by
SHOJI YUKI
Screenplay by KANETO SHINDO,
NORIO OSADA and KINJI FUKASAKU
Cinematography by
HIROSHI SEGAWA
Production design by
TATSUYA IRINO
Music by
HIKARU HAYASHI
CAST
TETSURO TAMBA
SACHIKO HIDARI
ISAO NATSUYAGI
SHINJIRO EBARA
SANAE NAKAHARA, YUMIKO FUJITA
NOBORU MITANI, TAKETOSHI NAITO
KANEMON NAKAMURA
Directed by
KINJI FUKASAKU
NATIONAL MONUMENT TO FALLEN SOLDIERS
Twenty-sixyears after the war,
it still pains our hearts
to recall the many who fell in battle,
those who lost their lives
to the ravages of war,
and the families they left behind.
EMPEROR AND CONSORT
I stand here before
the citizens of our nation,
praying for world peace
and our national progress,
in solemn tribute to
those who perished.
AND YET, AMONG THE THREE MILLION
JAPANESE MILITARY CASUALTIES
SOME ARE DENIED A PLACE AMONG
OUR HONORED HEROES
SERGEANT KATSUO TOGASHI
JAPANESE ARMY
DESERTED IN THE FACE OF THE ENEMY
IN AUGUST, 1945, ON NEW GUINEA
EXECUTED
MINISTRY OF WELFARE
REJECTED
CLAIM OF SAKIE TOGASHI
RESEARCH SECTION CHIEF
I've kept you waiting.
You've been filing claims
since 1952,
when the Survivor Benefits law
first passed.
I was transferred here in April,
so your case is new to me.
You file your claims
on the anniversary of defeat.
That's right.
Is there a reason?
It's unclear exactly when
my husband died...
So I chose August 15th
for the anniversary of his death.
Please look at this.
DEATH NOTIFICATION
NEXT OF KIN: SAKIE TOGASHI
...DATE OF_______, AUGUST
DIED IN COMBAT
(TEXT REVISED) DECEASED...
Honey, there's another
new Section Chief.
How many times do I have to tell
this same story over and over again?
How can I forget the moment
when I first got that notice...
Didn't my husband die in combat?
Well, it's just...
Why was it changed from "died in combat"
to plain "deceased"?
Well, for instance,
if he died of illness...
If he'd been ill, they'd write
something like "Combat-related..."
Besides, this notice isn't dated.
I won't accept this crazy postcard.
The truth is...
Togashi san was executed.
Executed?
We'd only been married for 6 months.
TEMPORARY DRAFT NOTICE
Don't you worry.
I'll be fine.
Look after yourself.
Here I'm leaving you to fend
for yourself when you're pregnant...
Honey.
I wept in the toilet.
I couldn't bear to let you see me cry.
Five months later,
Tomoko was born.
Did you ever get the picture I sent?
WAR ENDS
AUGUST 15, 1945
Finally, the war had ended
and I was sure you'd come home...
I couldn't even die,
because of Tomoko.
Why's she workin' her ass off
like that?
She has to wear herself out
to get any sleep.
A widow with youthful passion.
APRIL, 1952
MILITARY FAMILY
SURVIVOR BENEFITS LAW ENACTED
My husband died in the war, too.
How come I don't deserve
what the others get?
Well, that's because in your case,
Togashi san died
following a court-martial.
And just who saw my husband's
court-martial?
Nobody saw it, but the government,
the Welfare Ministry, sent a notice.
Please don't say that.
Please let me see the Village Chief!
Please!
Thank you.
And your family now?
My daughter has married.
- And grandchildren?
- Yes.
That must be a comfort.
Until my husband can rest in peace,
I'll have no comfort.
I can understand your feelings.
However, under current law,
survivors of court-martialed soldiers
receive no benefits at all.
And your particular case
falls into that category...
I don't come back year after year
because I want military benefits.
I'm here because I want to know the truth-
was he really executed for desertion?
That's why I come.
But it's all here in the military records
of war casualties... You saw it.
