It was 1995. The flight to Japan was daunting. The night before I had stayed up late at night packing…two suitcases for 1 year…challenging.
I had a love-hate relationship with Japan. On one hand there was Keroppi and on the other hand there was the Nanjing Massacre.
On the flight over there I thought about what my friend said…
“You should come with me.” I said. “I would never go to Japan.” He replied, “It’s the devil’s country.” My friend had a right to his opinion. He was Japanese-American.
“Open up your bags!” “What is this?” They were speaking in Japanese. I didn’t know what they were saying. I had to guess. “Aha! Found it! Now we gotcha! We caught you red handed! You’re in deep trouble now sonny!” “Over here! Over here!” “Follow us, or else you’ll really be sorry!” What I shouldn’t have done was bring two playboy magazines with me to Japan. I couldn’t help but wonder if these Japanese officials hated me like they hated the Americans, Koreans, Chinese, and other Asians they captured and tortured during World II.
I was led down a narrow hallway to a small room. They started to pat me down “Here?” A Japanese official pointed to the picture of a person’s anus on a poster. “Here?!!!” He inquired again, getting more frustrated and irritated. “Here?!!!” He asked again loudly and angrily…I cowered in fear and shook my head. I finally figured out they were asking if I was smuggling drugs in my person. I vigorously objected over and over again until they stopped their interrogation. Still it was much much more than slightly disturbing. This was my first major incident of culture shock in Japan. They were scaring the crap out of me.
Retrieved on July 22, 2012 from http://padresteve.com/2009/12/17/revisionist-history-and-the-rape-of-nanking-1937/
When they let me go all the meaning for why I was there in Japan seemed to disappear. I had won an all expense paid, tuition and living expense included $1000 a month stipend to promote diplomacy and study culture and language at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan
I had studied Japanese history before in college and wasn’t sure if most of it was true. Japanese history is scary. In WWII alone Japanese killed 20 to 30 million Chinese. In one city Nanking alone they killed 200,000 to 300,000 civilians and raped and mutilated 80,000 women and children.
Japanese textbooks, however, claim either the Nanking Massacre is a fabrication of lies of the Chinese government invented to make the Japanese look bad, that the Chinese invited the Japanese over to invade and conquer to “civilize” the Chinese, or some people died in the massacre but they were negligible and not worth remembering. This is the most troubling because it proves the Japanese are not going to learn from what they did.
But other historians give us the truth:
Babies are snatched from their mothers' arms and bayoneted. Young girls and women are raped over and over, the attacks ceasing only when the girl dies or feigns death. Girls as young as eleven or twelve are carried away from homes and schools to act as sex slaves to soldiers. Forced incestuous rape is used to amuse soldiers, and civilian men are forced to rape dead bodies.
Captured soldiers are summarily executed, the commanders of the invaders having determined that the term "prisoner of war" will no longer be used. Thousands are executed, their bodies buried in the Ten Thousand Corpse Ditch. Young men thought to be soldiers are burned or buried alive, nailed to trees, even hung by the tongue until they die. Pregnant women and babies are treated the worst, mutilated to death in unimaginable ways.
Retrieved on July 22, 2012 from http://voices.yahoo.com/rape-nanking-japans-forgotten-wwii-atrocities-712931.html?cat=37
The following link is live video footage of Japanese atrocities during WWII.
