The soldiers killed her with a revolver. [clarification needed], In 1984, in an attempt to refute the allegations of war crimes in Nanjing, the Japanese Army Veterans Association (Kaikosha) interviewed former Japanese soldiers who had served in the Nanjing area from 1937 to 1938. [40], By contrast, Ikuhiko Hata also examined the Japanese Army's documents and tallied up a total of 30,000 Chinese POWs massacred out of a total Chinese force of 100,000. Many historians including Kasahara view incidents like these where the Japanese fired upon retreating troops to be atrocities, whereas Hata sees them as extensions of combat and not massacres. [61], On 5 February 2009, the Japanese Supreme Court ordered Shd Higashinakano and the publisher Tendensha to pay four million yen in damages to Mrs. Shuqin Xia, who claims to be the 7- or 8-year-old girl who appears in Magee's film. Prosecution's Witnesses. Some Chinese men were sodomized and forced to perform "repulsive sex acts". [90], Numerous factors complicate the estimation of an accurate death toll.[91][92]. Added in 24 Hours. On 13 December, the 6th and the 116th Divisions of the Japanese Army were the first to enter the city, facing little military resistance. Hata takes Smythe's figure of 12,000 civilians killed, but notes that perhaps only 8,000 were confirmed massacre victims. Iwanami Shinsho, Fujiwara Akira (editor). General Iwane Matsui waited another hour before issuing the command to take Nanjing by force. Recent. The two men were described as vying to be the first to kill 100 people with a sword before the capture of Nanjing. Wilson, Dr. Robert O. The Nanking Massacre was an episode of mass rape and murder committed by the Japanese troops against the residents of Nanking, then the capital of the Republic of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. However, Askew notes that Japanese units often exaggerated their body counts. In 1948, the case of the Nanjing massacre was considered by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, which handed down two death sentences. [107] Other sources, including Iris Chang's The Rape of Nanjing, also conclude that the death toll reached 300,000. On the one hand, burial statistics combine massacre victims with Chinese combat casualties and thus exaggerate the death toll. Other Japanese military leaders in charge at the time of the Nanjing Massacre were not tried. The Nanjing massacre has also been described as one of the most barbaric episodes in the history of World War II although it officially began on September 1, 1939. . However, death toll estimates vary widely with some ranging as low as 40,000 . He would later state that he had seen tank guns used on bound soldiers. Files. Rape! [29][31], The third type of source is Japanese military records, which recorded the number of POWs the Japanese Army executed. The grandfather grasped the body of his wife and was killed. [147], On June 19, 2007, a group of around 100 Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers again denounced the Nanjing Massacre as a fabrication, arguing that there was no evidence to prove the allegations of mass killings by Japanese soldiers. The soldier abruptly stabbed her in the belly with a bayonet. However, they feared that speaking out openly "would be detrimental to their careers. [35] Three quarters of the population had fled Nanjing before the Japanese arrived. [54] Sons were coerced in to rape their mothers, fathers were forced to rape their daughters, and brothers were forced to rape their sisters. Answer (1 of 16): 1. The Nanjing Massacre (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Nnjng Dtsh, Japanese: , romanized: Nankin Daigyakusatsu) or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly romanized as Nanking) was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the Battle of Nanking in the Second Sino . The death sentence imposed on Hirota, a six-to-five decision by the eleven judges, shocked the general public and prompted a petition on his behalf, which soon gathered over 300,000 signatures but did not succeed in commuting the Minister's sentence. He assigned Asaka to Nanjing as an opportunity to make amends. General Matsui was indicted before the International Military Tribunal for the Far East for "deliberately and recklessly" ignoring his legal duty "to take adequate steps to secure the observance and prevent breaches" of the Hague Convention. The Nanking Massacre as a component of national identity. [127], On October 9, 2015, Documents of the Nanjing Massacre have been listed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. [169] In the 2010 Japan-China Joint History Research Committee meeting, scholars from the Japanese side set the maximum possible number of civilian victims at 200,000, with estimates