reading - in manchuria, ch. 13-15

[clay dube]

Meyer never mentions any other current writers on Manchuria in the body of the text (btw - what do you think of this habit?), but names folks in his notes and bibliography. The Kindle version of the book makes accessing this stuff time consuming, but you folks with the hard cover, should take a look. For Ch. 13, Meyer notes American historian Sheldon Harris's book on Japan's biological experimentations/warfare (Review of Factories of Death from H-net: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=8907)
but decades before (1978, English version) Saburo Ienaga wrote about Unit 731 and other atrocities in The Pacific War (Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Pacific-War-1931-1945-Pantheon/dp/0394734963). When I taught Japanese history, I used this excellent work. Read about Ienaga's struggle to tell students a fuller picture of Japan's road to war and conduct of war:

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/08/obituaries/08IENA.html

http://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/dec/03/guardianobituaries.japan

Part of the book is online at: https://books.google.com/books?id=49bWRrBQP74C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

[Anonymous]

The mention of California seeking out Japanese farm laborers for their strawberry fields came as a surprise to me. In 1956, many Japanese men came to the US, with restrictions of course, to work in the strawberry fields. This permit of immigration into California comes after much hostility towards Chinese and Japanese immigrants in the early 1900s. One of the restrictions made was that they were required to write an essay to the US Visa officer pledging that they were not a communist supporter or spy. This knowledge can be incorporated into the units covering immigration and industrialization and/or when the bracero program is taught to integrate other countries that were utilized for farm labor.

[clay dube]

Nagamine's story is a fascinating one. Some links:

UC Santa Cruz project built around his life:
http://news.ucsc.edu/2011/10/review-fall-2011-nagamine.html a video that is part of that project
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7AC593-F6o We see him returning to a village in China where he lived.

Santa Cruz newspaper article about him:
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/general-news/20110307/santa-cruz-county-stories-akira-nagamine-nurserymans-story-one-of-survival-perseverance

This paper notes that while most guest workers were from Mexico, some came from Japan and the Philippines. By 1960, in California (mostly in Ventura County), there were 1,730 Japanese and 28 Filipinos.
https://www.utexas.edu/lbj/uscir/binpapers/v3a-3martin.pdf

[Anonymous]

Chapter 13 is by far my favorite chapter. It is filled with tons of stories on historical characters. These short stories like those of Akira Nagamine, who was in Manchuria during the Russian Invasion, Operation Cardinal, America's first casualty of the Cold War, Japan's experimentation on the people of Manchuria, the Siege of Changchun and the last part of Puyi's life. These short stories can be used in a variety of chapters that I cover. They are short enough to be the reading for the day. In addition to these short stories, this chapter also provides data on the amount of resources Japan was taking from Manchuria. This would all be very useful when I teach about the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and the Cold War.

[Anonymous]

I agree, Chapter 13 was one of the more interesting chapters of the book because of the detail of Nagamine's story as a Japanese soldier. I knew the Soviets declared war on Japan but I guess I never put two and two together that it happened as the US war with Japan was ending. I knew the Japanese, still today, do not have a good relationship with most Chinese and Koreans because of their occupation of the two areas during WW2, but what was most interesting was how Japanese women committed murder and then suicide in China once the war ended and they were not being rescued by their country. They were highly encouraged/forced to move there to develop the Yamamato race and build the new order in Asia (pg 179) yet were left abandoned by their country.

I also found it interesting that he decided to come to California to work on a strawberry farm. It was ironic that the chapter started with the comparison of Japan imperialism in Manchuria being like the American "go west" mentality, and he moved to our west and helped our economy.