But I hear that the military patched
together those records of the dead...
in the confusion,
right after the war.
I've heard they're unreliable.
Who says so?
The captain said so
in the letter he wrote me.
Oh, this man
I've received a petition from him, too...
This petition is based on
pure speculation...
Also, according to the colonel,
there's no record of
the court-martial's verdict.
See?
Apparently, all classified documents
were burned at the end of the war.
If that's true, there's no proof
that he was sentenced to death.
Which is why we have to trust this
military record of casualties.
Unless you've got some other
persuasive evidence.
That's exactly right.
I really understand how you feel, but
until you prove your husband's innocence,
I'm in no place to overturn
my predecessor's decision.
As I left the house this morning,
this is what my daughter said.
Mom, why don't you give it a rest?
They'll never listen to you anyway.
Besides, do you know
what people say?
She's got some nerve
begging for her husband's pension.
In the old days,
the whole village would have shunned
a deserter's family forever.
But this is what I said to her.
"You can't stop other people
from talking."
It's not like it's anything new.
Back when my daughter married...
Watch your step.
Don't go peeping at those newlyweds.
If it's too much for you,
come to me.
I'll be happy to give you some advice!
They may just have been joking,
but it hit me hard.
People congratulated me
over my son-in-law,
but it all only made me realize
how horribly I miss him.
My love...
My love!
I'll never give up.
Because if I give up,
my husband will never rest in peace.
It's been 26 years since he died.
All the other survivors,
attend the War Memorial Service
with the Emperor
and offer chrysanthemums...
Why is it only my husband,
without a shred of evidence...
I, too...
would like to join the Emperor...
and offer a chrysanthemum
for my husband.
I was remiss...
The truth is,
we also take this matter
very seriously...
and sent inquiries to everyone
from your husband's unit.
But unfortunately, we haven't received
any meaningful responses.
However, there are 4 men here,
who never answered our inquiries.
I'm sure each has his own reasons,
but if you contact them directly,
as his widow,
perhaps they'd be willing to share
new information with you.
Why don't you try to meet them?
TSUGUO TERAJIMA
FORMER PRIVATE FIRST CLASS, ARMY
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
I never got any letter
from the Ministry of Welfare.
What are those bureaucrats thinking
when they say that?
If I had gotten anything,
I would've written right back.
Because I owe my very life
to Togashi san.
To my husband?
Yes, that's right.
What an awful front that was.
On New Guinea, then,
the Americans and Australians
had begun fighting back.
Our unit shipped out from La Paul
as reinforcements...
But as we were crossing
the Dampier Straits...
DESTROYERS-3 SUNK
TRANSPORT SHIPS-7 SUNK
WEAPONS AND ORDNANCE-2,500 TONS SUNK
PERSONNEL - 3,600 DROWNED
Our strategy was impossible
from the start.
Less than 800 of our men
made it ashore.
We attempted to locate
the established defensive units.
In this situation, we could
all depend on Sgt. Togashi.
Don't shoot.
Don't shoot.
Don't move.
Sgt. Togashi!
Our scouts are in danger,
rescue them.
- No point.
- What?
Yank's surrounded us,
wants to flush us out.
- Move now, we're in their hands.
- How do you know?
Experience.
You mean to abandon our troops!
Your carelessness
made us easy targets.
Listen up!
Our platoon will attack the enemy
on their flank, attacking at...
The River Styx
Stay put or you're dead.
Damn you!
Insubordination
I'll have you court-martialed.
The rest of you, follow me.
The plateau ahead is your objective
Attack!
There's no winning in dying.
Thanks to him, not a single man
in our unit died.
But it was the beginning
of hell on earth...
SEPTEMBER, 1943
U.S. ARMY LANDS ON EASTERN LAE
AUSTRALIAN AIR UNITS
ATTACK WESTERN LAE
JAPANESE ARMY ABANDONS LAE
2,200 DIE OF STARVATION IN MOUNTAINS
OCTOBER, 1943
U.S. ARMY ATTACKS FINSCHHAFEN
AUSTRALIANS LAND ON CAPE ANT
JANUARY, 1944
U.S. ARMY LANDS ON CAPE GUNBI
JAPANESE ARMY RETREATS TO MADANG
3,500 STARVE IN MOUNTAINS
APRIL, 1944-JAPANESE
DEFEATED AT HANSA, WEWAK, AITAPE
At that time,
our unit was stranded
in the jungle.
