T03, Yoshiko Taniguchi ‘19, Keiko Taniguchi, Grandmother, 1938, Manchuria
This is the story of my 79-year-old paternal grandmother, Keiko Taniguchi, written in first-person perspective, based on the interview we had over the phone on October 20, 2017.
My Story: My name is Keiko Taniguchi, and this is my story. I was born in the northeastern part of China, in a small town called Fushun (Bujun in Japanese) in 1938. My father worked in the construction industry, and he was involved in the building of the South Manchurian Railway. He was often busy with work and always came home very late and tired. When I was three years old in 1941, Japan began war with countries such as the United States, Britain, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, and more. During this war, many Japanese had been suffering from the bombing raids caused by the Army Air Force of the United States. Therefore, many people died and suffered from this traumatic and terrifying attack. Fortunately, China did not suffer from the air raids, and I thought my family and I would be safe during World War II, until the Soviet soldiers and even soldiers of the Eighth Route Army (an army based in China and run by the Chinese Communist Party) came to our house. They threatened my family and pointed pistols towards us, taking our watches, leather products, and money. These incidents happened to us countless times.
After all this suffering and these tragic incidents, Japan finally stopped fighting in war on August 15, 1945. After the war, my family and I were still not able to go outside and I was not able to go to school. Therefore, some Chinese acquaintances and servants of ours delivered food and daily necessities to our house. I remember having very little food to eat. All I ever wanted to do was to end the war and protect my family.
My family and I were finally able to go back to our homeland in Japan one year after the war ended, in 1946. I was eight years old, and my parents, grandmother, my two sisters and I went back to Japan. However, due to the U.S. policies, we were only allowed to bring what we wore ourselves, and nothing else. We then stayed at a camp for many nights and went on endless train rides. In the end, we travelled from China to Japan by boat. It had been about one month since we left our house in Bujun, and we finally arrived in Fukuoka city in August in 1946.
When my family and I arrived in Fukuoka, Japan was still suffering from all of the aerial bombing during the war; hence there was a lot of damage to houses, villages, and many buildings. During this time, people did not have permanent shelters and therefore often temporarily lived in buildings called barracks. There was not much rice during this time, and I often ate vegetables such as sweet potatoes and pumpkins as a substitute for rice. In addition, we often had to wait in line for hours in order to get daily supplies from the government. However, we could only get the products based on the number of people in each family. Despite this, I often waited in line alongside my family for hours in order to survive. Moreover, since there were not many clothing stores available, I often wore old, torn clothes. This poor lifestyle was common in the area that I lived in and many Japanese were living in poverty.
When I was in Bujun, China, my family and I lived without any problems, but once I moved to Japan, we were constantly moving from place to place with very little money. The poor lifestyle in Japan fortunately only lasted for about two years in my case. In 1948, my family and I moved to Hiroshima where we built a house, and we finally were able to relax and feel safe.
The war was finally over in Japan, and everyone around me had hope and worked really hard in order to live and support their families. Due to everyone’s hard work, Japan was able to become a peaceful country as it is now. My sister and the rest of my family stayed in Hiroshima, while I moved to Matsuyama in Ehime prefecture where I met my future husband. Today, I am blessed with my husband, two children, and three grandchildren.
This is my story of being a young girl during World War II, growing up in a different country where I did not know a lot of people, where I was often surrounded by fear. Until this day, the traumatic moments in which pistols were pointed to my head will never be forgotten. Since Japan is a long and skinny country with very little surface area and resources, it is important for Japanese to keep peace with other countries so that we can continue trading different products. In addition, I believe that we have to collaborate together with people from other countries in order to maintain healthy relationships and to make Japan a safer country for all of us. Despite all the tragic events that happened during World War II, I will continue being a strong woman, and doing my best in everything in order to make this world a better place with no wars, just love and peace.