Literature
Books
A newly published book, by Professor Tsuyoshi Amemiya of Aoyama
Gakuin University and Professor Kazuaki Saito of the International
Christian University (available from Fax. +81 42-771-3707
for \500) details the history of memorial services held at
the British Commonwealth War Cemetery at Hodogaya, Yokohama,
which have annually been organized by the authors since 1995
with the support of Takashi Nagase, former Japanese military
interpreter and founder of the River Kwai Peace Foundation,
and author of Crosses and Tigers (see under Literature). In
this cemetery are buried the 1,700 Allied Prisoners of War
who died in Japan during the war. A plaque records that 'The
Land on Which This Cemetery Stands is the Gift of the People
of Japan for the Perpetual Resting Place of the Sailors, Soldiers
and Airmen who are Honoured Here'.
Other supporters of these services include BCS members Yoshiko
Tamura and Taeko Sasamoto, who have dedicated enormous effort
in researching and recording the personal details of all the
Allied Prisoners of War, buried in this cemetery, and the
circumstances of their deaths. Any visitor to this website
who may have information to offer about any of the war dead
at Hodogaya, please contact the BCS secretariat who will convey
it to the researchers. They are part of a new network of academics,
researchers and other interested people who, in addition to
organizing and participating in these memorial services, work,
with the aim of promoting peace and reconciliation, to uncover
and record information about the treatment of Allied Prisoners
of War of the Japanese Army and especially about those who
died in Japan during the war.
(related link: POW
research network Japan)
One especially important person in this network, who is also
a BCS member, is Len Harrop MBE, who has, for almost the entire
post-war period, looked after the Hodogaya Cemetery, for the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission. He has been assisted by
the Friends of the Cemetery in his tireless personal crusade
to find the places in Japan at which the POWs died, to record
accurately the facts of their deaths and to publicize those
facts. His latest efforts have resulted in the uncovering,
for a BBC World News story, the circumstances of the killing
of British airman Hockley, on the same day as, but after,
the Japanese surrender. Len has lived in Japan for over 50
years.
Book
Reviews
'The Yamato Dynasty' by Sterling and Peggy
Seagrave
Review by Akemi Solloway, BCS Committee Member
'The Yamato Dynasty' by Sterling and Peggy Seagrave is a
challenging book that examines the role of the Japanese imperial
family and close advisers. While I am sure that many people
would question the reliability of some of the Seagraves'
sources
and the conclusions that they draw, the book provides interesting,
and very human, character studies of the various members
of
the imperial family from the Meiji Restoration to the late
1990s. Prince Chichibu, one of the brothers of the late Emperor
Hirohito, is given particularly close attention and comes
across as an important historical figure as well as a complex
and likable man.
For members of the Burma Campaign Society, the chapters
that deal with the 2nd World War will probably be of most
interest.
They are also the most controversial, as the Seagraves
make a case for the close involvement of imperial princes
in many
aspects of the war. While some people may well be angered
by the authors' treatment of these issues, I believe that
this book provides a stimulating addition to the ongoing
civilized
debate on our shared recent history.
'The Yamato dynasty' is published in paperback by Corgi.
ISBN 0 552 147095. This book can be found in the SOAS Burma
Campaign
Memorial Library.
'Kiku Division--An Army Doctor's Diary in Burma'
by Dr. Shiokawa
Review by Professor Niwayama Hideo
Kiku Division--An Army Doctor's Diary in Burma, published
on July 31 2002 by Nihon-hyoronsha in Tokyo. No English version
has been published. The author Dr. Shiokawa was born in Kobe
and brought up in Tokyo. He graduated from Tokyo University
and was dispatched to Burma in 1942. He mainly fought in the
north part of Burma and belonged to the 18th Division (of
which the code name was Kiku).
Kiku Division was stationed in northern Burma aiming to disrupt
the Enshou-route (a famous route delivering support to China).
Dr Shiokawa wrote the book to console the many dead soldiers
of the Kiku Division. According to his explanation, the reason
for the Japanese defeat in Burma was first that the Japanese
army had no quartermaster depot and second that they had no
help from the airforce.
Booklets
and articles, etc.
Booklets
Four booklets, in English, by Japanese authors are available
from the BCS office .
Each one costs £15.00 including P & P. They detail
Japanese experiences in the Burma Campaign.
| Building the Burma-Thailand Railway 1942-43 -
An
Epic of World War II |
Kazuo Tamayama |
| Drifting Down the Chindwin, A Story of Survival. |
Manabu Wada |
| Tigers and Crosses |
Takashi Nagase |
| Those Forsaken by God, the Retreat from Imphal |
Yasumasa Nishiji |
Mail to:-
Booklets
The Burma Campaign Society
19 Norland Square
London W11 4PU
Tel: 020 7221 6985
Fax: 020 7792 1757
Email: info@burmacampaignsociety.org
Articles
These are articles available for download.
Other
Letters, reviews, and poems
Please e-mail us
your suggestions of books which you would like to review
in this section, on the themes covered by the Burma Campaign
Society.
|