The minute we walked out of there,
the enemy would've picked us off.
We were out of ammunition
and food,
and a third of our men, suffering
from malnutrition or malaria,
could neither move forward
nor retreat.
Those of us who were sick,
whispered among ourselves...
Piss your pants,
you've only got 3 days left.
Can't speak, it's 2 days.
Can't blink means you’re dead,
tomorrow.
How's it going?
Don't you need to piss?
Up we go, here we go.
You OK?
We finally got orders
for an offensive.
Tonight.
Any man who can't walk...
You understand.
Suicide, isn't it?
Yeah, right.
Will it be grenades or cyanide?
- Air.
- Air?
They take an empty syringe...
and force air into your heart.
Is that how you want to die?
If not, just beat it.
I hear there are still Japanese troops
30 kilos west of us.
- You'll manage.
- But...
Just listen to me
You've got a chance, take it.
If you decide you're better off dead,
use this.
It sure beats an empty syringe.
See you.
Sergeant.
That was the last I ever saw
of Sgt. Togashi.
Which means,
my husband didn't desert, did he?
Right.
I'm the one who deserted.
Togashi san died nobly in battle.
I'm sure with his instincts,
he charged the enemy brilliantly.
Charge!
Would you mind telling the Ministry
of Welfare the story you just told me?
You mean, me?
Yes, I'd be grateful.
But...
it's not like I saw him
die in combat.
I doubt they'd take it as proof.
But you're a living witness.
Nobody's going to accuse you of lying.
Please, Terajima san.
It's been 10 years...
since I moved to this place,
a virtual garbage heap.
On the map, it's part of Tokyo,
but I have no citizen's rights
Legally, I don't exist...
I've never been to town,
not once since I came here.
I have no need to go.
I hate seeing people, talking to them,
in the city that's so cleaned up.
No, I don't have the confidence.
But...
But Terajima san, you can't...
I would like to help you and repay
the debt I owe Togashi san,
but I must ask you to spare me this.
I'm sure you'll meet
with the other men.
But no matter what anyone says,
Togashi san died nobly in combat.
That's what I believe.
TOMOTAKA AKIBA
FORMER CORPORAL, ARMY
Wanna fight!
You really shouldn't.
Say there.
Say there I know how you feel.
- Bully.
- I'm not a bully.
I really do know how you feel.
But you see,
Japan lost the war, 26 years ago.
What?
What'd you say!
I said, Japan lost, 26 years ago.
Lost? You idiot!
When did Japan ever lose a war?
The Sino and Russian wars,
Manchurian Incident, all victories.
After that, we got creamed.
- Creamed?
- It's true. Ask anyone here.
- Did we really lose?
- No, we didn't!
Listen to what he says.
- What country are you from?
- He says we didn't lose.
He's just lying,
go ask the guy behind him.
- Did we really lose?
- We sure did.
- He must be an enemy man.
- Are you nuts!
How dare you insult
our paying customers!
Then, what have I been doing
all this time?
You've been pointing
the tip of your rifle,
charging at airplanes
on South Pacific Islands.
What an idiot.
I said, I understand.
What's this draft notice, then?
I definitely remember
the name, Togashi.
Can't place the face...
Don't you think you met him?
We were in the same unit,
so no doubt I did meet him.
Back in those days,
everybody looked alike.
Skinny necks, bulging eyes,
hollowed out cheeks.
Besides,
no one had enough humanity left
to recognize anyone's face.
But Terajima san told me,
he charged nobly
and died in combat.
Well, that's fine, then.
But he didn't actually see him die...
I want to know the truth.
Well, he's not going to
badmouth his Sergeant.
But that doesn't help you much, right?
Does that mean you know the truth?
No, not necessarily.
