E05C, Yūko Hayashi ‘94 , Yoshie Hayashi (Lin), Grandmother, 1922, Gifu
World War II was the most frightful experience in my grandmother’s whole life, which she endured at a young age, and for me it was painful to interview her. Her testimony was so much more realistic than reading facts and information in a textbook. By interviewing her in November 1992, I was able to learn much more in depth about how people actually suffered, their living conditions, and the feelings of victims of war.
My grandmother was only 19 years old when Japan entered the war on December 8, 1941. She was pregnant with my uncle Kenneth, and she already had two children. My father had not yet been born. She and her children stayed in the countryside in Gifu for most of the war, since the government forced schoolchildren to separate from their parents and evacuate.
Her biggest fear was her endless sense of anxiety about whether bombs would be dropped on her home or neighborhood. Because of the unavoidable fact that she was Chinese, a foreigner, she and her family were always accused of being spies and was constantly watched by the military police. One incident that occurred was when she had gone to Nagoya with her children, while her husband was still in Gifu, worrying about her pregnancy. He escaped from Gifu to go to Nagoya, without permission of the government, and he got caught. He was put in prison for one day but was released due to the sympathy of the police. He was imprisoned simply because he was a foreigner. This shows how defensive the Japanese government was, afraid of losing the war.
My grandmother’s most painful memory was the loss of her child. The baby was two years old. He had an infection in his large intestine which caused severe diarrhea. Nowadays this would be cured in a day or so with medicine, but at the time, hospitals didn’t have adequate supplies, and she could not afford to buy the medicine.
She didn’t experience any long-term separation from her family, but even now she feels reluctant to recall her memory of her lost child. She took his body to a funeral home, but she wasn’t allowed to cremate him, because there were so many deaths. In order to get permission for the cremation, she had to bribe the undertaker with money or food, both of which were in short supply.
Our five senses bring bitter memories back to life. Memories return with all five senses. She clearly visualizes the scenes of cities in Gifu burning due to the B-29 bombers. Once she got lost on her way to the hospital, carrying her baby in her arms. The whole area was flattened by the severe bombing, and she saw dead bodies lying everywhere outside the air raid shelters. She constantly heard the air raid sirens warning of the B-29 attacks. During that time, people spent many hours in air raid shelters. However, she can’t recall the smell of the burning bodies, and she can’t understand why.
Shortage of food was a major problem. At the beginning of the war, there was enough food for everyone in the family, but as the war progressed, supplies ran out. People were given ration coupons, also called distribution tickets, which allowed a family to buy a limited amount. At times people got desperate for food. She often went to the black market to buy food at a much higher price. Since the black market was illegal, she was often chased by the military police! The only food available from the government was, according to her, “food that humans wouldn’t eat.” This was more like bird food, and only a tiny amount. The rice was rough brown rice, and my grandmother had to put it in a jar and smash it with a hard, thick stick [pestle] to make it edible. If she and her family wanted white rice, they had to give away or sell their belongings, such as sewing machines, watches, and kimono. Fortunately, though, her family never reached the point of absolute starvation, because her husband worked in a restaurant as a chef, and the boss used to tip him with food supplies, knowing that there were many children in the family.
Her health suffered due to psychological stress, frustration, and pressure. She saw that many people had gone out of their minds. Mothers with grown sons had no tears left to mourn them, because they were sent to join the military. Some were in the special attack corps (tokkō-tai, or kamikaze), where they were ordered to crash their planes deliberately into the target vessels, sacrificing their lives. Everyone was forced to swear “For the Emperor” repeatedly. People had constant stress everyday during the war years, coping with the reality of survival. It was truly a matter of life or death.
My grandmother and her family also were confronted every single second with being foreigners in Japan. This never allowed her a moment of peace. She was always afraid of being caught by the police who watched over foreigners all the time.
As the years passed and the war ended, living conditions gradually improved after General Douglas MacArthur arrived in Japan. Foreigners, including Chinese, were provided food and medical care. MacArthur was really good to the Japanese. Despite the fact that Americans had been their enemy, the Japanese appreciated that things had changed.
I asked her about the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Her reaction was one word: “cruel.” She heard that victims were walking the streets dragging their burnt skin. I also asked her about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Her reaction was also one word: “unfair.” The Japanese Navy attacked without any warning, and the Americans were not prepared for the war.
Even today [in 1992], many Japanese say that they have been criticized and ridiculed by Americans about the Pearl Harbor attack, especially those who are unforgiving and angry and who experienced the tragedy. Last year [in 1991] Newsweek magazine had a cover story on the 50th anniversary of the attack. When I asked my grandmother about this, she said that “It’s mean to attack Japanese now,” but at the same time she understood that she couldn’t blame Americans for their feelings. The surprise attack was an historical fact that Japanese cannot deny. She now hopes that this will never happen again, contradicting the phrase that “History repeats itself.”
The Japanese who were orphaned in China at the end of the war are the sad victims of World War II. Parents lost or abandoned their children in the chaos of the war. But many Chinese generously adopted the children and raised them with love and care, just like their real children. “Those Chinese are great people,” she said.
The experience of war drastically affected her point of view towards the environment, the world, and human death. She never wants to see people killing each other for any reason. She wants everyone to know how precious peace is. And I definitely agree.
After the interview was over, I was relieved, thinking that we live in a peaceful world. But on second thought, is it really so? I thought of the conflicts in Somalia and Yugoslavia and Cambodia. I pray that we humans should learn faster.