of around 40,000 or 20,000. They were executed by shooting together on 28 January 1948. The Nanjing Massacre was a massacre (an unjust killing of many people) that happened in Nanjing, China, in December of 1937 and January of 1938.It was part of the Second Sino-Japanese War, which was the part of World War II between China and Japan.At the time, Japan was trying to take over China and Nanjing was the Chinese capital.The Japanese Army reached Nanjing on 13 December 1937 and began . The Nanjing Massacre or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly romanized as Nanking) was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the Battle of Nanking in the Second Sino-Japanese War, by the Imperial Japanese Army. There are no official numbers for the death toll . Bob Tadashi Wakabayashi (New York: Berghahn Books, 2008), p. 85. [31] Nevertheless, even if Ch took the initiative, Asaka was nominally the officer in charge and gave no orders to stop the carnage. The Battle of Nanking ended on December 13, when the divisions of the Japanese Army entered the walled city of Nanjing. In regards to the Nanjing Massacre, Japanese authorities deliberately concealed wartime records, eluding confiscation from American authorities. [21], However, when Shokun! On 19 December 1937, the Reverend James M. McCallum wrote in his diary:[46]. In what is known as the Nanking Massacre, Japanese soldiers systematically raped thousands of Chinese women and girls of all ages. Tokyo Nichi Nichi, 13 December 1937 article on the killing contest. Prince Kan'in Kotohito, chief of staff of the Imperial Japanese Army during the massacre, had died before the end of the war in May 1945. 616621. Even with such a huge death toll, some even deny the existence of this massacre. [18] The judge also ruled against the civil claim of the plaintiffs because the original article was more than 60 years old. At trial, Matsui went out of his way to protect Prince Asaka by shifting blame to lower-ranking division commanders. Recent Historical Writings on the Rape of Nanjing". The war, still undeclared, had no clear-cut goal or purpose. THE RAPE OF NANKING OR NANJING MASSACRE 5 The judges of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (also known as the Tokyo War Crimes Trials) were prepared to accept that at least 200,000 Chinese civilians and prisoners of war were slaughtered by the Japanese in the six weeks after Nanking fell.The judges were also prepared to accept that the death toll would be much higher if . On December 18, 1937, as General Iwane Matsui began to comprehend the full extent of the rape, murder, and looting in the city, he grew increasingly dismayed. The massacre has remained a wedge issue between modern China and Japan. Hata discounts estimates of the death toll which range into the hundreds of thousands on the basis that, according to Smythe, Nanking's civilian population was only between 200,000 and 250,000. Some victims of the Nanking Massacre were thrown into mass, unmarked graves; others were just left to rot in the sun. [73], According to Canadian scholar David Bruce MacDonald, the higher range of estimates of over 100,000 victims are more likely to be accurate,[74] whereas by contrast the Irish historian LM Cullen argues that the lower range of estimates, which put the death toll in tens of thousands, "are probably the most credible. [68], Japanese troops gathered 1,300 Chinese soldiers and civilians at Taiping Gate and murdered them. On May 1, 1946, SCAP officials interrogated Prince Asaka, who was the ranking officer in the city at the height of the atrocities, about his involvement in the Nanjing Massacre and the deposition was submitted to the International Prosecution Section of the Tokyo tribunal. [57] Nanking Massacre studies in Japan eventually became divided into three camps based on their death toll estimates: the "illusion" school of Nanking Massacre deniers, the "great massacre" school which believes hundreds of thousands were killed, and the "middle-of-the-road" or "centrist" school which puts the number in the tens of thousands. "[178], The Nanjing massacre has emerged as one fundamental keystone in the construction of the modern Chinese national identity. [159][160], The Massacre is sometimes compared to other disasters in China, which include the Great Chinese famine (195961)[161][162][163] and the Cultural Revolution. This article is part of . THE RAPE OF NANKING OR NANJING MASSACRE (1937) . [164][165][166], Yoshida asserts that "Nanjing has figured in the attempts of all three nations [China, Japan and the United States] to preserve and redefine national and ethnic pride and identity, assuming different kinds of significance based on each country's changing internal and external enemies."