But from what I remember,
back then, nobody was nobly charging
anything, even when they wanted to.
So there was no offensive,
no charging the enemy?
Not even close.
We were in no condition.
In our unit, there were 12 cannons
worthless, every last one of them,
1 working machine gun out of 48.
Only two thirds of us even
had standard-issue rifles.
The rest had bamboo spears
They ordered us to fight with spears.
So back then, you did exactly
what you do on the stage now.
Weapons and ammo weren't the worst,
we didn't even have any chow.
They say tea will stave off hunger,
but there was no water in the jungle.
What a ridiculous war.
The big shots in charge of tactics
didn't have a clue.
There was no way we could win.
As defeats mounted,
some were captured,
others abandoned the front lines.
But the division big-shots...
No matter!
Kill any man who tries to escape.
Who needs a court-martial!
But the thing is...
it wasn't just the enlisted men
that ran.
Officers were right there with 'em.
Scum!
You scum! You're an officer!
Have you no shame!
Deserters get the firing squad!
Butterflies! Butterflies!
Mommy!
Acting like you've lost your mind.
Asshole!
Fool!
Get back to the front!
The soldiers who couldn't fight
or run away,
had no choice but to wander
into the jungle.
And that's where we caught
and ate them...
Snakes and lizards,
go without saying.
Worms, spiders, every last insect.
As long as it was alive, it was OK.
When it came to food,
it was every man for himself.
A mouse!
The strong ones
went high into the mountains
to raid local farmers.
Impossible!
It's impossible
my husband could have...
I'm not saying everyone
did that stuff.
I know, I remember.
It was... a little before
the end of the war.
I was on my way to Regimental HQ
to collect orders.
- What!
- Potato thieves!
How dare you!
You accuse my husband
of stealing potatoes!
Where's your proof! Proof!
I have no proof.
But I'm positive it was a Sergeant.
That's the only case I can remember
of anyone being executed,
right before the end of the war.
Awful...
Awful...
Sir, it's about time.
Ma'am, please don't
hold it against me.
There's no definite proof.
That's a nightmare I reeled in,
by forcing myself
to relive those memories.
It's just possible
that everything I've said,
is just bits of my comedy routine.
Here I am alive and well...
but this is just the dregs of my life.
My real life...
ended over there...
Mom, why won't you give it a rest?
You may have your heart set on this,
but what's the point?
Honey.
Which of them is telling the truth?
One says you charged nobly,
the other called you a potato thief.
You should've called it quits
after you got the noble story.
But you had to wander all over.
What if you get sick?
Dad'll never rest in peace.
What are you doing?
I'm going back to Tokyo
first thing in the morning.
- I may have to stay the night.
- Mom!
Let her do what she likes.
I know best
how to give Dad his peace.
He won't rest in peace
until the truth is told.
NOBUYUKI OCHI
FORMER MILITARY POLICE SERGEANT
Excuse me, are you Ochi san?
Yes.
I'm...
Is that so?
But I can hardly tell you,
which story is true.
At least I want to know,
whether he was executed.
- You said he was Togashi san?
- Yes, Sgt. Togashi.
I don't remember any Sgt. Togashi.
As far as Sergeants go...
Oh, my, a guest.
- My wife.
- I'm imposing.
Oh, please, don't get up.
Oh, I'm worn out.
I was up all last night
working a party.
Waitressing this way is hard labor.
I snuck in a nap at the restaurant.
Excuse me, but I have to lie down.
Enjoy your visit.
She's lying.
My wife is seeing the chef
at a fancy restaurant.
I'm sure she was with him again
last night.
Hey! How dare you,
in front of a guest!
Tell me, isn't it written
all over her face?
How can you joke about it?
Last night, I...
I'm starting to wonder
if there's any point in living...
Maybe I would've been better off
if I'd faced a firing squad back then.
Firing squad?
The Australians captured me,
charged me as a war criminal.
I talked my way out of it
and made it home...
Back here, the Americans harassed me
for being ex-military police.
Got so I couldn't get to sleep
without a drink.
