Katsuichi Honda
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese journalist
and author most famous for his writing on the Nanking Massacre
. During the 1970s he wrote a series of articles on the atrocities committed by Imperial Japanese soldiers during World War II
called "Chūgoku no Tabi" (中国の旅, "Travels in China"). The series first appeared in the Asahi Shimbun
.
Honda also worked as a war correspondent
in Vietnam
during the Vietnam War
, an experience which, according to some historians, contributed to stoking his interest in Japanese wartime history.
in Vietnam
, from December 1966 through 1968. He published a book on the Vietnam War
entitled Vietnam War: A Report through Asian Eyes in 1972.
Although atrocities committed by Imperial Japanese forces during World War II had become well-known during and in the immediate aftermath of World War II, the Cold War led to the stigmatizing of Marxist or progressive historians who were critical of "imperial myths and morals". Leftist historians were "purged" from their jobs. The "spirit of patriotism" was to be written into school textbooks, to take the place of the "red textbooks" which were critical of the state and the Emperor. The Nanjing Massacre was written out of Japanese textbooks completely from the 1950s to 1970s, until disgust with the Vietnam War led Japanese society to rethink Japanese militarism in the World War II period. Katsuichi Honda's 1971 "Travels in China" was a keystone of this reexamination of the war era.
Just as Honda, in writing about the Vietnam War, had sought to narrate the war "through Asian Eyes", his scholarship on Imperial Japanese action in China sought to depict Japanese aggression from a Chinese perspective. The text stimulated much interest and debate, and had both supporters and detractors. Among the more intense rebuttals to the text was that of Yamamoto Schichihei, a World War II veteran and popular commentator, who attacked in particular an account recorded by Honda of a contest to kill Chinese people using swords. The contest would become a favorite target of revisionist writers in regards to the Nanking Massacre, in later years. Tomio Hora
answered skepticism of the account with subsequent scholarship.
, also edited the book, writing an introduction critical of Iris Chang
and her popular treatment of the massacre, The Rape of Nanking
, which had been published two years prior.
Other works by Honda available in English include The Impoverished Spirit in Contemporary Japan: Selected Essays of Honda Katsuichi and Harukor: An Ainu Woman's Tale.
, whose predecessor, the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun
, covered the story in 1937, as well as the Asahi Shimbun and Honda, for the latter's stories, published by the former, in 1971 and (in book form) 1981.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and author most famous for his writing on the Nanking Massacre
Nanking Massacre
The Nanking Massacre or Nanjing Massacre, also known as the Rape of Nanking, was a mass murder, genocide and war rape that occurred during the six-week period following the Japanese capture of the city of Nanjing , the former capital of the Republic of China, on December 13, 1937 during the Second...
. During the 1970s he wrote a series of articles on the atrocities committed by Imperial Japanese soldiers during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
called "Chūgoku no Tabi" (中国の旅, "Travels in China"). The series first appeared in the Asahi Shimbun
Asahi Shimbun
The is the second most circulated out of the five national newspapers in Japan. Its circulation, which was 7.96 million for its morning edition and 3.1 million for its evening edition as of June 2010, was second behind that of Yomiuri Shimbun...
.
Honda also worked as a war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, an experience which, according to some historians, contributed to stoking his interest in Japanese wartime history.
Early career
Honda was a war correspondentWar correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, from December 1966 through 1968. He published a book on the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
entitled Vietnam War: A Report through Asian Eyes in 1972.
"Travels in China"
During the 1970s Honda wrote a series of articles on the atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers during World War II (including the Nanjing Massacre) called "Chūgoku no Tabi" (中国の旅, "Travels in China"). The series first appeared in the Asahi Shimbun.Although atrocities committed by Imperial Japanese forces during World War II had become well-known during and in the immediate aftermath of World War II, the Cold War led to the stigmatizing of Marxist or progressive historians who were critical of "imperial myths and morals". Leftist historians were "purged" from their jobs. The "spirit of patriotism" was to be written into school textbooks, to take the place of the "red textbooks" which were critical of the state and the Emperor. The Nanjing Massacre was written out of Japanese textbooks completely from the 1950s to 1970s, until disgust with the Vietnam War led Japanese society to rethink Japanese militarism in the World War II period. Katsuichi Honda's 1971 "Travels in China" was a keystone of this reexamination of the war era.