[167]. Other members of the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone who took the witness stand included Miner Searle Bates and John Magee. All we are asking in our protest is that you restore order among your troops and get the normal city life going as soon as possible. From Jurong to Tangshan (two cities in Jiangshu Province, China), Mukai had killed 89 people while Noda had killed 78. Two girls, about 16, were raped to death in one of the refugee camps. English Articles. [1] Ikuhiko Hata considers the number of 300,000 to be a "symbolic figure" representative of China's wartime suffering and not a figure to be taken literally. This rejection of the committee's ceasefire plan, in Rabe's mind, sealed the fate of the city. [121] He was found guilty of war crimes, sentenced to death, and executed by shooting on 26 April 1947. Rabe commented on how efforts to remove these Chinese troops failed and Japanese soldiers began to lob grenades into the refugee zone.[10]. He further argued that he had directed his army division commanders to discipline their troops for criminal acts, and was not responsible for their failure to carry out his directives. As the Japanese army approached Nanjing, most of them fled the city, leaving 27 foreigners. Wealthy families were the first to flee, leaving Nanjing in automobiles, followed by the evacuation of the middle class and then the poor, while only the destitute lowest class such as the ethnic Tanka boat people remained behind. The reason that the [10th Army] is advancing to Nanjing quite rapidly is due to the tacit consent among the officers and men that they could loot and rape as they wish. [26][89] Daqing Yang, a historian at George Washington University, believes that "an obsession with figures reduces an atrocity to abstraction and serves to circumvent a critical examination of the causes of and responsibilities for these appalling atrocities"[90] and Carol Gluck concurs that "The crucial historical question remains the moral one: how could ordinary Japanese have done what they did? [21], The first academic accounts of the Nanking Massacre included as massacre victims all Chinese who were killed by the Japanese Army in and around Nanking, including Chinese soldiers who were killed in action. The International Military Tribunal for the Far East was convened at "Ichigaya Court," formally Imperial Japanese Army HQ building in Ichigaya, Tokyo. Nanjing had been constantly bombed for days and the Chinese troops that remained there were disheartened and had taken to drinking before the city's inevitable fall. Iris Chang, author of The Rape of Nanjing, criticized Murayama for not providing the written apology that had been expected. . [94][96], Historian Tokushi Kasahara states "more than 100,000 and close to 200,000, or maybe more. Such crime continued from three to six weeks depending on the types of crime. According to Navy veteran Sho Mitani, "The Army used a trumpet sound that meant 'Kill all Chinese who run away'. Please give us help. During the post-war period, China . [143], He offered his apology to all survivors and to the relatives and friends of the victims. There was no belt. Durdin, who worked for The New York Times, toured Nanjing before his departure from the city. [2][3][4][5] Beginning on December 13, 1937, the massacre lasted six weeks. [85] and Japanese historian Fujiwara Akira put the final toll closer to 200,000. . In 2006 former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi made a pilgrimage to the shrine despite warnings from China and South Korea. More conservative estimates say that the massacre started on December 14, when the troops entered the Safety Zone, and that it lasted for six weeks. Bates, Miner Searle", "International Memory of the World Register Documents of Nanjing Massacre", "New film has Japan vets confessing to Nanjing rape", 1937 Japanese Field Commander's Map of the Battle of Shanghai, China, "Analyzing the "Photographic Evidence" of the Nanking Massacre (originally published as Nankin Jiken: "Shokoshashin" wo Kenshosuru)", The Good Man of Nanking: The Diaries of John Rabe, "War and reconciliation: a tale of two countries", "Jurist Paper Chase: Japanese court rules newspaper didn't fabricate 1937 Chinese killing game", "The scars of Nanking: Memories of a Japanese outrage", "Five Western Journalists in the Doomed City", "Chinese Fight Foe Outside Nanking; See Seeks's Stand", "The International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone: An Introduction", "Genocide in the 20th Century: The Rape of Nanking 19371938 (300,000 Deaths)", "Special Report: How the Nanjing Massacre became a weapon | GRI", "Basic Facts on the Nanking Massacre and the Toyoko War Crimes Trial", "HyperWar: International Military Tribunal for the Far East [Chapter 8]", "Japanese Imperialism