Remember "bomb"?
That postwar black market booze.
The stuff finally got to my eyes.
But getting back to our conversation.
The truth is, when I got that letter
from the Ministry,
I hesitated whether or not
to tell them...
Do you know something?
Towards the end of the war,
there was one incident
I've never been able to forget.
But...
I'm sorry, this is all I have.
So...
what kind of incident was it?
I must warn you.
It's not a very pleasant tale.
And there's no certainty
that your husband was involved.
All I'm sure of is that
the man was definitely a Sergeant.
Won't you have one?
Please, please tell me.
He killed his buddy and ate him.
AUGUST, 1945
I don't remember the name of
the place or the unit,
but about 10 starving soldiers
were stationed at a look-out
on the beach.
And one day...
You say it's meat? What meat?
Wild boar.
Where'd you catch it?
Around here?
In this heat, it'll rot in no time.
If you've got any salt,
I'll trade this for it.
The trade took no time at all...
and they stewed it with rice
and ate it.
But this Sergeant
refused to tell
where he'd caught the wild boar,
or where his unit was stationed.
One private got suspicious
and followed him.
He probably figured on
stumbling on a good catch.
But that private
was never seen again.
Then, 3 or 4 days later,
the same Sergeant came back
to trade meat for salt.
Hey, it's rotten.
Cook it up and it'll be fine.
Trade it for some salt
and next time I'll pickle it for you.
Where are all these wild boars?
The Sergeant confessed
relatively quickly.
He had deserted with a buddy,
but he'd killed him in a rage
over a stolen potato.
He got so hungry,
he ate his friend's buttocks...
Stop it!
So...
that private that never returned...
Turned him into
the second tin of meat.
Was that Sergeant executed?
Yes.
- Did you kill him?
- No,
I just attended.
Did he...
mention his family before he died?
Nothing.
But he did have one photograph.
A photograph of what?
I think it was a young woman
holding a baby.
Did that Sergeant look like him?
I'm...
I'm sorry, how thoughtless of me.
That's all right.
Every soldier who fought
on that front,
learned just how terrible
human beings can be.
In those days,
when a soldier died,
his buddies would burn his little finger,
for ashes to bring home.
Whenever I smelled burning flesh,
before I'd had a chance
to cover my nose,
I couldn't stop my own
hunger pangs.
I was hardly any different
from that Sergeant.
My husband, eating a man.
Just stupid.
Just stupid.
It can't be true, my love.
Everybody's lying.
Nobody knows... the real truth.
Say something?
How dare you!
Cut it out!
That hurts.
Stop it.
You disgust me.
I said, no! No!
Nobody knows what happened, shit!
Nobody!
Stop!
TADAHIKO OHASHI
FORMER 2ND LIEUTENANT, ARMY
"On a journey,
with grass for my pillow,
for my beloved I yearn,
disturbed as scythed rushes".
This poem,
describes the turbulent emotions
of a traveler,
remembering his wife at home,
pining for her everyday.
That's the subject of this poem.
I had...
completely forgotten about it.
In my exhaustion,
I suppose I lost the will to recall it.
I stand in awe of
your persistent obsession.
What was the meaning of our youth?
When I began teaching,
after my repatriation,
it was all I could think about.
The meaning of my life
and my friends' lives, lost to the war.
A precious sacrifice,
that was essential,
for a new and peaceful Japan.
That was the only answer I could find.
Young people know nothing of war.
Nothing of its horrors.
If I have a right
to teach anyone anything,
it is only to convey the misery
of war to new generations...
BLOODY MAY DAY
REARMAMENT
MASSACRE
PATRIOTISM
Is this what we fought for?
Is this what we fought for?
I kept asking myself.
However,
ultimately, I could do nothing.
U.S. BASES OUT OF JAPAN
SUPPORT THE FIGHT
AGAINST NARITA AIRPORT
ANTI-WAR
Comrades, the actions
we are about to take,
in the face off...
Everything overwhelms me.
I can't keep up.
In my exhaustion,
I was only falling behind.
I did answer
the Ministry's letter of inquiry.