Just as Honda, in writing about the Vietnam War, had sought to narrate the war "through Asian Eyes", his scholarship on Imperial Japanese action in China sought to depict Japanese aggression from a Chinese perspective. The text stimulated much interest and debate, and had both supporters and detractors. Among the more intense rebuttals to the text was that of Yamamoto Schichihei, a World War II veteran and popular commentator, who attacked in particular an account recorded by Honda of a contest to kill Chinese people using swords. The contest would become a favorite target of revisionist writers in regards to the Nanking Massacre, in later years. Tomio Hora
Tomio Hora
Tomio Hora Tomio Hora Tomio Hora (洞 富雄, Hora Tomio, (born 14 November 1906 in Higashichikuma District, Nagano Prefecture, modern-day Chikuhoku; died 15 March 2000) was a Japanese historian and Waseda University professor, well known for his pioneering work on the Nanjing Massacre.-Education:Hora...
answered skepticism of the account with subsequent scholarship.
Later career
1999 saw the English language publication of Honda's The Nanjing Massacre: A Japanese Journalist Confronts Japan's National Shame. The book was principally a translation of Honda's The Road to Nanjing (南京への道, Nankin e no michi, 1987) but was also supplemented with excerpts from his "Travel to China" and The Nanjing Massacre (南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu, 1997). The book, translated by Karen Sandness, was published by M.E. Sharpe in connection with the Pacific Basin Institute. Pacific Basin's founder, Frank GibneyFrank Gibney
Frank Bray Gibney was an American journalist, editor, writer and scholar. Correspondent of Time, editor of Newsweek and Life, he was the vice chairman of the Board of Editors at Encyclopædia Britannica and wrote several books, most notably about Japan...
, also edited the book, writing an introduction critical of Iris Chang
Iris Chang
Iris Shun-Ru Chang was an American historian and journalist. She is best known for her best-selling 1997 account of the Nanking Massacre, The Rape of Nanking. She committed suicide on November 9, 2004...
and her popular treatment of the massacre, The Rape of Nanking
The Rape of Nanking (book)
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II is a bestselling 1997 non-fiction book written by Iris Chang about the 1937–1938 Nanking Massacre, the massacre and atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese Army after it captured Nanjing, then capital of China, during the Second...
, which had been published two years prior.
Other works by Honda available in English include The Impoverished Spirit in Contemporary Japan: Selected Essays of Honda Katsuichi and Harukor: An Ainu Woman's Tale.
Lawsuit
On August 23, 2005 a Tokyo District Court presided over by Judge Akio Doi ruled against the families of Toshiaki Mukai and Tuyoshi Noda, Japanese soldiers who had participated in a "killing contest", to see who would be the first to kill 100 Chinese, in 1937. The families had sued the Mainichi ShimbunMainichi Shimbun
The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by .-History:The history of the Mainichi Shimbun begins with founding of two papers during the Meiji period. The Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun was founded first, in 1872. The Mainichi claims that it is the oldest existing Japanese daily newspaper...
, whose predecessor, the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun
Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun
The Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun was a newspaper printed in Tokyo, Japan from 1872 to 1943.In 1875, the company began the world's first newspaper delivery service....
, covered the story in 1937, as well as the Asahi Shimbun and Honda, for the latter's stories, published by the former, in 1971 and (in book form) 1981.
Further reading
- Wakabayashi, Bob Tadashi. "The Nanking 100-Man Killing Contest Debate: War Guilt Amid Fabricated Illusions, 1971–75",The Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol.26 No.2 Summer 2000.
External links
- Harukor at the University of California PressUniversity of California PressUniversity of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish books and papers for the faculty of the University of California, established 25 years earlier in 1868...