Universities and Students in Wartime Japan

Transcription

Universities and Students in Wartime Japan
Author(s): Ben-Ami Shillony
Reviewed work(s):
Source: The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 45, No. 4 (Aug., 1986), pp. 769-787
Published by: Association for Asian Studies
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VOL. XLV, No. 4
JOURNAL
OF ASIAN
STUDIES
AUGUST
1986
and Studentsin
Universities
WartimeJapan
BEN-AMi SHILLONY
I
n Japantheyearsfrom1937 to 1945 are generallyregardedas a darkand barren
time. However,thecloserone looksat Japanbetweentheoutbreakof the Second
at theendofWorldWar II, themoreone realizes
War and itssurrender
Sino-Japanese
in fact,did notceaseduringthewaryears.
thattheprewarprocessofmodernization,
mayseem
and destruction
to a periodofsuffering
To attributepositivedevelopments
strange,but, World War Il-much like World War I was in Europe-was Japan's
firsttotal war. It requireda high degreeof commoneffort,mobilization,and the
willingnessto make sacrificesand it set into motionprocessesof rationalization,
thatwentbeyondtheexpectationsand inand evendemocratization
modernization,
tentionsof the authorities.These wartimechanges,no less than the reformsof the
Occupation,paved the way forpostwardevelopmentsin Japan. And theJapanese
Universitywas one aspectof lifethatdid not standstill at this time.
The Prewar University
of Tokyo UniModernhighereducationbegan in Japanwiththe establishment
War sixtyyearslater,Japan
versityin 1877. By theeve oftheSecondSino-Japanese
possesseda sophisticatednetworkof highereducationcomprisedof 45 universities
gakko),32 higherschools(kotogakk6),
colleges(semmon
(daigaku), 178 professional
ofhighereducation,
shihangakko)- 259 institutions
and4 highernormalschools(koto
as againstnearly1,000 in 1986 (Nihonkindaiky5iku1974:V).
Like highereducationin WesternEuropebeforeWorld War II, highereducation
inJapanwas elitistin thatit acceptedonlythatsmallportionoftheyoungpopulation
whichwas destinedto assumeleadershippositionsin the stateor in theprofessions.
thissectorwas a largershareof thepopulationin Japanthanit was in
Nevertheless,
ofJapaneseHis- pp. 108-116. Various versionsof the essaywere
Ben-AmiShillonyis Professor
and Princetoryat theHebrewUniversityofJerusalem,Israel. readat colloquia in Berkeley,Stanford,
The authorthanksthe Hebrew University,its ton. The authorthanksall thosewho participated
HarryS. Truman ResearchInstituteforthe Ad- in the colloquia and contributedtheircomments.
vancementof Peace, and the CenterforJapanese Above all, the author wishes to thankChalmers
Studiesof the Universityof California,Berkeley, Johnson,Irwin Scheiner,Thomas C. Smith, and
fortheirsupportin the preparationof thisarticle. Mary E. Berryof the Universityof California,
A shortversionof this articlewas read at the Berkeley;ProfessorMarius B. Jansenof Princeton
Conferenceof the EuropeanAssociationforJapa- University;and ProfessorKitamura Kazuyuki of
nese Studies in The Hague, and it was subse- Hiroshima Universityfortheirhelp and encourquentlypublished in the proceedingsof the con- agement.The authoralso thanksPhyllisKillen of
ferencein Gordon Daniels, ed., EuropeInterpretsthe Universityof CaliforniaPress forher careful
Japan, Kent: Paul Nosbury Publications, 1984, readingof the manuscript.
769
770
BEN-AMI SHILLONY
WesternEurope.In themid- 1930s, 0.30 percentoftheJapanese
populationattended
schoolsof highereducation,as against0. 15 percentin Britainand 0. 18 percentin
France.The proportion
ofstudentswhoattendedschoolsofhighereducationinJapan
was twiceas high as it was in GreatBritain(Ministryof Education 1963:214- 16).
The bestJapaneseuniversities
werenational,and admissionwas conditionalupon
passingrigorousentranceexaminations.Because tuitionfees-Y120 (about $40) a
yearin stateuniversities
and Y130 to Y160 in privateuniversities
in 1937-were
notveryhigh,a cross-section
ofsocietywas represented
inJapanesehighereducation
Japan Year Book 1942-1943:598; Roden 1980:246).
Like in manyWesterncountriesbeforeWorld War 11, theJapanesesystemof
educationwas not uniform;it providedseveraldifferent
levelsof highereducation.
At the top weresix imperialuniversities
(teikoku
daigaku),rankedaccordingto the
dates of theirestablishmentin Tokyo, Kyoto, Tohoku, Kyushu, Hokkaido, and
Osaka. There werealso two overseasimperialuniversities,
in Seoul and Taipei, for
thesonsofJapaneseresidentsin thosecountriesas well as forpromisingKoreansand
Taiwanese. In additiontherewere twenty-five
privateuniversities,the two most
prestigiousof which,Keio and Waseda, werelocatedin Tokyo.
The elite courseof prewareducationproceededfromthe compulsorysix-year
elementaryschool(shogakko)
to the five-year
middle school (chu-gakko),
and then to
the three-year
higherschooland the three-year
imperialuniversity.Privateuniversities maintainedpreparatory
schoolsthatwere equivalentto state higherschools,
and, thus,the best kind of highereducationconsistedof six years.
One could, however,pursuea less prestigiouscourseby passing frommiddle
schoolstraightintoa four-year
professional
collegeor highernormalschool. Most of
the one-hundredor so professional
collegeswereliberal-artsinstitutions,but some
stateand public collegestrainedstudentsformedicine,pharmacy,agriculture,commerce,and foreignlanguages(Amano 1978).
Technically,onlythe72,000 studentswho attendeddaigakuwerecalled students
(gakusei);all theotherswerereferred
to as pupils(seito).The termforbothcategories
combinedwas thecompoundgakuto.For convenience,I shall use thewordstudent
to
referto all thosewho wereengagedin highereducation.
The social statusof women in prewarJapan was lowerthan that of men, and
highereducationforwomenwas less developedthanhighereducationformen. The
imperialuniversities
werevirtuallyclosedto womenbecausethe higherschoolsthat
preparedstudentsforthe university
wereboardingschoolsformen only. However,
three imperial universities-Tohoku, Kyushu, and Hokkaido-admitted some
women. These threeuniversities
togetheradmitted270 womenstudentsin 1937.
Womenstudentswereadmittedto privateuniversities
and to thestateuniversities
ofartsand sciencesin Tokyoand Hiroshima.Womenstudentscould also avail themselvesofabout fifty
privatewomen'scolleges,someofwhich-like TokyoWomen's
Medical School-offeredprofessional
careers.However,most privatewomen'scolleges aimedat producingeducatedwivesand mothers(kenbo
ryosai).In addition,two
government
highernormalschoolsforwomen,in Tokyo and Nara, trainedwomen
high-schoolteachers.In 1937 womenaccountedfor9.9 percentof all studentsin
Japaneseinstitutions
of highereducation(Karasawa 1979:197-200).
