Japanese left behind in war express gratitude at memorial for

Class2-2015-unit20-B-中国残留孤児
Japanese left behind in war express gratitude at memorial for Chinese parents
1) FANGZHENG, China--Shuji Sato bowed his head three times at a memorial here, continuing his pledge
to never “abandon” the woman who sacrificed so much to save a child of an enemy nation.
2) The memorial, located in Fangzheng county in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, is named, “Official grave
of adoptive Chinese fathers and mothers.” They were the Chinese who had taken in and raised Japanese
children who were left behind in the country during the chaos at the end of World War II.
3) Fifty-three people, including 24 war-displaced Japanese, their spouses and their children, expressed
their gratitude at the memorial on July 13.
4) An estimated 2,800 Japanese children were stranded in China around the end of World War II. They are
called “war orphans” although in many cases their parents remained alive in Japan long after the war.
5) “I was able to survive because I luckily had adoptive parents,” Sato, 69, who lives in Tokyo’s Edogawa
Ward, said. “If there was no war, I would not have become an ‘orphan.’ Wars must never take place.”
6) As Sato stood in front of the memorial with his wife, Hideko, 69, he recalled the smiling face of his
cheerful adoptive mother whose loud voice belied her diminutive size.
7) Sato’s biological father was a Japanese soldier stationed in China. Sato’s mother gave birth to him while
trying to flee China around the time Japan surrendered in World War II.
8) When Sato was 5 months old, his mother entrusted him to a Chinese individual. The mother died soon
after.
9) Sato was raised by a childless Chinese couple. They faced daily financial difficulties, but Sato was
properly fed because the parents cut down on their own portions.
10) His neighbors taunted him by calling him a discriminatory word meaning “small Japan.” But he could
not bring himself to ask his adoptive parents if he really was Japanese.
11) After graduating from high school, Sato worked at a factory that manufactured scales. He married a
colleague at the workplace, and they had three children.
12) When Sato began to look for his biological Japanese relatives, his adoptive mother was initially
disappointed. So he promised her, “Even if I am able to find my Japanese relatives, I will never abandon
you.”
13) In 1985, Sato joined a tour to Japan for Japanese in a similar situation, and he was able to meet his
biological father and confirm his identity.
14) In 1989, Sato returned to Japan with his wife and adoptive mother, who was healthy at the time. His
biological father asked Sato to live with him. Sato accepted the request, and he, Hideko, their children--and
the adoptive mother--moved in.
15) Sato and Hideko, who later gained Japanese nationality, worked in factories and water supply works. In
2004, the adoptive mother died. Her last words to Sato included, “Thank you for taking me (to Japan) with
you.”
16) Her ashes were placed in the Kikokusha no Haka (Grave for returnees) in Akiruno, western Tokyo.
“I and my wife will also enter the same grave when we die,” Sato said.
17) The Tokyo-based nonprofit organization Chugoku Kikokusha, Nitchu Yuko no Kai (Group of returnees
from China for Japan-China friendship) organized the July 13 services at the memorial in Harbin.
18) The previous day, the war-displaced Japanese met seven people in Harbin, including the adoptive
parents of Japanese children who did not join the tour. The tour participants passed on words of gratitude
to the Chinese adoptive parents.
19) Sumie Ikeda, 70, who led the tour, pointed out that beside the memorial for adoptive
Chinese fathers and mothers is the “Official grave of Japanese,” which honors the many
Japanese women and children who were unable to return home and died in China after
the war ended.
20) “We were able to survive thanks to our adoptive parents. We will never forget their
kindness. We will never forget the sadness of our fellow citizens (who died), either,” Ikeda
said. “We think that we want to serve as a bridge between the two countries even if we risk
our lives.”【July 14, 2015／Asahi Shimbun】
Shuji Sato and his wife, Hideko, talk about his adoptive Chinese mother→
in front of a memorial in Fangzheng county, northeastern China, on July 13.
belie:裏切る、反する diminutive:小柄な entrust:任せる cut down on:切り詰める portion:ひとり分の量 taunt:なじる,あざける
☆Ice breaker for active discussion☆
☆
第二次大戦終了時、
満州には 150 万人の
1. What do you know about Japanese war-orphans left in China?
日本人が居住してい
2. Can you imagine the feelings of both sides of parents, Japanese and Chinese?
たが、帰国の過程で
3. What do you think is the significance of finding biological parents?
亡くなるなどして、
多くの子どもが孤児
4. If you are in the same situation as Mr. Sato, what will you do and why?
5. Who do you think should support the children if their parents can't take care of them? Why?として中国に残され
た。政府は、日ソ開
6. Make sentences using the following words: taunt, sacrifice, diminutive,
戦が直接の原因で日
本人の両親が死亡も
entrust, displace and gratitude.
NEWS de TALK by PHILOS
しくは生き別れとな
った当時 12 歳以下
の者が中国残留孤児
と定義されている。

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