http://fortunelee55.blogspot.com/
Retrieved July 22, 2012 from http://fortunelee55.blogspot.com/
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JAPANESE BRUTALITY & TORTURE Leftist historians want us to forget about Japan’s atrocities to the Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, and Americans. Japanese guards forced horrified Filipinos to view murdered POWs
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Japanese common atrocities: - beheadings, disembowelments, cutting throats, rapes - casual shootings, bayonet stabbings, rifle butt beatings - deliberate refusal to allow the prisoners food or water - slicing off a woman’s breasts and a young man’s genitals - hacking off a prisoner’s hands and legs - hammering cartridges into the eyes of Russian troops - a pilot was beheaded, his flesh sliced up and cooked (a common Japanese practice during the war) - the Nanking Massacre (aka the Rape of Nanking): hundreds of thousands of civilians in Nanking (former capital of China) were murdered and 20,000-80,000 women were raped by Japanese soldiers - slaughters in Java, Borneo and other cities in China - shot 300 to 400 people in Singapore - hundreds of civilians were burned alive at Fort Santiago - still more were shot at the German Club, where soldiers shot or bayoneted women and children fleeing the flames - mercilessly murdered hospital patients at the Red Cross building - followed the order of killing Filipinos in groups in order to save ammunition - 22 Americans were beheaded by a single commander (in the Gilberts) - Japanese guards bayoneted 90 (at Ballale) |
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In Bataan, province of the Philippines (1942) About 70,000 Filipino and American troops surrendered to Japanese forces in the Philippines during World War II. The Japanese forced them to walk almost 60 miles for days in the scorching heat through the Philippine jungles. This later became known as The Death March of Bataan and recorded in history as one example of Japanese war crimes:
The Death March of Bataan (Philippines, 1942) |
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- 650 American died - 5,000 to 10,000 Filipino died - 400 men of the Filipino 91st Division were massacred - during the march, many POWs were bayoneted, beaten or tortured where they fell - some prisoners who possessed Japanese yen were beheaded - water and food was not given to prisoners for days while keeping them continually marching in the tropical heat - when they were allowed to drink, it was from rice paddies full of dung - no bathrooms were provided - malaria and dysentery ravaged the prisoners - Japanese soldiers defecated and urinated next to the wounded in field hospitals - some Americans were forced to dig a trench to bury alive sick Filipinos - when the prisoners were finally placed in crammed, hot railroad cars the men racked by dysentery relieved themselves on other prisoners - immediately killed anyone who fell down, was unable to continue or protested
Puerto Princesa Prison Camp in the Philippines (December 1944) - the Japanese burned 150 American prisoners alive when they saw American Liberator bombers coming to the rescue Wake Island -Japanese beheaded several soldiers on the Nitta Mary -98 American contractors were lined up on the beach and machine-gunned and bayoneted -the Japanese extermination plan: poisonous smoke, poisons, drowning, decapitation…total annihilation without a trace JAPANESE TRICKS The Japanese used the “white flag” trick: - a wounded Japanese soldier stabbed to death a surgeon trying to save his life - a drowning Japanese sailor shot his American rescuer - Japanese surrendered in pairs, the first concealing the second, who had a grenade JAPANESE RACISM The Japanese detested other Asians. Their racism was obvious even before Pearl Harbor: - In 1923, Japanese mobs tortured and killed 6,000 Koreans in Japan, because they thought the Koreans helped cause that year’s earthquake. - Japanese militarists in Asia killed more Asian than Americans ever did: 15 million to 35 million Chinese alone - Japanese in China during the war adopted the “three all” policy of “kill all, burn all, destroy all” |
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During World War II, Japanese soldiers admitted to having contests to race to see who could kill 100 or more Chinese people first using a sword.
Contest to kill 100 people using a sword
Retrieved on July 30, 2012 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contest_to_kill_100_people_using_a_sword
It is unfortunate but perhaps the biggest travesty of justice is the Japanese government’s orchestrated movement to brainwash their own people and whoever that will listen that the atrocities and violence that occurred this past century never happened.
Japanese History Textbook Controversies
Retrieved on August 9, 2012 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_history_textbook_controversies
Rare video footage from World War II.
Retrieved on July 30, 2012 from http://fortunelee55.blogspot.com/
Perhaps the most compelling evidence that the Japanese during World War II were diabolical and had to be stopped. At Unit 731 they performed medical experimentation, live dissections, biological warfare, torture, and more. A must read.
Retrieved on July 30, 2012 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_731
I am describing all of this because I tried to conduct a study with WWII Japanese and they made me buy a small carton of sake in order to leave their mom and pop liquor store. Afterwards I was horrified by the experience of getting a very hostile frown and to cope I drank some of the sake. I ended up inebriated and soon was sent to the hospital. It took me 18 years to get back dialed in and afterwards I felt ashamed but proud I could make it through.