The imperialuniversities
and the best privateuniversities,
with theirgraduate
schoolsand researchinstitutes,wereimportantcentersof teachingand research.For
research
instance,theoretical
in nuclearphysicswasvigorously
pursuedat theimperial
universities
ofTokyo,Kyoto,Tohoku,and Osaka, as well as at thestate-run
Institute
77 1
UNIVERSITIES AND STUDENTS IN WARTIME JAPAN
Table 1. Number of Students Arrested for Violating the Peace
PreservationLaw, 1937-1942
University
Tokyo Imperial
Keio
Waseda
Tokyo Universityof
Agriculture
1937
1938
21
2
2
1
7
24
7
11
13
6
35
1
16
8
3
1
12
8
24
6
3
2
7
6
1
26
1
3
2
4
2
6
9
23
Nihon
2
7
Hosei
Tokyo Foreign
Languages
Meiji
Chuo6
KyotoImperial
Ddshisha
Tohoku Imperial
Hokkaido Imperial
KyushuImperial
OtherUniversitiesand
Colleges
Total
SOURCE:
Year
1939 1940
3
4
1
1
5
4
15
14
31
12
1
1
4
65
75
100
200
-
1941
19
12
3
1942
1
1
2
Total
61
60
56
16
27
26
33
156
2
157
80
37
18
40
5
24
15
6
501
202
244
99
925
6
8
Takakuwa 1955:262.
of Physicaland ChemicalResearch(Rikagakukenkytujo)
(Hirosige 1965; Nakayama
1965).
Repression on Campus
The sordidaspectofprewarand wartimeuniversity
lifewas thegrowingpolitical
repression
by the militariststate,and mostaccountsof the universities
duringthose
yearsdwell on thisaspect. Repugnantas thiswas, it was muchless severethanthe
thatexistedin totalitarian
repression
countriessuchas Germany,Italy,and theSoviet
Union at the same time(Shillony1981:7-16, 120-126).
Fromthepromulgation
ofthePeace Preservation
Law (Chian ijiho) in 1925 until
theend ofWorld War II, morethan3,000 studentswerearrestedon chargesof leftwingactivities.The arrestsreachedtheirpeak in theyear1932, when 1,170 students
werearrested.From 1937 untilthe end of the warabout 1,000 morestudentswere
arrestedforviolatingthis law (see table 1).
Most of the studentsarrestedwere,however,releasedafterpromisingto refrain
fromengagingin left-wingactivities.Only a small numberwere prosecutedand
sentencedto prison.No one was executed,and therewereno concentration
camps.
In fact,mosthard-coreCommunistssurvivedthe war in jail.
Afterthe ManchurianIncidentof 1931, professors
knownforleftistviews were
dismissed,and theirbookswerebanned.In 1933 TakikawaYukitoki,a professor
of
lawat KyotoImperialUniversity,
wasdismissedforhavingwrittenthatcrimeresulted
772
BEN-AMISHILLONY
fromsocial injustice.His dismissaltriggeredwide protests,and a groupof his colleagues resignedin sympathy
(Doo 1952: 177ff.).
Otherfacultymemberswereprosecutedforexpressingtheirviewsin writing.In
1939 twoprofessors
in theFacultyofEconomicsofTokyoImperialUniversity,
Ouchi
Hyoe and Kawai Eijiro, wereindicted,the formerforCommunistsympathiesand
the latterforcriticizingthe military.The followingyearProfessor
Tsuda Sokichi,
an historianat Waseda University,was put on trialforhavingdisputedthe divine
originof the imperiallineage. Althoughall of theseindividualsweredismissed,the
sentencestheyreceivedwere not severe:Tsuda was sentencedto threemonthsin
prisonin 1940; Kawai was finedY300 in 1943; and Ouchi was acquittedin 1944
(Marshall1977, 1978). In March1945, philosopher
Miki KiyoshiofHosei University
was arrestedforhavingshelteredCommunistwriterTakakuraTeru afterhis escape
fromprison.Miki died in jail onemonthaftertheendofWorldWar II, and Takakura
was releasedimmediatelyafterward.
In the early1930s, it was stillpossibleto criticizethegovernment
and the military.For example,theseizureofManchuriain 1931 was condemnedin articlesand
Yoshino Sakuz6, Yokota Kisaburo,and YanaiharaTadao of
speechesby Professors
Tokyo ImperialUniversity(Mitani 1973). Governmentcontrolsbecame stricterin
the late 1930s, and it was muchmoredifficult
to criticizethe war in China; neverYanaiharaTadao of Tokyo ImperialUniversityand Amano
theless,two professors,
Teiyu of Kyoto ImperialUniversity,condemnedarmyactionsin China (Marshall
1977:400- 1; Doo 1952:196-97). Yanaiharawas dismissedin 1937, but he continued to expresshis viewsin a small,privatemagazine,and althoughsomeofAmano's
books werebanned,he retainedhis university
post until 1944 (Shillony1981:131).
The imperialuniversitieswere zealous in safeguardingthe autonomythat had
becometheirprerogative
overthe decades. Althoughthe government
had the legal
powerto terminateor disregardthisautonomy,and althoughthe teachersin these
universitieswere state employees,the governmentwas reluctantto alienate institutionsthatenjoyedhigh public esteem.It was an establishedcustomforthe professorsof theseuniversities
to decide on appointments
and promotionsand to elect
theirown presidentsand deans; the Ministerof Educationapprovedthesedecisions
and advisedthe emperorto issue the formalnominations.
GeneralAraki Sadao, who was educationministerfromJune 1937 to August
1939, attemptedto put an end to thisautonomy.He claimedthatit infringed
upon
the sovereignty
of the emperorand the powersof the cabinet,but the uproarthat
hisintervention
createdat theimperialuniversities
wasso greatthatArakiwas obliged
to backdown(NihonkindaikyJiku
1974, vol. 5:1286-87; Kyoto
daigaku1967:1 13ff.).
was held in especiallyhighesteemby seniorofficials,
TokyoImperialUniversity
mostof whomweregraduatesof thatuniversity.
In 1940 the emperorattendedthe
whichwas heldat TokyoImperial
ceremony
celebrating
Japan's2,600th anniversary,
and in November1942, PrimeMinisterTojo Hideki addressedthegradUniversity,
uation ceremonyat Tokyo ImperialUniversity.The esteemof the university
vis-avis the governmentwas illustratedby the factthat Taja, when he arrivedat the
university
accompaniedby MinisterofEducationHashida Kunihiko-himself a formerprofessor
of physiologyat thatuniversity-was welcomedat the gate by only
one person,the university's
chiefmanager.PresidentHiraga Yuzuru of Tokyo Ima professor
ofnavalengineering
who had designedmanyofJapan's
perialUniversity,
wartimebattleships,waitedin an officeneartheceremony
hall fortheprimeminister
(Tokyjdaigaku1977:96, 102; Ishii 1978:166-70).