[Anonymous]

I also agree, chapter 13 is by far the most interesting. I’m intrigued that we are going to visit Unit 731. After reading the brief history of the Unit 731, I am curious to learn more about the occurrences that took thousands of lives. Unit 731 was a bacterial warfare research unit from 1932-1945 which was lead by Dr. Ishii Shiro. The fact that prisoners from China, Russia, Mongolia, and Korea were exposed to diseases/bacteria, amputations, hypothermia, and bullet wound is heart wrenching. Suffering was ignored, yet logged. These prisoners were demoralized for research sake. “Over thirteen years, and estimated three thousand prisoners were gruesomely kill at this site, in addition to the seven to nine thousand who died in Unit 731-affiliated bases across occupied China” (p. 198). In 1945, Ishii ordered anything that could place blame on him destroyed. “In 1948 the United States granted Ishii and eighteen subordinates immunity for war crimes prosecution” (p.199), he treated children in a Japanese clinic, and died at 67. I had a difficult time grasping the idea that someone can partake in such events and not even be arrested; simple questioning did not make up for his actions. During our visit, one of my questions will be in regards to the evidence that was gathered.
edited by malvarenga on 6/14/2015

[Anonymous]

So much important historical insight is packed into these chapters. I especially appreciate the way that Meyer humanizes all these tragedies, and the fact that by getting all of them in to the picture, he's able to avoid blaming one group more than another. For example, I am terrified by the unti 731 episode. Ishii Shiro is one of the most appalling villains in recent history. But then you read about the settlers committing suicide after being left stranded, and you meet Akira Nagamine, and suddenly it's the Japanese who are the victims. The extreme volatility of the region in forces you to achieve a larger perspective on the various parties involved. The siege of Changchun is as horrific as anything in the book, and that's saying a lot, but even today the official version of history apparently can't cope with it, as it is "an unspeakable national trauma that has not once been opened up."
For me the most telling moment occurs in Santa Cruz outside the Starbucks when Nagamine's daughter says "it's a miracle" and her father says "Mei guanxi." His deepeest reflections on his incredible endurance and the success of his will to live is in Chinese! And it's not exactly in line with what his daughter said about him.
The material on Operation Cardinal was a revelation to me. I had never given a thought to the fact that John Birch was the name of a real person. Hal Leith's story is amazing and makes a great parallel to that of Akira Nagamine. Both men survived a situation where they were extremely isolated and surrounded by hostile forces, even though one of them represented the victor in the Pacific War and the other was a soldier for the side that surrendered.

[Anonymous]

I am blessed, as are all the other 2015 study tour fellows, with a hardcover copy of In Manchuria, and as a result, the book's references are more easily available to me than to a reader encountering the book on Kindle. My general impression is that, in following other such research intensive writers as the American historian Rick Perlstein (Nixonland, etc.) down the path of relegating footnotes to the end of the volume, or even web-only, as in the case of Perlstein's Invisible Bridge, we are just seeing the impact of economics on book publishing, rather than any conspiracty to slight the works of other scholars in the field. Meyer is an interesting case, as he doesn't seem to be an academic with tenure review looming, but he nevertheless retains a lot of the habits of mind and logical/ethical considerations one associates with academic scholarship. In general, I like the idea that we are in an era of new freedom for history writing, not because I reject common standards of evidence and credit-sharing, but because I see the need for history to address new audiences with new rhetorical strategies.

[Anonymous]

I am really appreciating all the background presented in Richard Bernstein's book China in 1945: Mao's Revolution and America's Fateful Choice. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/book-review-china-1945-mao-and-america-by-richard-bernstein/2014/12/12/061d0f80-4f04-11e4-aa5e-7153e466a02d_story.html
For anyone looking to get deeper into the history of American military involvement in East Asia, this is a great place to start.

[Anonymous]

In a similar vein of developing the mid-west with the Homestead Act, Japan encouraged settlement of Manchuria through a series of incentives directed at the poor farming class of Japan. There was a lot of patriotic jargon and the people that settled Manchuria felt that they were making their country proud. However, with the fall of Japan, they were ignored and left to be conquered, " Many committed suicide, together." The Chinese urge the people to remember what the Japanese did during their occupation in China, "Forgetting history means betrayal." I can see this topic as very powerful in a history class, discussing imperialism and its effects both positive and negative as well as the aftermath.
edited by sghoneim1 on 6/20/2015

[Anonymous]