Who knew that my experiment to help Japanese fall in love with Americans and potentially intermarry with them would backfire on me like this? I think it was extremely hypocritical of the Japanese to stock rows of pornographic magazines in their 7-11’s yet threaten to charge you with a crime if you bring a playboy with you to Japan. Something they never mention to you as forbidden.
I was very traumatized by this and it disturbed me deeply
Reflecting back once you are suspect of committing a crime, whatever the extenuating circumstances, your identity and profile gets put in a huge database, and that was a criminal database that matched up people with crimes that they were suspected of committing. Since I now suspected myself as being in this “database” for trafficking drugs and they had my passport and visa information I couldn’t stop thinking of the ramifications of all that happened. It bothered me tremendously.
Reflecting back the supervisors at the study abroad program did their best to help get us acclimated to Japan. We went on a week long trip around the island of Kyushu. One time we went to a dairy farm where they sold milk that was fresh from the dairy farm. When I tasted the milk I was very surprised. It was much much sweeter than the milk from the U.S. Even though it was pleasant this was my second incidence of culture shock.
After this we went to a memorial for the atomic bombs. It showed photographs where the harbor changed their shape, fish became deformed, and people were vaporized. It was disturbing. This was my third incident of culture shock.
However, soon school started. I had to do a report on 21st century relationships between United States, China, and Japan. It wasn’t fun. However when I interviewed the owner of the liquor shop his opinion of WWII all I could get was a look of utter hatred, disgust, and the feeling that they really wanted you out of the picture. This frightened the living daylights out of me. I went packing in a hurry but not before the old man took his psychological toll on me. This also gave me culture shock. Because I drank his sake this also got me intoxicated. I usually don’t drink though. I have only drank alcohol 4x in my life.
At Japan the study abroad colleagues had a Halloween party. People celebrated it differently than in the U.S. This was my fifth incidence of culture shock. Christianity is nearly non-existent in Japan so the way they view ghosts and spirits is a little bizarre.
Ghosts, Demons and Spirits in Japanese Lore
Retrieved on August 1, 2012 from http://www.asianart.com/articles/rubin/
A fateful day, the event that triggered me to break. One day, I was in Japanese ATM lobby. The Japanese supervisors had still not given us our money yet. I thought there would be no harm in seeing if I could figure out the machine. Maybe I could see if I could get English instructions to pop up. But all of a sudden, a whole bunch of money popped out and this made me panic. Why is this happening I thought. I knew what I had to do though. With money spilling out onto the floor, as calmly as I could I walked out the door and got away from there as expediently as I could. Please be assured I did not so as much take one penny, or in case one yen from that bank lobby or I knew it would have landed me in the slammer. (There were like 10 video cameras in that bank lobby alone)
After this I was in a state of perpetual fear that Japanese authorities would arrest me for trying to steal money from their ATM. Because I had my first strike in Narita, this would be my second strike. Even though I was innocent of both infractions I was accused of. I would be presumed guilty of trying to steal from one of their banks because in Japan they assumed you were guilty, until you were proven innocent.
The following video shows an American girl who was innocent but still arrested anyway.
Retrieved on August 1, 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-dSqgNAlAk
This is because in Japan if you are suspected of committing a crime, you are presumed guilty until proven innocent. This was my sixth incidence of culture shock.
Japanese Jail is something that would have drove me crazy. Not knowing Japanese would have made things especially hard. It was a frightening thing to have playing on in the back of your mind.
Locked Up Abroad : Japanese Prison
Retrieved on August 1, 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiw2NULDjKM
My seventh major incident of culture shock in Japan was when I looked up in the nighttime sky and saw the moon was a blood red. It didn’t strike me as anything too terrible just strange and weird.
However, just prior to coming to Japan I had been listening to a lot of Christian programming foretelling the coming “rapture”.