773
One reasonforthe relatively
smallamountofdirectoppressioninJapan,in comparisonwithotherdictatorships,
was thatmanypeopleincludingprofessors
supported
the war as a campaignforliberatingAsia fromwhitecolonialism,and consequently
therewas less need foroppression.Amongthosewho openlysupportedthe warwere
philosopherNishida Kitar-oand his disciplesat Kyoto ImperialUniversityKoyama
Iwao, NishitaniKeiji, Kosaka Masaaki, and Suzuki Shigetaka(Shillony1981:1 1020; Kosaka et al. 1942:150-92).
The presidentsof the leading privateuniversitieswere outspokenin theirnationalisticrhetoric.Upon the firstdeath of a kamikazepilot-a university
student
who had beenmobilized-jurist NakanoTomio, thepresidentofWaseda University,
called on otherstudentsto followin the footstepsof the heroicpilot (FiftyYears
1975:149). The presidentof Keio University,Koizumi Shinz6,a well-knowneconomist who had lost his son in the war, reactedto Germany'ssurrenderin 1945 by
urgingthe Japanesepeople to keep faithin Japan'svictoryby continuingto fight
the Americanswith all theirmight (NipponTimes,May 10, 1945). Koizumi was
severelyburnedtwo weekslaterwhenhis house was bombed in an air raid.
The Wartime Transformation
Priorto theoutbreakofWorld War II, Japanhad obtainedscientific
information
fromthe West, especiallytheUnitedStatesand Britain,and its researchinstitutions
dependedon cooperationwith the Westernscientificcommunity.As late as 1940
in theUnitedStates,wherehe was
physicistlimoriTakeo tourednuclearlaboratories
Ernest0. LawrenceoftheUniversity
ofCalifornia,Berkewarmlyreceived.Professor
ley, showed limori his laboratoryand even mentionedthat nuclearenergymight
someday be used formilitarypurposes(Teikoku
December8, 1941).
daigakushimbun,
Little did theyguess that withinfiveyearsLawrencewould be a memberof the
governmentadvisorypanel of scientiststhat would recommenddroppingatomic
bombs on Hiroshimaand Nagasaki.
When Japanwentto war againstthe United Statesand GreatBritain,it looked
to Germanyto replaceits contactswith the Anglo-Saxoncountries.Germanywas
unable to fulfillthat task because of wartimedifficulties
in shippingmaterialsand
instruments
thatJapanmanaged
Germany'sbasicmistrust
ofJapan.High-technology
to importfromGermany,such as radar,ultrasonics,and infraredapparatus,were
notthe latestmodels(Kelly 1949:45). Consequently,forthefirsttimein its modern
history,Japan had to relyon its own scienceand technology.This forceda vast
expansionof existingresearchinstitutions.
Between 1939 and 1945 Japanset up twenty-eight
researchinstitutes,most of
whichwereattachedto stateuniversities.
Theyincluded:a resourcesresearchinstitute
at the Tokyo Universityof Technology,a tuberculosisresearchinstituteat Kyoto
ImperialUniversity,an instituteof SoutheastAsian economiesat Tokyo Imperial
University,an instituteof electricalengineeringat KyushuImperialUniversity,an
instituteof aeronauticalmedicineat Nagoya ImperialUniversity,and an institute
of electroniccommunicationsat Tohoku ImperialUniversity(Nihonkindai kyoiku
1974, vol. 5:1281-82; Hirosige 1965:320ff.).
Beforethe outbreakof the war with China, about one-thirdof the studentsin
institutionsof highereducationmajoredin fieldssuch as medicine,science, agriculture,or engineering;the remaindermajoredin law, economics,literature,or education. But the war with China, and to a largerextentWorld War II, put heavy
774
BEN-AMISHILLONY
newdemandson theJapanesesystemofhighereducation:moredoctorswereneeded
forthe frontlines and the civilianpopulation;moreengineerswereneededforwarrelatedindustries;morescientistswererequiredforthe new researchinstitutes;and
wereneededto increasefoodproduction.
moreagronomists
and privatesectorboth stood behindthe shifttowardscience
The government
and engineering.The Ministryof Education,the CabinetPlanningBoard, and the
grantedfelresearch.The government
militaryall channeledfundsintowar-related
lowshipsand prizes,and it exertedotherpressuresto achievethisshift.In theprivate
new facilitieswerefundedby business.
universities
In 1939, a sciencedepartmentwas set up withinthe Cabinet PlanningBoard.
A sciencesection,establishedin theMinistryof Educationin 1940, was elevatedto
underthedirectcontroloftheprime
a sciencebureauin 1942. A boardoftechnology
in May 1941 to coordinateand allocate
ministerwas establishedby thegovernment
research(Nakayama 1965:356; Hirosige 1965:332-34).
fundsforscientific
Yukawa Hideki was appointedhead of the
In 1940 futureNobel prizewinner
Instituteof Basic Physicsat Kyoto ImperialUniversity.He was awarded several
physicistToprizesduringthewar. AnotherfutureNobel prizewinner,
government
monaga Shin'ichiro,taughtat the Tokyo Universityof Arts and Sciencesduring
World War 11. Accordingto a U.S. surveymade afterthe war,Japanesetheoretical
researchin nuclearphysicsduringthe war yearswas almostabreastof researchdone
in the West at thattime(Kelly 1949:45).
was establishedin Nagoya; it consisted
In 1939, a seventhimperialuniversity
of departmentsof medicine,science, and engineering.In the same year Fujihara
Kinjiro, a leading figurein Mitsui, donated 8 million yen to Keio Universityto
establishthe FujiharaUniversityof Engineeringin Hiyoshi nearYokohama. This
becamethe Keio University
FacultyofEngineeringin 1944 (Keio gijuku
university
1964, vol. 2, Pt. 2:685-793). In 1941 Tokyo ImperialUniversityestablisheda
secondFacultyofEngineering.Thus threenewJapaneseschoolsofengineeringwere
level between1939 and 1941.
establishedat the university
The 132 millionyenexpendedon highereducationinJapanin 1940 represented
on educationthatyear,a higherpercent
20. 1 percentofthetotalpublic expenditure
than any prewaror postwarannual figure(forexample, 17. 1 percentin 1937 and
13. 1 percentin 1960); privateinstitutions'shareof the cost of highereducation
climbedfrom32. 1 percentin 1937 to 40.6 percentin 1940 (Ministryof Education
1964:301, 307).