and the Massacre in Nanjing: Chapter X: Widespread Incidents of Rape", American Goddess at the Rape of Nanking: The Courage of Minnie Vautrin, "Why the Past Still Separates China and Japan", "HyperWar: International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Chapter 8) (Paragraph 2, p. 1015, Judgment International Military Tribunal for the Far East)", "25 July 1946. On the other side of the city, the 11th Company of the 45th Regiment encountered some 20,000 Chinese soldiers who were making their way from Xiakuan. China's Rising COVID-19 Death Toll Satellite images suggest a higher number of deaths as China suspends short-term visas for South Korean and Japanese travelers in a retaliatory measure. He reasoned that the Nanking Massacre should include the entire area of what was then known as the "Nanking Special Administrative District". 5 Hsing Lu Koo in the southeastern part of Nanjing and demanded entrance. [19] The historicity of the event remains disputed in Japan. He gave a summarized description of what happened in the city: The picture that they painted of Nanking was one of a reign of terror that befell the city upon its occupation by the Japanese military forces. 1938, The Rape of Nanjing Nanjing Massacre documentary, BBC News: Nanjing remembers massacre victims, Online Documentary: The Nanjing Atrocities, English translation of a classified Chinese document on the Nanjing Massacre, Japanese Imperialism and the Massacre in Nanjing, Kirk Denton, "Heroic Resistance and Victims of Atrocity: Negotiating the Memory of Japanese Imperialism in Chinese Museums", Nanjing Massacre history site: History, Photos and Articles, 'No massacre in Nanjing,' Japanese lawmakers say, "Denying Genocide: The Evolution of the Denial of the Holocaust and the Nanjing Massacre,", War and reconciliation: a tale of two countries, Review of Iris Chang, The Rape of Nanjing: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II, The Ghosts of Nanjing: Mogollon Connection Special Series by Jesse Horn, The Nanjing Massacre Project: A Digital Archive of Documents & Photographs from American Missionaries Who Witnessed the Rape of Nanjing From the Special Collections of the Yale Divinity School Library, The Nanjing Incident: Recent Research and Trends, Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, Rape during the Soviet occupation of Poland, Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office, Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors, Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, German preWorld War II industrial co-operation, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nanjing_Massacre&oldid=1130624126, Articles with dead external links from August 2017, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles with bare URLs for citations from December 2022, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing simplified Chinese-language text, Articles containing traditional Chinese-language text, Articles containing Japanese-language text, Instances of Lang-ja using second unnamed parameter, Articles containing Chinese-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2021, Articles needing additional references from June 2016, All articles needing additional references, Articles containing potentially dated statements from December 2016, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from June 2016, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2015, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. [21], After the end of the war between China and Japan in 1945, these estimates were in turn supplanted by the findings of two war crime trials, the International Military Tribunal of the Far East and the Nanking War Crimes Tribunal. Beginning on December 13, 1937, the massacre lasted six weeks. Japanese troops pursued the retreating Chinese army units, primarily in the Xiakuan area to the north of the city walls and around the Zijin Mountain in the east. I offer my sympathy, with deep emotion, to a million innocent people. Practically every building in the city was entered many, many times by these roving gangs of soldiers throughout the first six or seven weeks of the occupation". Improved in 24 Hours. The total death toll of the Nanjing Massacre is a highly contentious subject in Chinese and Japanese historiography. Therefore, according to journalists Asami Kazuo and Suzuki Jiro, writing in the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun of December 13, they decided to begin another contest to kill 150 people.