But I doubt anyone actually
paid any attention to my response.
When it's time to take responsibility,
they have no integrity.
If the truth is not clear,
they should interpret
in favor of the deceased
26 years later, they're still wondering
whether someone deserted or not.
In the meantime, a Class-A war criminal
has become Prime Minister...
During the war or today,
people from the bottom of the heap,
never rest in peace.
The people who died on that island,
were all the same.
No one can discriminate against them
or judge them.
Those who fell under enemy fire,
those who took their own lives,
those who were executed,
those who starved to death,
they all died in combat.
My husband wasn't like everyone else.
Why was he executed?
That's what I want to know.
I want to know the truth.
After the war, a certain incident
came to light.
It wasn't desertion
in the face of enemy fire.
Some soldiers conspired...
to murder their superior officer.
In my unit,
there was a 2nd Lieutenant, Goto.
2nd Lt. Goto had graduated from the
same Home Guard training unit as I.
He always swaggered around,
Eager to be taken seriously
by non-commissioned officers
and military academy graduates.
One day,
an American pilot crash landed
near Goto's command post.
Go ahead! Kill him!
Major Senda, the Division
Staff Officer gave the order.
He should have known better,
but Goto volunteered to decapitate him.
No, perhaps,
Senda singled Goto out,
as a way of toughening up
someone from the Home Guard.
You! M.P.
Finish it!
Move!
After that, Goto seemed to become
increasingly hysterical.
Scum!
Get up!
Forcing his men
to unnecessary hard labor,
striking and kicking them
for no reason.
He took personal control of
the food supply, hoarding it for himself.
He dragged a terminal
malarial patient out to work,
killing him.
When the Sergeant protested,
unable to tolerate it,
You dare to oppose
your superior officer!
The way it's going,
that 2nd Lieutenant's going to kill us.
That Sergeant...
Are you saying he was my husband?
Why? You weren't there
when it happened!
But the details of this incident...
were disclosed after the war.
AUGUST 15, 1945
When word of the war's end spread,
men who'd abandoned the front,
began to creep out of the jungle.
"It's finally over".
We were all so relieved,
as we gathered at the former
Division HQ.
Among the men,
there were 5 who had survived
2nd Lieutenant Goto's command.
Where's 2nd Lieutenant Goto?
What happened to your 2nd Lt.!
- He took his own life.
- Crap!
You think you can fool me
with that crap!
Major Senda was terrified...
that his botched execution of
the prisoner would come to light.
When one of the men confessed to
2nd Lt. Goto's murder...
Executed for murdering
a superior officer.
There was no court-martial.
Without even a trial...
The war was already over...
Unbelievable.
I can't believe it.
Before he executed the 5 men,
Senda apparently told them,
"I swear, 30 years from now.
Japan will rise from her ashes,
to take revenge,
against the bestial Americans
and English.
But our motherland
has no need of traitors like you,
who murdered
their own superior officer!"
My love.
How furious you must have been.
I've needed you, my love.
For 26 years,
I've needed you each and every day.
Hurry, Grandpa.
Coming, coming.
TAKEO SENDA FORMER MAJOR, ARMY
Senda evaded prosecution as a war criminal...
and returned home safely.
Until recently,
he was a Board member of
the Southeast Asian Development Corp.
Now, he's retired
to a life of leisure.
I've heard that he's even writing
a memoir about the New Guinea front.
I met him once by accident.
My stomach churned with rage.
I wanted to kill him,
with all my heart.
I got close enough to look at him.
He barely even noticed me.
He had no recollection.
I could do nothing.
That's right.
I was powerless.
Let's go.
That's a misunderstanding.
Either that, or malicious
slander against my record.
It's true, the men were executed.
But they were sentenced to death
by court-martial under military law.
Then, where's the court-martial verdict?
I have no idea where it would be
after all these years.
Either it was lost in the chaos
at the end of the war, or...
it was destroyed with other
classified military documents.
In any event, it's noted
in the military records of war deaths.
You know that record's useless.
If that's the way you think,
we have nothing to discuss.