colThe greatestgrowthin thearea ofhighereducationoccurredin professional
leges, whose numberincreasedfrom177 to 309 in the decade between 1936 and
1945. Of 132 new colleges, 34 were technologicalcolleges and 18 were medical
colleges. Of the 34 new technologicalcolleges,22 wereprivateinstitutionsand 12
Thirteenofthe new medicalcollegesweregivenproinstitutions.
weregovernment
and theywereattachedto the state universities
visionalstatusby the government,
(Amano 1978:183-90).
ofthe normalschools.Until
of the new collegeswerecreatedby reform
Fifty-six
normalschools (shihangakko),which trainedteachersforele1943, the five-year
mentaryschools and were enteredaftereight yearsof elementaryand higher-eleofsecondary
educationand did notqualmentary
school,wereconsideredinstitutions
ifyas colleges.Only kotoshihangakko,whichprovidedfouryearsoftrainingand were
enteredafterfiveyearsof middle school,wereconsideredinstitutionsof higheredupgradedthenormalschoolsbyexpanding
ucation.In 1943 theJapanesegovernment
and upper
divided into lower(preparatory)
themfromfive-to six-yearinstitutions
775
Table 2. Number of Japanese Institutionsof Higher Education,
by Type of School, 1935-1940
Year
Higher
Schools
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
32
32
32
32
32
32
32
32
33
33
33
Professional
Universities
Colleges
177
178
178
179
188
193
201
202
217
286
309
45
45
45
45
46
47
48
49
48
48
48
Higher
Normal
Schools
Total
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
5
7
258
259
259
260
270
276
285
287
302
372
397
SOURCE: Ministryof Education 1964:254-56.
Note: The sharpincreasein the numberof professional
collegesin 1944 was the
resultof the elevationof the statusof the normalschoolsto professional
collegesin
1943.
(regular)divisions.Schools in the upperdivisionwere now parallelto professional
colleges,and as such theyweredeclaredstatecolleges,to be entered,as any other
kindaikyJiku
1974,
college,aftermiddleschoolor otherequivalenteducation(Nihon
vol. 5:1348ff.).
The 1943 reform
also did awaywithseparatenormalschoolsformenand women,
obviatingthe necessityof more than one normalschool in each prefecture.These
of theJapaneseprefectural
universitiesof today. The
schoolswere the predecessors
amalgamationreducedthenumberofnormalschoolsfrom103 to 56, but thenumber
ofteachersincreasedfrom2,200 to almost3,000, and the numberof studentsmore
thandoubled, from30,000 in 1935 to 62,000 in 1943. The governmentalso establishedthreenew highernormalschools(in Kanazawa, Okazaki, and Hiroshima)
duringthe war, increasingthe numberof highernormalschoolsto seven. Student
enrollmentin theseschoolsgrew from2,568 in 1935 to 4,533 in 1945. In sum,
of highereducationrose from
between1935 and 1945 the numberof institutions
258 to 397 and the numberof studentsenrolledin them rose from 169,030 to
406,132 (see table 2). This was an increaseof 140 percent(Ministryof Education
1964:254-71).
A breakdownof studentsby fieldof studyrevealsa dramaticincreaseof enrollmentsin scienceand engineering.Whereas 9,000 studentsmajoredin science in
1935, thenumberroseto 30,000 in 1945, an increaseof209 percent.And although
14,837 studentsmajoredin engineeringin 1935, the numberjumped to 85,680 in
1945, an increaseof 477 percentin one decade.
An interesting
change in the enrollmentof women occurredduring the same
period. In 1935, 15,565 women studentswere enrolledin all the institutionsof
highereducationin Japan; most wereenrolledin privateliberal-artscolleges. The
wartimepressureon womento takepartin thenationaldefenseeffort,
togetherwith
the upgradingof the normalschools,broughtmanywomeninto highereducation.
of
Therewere58,536, or almostfourtimesas manywomenenrolledin institutions
776
BEN-AMI SHILLONY
highereducationin 1945 thantherehad beena decadeearlier.The numberofwomen
studyingscience,44 in 1935, jumped to 1,470 in 1945. No womenstudied engineeringin 1935, but therewere 62 in 1945. The numberof women studying
medicinedoubled duringthat decade; it reached 10,040 in 1945. Four women's
medicalcollegeswereestablishedduringthewar,in Nagoya, Gifu,Fukushima,and
Hokkaido, and a thirdhighernormalschool forwomenwas opened in Hiroshima
fourmonthsbeforetheatom bomb was dropped.Women studentsin institutions
of
highereducationrosefrom9.9 percentof thestudentbodyin 1937 to 13.7 percent
in 1945 (Ministryof Education 1963:159, 169) (see table 3).
On September9, 1942, theJapan Timesand Advertiser
observed:"Today women
are enteringall spheresof public life. They practiceas doctors,some have entered
thelegal profession,
theydrivemotorbuses,teachin schools,workas stenographers,
and in factare freeto enteralmostany calling theymaywish." On November23,
1943, journalistKiyosawaKiyoshirecordedin his wartimediary:"Women workers
are replacingmen. It is indeeda revolutionforJapanesewomen.Theywill no longer
be slavesas theyhavebeenuntilnow. Theirknowledgeis expandingand theirstatus
is rising"(Kiyosawa 1970, vol. 1: 185).
In 1942 two femalegraduatesof Waseda University-Watanabe Mitsuko(age
twenty-eight)
in law and YokoyamaYuriko(age twenty-five)
in literature-werethe
firstwomenincludedamong thosetop graduateswho receivedsilverwatches.That
same yearOfu-kai,thealumniassociationofJapanWomen's University,
announced
thata poll it had takenshowedthat90 percentofitsgraduatesweremarried,refuting
the notionthata collegeeducationhindereda woman'schancesof marrying
(Japan
Timesand Advertiser,
September25, 1942; June 12, 1942).
Althoughthe numberof womenteachersin institutions
of highereducationremainedsmall, it grew fromone in 1940 (Shoji Masako, a lecturerin educationat
the HiroshimaUniversityof Arts and Sciences)to nine in 1945. The numberof
womenteachingin collegesand normalschoolswas considerably
higher;it rosefrom
1,058 in 1940 to 1,354 in 1945 (U.S. SupremeCommanderforthe Allied Powers
1952, vol. 2:375).
In 1944 femalescientistSudo Emiko ofTohoku ImperialUniversity'sInstitute
ofMetal Researchdiscovereda new methodforquantitatively
analyzingtheelement
molybdenum;Sudo announcedher discoveryin an addressto the all-male annual
conventionof theJapanMetal Society-inTokyo in Marchthat year(NipponTimes,
March 21, 1944).
The laboratories
oftheimperialuniversities
ofTokyo,Kyoto,Kyushu,and Hokkaido survivedthe war intact,and thoseof the imperialuniversitiesof Osaka and
Tohoku, as well as of Waseda and Keio universities,were only slightlydamaged
(Kelly 1949:46). Know-howand expertiseaccumulatedin fieldsvaryingfromtheoreticalphysicsto electronics,to optics,and to shipbuildingprovedan invaluable
asset in the postwaryears.
