Letters of fallen WWII Japanese soldiers found in U.S.

I’ve yet to find many Japanese willing to talk about the war or even admit to family having gone to fight.

Nice gesture in particular by those who are familiar with the horrors of war.

It is a very touchy topic in Japan.

These letters are important because they reveal the souls of the dead soldiers. They are alive with the spirit of the soldiers although the hand that wrote them is dead.

Gifu Prefecture's Bereaved Families Association is searching for Takagi's surviving family members, but a man believed to be his son appears to have moved away from Gifu some 20 years ago, making his whereabouts unknown.

An if there was a "My Number" system in place back then, it would have been relatively easy to locate him.

A pity the letters were not onforwarded immediately after the war. Even then, Japan's "koseki" system should have ensured they reached their destinations.

kurisupisuToday  07:02 am JST

I’ve yet to find many Japanese willing to talk about the war or even admit to family having gone to fight.

Perhaps not with you, but my late wife’s grandfather always wanted to talk about it, and same for others I knew in Japan.

I pray that the letters are returned to their families and placed on the Butsudan (Buddhist alter in the home). It is unfortunate that the ashes are not there.

These letters are testaments to an ideology, that made a major shift in Japan including opening relations with the West that in effect ended millions of lives - Japanese and non-Japanese. The letters are of great historical importance.

Being a war vereran himself, Mr Howard Royal knew how important these letters would be to the bereaved families.

You can find many similar letters in the Yasukuni Shrine museum YushuKan 遊就館.

Japanese generally don't like talking about any history particularly their own war history. It's a sensitive topic. Many avoid it. Many know little about the history of other countries or some of the atrocities they committed too. It's best to talk about other topics with them such as food, sports, music ect

now deceased, was a U.S. Navy surgeon who is believed to have obtained the letters while exploring a cave on Wakde

and did the Christian thing by sending them to Japan immediately.

Well, might have if they were German letters, but the whole thing so... exotic

I’ve yet to find many Japanese willing to talk about the war or even admit to family having gone to fight.

Perhaps not with you, but my late wife’s grandfather always wanted to talk about it, and same for others I knew in Japan.

Exactly, not with you..

My best friend's deceased father was a cook for the Nazi army and he used to tell me a lot of stories from the Second World War..

Those still alive are now in their 90s and have better things to do than recall the war

Three goals: "Japanese generally don't like talking about any history particularly their own war history. It's a sensitive topic. Many avoid it. Many know little about the history of other countries or some of the atrocities they committed too."

Nah, they are incredibly proud of the history and traditions of the nation, as in many cases they should be, but you are right when it comes to WWII. No one who was involved wants to talk about out, likely out of shame. Some traveled to nations where atrocities were committed and have profusely apologized, and then were disowned by the government, who made it clear the former soldiers did not share any official government position. The only people I know who talk about it are people sharing their experiences as kids at the time, especially if they were the victims of the violence the war brought or witnessed it, or are right-wingers who think Japan did nothing wrong, probably some of whom had relatives who fought and maybe died for the Emperor. Just to illustrate this point, how many people have you heard of or know that were victims of the atomic bombings that speak out and want history to be remembered vs. former IJA soldiers involved in atrocities in Okinawa (forced suicides, etc.) or overseas and wanted to share their stories and not have history repeated?

In any case, it is a very moving gesture to see people trying to return these letters. Even if they cannot be returned they should be preserved somewhere and kept for future generations. Regardless of their message, they are the final, still-living words of people long gone.

I’ve yet to find many Japanese willing to talk about the war or even admit to family having gone to fight.

Even the 15yr old “youth brigade” soldiers would be in their 90’s now.

Been visiting any retirement homes recently?

In the early 90’s when I stayed at a Shizuoka family’s home, the grandmother told me about how her brother fought in Northern China, and bought land in Manchuria to start a farm. His land was confiscated after the war, and he died of pneumonia in a GHQ prison in Tokyo when he was jailed for fighting with some GIs in Tokyo.

Her brother in law, who ran a nearby tea farm, fought in the South Pacific and his regiment was almost completely annihilated in Burma. He escaped with a few other soldiers and stowed away to Japan by train and freight ship. They were tried for desertion but were released after the war ended. In the 70’s, he revisited the town in Burma that hid him for 2 weeks, but none of the original residents remained there.

The voices of the doomed never heard by those to whom they meant everything. That is a deep sadness in itself.

"Japanese generally don't like talking about any history particularly their own war history. It's a sensitive topic. Many avoid it. Many know little about the history of other countries or some of the atrocities they committed too. It's best to talk about other topics with them such as food, sports, music ect"

Americans are also ignorant of our own history and, when someone is pointing out the lies of 'popular' U.S. history, can become VERY "sensitive" to the topic. Regarding U.S. atrocities, whether past or now ongoing, there is usually complete denial and, yes, FOOD, SPORTS, MUSIC are best for American mental equanimity. In America, TRUTH will set you free...of social interaction.

"I believe participating in the Greater East Asia War and becoming a heroic spirit to protect the country is the greatest act of filial piety."

This is so typically sad of many young men who go to fight a war for people who care nothing about them or their families. It never occurs to this young man to ask why fighting so far from home is protecting his country. We see the same thing today in soldiers from Russia, America, etc. They think they are fighting for their country when they are only fighting for their richer and more powerful "betters."

Those still alive are now in their 90s and have better things to do than recall the war.

Actually, it could be one of the most important things that they could do before they depart.

Within a few years anyone with living memories of fighting in WW2 will be dead. The youngest will be about 95 now.

Many soldiers in all wars took and kept souvenirs to show off back home. A business associate of mine has a "Samurai" sword that his father-in-law took from a family's home during the occupation in Japan after the war where he served. I feel that it was very wrong to steal a family's belongings and especially a sword that was probably past down in that family for generations.

Good for Mr. Royal to recognize the value in returning those letters to the families.

Many soldiers in all wars took and kept souvenirs to show off back home. 

My stepmother had some beautiful antique vases and ornaments from Europe. Her ex-husband helped himself to them while he was liberating Europe from the Nazis.