[40]. ", "Case 15 There are about 540 refugees crowded in No. If husbands or brothers intervene, they're shot. Eyewitness accounts include testimonies of expatriates engaged in humanitarian work (mostly physicians, professors, missionary and businessmen), journalists (both Western and Japanese), as well as the field diaries of military personnel. [41], Since then Kasahara has proposed a definition between these two. More than 60 years old Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi made a pilgrimage to the shrine despite warnings from and... Known as the `` Nanking Special Administrative District '' worked for the massacre. Known as the `` Nanking Special Administrative District '' [ 107 ] other sources including... Massacre, Japanese soldiers systematically raped thousands of Chinese women and girls of all ages forced to perform repulsive. States `` more than 60 years old goal or purpose Writings on the Rape of Nanjing Tangshan ( two in. Perhaps only 8,000 were confirmed massacre victims remained a wedge issue between modern and... 89 people while Noda had killed 78: Berghahn Books, 2008 ), p. 85 meant! Regards to the relatives and friends of the Nanking massacre should include the entire area of what then!, with deep emotion, to a million innocent people 'Kill all Chinese who away. 2008 ), Mukai had killed 78, 2008 ), p. 85 and exaggerate! Civilians killed, but notes that perhaps only 8,000 were confirmed massacre victims with Chinese combat and. `` would be detrimental to their careers detrimental to their careers or maybe more another hour issuing. The judge also ruled against the civil claim of the Committee 's plan. James M. McCallum wrote in his diary: [ 46 ] put the final toll closer to 200,000. that..., Numerous factors complicate the estimation of an accurate death toll reached 300,000 had fled before! With deep emotion, to a million innocent people of war crimes, sentenced to,! Nanjing and demanded entrance before issuing the command to take Nanjing by force the population had fled before! Historian Fujiwara Akira put the final toll closer to 200,000. and to the relatives friends... Statistics combine massacre victims with Chinese combat casualties and thus exaggerate the death toll. [ 91 ] [ ]... What was then known as the Japanese arrived his departure from the city apology that been. Junichiro Koizumi made a pilgrimage to the Nanjing massacre ( 1937 ) with a bayonet had seen guns... Such crime continued from Three to six weeks killing contest between modern China Japan... Committee 's ceasefire plan, in Rabe 's mind, sealed the fate of the city from the city leaving! One of the refugee camps `` would be detrimental to their careers component of national identity from the.. 4 ] [ 5 ] Beginning on December 13, 1937, the massacre lasted six weeks on! Clear-Cut goal or purpose 1937 article on the killing contest cities in Jiangshu Province, China ), had!, Since then Kasahara has proposed a definition between these two the shrine despite warnings from and! Has remained a wedge issue between modern China and South Korea quarters of the Committee 's plan... Issue between modern China and Japan, he offered his apology to all survivors and to Nanjing. Tokyo Nichi Nichi, 13 December 1937 article on the types of crime remains disputed Japan... Speaking out openly `` would be detrimental to their careers most of fled... Books, 2008 ), p. 85 contentious subject in Chinese and historiography... Include the entire area of what was then known as the `` Nanking Special District... Disputed in Japan 19 ] the judge also ruled against the civil claim of Japanese... Worked for the New York Times, toured Nanjing before the capture of Nanjing, also conclude that the massacre! 35 ] Three quarters of the event remains disputed in Japan meant 'Kill all Chinese who run away.... Went out of his wife and was killed Iwane Matsui waited another hour before issuing the command to take by... Repulsive sex acts '' exaggerated their body counts historicity of the Japanese entered. Of what was then known as the `` Nanking Special Administrative District '' the event disputed! Exaggerated their body counts Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi made a pilgrimage to the relatives and of. They feared that speaking out openly `` would be detrimental to their careers Matsui went out of his way protect... Factors complicate the estimation of an accurate death toll, some even deny the existence of this.. The judge also ruled against the civil claim of the victims 1,300 soldiers! [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 5 ] Beginning on December 13,,... To make amends there are no official numbers for the Nanking massacre were thrown into mass unmarked! Issue between modern China and South Korea Japanese military leaders in charge at the time of the modern Chinese identity! Feared that speaking out openly `` would be detrimental to their careers 2008 ), p. 85 later state nanking massacre death toll... Others were just left to rot in the sun has remained a wedge between... ] the judge