Thus, duringthe destructionand suffering
broughtabout by World War II,
highereducationwas forcedin new directionsthatwereto continuein the postwar
era. Wartimecircumstances
boostedtheincreasein thenumberofresearchinstitutes,
institutionsof highereducation,and students-including a large increasein the
enrollment
ofwomen-along witha hugeshifttowardscienceand technology,
which
characterized
the postwarperiodand spurredJapan'spostwareconomicmiracle.
The Draft
Studentsin wartimeJapanweretornbetweentwoconflicting
pressures:theywere
exhortedto devote all theirtime and energyto studyingin orderto enhancethe
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778
BEN-AMISHILLONY
scientificand spiritualstrengthof theircountry,and, at the same time, the state
wantedthemto finishschoolas quicklyas possiblein orderto assumepositionsin
the military.
Accordingto the MilitaryServiceLaw of 1927, whichreplacedthe Conscription
Ordinanceof 1873, everymale citizenhad to pass a medicalexaminationformilitary
War, however,
serviceat age twenty.Until theoutbreakoftheSecondSino-Japanese
the
Of
742,000 youngmen
menwereactuallydrafted.
fewtwenty-year-old
relatively
weredrafted
in 1937, only187,000 orone-quarter,
whotookthemedicalexamination
(Oe 1981:144-45). Thiswasdue toa multitudeofexemptions:students,forexample,
if theyattended
enjoyeda special statusthatdeferredtheirdraftage to twenty-five
(Keio1964, vol.2:987-88).I
iftheyattendeduniversity
college,and to twenty-seven
However,therewas militarytrainingin school. Compulsorymilitarytraining
wereintroducedin middleand higherschoolsin 1924, at which
courses(gunjikyoren)
and college studentswerealso encouragedto enrollin coursesthat
time university
or the navy
in thearmy(kanbuk6hosei)
would lead to theirbecomingreserveofficers
and unicolleges
into
was
introduced
training
military
Compulsory
gakusei).
(yobi
versitiesin 1939.
War, thedeferment
ofthe Sino-Japanese
In April 1939, withthe intensification
students, to
higher-school
and
preparatory
for
twenty-three
to
age was lowered
In October
students.
university
for
twenty-six
and
to
students,
forcollege
twenty-four
was
lowered
age
the
deferment
War
II,
1941, as Japan was preparingforWorld
for
twenty-three
to
students,
and higher-school
forpreparatory
again, to twenty-two
studying
students(exceptforthose
foruniversity
collegestudents,and to twenty-four
Studentsusually
untiltheyreachedage twenty-six).
medicine,whowerestilldeferred
collegesat age seventeenor eighschoolsor four-year
preparatory
enteredthree-year
universitiesat twentyor twenty-one;so
teen, and theyusuallyenteredthree-year
theseregulationsstillpermittedmoststudentsto completetheirstudiesbeforethey
werecalled up.
Priorto the outbreakof the war with China, fewstudentsweredrafted-even
War brokeout in 1937, and evenmore
aftergraduation.But whentheSino-Japanese
so afterthe startof the war in the Pacificin 1941, the militaryneededeveryyoung
producedby themilitaryacademy
man, especiallysincethenumberof juniorofficers
Both services
than sufficient.
less
was
naval
and
(heigakkJ)
academy
(shikangakkJ)
as quickly
graduates
and
university
of
college
the
reservoir
in tapping
wereinterested
as possible.
had beguntheacademicyearin Apriland endedit in March
Japaneseuniversities
since 1921. However,as World War II approached,the militaryneededmoreand
announcedthat
moreuniversity
graduates.Thus, in October 1941, thegovernment
the finalacademicyearin institutionsof highereducationwould be shortenedby
threemonths,and would end in earlyDecemberinsteadofearlyMarch. Studentsin
on theday ofPearl
theclassof 1942 weretakingtheirmilitarymedicalexaminations
Harbor,whichin Japanwas December8, 1941.
Once established,the precedentwas repeatedand expanded. In the following
again shortenedthe academicyearforseniors,this time by six
yearthe government
wereto havegraduatedin March1943 graduatedinstead
months;thosewhooriginally
to "fullyears,"i.e., to yearsaccordingto
I In Japan a personwas regardedas one year referred
old at birthand two yearsof age at the beginning Westernreckoning.
ofthe nextcalendaryear.The draftlaws, however,
779
in September1942. The samethinghappenedto theclassof 1944, whichgraduated
in September1943 (Yasuda 1975:13ff.;Oe 1981:132ff.).
decidedthatthelowerdivisionofhigher
Next, in August 1942, thegovernment
and higherschools
educationwould be shortenedbya wholeyearso thatpreparatory
would consistoftwoinsteadofthreeyearsofclassroomstudy.Sincethesameamount
requiredreorganization
period,thisreform
ofeducationhadto be taughtin theshorter
was appliedonlyto thosewho enteredschool
ofthecurriculum.The newcurriculum
in April 1942 or later.
privileges,but in April 1943 the
Graduatestudentsdid not enjoy deferment
thattheycoulddesignatea numberofoutstanding
all universities
notified
government
degraduatestudentsas "specialresearchfellows"who would be grantedindefinite
such fellows,ten in medicine,
designatedfourteen
Thus, Keio University
ferments.
two in economics,one in law, and one in the humanities(Ishii 1978:170-73; Keio
1964, vol. 2:847).
By the fallof 1943, when the militarysituationbecamegrim,Japancould no
In September1943, PrimeMinister
longeraffordto havemanystudentdeferments.
to be limited
werehenceforth
T-ojoannouncedon theradiothateducationaldeferments
medicine,and somebranchesofagriculture.
to studentsin thesciences,engineering,
Otherstudentswereall to be drafted,togetherwith the restof the population,at
the age of twenty,althoughtheirstudentstatuswas to be retained.This announceof 1943. The recordsof the
mentled to the "studentmobilization"(gakutoshutsujin)
studentmobilizationwere burned,and precisefigureson how manystudentswere
draftedare not extant.However,accordingto calculationsmade by Japanesehistorians,the 1943 draftinvolvedabout 130,000 men, includingthosewho graduated
thatyear(Yasuda 1975:17).
On October2 1 a huge farewellrallyformobilizedstudentsfromthecapital and
itsvicinitywas heldin theMeiji GardenStadiumin Tokyo.Despitetherainyweather,
70,000 students,teachers,andparentsgatheredto sendoff25,000 mobilizedstudents
schoolsin Tokyoand thevicinity.Clad in blackschooluniforms,
fromseventy-seven
rifles,the inducteesmarchedinto the arena to the accompawooden
and carrying
nimentofan armyband. RallyspeakersincludedPrimeMinisterTojo and Education
Medical Schoolwishedthe
MinisterOkabe Nagakage. A studentof Keio University
drafteesfarewell,and a studentof the humanitiesfromTokyo ImperialUniversity
repliedin the nameof the departingstudents.The rallyended with threeshoutsof
"banzai" led by the primeminister(Kadoya 1973:200-1).