For what crime was he executed?
Murder of a superior officer, of course,
as well as collective desertion.
"Collective" implies a group.
But all it says in the military records
is "desertion".
Some kind of error,
perhaps a clerical error or some such.
Were the operations of the former
Imperial Army really that sloppy!
I understand how you must feel
and I do feel sorry for you.
But there's nothing to be done
He violated the law.
I had no direct role
in that court-martial.
However, I believe that the sentence
of execution was merited.
I still believe that, today.
At the time, our soldiers
were in a state of shock.
Understandable, given their faith
in the Imperial Army's invincibility.
But we officers...
could not afford to abandon ourselves
to grief over our defeat.
We had lost,
but we had to uphold order
for the sake of patriotism and honor.
For those reasons, the trial
and executions were inevitable.
We swallowed our tears
and carried them out.
In fact, after that,
discipline was restored...
and Japanese soldiers were able
to return home with honor.
You're saying you made my husband
an example to others, a sacrifice...
Not at all.
We have to maintain order
under any circumstances.
Don't we owe the postwar
recovery and prosperity,
our new found stature among
the world powers in the line of battle,
entirely to the firm imposition
of national order?
Unfortunately, your husband...
murdered his superior officer.
He may have had good reason,
but when you kill, you are judged.
This is true even in
our present democracy.
You...
You're telling me
you didn't kill anyone!
Not with your own hands, but you ordered
others to, in the Emperor's name!
Japan fought the war
as an entire nation.
Don't confuse the two.
- Grandpa, what's wrong?
- Nothing at all.
Here.
It may be impossible
to ask that you forget.
However, if we are to move on,
we must also learn to forget.
If we're obsessed with the past,
we are powerless.
Not for me...
For the record and my own honor,
let me add the following:
2nd Lt. Goto murdered
that American prisoner himself.
I had nothing to do with it.
To claim I executed witnesses
to cover it up
is outrageous slander.
Also, we did not execute all 5.
Only the 3 actively
involved in the murder.
The other 2 went to prison.
One of them died of an illness there.
I hear the other made it
home safely.
I believe his name was
Private First Class Terajima.
Private First Class Terajima?
But no matter what anyone says,
Togashi san died nobly in combat.
That's right...
It's coming back now.
It was Terajima who confessed that
Togashi and others were murderers.
That's right.
I'm the one who revealed the crime.
All I cared about was getting out alive
so I betrayed my buddies.
So you made up that whole story?
To escape responsibility
for what you did,
you lied to me?
You have every right to accuse me.
But...
there's more to the story than that.
Will you hear me out?
When we heard that
the war was over,
Togashi's squad was posted at a
look-out 10 kms from HQ.
We had eaten everything
we possibly could,
and were one step away
from starvation.
So, when we got the order
to assemble at Division HQ
no one had the will
to get up and start.
For a while,
we just lay around blankly
in my case, particularly,
malaria and malnutrition
had reduced me to such a state,
I couldn't even walk.
Then, suddenly,
2nd Lieutenant Goto turned up.
Salute.
Listen up, our platoon
is launching an offensive.
Take up your weapons.
We've been ordered to assemble
at Division HQ.
No need for that!
Defeat is just a rumor!
"God's land is immortal,
the Imperial Army invincible!"
We will fight to the bitter end!
We'll cut off every last enemy head!
Why are you looking at me like that!
Why don't you pick up your guns?
You bastards would rather lose the war?
Don't you care what happens to Japan?
How about it, Sgt. Togashi!
Say something!
You scum! Challenging my authority
because I'm from the Home Guard!
I love my country!
I love it more than any of you scum!
Why are you lying around!
Get up!
I said, get up!
Get up!
You bastard!
A soldier like you...
Scum!
I'm your superior officer!
Cut it out.
Then, what happened?
Sergeant, sir, you've...
The 2nd Lieutenant...
The 2nd Lt. killed himself.
Went mad when he heard of our defeat.
Got that?
The 2nd Lt. killed himself.
And then,
Togashi san and the other 3
left for Division Headquarters.