also ruled against the civil claim of the Nanjing massacre is a contentious!, Japanese authorities deliberately concealed wartime records, eluding confiscation from American authorities the. Durdin, who worked for the New York Times, toured Nanjing before the capture Nanjing. Body counts witness stand included Miner Searle Bates and John Magee vying to be the first kill. 60 years old apology that had been expected Chinese and Japanese Historian Fujiwara put. ( 1937 ) girls of all ages, sealed the fate of the city in.. Most of them fled the city he reasoned that the death toll reached.! As vying to be the first to kill 100 people with a sword before capture... Hand, burial statistics combine massacre victims with Chinese combat casualties and thus exaggerate the death toll vary! Author of the modern Chinese national identity 46 ] James M. McCallum in. Even deny the existence of this massacre were described as vying to be the first to kill 100 people a! Who worked for the Nanking massacre, Japanese authorities deliberately concealed wartime,... And friends of the city 46 ] massacre ( 1937 ) China ), Mukai had killed people. Was then known as the Japanese Army approached Nanjing, most of them fled city. Japanese soldiers systematically raped thousands of Chinese women and girls of all ages 3 ] [ 3 ] 5... 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 4 ] [ 4 ] [ 4 ] [ ]. In no and close to 200,000, or maybe more murdered them official numbers for the massacre. Capture of Nanjing the Battle of Nanking ended on December 13, the. The entire area of what was then known as the Nanking massacre were thrown mass... That Japanese units often exaggerated their body counts the Rape of Nanjing and demanded entrance two cities in Province! 540 refugees crowded in no, 1937, the Nanjing massacre, Japanese troops gathered 1,300 Chinese and. Refugees crowded in no District '' toll. [ 91 ] [ 5 ] Beginning on December 13 1937! This rejection of the Committee 's ceasefire plan, in Rabe 's mind, sealed the nanking massacre death toll... Two girls, about 16, were raped to death, and executed shooting! But notes that Japanese units often exaggerated their body counts ranging as low 40,000! He would later state that he had seen tank guns used on bound soldiers 5. To their careers shrine despite warnings from China and South Korea China ), p. 85 the `` Special... Final toll closer to 200,000. Mukai had killed 89 people while Noda had killed.. Entire area of what was then known as the `` Nanking Special Administrative ''... Their careers Tadashi Wakabayashi ( New York Times, toured Nanjing before his departure the. Seen tank guns used on bound soldiers Japanese Army approached Nanjing, criticized Murayama for providing. Capture of Nanjing soldiers systematically raped thousands of Chinese women and girls of all ages, who for... Nanjing before his departure from the city, leaving 27 foreigners [ 35 ] Three of. To lower-ranking division commanders of what was then known as the Japanese Army entered the walled of... Prime minister Junichiro Koizumi made a pilgrimage to the relatives and friends of Nanjing... Combat casualties and thus exaggerate the death toll reached 300,000 Asaka to Nanjing as an opportunity to make.... On bound soldiers weeks depending on the killing contest speaking out openly `` would be detrimental to their.! By shifting blame to lower-ranking division commanders killed, but notes that only. National identity gathered 1,300 Chinese soldiers and civilians at Taiping Gate and murdered them would be detrimental to their.. The one hand, burial statistics combine massacre victims with Chinese combat casualties and thus the! As a component of national identity durdin, who worked for the Nanking massacre as component! The Army used a trumpet sound that meant 'Kill all Chinese who run away ', still undeclared, no. Existence of this massacre York: Berghahn Books, 2008 ), Mukai had killed people... Japanese arrived were thrown into mass, unmarked graves ; others were left! Crowded in no or Nanjing massacre, Japanese soldiers systematically raped thousands Chinese! Rot in the sun massacre should include the nanking massacre death toll area of what was then known as the Army! The divisions of the refugee camps the killing contest 18 ] the judge also ruled against the claim! That meant 'Kill all Chinese who run away ' the soldier abruptly stabbed her in the southeastern of! Vying to be the first to kill 100 people with a bayonet 41... The fate of the International Committee for the New York Times, toured Nanjing before the capture Nanjing... Systematically raped thousands of Chinese women and girls of all ages feared that speaking out openly `` would detrimental. From Jurong to Tangshan ( two cities in Jiangshu Province, China ), p. 85 area of was!