Two monthslater, in December 1943, the governmentloweredthe draftage
studentsin preparatory
fromtwentyto nineteenyears.This meantthat third-year
schools,higherschools,and collegeswould be drafted.For the firsttimein modern
Japanesehistorynineteenyearolds weredrafted.The draftage was neverloweredto
in Western
eighteen,despitethefactthateighteenwas theusual age ofconscription
countries,probablybecauseeighteenyearolds wereconsideredchildrenin Japan. In
the new regulation,GeneralSuzuki Takao, presidentof the GreatJapan
justifying
of
Youth Corps, explained:"Some may harbordoubtsas to the physicalefficiency
thatboysat
the boysbelow the age of twenty.But I can assureyou withconfidence
nineteenyearsold are physicallyfullygrown"(NipponTimes,December25, 1943).
Young men below the age of nineteen,however,could volunteerforauxiliary
and some of thosewho did weresent
militaryserviceas "youngsoldiers"(shonenhei),
policemen(Ichiokunin
to theNakanoMilitaryPoliceSchoolto becomejuniormilitary
1976:144). In October 1944 all boysaged seventeenand eighteenwereorderedto
780
BEN-AMISHILLONY
registerto serveas a militiaifJapanwas invaded(NihonkindaikyJiku1974, Vol.
5:1293).
Those notdraftedincludedseveralthousandforeignstudents,mostofthemfrom
East and SoutheastAsia, who werestudyingin Japan. In addition,therewerealso
studentsfromGermany,France,and Italy, a fewWhite Russiansand two Jewish
studentsfromManchukuo.The latterstudiedeconomicsand architecture
at Waseda.2
Those studentswho remainedin school did not receivemuch schoolingin the
finalyearof the war fortheywere frequently
called upon to help out in factories,
hospitals,and farms.When the massiveair raidsintensified
in the springof 1945,
the physicalpremisesof manyuniversities
weredestroyedand learningbecamevirtuallyimpossible.
The periodicmobilizationof studentsforwork(gakutodoin)had begun in 1939,
whenthegovernment
decidedthatcollegeand university
studentsshouldspendone
week a yearhelpingfarmers.In February1941 thisperiodof servicewas expanded
to one month,and in November1939 the regulationwas extendedto includework
in factories
and mines.In May 1943 thePatrioticAssociationofStudentsforServing
the State (Gakuto kinroh6kokukai)was set up, and studentsof both sexes from
schools of middle and highereducationwere requiredto performsuch work. The
studentswereorganizedinto squads along with theirteachers,and theywere sent
to workon farms,factories,
and hospitalsforextendedperiods.Some schoolsthemselveswereturnedintofactories,
orbarracks.InJune1943, thelimitation
warehouses,
on the employment
of womenand childrenwas suspended.Thousandsof students,
girlsas well as boys,died duringthe last yearof World War II when the factories
in whichtheywereworkingwerebombed. In Okinawa 190 volunteergirl students,
the HimeyuriButai (Red StarLily Unit), fromthe local normalschool,who served
as nursesat the armyfieldhospital,died when the Americansattackedthe island
(Nakamura 1976:241).
Women wereneverdraftedinJapan.Answeringa questionfromtheDiet on the
subjectin 1943, PrimeMinisterTojo said: "Thereis no need forour nationto draft
women for work just because America and Britain are doing so....
We must re-
memberthatwe areable to perform
ourdutiesherein theDiet onlybecausewe have
wivesand mothersat home"(NipponTimes,October28, 1943). T-ojowas, ofcourse,
wrong.Women weredraftedforworkin Britainbut not in the United States.
The studentswho wentto workspentmuchof theirsparetime reading.In the
fallof 1944 Professor
Ueda Seiji oftheSecondHigherSchoolin Sendaisurveyed162
studentworkersin the Tokyoand Tohoku districts.He foundout that,unlike the
otherfactory
workers,the studentswerereading,and the books theywere reading
had nothingto do withthe war effort.
Accordingto Ueda's findings,mostworking
studentswerereadingnovelsby Frenchand Russianauthors,the mostpopularones
being Maupassantand Tolstoy(NipponTimes,March24, 1945).
As the bombingsincreasedand theenemyapproachedJapan,it becamefutileto
keepup theeducationalfacade.In February1945 thecabinetsuspendedall schooling
in the lowergradesof elementary
exceptforinstruction
schooland the researchinstitutesso that studentscould be mobilizedforthe "decisivebattle forthe home
islands"(hondokessen).
Most of the schoolsthatwerecloseddid not reopenuntilthe
warhad ended. In February1945 scienceand technologystudentswerealso drafted.
Accordingto the officialhistoryof the Ministryof Education, "In June 1945, as
2
Personalcommunicationfromone ofthestudents.
781
Japan was bracingitselfforthe battleforthe homeland,studentsconstitutedthe
core ofJapan'sproductionand defence"(Ministryof Education 1950:449).
eitheras soldiers
By the war's end all studentswereinvolvedin the war effort,
or as workers.For the firsttime in Japanesehistorystudentsweremade to feelresponsibleforthe fateof theirnation. This sense of involvementwas to survivein
forms.
lateryears,althoughin different
Idealism Betrayed
ofJapanesestudentsin World War II was achievedin
The spiritualinvolvement
of independentpoliticalactivityor dissent
two ways:by suppressingall expressions
of
the students.
idealism
to
the
innate
and by appealing
In the 1930s criticsoftencomplainedthat the studentswere not serious. In
January1938 the magazineChzij koroncarriedan articleby ShimmyoMasamichi
(underthe headline"Shouldthe StudentsCut TheirHair?") in whichstudentswere
(Shimmyo1938:175-84). In April
urgedto showmoreconcernaboutnationalaffairs
ofthatyearfemalenovelistSatoToshiko,writingin thesamemagazine,tookstudents
to task fortheireasygoingmannersand lack of commitment(Sato 1938:363-68).
maxim that said
This negativeimage of studentswas reflectedin a contemporary
studentswere respectedin the Meiji era, fearedin the Taisho era, but theywere
despisedin the Showa era (Shiba 1950:180).