They left you to die.
Each of them could barely walk.
Of course they left me behind,
I couldn't take a step on my own.
They said they'd send someone to get me
when they got to HQ.
I had no choice but to trust them,
and wait...
It's salty.
There was something so delicious
left in my own body.
This was a new discovery.
And with that,
I felt such hunger.
I wonder...
if I can eat this...
I ate a man...
A man...
But the world didn't change.
So you ate a man, so what?
I'm going to live
I'm going to get out of here.
I'd gone and eaten it.
The meat of the man
your husband had killed.
Thanks to that, I found
the strength to get up and walk.
By the time I straggled into
Division Headquarters the next day,
Senda was already interrogating
Togashi and the others.
Of course they accused me, too.
They threatened me with a firing squad
unless I told the truth.
I was desperate to live.
Besides, if I told them
that the 2nd Lt. had gone mad,
Togashi and the others' sentences
would be lighter.
That's what I told myself
as I confessed everything.
Leaving out, of course
that I'd eaten human flesh.
But, Togashi and the others
were executed.
Corporal Nakamura,
who wasn't involved directly,
died of disease
before he got home.
I'm the only one
who made it back to Japan.
Tokyo was a vast,
burned out wasteland.
People were living among the ruins
without shame or inhibition,
their naked and
raw humanity exposed.
I found that so comforting.
"Everyone's just like me".
I forgot all about eating human flesh,
and betraying my comrades,
and I felt utterly at peace.
But that didn't last for long.
Order was soon restored.
MILITARY PROCUREMENT BOOM
As the streets, the houses
and how people dressed,
rapidly improved,
I found myself...
all alone,
left behind like an idiot.
And the terrible memories
of eating flesh
and betraying my comrades,
began to weigh on my heart,
day and night.
I ran away.
The world was after me
and I ran away.
And I settled into
this Korean shanty-town.
But this place, too,
won't last another month.
The kind of place
where I feel at home,
the carefree world
of burned out ruins
no longer even exists in Japan.
Terajima san.
Please tell me how my husband
spent his final hours.
Didn't Ochi san tell you?
Ochi san?
Ochi san was the military policeman
who executed him.
My...
You...
I remember.
Your husband...
That night, after you came,
he was run over by a truck.
That night, oddly, he got drunk
before going to work.
They say he crossed on a red light.
He was such a cautious man
I wonder what happened...
Of course he was blind,
so he couldn't see the light...
Madam, the photograph.
Oh, dear, I forgot.
It happened so quickly,
this was the only photo.
Togashi san,
before he died,
apparently he told Ochi,
he wanted some rice.
Rice?
That's right, I'm Japanese
I want to eat white rice.
I can't rest in peace on this!
- Any rice left?
- Not sure...
You can't execute me
until I've had rice!
This is all we've got.
You'll have to make do with it.
Which way is Japan?
Sakai, Kobari, hold out your hands!
Your hands! Listen!
They drafted us together
and we'll stick together in death.
Emperor!
He called out to the Emperor?
You think he meant to say"Banzai,"
to honor him?
No, it didn't sound that way to me.
It was almost an accusation...
Like a protest.
That's how he cried out...
What happened to the families
of the men who died with my husband?
Private First Class Sakai's widow...
married Sakai's younger brother.
They're farmers,
deep in the mountains up north.
They don't want to remember
anything about the past, at all.
Private Kobari came from Hiroshima.
They say he lost his parents,
his whole family,
to the atomic bomb.
The government didn't ask
anybody's permission to start the war,
but we're the ones stuck
paying for all of it.
REJECTED CLAIM
OF SAKIE TOGASHI
My love, it turns out,
we can't have the Emperor
dedicating any flowers to you.
Besides, no matter what anyone does,
your spirit will never rest in peace.
JAPANESE SOLDIERS DEATHS
IN THE PACIFIC WAR
COMBAT-2.2 MILLION
NON COMBAT-.9 MILLION
TOTAL 3.1 MILLION
THE END
English subtitles by
LINDA HOAGLUND