A few days prior, a fellow JTW (Japan in Today’s World Program) member came up to me and said, “Man, I dreamt of the devil last night. Then today I could feel him beside me!” Several days later another member of the JTW program came into my apartment and wouldn’t leave. He started up this dialogue of how the Japanese were so rotten etc. I defended them. But he was much better at debate than me and soon exasperated me and wore me out. Not only was he very antagonistic and very dark, he was so negative about everything that I started to suspect there some was something wrong with him. Then he freaked me out. He said, “Look into my eyes. Do you see your reflection?” It made me think he was possessed by a demon. Unfortunately in elementary school I had been taught people could be possessed by demons. And those years of indoctrination had manifested themselves in this belief.
The Devil - Catholic Bible 101
Immediately I felt like running away. But I felt like neutralizing the situation. Because my computer had a data bank of all my friends’ addresses and contact information I decided to destroy my computer.
I took my computer outside and threw it down on the ground. I said in a loud voice, “Please don’t come out everyone. It’s not safe. Please don’t come out.” I thought if they stayed in their rooms they would be safe. This was early in the morning. This might have woke some people up and they might have complained. I didn’t realize this.
The situation cooled down. My unwelcome guest had left my apartment. And I went back in.
A few hours later three police cars came. Then the police took me to Kyushu University Psychiatric Hospital. It was like a nightmare. They injected me with haldol and it made me feel miserable.
Finally a few days after Christmas I was able to go home (about 3 months). I was to see Dennis D. MD, an American psychiatrist, at Scripps Clinic for a reevaluation. Unfortunately, my dad and me agreed it would be best if we stopped haldol (oral) as soon as possible. So we stopped the haldol cold turkey. Right away I noticed I couldn’t sleep. The first night passed. I decided not to tell my dad. “I’ll be able to sleep the second night” I thought. The second night passed. Still no sleep. I’ll be able to sleep the next night. I won’t tell my dad. The third night passed. By this time my brain was throbbing. I couldn’t think properly and I was totally screwed up in the head. I told my dad that I hadn’t slept for four days. Then I asked him, “Could you take me to a hospital?” All I wanted was some sleeping medication so I could sleep (melatonin or some other natural sleep aid probably would have done the trick) but what I didn’t realize was I was now jeopardizing my diagnosis of culture shock.
The American hospital was arguably worse than the Japanese hospital. Once I arrived I tried to settle into the place and get comfortable. I tried to remain low-key but I didn’t want t remain totally anti-social so when this surfer-type person my age came down and sat next to me during dinner, I asked him a question to try to break the ice. “Do you know why we’re here?” He replied, “Why?” I said, “Because God has a wry sense of humor.” He started yelling, “Trouble maker! Trouble maker!” until the staff all came, along with the muscular staff who dragged me into seclusion. I took my bowl with me. They kept me in seclusion for more than an hour and I had to go to the bathroom so I kept banging the bowl on the door. “Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang!” Finally the bowl broke. I knew I was in trouble then. They immediately put me in restraints, claiming I was schizoaffective or schizophrenic. Now they acknowledge I am bipolar with culture shock. However, at this time I was really screwed. They kept giving me more and more haldol until I finally blacked out and believe me it was not pleasant.
When I woke up I felt horrible. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t lift up my feet. I had the haldol shuffle. This is where you can’t move your feet you just have to drag them across the floor. It was awful. Looking back I still don’t know what to say. It was unfortunate, but eventually this hospital shut down.
I asked my former psychiatrist a question and she ended up answering a more significant question that I wanted to get answered. I asked her, “if you take a normal person, and you subject him to many psychotropics, will you mess up his brain? Will he become lethargic, sluggish, slow, with an impaired ability to think, and also be irritable, etc? And is it possible that some of these drugs cause insomnia too? She answered “Yes.” This is significant because it lends weight to the argument that I have been wrongly medicated for a diagnosis that I questionably had.
Fortunately, I finally got diagnosed with my correct diagnosis of bipolar with culture shock that I will eventually get the therapy for that will help me get acclimated so I can become a helpful member of the United States Citizenry again. Thank you for reading this essay. Bye.