Studentsduringthe interwaryearswere not hawkish;pacifismwas still strong
conducteda nationwide
amongthem.In December1939 themagazineBungeishunjzi
Japanshouldadopta tougherpolicytowardtheUnitedStates.About
poll on whether
two-thirdsof the respondentsanswered"yes," as against one-thirdthat answered
no." The numberof negativeanswerswas greaterthanthe numberofpositiveones
onlyamong students("Kokuminwa" 1940:157).
madevariousefforts
to developstudentpatriotism.In thespring
The government
of 1941 all voluntarystudentassociationsweredisbandedand replacedby patriotic
headed by collegeand university
presidents.Culturaland
(hJkokudan)
organizations
sportsactivitiesweretrimmedto a minimumin ordernot to distractthe students
which
fromtheirduties,and novelssuch as ThomasHardy'sTessofthed'Urbervilles,
contained explicit love scenes, were withdrawnfromthe libraries (Karasawa
1955:373-74; Nihonkindaikyjiku1974, vol. 5:1258-59). All thiswas oflittleavail,
however.
During the firstyearofWorld War II studentswereskepticalabout officialexof
hortationsin the same way thatstudentsin previousyearshad been mistrustful
othergovernment
propaganda.A fewmonthsaftertheoutbreakofwar,JohnMorris,
a Britonwho taughtEnglishat Tokyo ImperialUniversityand who remainedfree
in 1942, observed:"Thereis amongthe presentgenerationof
untilhis repatriation
students
fairlywidespreaddislikeofthearmy,and I havelittledoubt that
university
small number
it
were
leftto individualchoice, onlya comparatively
even todayif
ofthemwouldenlist.Manyofthestudentsin myown classesseizeeveryopportunity
to absentthemselvesfrommilitarytraining"(Morris1943:202).
A similarobservationcan be foundin the diaryof Yabe Sadaji, a professorof
politicalscienceat TokyoImperialUniversity.His diaryentryofJanuary21, 1942,
revealsthathislectureofthatdateon theNew Orderin EastAsia amusedthestudents
to the point of laughter.Yabe's angryconclusionwas that the perniciousliberal
782
BEN-AMISHILLONY
influencesof prewartimesstill lingeredon campus,and that the universitieswere
"farbehindthe times"(Yabe 1974, vol. 1:493).
Althoughleft-wingwritingswere banned,both professors
and studentsfound
ways to evade the ban. Studentsof ProfessorOkdchi Kazuo's seminarin political
scienceat Tokyo ImperialUniversityduringthe war managedto read and discuss
books by Marx and Lenin, referring
to them in class as "Mr. M." and "Mr. L."
(Okochi 1979:45-46).
When he was in schoolin 1943 Sasaki Hachiro,an economicsstudentat Tokyo
ImperialUniversity
who laterdied as a suicidepilot in Okinawa, wrotein his diary
that he was readingDas Kapital and a book about the SovietUnion. Sasaki noted
thathe wishedthatJapanhad leadersas capableas Leninand Stalin(Nihon Sembotsu
1952:133-14).
Some studentstriedto evade the draftby enteringmedicalschool, wherethey
would be deferred
untiltheage oftwenty-six
(Oe 1981:142-43). Studentswho were
draftedtriedto becomepaymasters,
a positionin whichtheycould attainthe rank
of firstlieutenantwithoutmucheffort
aftersix months(Kansai Gakuin 1975:178).
However,as the war situationworsenedand the veryexistenceofJapanwas in
jeopardy,the mood of the studentschanged. The countrywas in danger,and its
youngmenmustsaveit. On June15, 1943, theNipponTimesreportedthat,following
the "gallantdeath"of AdmiralYamamotoIsorokuin Aprilof thatyear,morethan
5,000 studentshad applied forservicewith the naval air forcereserve.Of these
volunteersabout 1,000 were fromWaseda, 800 fromMeiji University,700 from
TokyoImperialUniversity,
and 500 fromHosei University
(NipponTimes,June 15,
1943).
When thestudentmobilizationorderwas issuedon September22, 1943, a sense
ofexcitement
sweptthecampusesofcollegesand universities.
IrokawaDaikichi,then
a literaturestudentat Tokyo ImperialUniversity,laterdescribedhis feelingsas he
stood in the Meiji GardenStadiumwith thousandsof otherstudentsand sang the
martialsong "Umi yukaba":"An aestheticexcitement,
almostan intoxication,
swept
all of us standingthereat thatgreatmoment."Elsewherehe wrote:"We feltthat
at last we weregoing to sacrificeour small, limitedselvesforthe greatand noble
cause ofJapan"(Irokawa 1974: 137ff.;Todai Juhachi-shiKai 1968:66).
"Umi yukaba"was a popularsongwiththedraftstudents.The words,byOtomo
no Yakamochi, are fromthe eighth-century
anthology,Manyo
shfi;the music, by
NobutokuKiyoshi,was composedin October 1937, at the beginningof the Second
Sino-Japanese
War:
Umiyukaba
Mizukukabane
Yamayukaba
Kokemusukabane
Ogimino
Heni kososhiname
Kaerimiwa seji
If I go out to the sea
My corpsewill be coveredby water
If I climb the mountains
My corpsewill be coveredby moss.
It is forthe emperor
That I am going to die
And neverreturn.
Most enlistedstudentsjoined the navy,and this upset armydraftofficers
(Kiyosawa,vol. 1: 194). However,the armyhad been associatedwiththe futilewar in
Chinaand withpoliticaloppressionat home,and thenavyrepresented
thewaragainst
the white man's colonialismin SoutheastAsia. The navywas also associatedwith
technologicaladvance,and its officers
woreneat whiteuniforms.Studentswere reportedto be attractedby the "threeS's" ofthe navy:saiensu(science),sumaato(smart
783
fromthe"three
(silence)(Yamada 1966:150). Thesediffered
appearance),andsairensu
studentsin the Taisho period:sports,sex, and screen.
S's" thathad characterized
Yet the "threeS's" of the earlierera were not dead. There are no statisticson
duringWorld War II in Japan. Although
sex, but the movie industryflourished
disbandedthebaseball
bannedand thegovernment
Westernsportshad beenofficially
in April 1943, whenthe studentmobilizationwas
league of the Tokyouniversities
could thinkof no betterfarewell
announcedin the fallof thatyear,the universities
giftto theirdepartingstudentsthanto allow themto have one finalbaseballmatch
betweenthe Waseda and Keio teams(Tokyo juni channeru1969, vol. 4:141).
Many studentswho had been draftedvolunteeredto becomepilots. When the
commonlyknownas kamikaze)was organizedin 1944,
specialattackforce(tokkdtai,
mostof the volunteerscame fromthe ranksof draftedstudents.In fact,638 of the
who died as kamikazepilots (or 83 percent)were students(Tamaki
769 officers
forthisdangeroustaskJapanesestudents
1961:209). It appearsthatbyvolunteering
hoped to provethattheywerenot the eggheadcowardsthattheywereoftenaccused
took part, the kamikaze
of being. Unlike the mass assaultsin which infantrymen
as
flyinga singleplane. This requiredself-confidence
pilot was an individualfighter
well as scientific
sophistication,
two traitsthatwerefoundmoreamongdraftedstudentsthanamong othercategoriesof soldiers.
in theWest as a fanaticwarrior,in factwas quite
The kamikazepilot, portrayed
oftena well-educated,idealisticyouthwith littlepersonalhatredforthe American
forthegruesomemissionout ofa senseofduty
enemy.In mostcases he volunteered
and a wish to provehimselfin the social milieu of his peers.
beforethewar,tending
Idealisticallyorientedstudentsopposedtheestablishment
to favorleft-wingideologies. But, during the finalyearof World War II, their
idealismveeredsharplyso that, forthe firsttime since the earlyMeiji period, the
idealismof youngpeople coincidedwith the goal of the state: to save Japan from
theirlivesderivedless from
foreigninvasion.The visionthatstirredthemto sacrifice
samurai,thanfromthesecular,
archaicbelief,or thetraditionoftheself-immolating
Westernidea of dyingfora homelandin danger.