I too found reading about unit 731 horrible. It’s awful that something like that could happen, using prisoners as human guinea pigs and yet no one was held accountable or punished. What was the point of the Geneva protocol (in 1925) where it was banned to use biological and chemical warfare?
I was reading an interesting article about agribusiness in the LA times from March of this year.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-meyer-china-agribusiness-farms-20150322-story.html#page=1
It quotes Meyer’s book- Auntie Yi & how she is unhappy about the grass strip next to the road- & how they pulled out her poppies. This was all because a visitor was coming. They wanted to widen the road, paint the houses & change things. Auntie Yi was not happy that they got rid of her poppies- she thought it looked too green now. The article talks about how there is too much acreage that is being paved over for the last 30 years and that the land is becoming too polluted.
“Today farmers are allotted a plot about the size of an American football field but are barred from owning it outright. Yet the government is telling them that privatizing farms is a national priority, so long as companies, not individuals, manage the land. As one elderly Wasteland farmer who has lived through six decades of economic experimentation fumed, “Someone up here,” he said, raising his arm, “is always telling us down here what to do.” In feudal times, it was landlords. Then came cadres. Now it's managers at Eastern Fortune Rice.” Just like Auntie Yi said that “people are always unhappy when things are new...but really they’re unsure” is not unique to China. People will complain about what they are nervous or unsure of. They fear the unknown or the loss of control.

[Anonymous]

In chapter 14 Auntie Yi inadvertently exchanges her row of flowers along Red Flag Road (P.207-8) for a single coat of yellow paint on one side of her house (P.218). Despite exclaiming that everyone in the village knew Auntie Yi had planted the poppies, the workers sent by EF took no notice of them nor asked anyone if the flowers belonged to anyone. This was one example of what the villagers claimed the EF could do since they had the support of the police and the government (P.211).

Another example of the EF’s rising power is that the company is basically forcing farmers to sell or rent their land to the company. In Chapter 16, Mr. Guan tells Meyer why he took the deal. Guan stated that in exchange for his house, he would get a new apartment, an annual payment for allowing the company to farm his land and a job working for them (P.241). However, Auntie Yi points out several problems with this deal. Farmers who give up their homes and land will be forced to pay bills for heating and water, purchase produce instead of growing it themselves and alter their way of life (P.211).

As a westerner, this sounds a lot like eminent domain. In California, we have examples of the state government and BART acquiring land to build mass transit systems. We see that both governments can justify relocating people or taking private land for public use. Auntie Yi explains that many people are upset and worried about what the future holds for them (P.212-13). I can sympathize with their concerns because China has gone through agricultural changes every two generations. During Mao’s reign, you have changes made to implement collective agriculture that forced farmers to continually alter their methods. For example, farmers had to share tools, animals and workers during the mutual aid period of the early 1950s and then share their land in cooperatives by the mid 1950s (P.214). Twenty years later, change came again after Mao passed. Villagers banded together to speak out against collectives and government quotas. As Mr. Yan’s son explained, these people “had no other choice. It was human instinct, trying not to die (P.217). The village leaders who signed this pledge risked their lives for change. To help students understand the risk, I would juxtapose the actions of the American rebels signing the Declaration of Independence. By signing these documents, both groups of leaders risked their lives for change.

Now that Chinese companies like EF are taking land back from farmers, I wonder if the farmers will again come together to fight this trend or simply accept it. I think this would make a good dilemma for students to analyze. They could research and report on the different agricultural changes that took place in the 20th century, discuss the pros and cons of each, and create an argument to support one agricultural system.

[Anonymous]

