The Japanese
"Tears In The Darkness" attempts to look at war and its aftermath through the eyes of all the antagonists, the men on each side. In May 2000 we spent a month in Japan interviewing twenty-three former Imperial Army soldiers who had fought on Bataan. (Three of these men had also taken part in the atrocities that followed the battle.) Our Japanese sources were remarkably candid and forthcoming, and these long interviews gave the book a unique point of view and made it a different kind of war story. Working with questions we sent in advance, our Japanese associate, Kyoko Onoki, combed the country and found our sources, then accompanied us on a trip of some 1,800 miles across two of the Japanese home islands to interview the men. The three men who talked candidly about taking part in atrocities did so, one said, because, "it's time the world knows about these things."
Gallery
Rare and believed to be unpublished photograph of a secret planning meeting of the Imperial Army General Staff, November 1941. This was likely the final gathering of Imperial Army commanders prior to the attacks on Pearl Harbor and Clark Field in the Philippines—the beginning of World War II in the Pacific. Masaharu Homma first row, fifth from right. Hideki Tojo (the prime minister and war minister) first row, ninth from right. (Courtesy of Masahiko Homma).
Lt. Hirohisa Murata in formal portrait taken before he sailed for Philippines. (Courtesy of H. Murata)
Murata in battle dress, Philippine Islands. (Courtesy of H. Murata)
1st Class Private Isao Shinohara, April 1941, in garrison uniform and cap. (Courtesy of I. Shinohara)
Sgt. Takasada Shigeta, front row left, in the Philippine Islands during the war. Shigeta took part in the massacre at the Pantingan River. (Courtesy T. Shigeta).
Lt. General Masaharu Homma, commander of the Japanese army that invaded the Philippines, here in a picture from 1910 at 22 years old. Homma was one of the most “Western” of Japanese generals. (Courtesy of Masahiko Homma)
Homma in 1922, serving in India. He was fluent in English. (Courtesy of Masahiko Homma)
Homma, left, in tennis whites, as a liaison officer in London, circa 1918 .(Courtesy of Masahiko Homma)
Homma visits the Egyptian pyramids, circa 1922. (Courtesy of Masahiko Homma)
Homma in India or Afghanistan, circa 1923-1924. (Courtesy of Masahiko Homma)
Homma in a tuxedo, likely London, circa 1922-1924 (Courtesy of Masahiko Homma)
Masaharu and Fujiko Homma, wedding photograph, Tokyo, November 1926. Fujiko was the general’s second wife. (Courtesy of Masahiko Homma).
Masaharu and Fujiko Homma with the family nanny and his son, Seisako, and daughter Hisako, 1929. (Courtesy of Masahiko Homma)
Homma, front, second from left, and some of his command staff aboard the Teikai Maru en route to invade the Philippines Islands, December 1941. (Japanese Propaganda Corps, Courtesy Masahiko Homma)
Homma, in pith helmet, at Hermosa, Bataan, January 17, 1942 during the first Japanese offensive on Bataan. (Japanese Propaganda Corps, Courtesy Masahiko Homma)
Homma, far right with binoculars, on the heights of Bataan, observing the battle, likely circa April 3-4, 1942. (Japanese Propaganda Corps, Courtesy Masahiko Homma)
Homma visiting wounded Japanese soldiers during the battle. (Japanese Propaganda Corps photograph, courtesy of Masahiko Homma)
Homma after the battle for Bataan and Corregidor, relaxing, likely at his official residence in Manila, 1942. (Japanese Propaganda Corps, Courtesy Masahiko Homma)
Homma returning to his home on Sado Island, Japan, after being relieved of his command and cashiered in 1942 for failing to accomplish his mission in the time given him by the Imperial General Staff.
Homma in 1946, after he was arrested by the United States as a war criminal and taken to the Philippines to stand trial before a military commission. Here he is looking out from a cell during his trial in Manila. (United States Signal Corps Photo)
Masahiko Homma, the general’s son at the family home on Sado Island, holding his father’s military braids, the only military memento he has from his father, the general. (Photograph by Michael Norman, 2000)
Homma’s cemetery shrine on Sado Island. Masahiko Homma in hat, Kyoko Onoki on the right. (Photograph by Michael Norman, 2000)
Isamu Murakami, one of the soldiers who took part in the massacre at the Pantingan River. (Photograph by Michael Norman, 2000)
A memorial marker to the Allied POWs who worked as slave laborers in the coal mine at Omine Machi Japan, 2000. Left to right, Michael Norman, Kyoko Onoki, Elizabeth Norman, Nobuyasu Sugiyama, one of the mine guards in 1945.
Isao Shinohara, soldier on Bataan. (Photograph by Michael Norman, 2000)
Tasuku Yamanari, soldier on Bataan, with this dog Snoopy. (Photograph by Michael Norman, 2000)
Tozo Takeuchi, soldier on Bataan. (Photograph by Michael Norman, 2000)
Kiyoshi Kinoshita, one of a handful of survivors of the battle at Quinauan Point, where he was captured by the Americans. Here with his wife Teruyo Kinoshita. (Photograph by Michael Norman, 2000)
Left to right Teruyo Kinoshita, Michael Norman, Elizabeth Norman, Kiyoshi Kinoshita. (Photograph by Kyoko Onoki, 2000)
Minobu Kawaguichi, left, (holding a photograph of himself in uniform) with this friend Tatauzo Arakawa. The two met in training camp, were together on Bataan, and stayed together till the end of the war. (Photograph by Michael Norman, 2000)
Lt. Hirohisa Murata pointing to a dent in his helmet made by a bullet during the 1942 battle for Corregidor in the Philippine Islands. (Photograph by Michael Norman, 2000)
Lt. Ryotaro Nishimura, the first Japanese officer to encounter General Ned King’s surrender party on April 9, 1942. (Photograph by Michael Norman, 2000)
Nishimura and his wife Yosuko Nishimura. (Courtesy of the R. Nishimura)
Takasada Shigeta, who took part in the massacre at the Pantingan River. (Photograph by Michael Norman, 2000)
Masahiko Homma holding a picture book (circa 1918) his father, Lt. General Masaharu Homma, sent him from England. (Photograph by Michael Norman, 2000)
Moriya Wada, one of the logistics officer who helped plan the movement of POWs off Bataan, the movement that turned into “The Bataan Death March.” (Photograph by Michael Norman, 2000)
Sgt. Hideo Sekihara, one the famed advanced scouts who crawled into American and Filipino trenches during the battle. Here with his wife, circa 2001. (Courtesy of H. Sekihara)
Sekihara in front of his home in Aoya. (Photograph by Michael Norman, 2000)
Tadashi Ozaki, infantryman on Bataan, here in 2004, Tottori Prefecture. (Courtesy of T. Ozaki).
Tokutaro Sato, operations officer on General Homma’s staff. (Photograph by Michael Norman, 2000)
Kozo Watanabe, who made the march from Lingayen Gulf to Bataan with the Japanese 65th Brigade, December 1941. He is wearing the Japanese equivalent of a Purple Heart pin in his lapel, a medal he received for wounds suffered on Bataan. (Photograph by Michael Norman, 2000)
Jinzaburo Chaki, former Japanese soldier, or hohei. (Photograph by Michael Norman, 2000)