In diariesand lettersthatwereleftbehind,kamikazepilotsoftenappearas sensitive,evenpacifistyouthswho hatewar,like classicalmusicand Westernliterature,
but at the same time are readyto sacrificetheirlives to save theircountry(Nihon
Sembotsu1952). Althoughthe studentsexpresstheirwillingnessto die forthe sake
ofJapan,in thesediariesand letterstheyhardlyevermentionthe emperor.
who died as a kamikaze
UeharaRyoshi,an economicsstudentat Keio University
pilot in 1945, wrotethis last note: "I was fascinatedby liberalism.I thoughtthat
liberalismwas indispensableto the survivalofJapan. This may sound foolishnow
But I stillthinkthatifwe open our eyesand
thatJapanhas adoptedtotalitarianism.
reflectupon humannaturewe will realizethatliberalismis the mostlogical philosophy.... TomorrowI am leavingon mylastmission.... Tomorrowone moreliberal
will departfromthisworld. His vanishingfiguremaylook sad, but his heartis full
of joy" (Nihon Sembotsu1952: 1-2, 228).
Anothersuicidepilot, HayashiIchizo, an economicsstudentat Kyoto Imperial
and a Christian,wroteto his mothersayingthathe read the Bible every
University
eveningand that he intendedto carryit with him on his suicide mission(Nihon
Sembotsu1952:215-17).
Sasaki Hachiro, the Tokyo ImperialUniversitystudentwho read Marx and admiredLenin and Stalin, wrotebeforehe was drafted:"I do not know whetherthis
waror not, but I knowthatI shallfulfillmydutyand responsibility.
is a reactionary
784
BEN-AMI SHILLONY
I shall musterall mystrengthto do my best. I wantto die in performing
the most
noble duty.I do not desirecitations.I do not expectfuturehistoriansto praiseme.
My onlywishis to live and die as a humanbeingwho fulfilled
his dutyby carrying
out his responsibilities"
(Nihon Sembotsu1952:115).
There was much innocenceand naivetein the cheerfulmannerin which these
draftedstudentswent to sacrificethemselvesfortheircountry.Unagami Haruo, a
studentof economicsat Tokyo ImperialUniversity,wrotebeforedepartingforthe
Philippines,wherehe met his death: "I am leavingcheerfully
to fulfillmy duty.
Haruo is still in everysensea student"(Nihon Sembotsu1952:283).
This youthfuloutburstofpatrioticidealismcame to an abrupthalt withJapan's
in 1945. Defeatand thepostwartransformation
surrender
madesuchwartimeheroism
appearto be lunaticactionsof whichone shouldbe deeplyashamed.The misplaced
idealismof the studentshad been betrayed;theirself-sacrifice
provedto have been
in vain.
The feelingsof betrayaland disillusionprobablynurturedthe extremepacifism
as well as the extrememilitancyof the Japanesestudentmovementin the years
followingWorld War 11. Postwarstudentradicalskeptalive theirwartimesenseof
involvement
in nationalaffairs
and the convictionthattheywereresponsibleforthe
fateofJapan. Like the wartimestudents,the postwarstudentsbelievedthat they
could pull theircountryback fromthe brinkof disasteronlythrougha violentand
heroicact. Theyeventookoversomeoftheanti-American
phraseology
ofthewartime
years.
Yet, unlikethe wartimestudents,the main enemyof postwarstudentswas the
of theirown country,the directheir of the wartimeestabpoliticalestablishment
lishmentthathad exhortedthemto sacrificetheirlivesfora cause thatprovedto be
wrong.Nevertheless,thepostwarstudentshad to facethe problemof how to relate
to theirfallencomrades.Were thesedead warriorsmerevictimsto be pitied? Or
weretheyevil monstersto be condemned?In 1949 thestudentsofTokyoUniversity
fallen
publisheda collectionof excerptsfromthe diariesand lettersof seventy-six
The collection,called Kike
students,one-thirdof whomwerefromtheiruniversity.
nokoe[Listento the Voices of the Ocean], becamea best-sellerand bred
wadatsumi
thegenreof"Wadatsumiliterature,"
whichconsistsofthediariesand lettersoffallen
students.
The JapanesesculptorHongo Shin built a "Wadatsumistatue"in 1950, which
he offered
to erecton thecampusofTokyoImperialUniversity.The studentsfavored
authorities
this,but university
hesitated,probablybecausetheywerenot clearabout
theconnotations
thatsucha statuemighthave.When thisbecameknownto Suekawa
in Kyoto,
Hiroshi,theliberaljuristwhowas thenpresidentofRitsumeikanUniversity
he invitedHongo to erectthestatueon thatcampus.Suekawawas one oftheprofessors
who had resignedfromKyotoImperialUniversityin 1933, in protestoverthe dismissalofProfessor
Takikawa.Now, twentyyearslater,he wantedto honorthememoryof thefallenstudentswho had also been victimsofJapan'sauthoritarian
regime.
The statue,set up on the Ritsumeikancampusin 1953, was awardedtheJapan
CulturalPeace Prize. At firstthe studentsrespectedthe statueas a memorialto the
idealisticyouthswho had died in a senselesswar. However,sixteenyearslater,when
the studentturmoilof 1969 engulfedJapan,the radicalscame to regardthe statue
as an expressionof evil nationalism.They attackedand destroyedit in May 1969
(Kadoya 1973:207-8). The statuewas recastthefollowingyear,and it standstoday
on the campusgrounds,a symbolof the ideals and folliesof World War 11and its
profoundimpacton Japan.
785
List of References
Amano Ikuo. 1978. Kyuisei
semmon
gakko[The old-systemprofessional
colleges]. Tokyo: Keizai Shimbunsha.
1979. "Continuityand Change in the StructureofJapaneseHigher Education." In Changesin theJapanese
University,
ed. William K. Cummings,Ikuo
Amano, and KazuyukiKitamura,pp. 10-39. New York: Praeger.
Doo, Soo Suh. 1952. "The StruggleforAcademicFreedomin JapaneseUniversities
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Universities and Students in Wartime Japan

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