Chapter 13

Japan used patriotic propaganda to encourage settlement by Japanese farmers in Manchukuo. The program was called “Millions to Manchuria.” Younger sons of Japanese villagers and their families were relocated on the bandit infested frontiers of Manchuria. They were given cultivated land confiscated from from Manchurians. One village, the Place of four Families was successfully settled by Japanese immigrants. When the course of WWII turned against Japan, Japanese forces in Manchuria were overrun by the Russian Army. Survivors along with military families were evacuated leaving farmers as the last defense. Japanese women and children waited in vain on the banks of the Songhua River for rescue boats that never came. Many Japanese mothers left their children on the dock and drowned themselves in the river. All over Manchukuo Japanese committed suicide. Some surviving women married Chinese and many orphaned Japanese children were adopted by Chinese. During Obon, the tomb sweeping festival, relatives of the Japanese settlers come to Manchuria to honor the dead.
Akira Nagamine’s survival is a “miracle” according to his daughter. He was conscripted during the final days of WWII to fight for Japan in Manchuria. He survived by foraging food and disguising himself as a pioneer farmer. He farmed, worked as a porter, and then as a lumberjack. During the Korean War he turned himself in to Chinese authorities and was sent home to Japan. When the U.S. opened immigration to California for strawberry pickers from Japan Akira jumped at the chance. He now owns a successful farm. 0 0 1 212 1212 DIRECTV 10 2 1422 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Hal Leith was chosen by the U.S. Military to parachute into Manchuria ahead of the Russian invasion to secure the safety of U.S. POWs. After he is captured by Japanese soldiers he was able to convince the Japanese commander that Japan had surrendered and all POWs were freed safely. John Birch was another American with a similar mission. Against the advice of his Chinese guide he confronted his captors, challenged, and then threatened them. He was executed. His American bravado, pride, and arrogance in the face of danger would endear him to conservatives.
The Soviet Union invaded Manchuria raped, pillaged, murdered, and stole everything of value including machinery and railroad tracks and equipment.
The siege of Changchun lasted 5 months and starved the population of the city to death. The communists are proud that the surrender came without firing a shot but they never publicize the terrible cost in human life.
Unit 731 was where the Japanese occupiers conducted biological warfare testing on prisoners. They tested different doses of biological agents to see how much humans could tolerate before they died. When the Japanese Army evacuated they burned the facility and killed the remaining prisoners. Dr. Ishii Shiro shipped his records to Japan. He testified before the Americans who found his research of such value that he was never charged with war crimes. He lived out his remaining life a free man.
edited by karenrieger on 6/28/2015

[Anonymous]

Chapter 14

San Jiu is upset with Meyer over his attempt to pay for his medical care. Meyer is informed that he is no longer welcome at the long-standing weekly dinner date. Meyer seeks advice from Auntie Yi. Meyer shows up for dinner armed with treats and pork and all is forgiven.
Everyone is uncomfortable with change. We work so hard to adapt to the expectations of the world order we live in that change in that order is extremely uncomfortable. Auntie Yi lived through a fundamental change in Chinese society. In order for communism to topple thousands of years of tradition extreme discipline was necessary. Erosion of the measures that communism put in place is very upsetting to her. The growing status and economic division between rural and city populations troubles Auntie Yi who worked so hard to build a new order built on equity. She has staunchly supported the party through communal and then individual agricultural models, but she draws the line at corporate agriculture. Where is the patriotism in that? The advantages of the new corporate system of agriculture are obvious; increased yields, food safety, maximum efficiency, and incorporate the latest scientific advances. Farmers are free to take city jobs and have access to better schools for their children. The disadvantages for the farmers are also obvious. Currently the farmers grow their own vegetables and raise chickens for meat and eggs. The rice production provides a living wage and the rice stalks that are leftover at harvest provide heat during the year. Farmers that sign over their plots of land and trade their houses for company apartments lose these advantages.
It is obvious when an important visitor is expected in Wasteland for the small hamlet becomes a Potemkin village. Roads are improved and houses are painted. Citizens are prevented from moving about and must be sequestered during the visit.

[Anonymous]

Chapter 15

Uncle Fu provides an important insight into the Korean War and Manchuria’s part in it. The U.S. under general MacArthur believed the war had been won, however Uncle Fu as part of a Korean Chinese military unit moved by night and sheltered in caves by day to flank the American eighth Army. This action extended the war by twenty months.
Shenyang was once a model Workers Village. State run factories created the iron rice bowl. Everyone had a state job and life was good. The jobs provided housing, healthcare, and education. When Meyer visited in 2000 the dream had died and state run factories had closed. Many women were reduced to working in dance halls to make a living. By 2011 privatization was taking over and money worship ruled. Tourists took pictures by a replica of the wall street bull and Bill gates was hailed as the patron saint of wealth.
Dadong is now a tourist destination where tourists walk the the end of the Yalu River Broken Bridge to take pictures and gaze at North Korea.

[Author]

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