The Knights of Bushido-Hardbound: A Short History of Japanese War Crimes [Hardcover]

Lord Of Liverpool Russell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 2006

This is the classic, standard account of Japanese war crimes; a best seller in its time, but out of print for many years. Between 1931 and 1945 Japanese troops rampaged through one defeated country after another, executing civilians, despoiling cities, massacring prisoners and cruelly exploiting prisoners of war and native populations. This carefully constructed history charts this brutal swathe of destruction, objectively examines individual crimes and details the reasons behind Japan's unprecedented disregard for accepted humanitarian principles. Japanese troops behaved with considerable brutality in their war against China a campaign designed 'to punish the people of China'. The Nanking massacre of December 1937 was just one example of the appalling series of atrocities the Japanese inflicted on the conquered Chinese. Japan also excelled in the mistreatment of prisoners of war. Allied troops unfortunate enough to fall into Japanese hands were abused, humiliated, starved and forced to serve as slave labor. This sweeping indictment of atrocities committed by the forces of the Rising Sun is a detailed and carefully documented study and one which throws light onto one of the most disturbing episodes of World War II.

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About the Author

Lord Russell of Liverpool served in World Wars I and II and acted as Deputy Judge Advocate General for the British Army of the Rhine, giving legal advice on the prosecution of war criminals in the British zone of occupied Germany.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Greenhill Books (March 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1853674990
• ISBN-13: 978-1853674990
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,272,055 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Written, Well Researched, January 20, 2004

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shettakaburi (TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Knights of Bushido-Hardbound: A Short History of Japanese War Crimes (Hardcover)

We've seen the movies, the Hollywood glamour of Japanese POW camps in such movies as "Bridge over the River Kwai" and "Empire of the Sun". I had read hints of Japanese brutality, I knew about the rise of the military culture within the government and I, of course, knew of Bushido and the characteristic, xenophobic racism of the Japanese. But I was not prepared for the reality of the Japanese scourge upon the Orient. This fantastic book chronicles the war crimes of the Japanese soldiers and government from the very beginning of the Sino-Japanese conflict and the Rape of Nanking to the frenzied coverup when defeat became evident and the atomic bombs fell.

The author relies heavily upon what was uncovered during the war crime trials of the Japanese hierarchy, as well as testimony from both Allied and Japanese soldiers. The brutality and inhuman conditions of the POW camps, the horrid transportation by ship, and the long death marches (the most famous of which, Bataan) inflicted upon the Allies, the Chinese, the Pacific Islanders, the Indians, and everyone who crossed the path of the Japanese are detailed so meticulously you can see the human skeletons, feel the agony of the raped and slaughtered Chinese, and weep for those prisoners burned alive or bayoneted only because their care had become a burden.

I adore Japanese culture. Bushido is an honorable path for a warrior and the Samurai who practiced it, honorable men. But you cannot forget an atrocity for an honorable past or an affluent future.

With all the candid and realistic portrayals of WWII in Europe and the Nazi concentration camps we have seen come out of Hollywood in the last decade, I am surprised that there is no accurate screen memorial to the millions fallen under the boot of the Japanese.

This book is great for a WWII buff or student of Japanese or Asian culture.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars KNIGHTHOOD IN PRACTICE, December 19, 2005

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DAVID BRYSON (Glossop Derbyshire England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Knights of Bushido-Hardbound: A Short History of Japanese War Crimes (Hardcover)

This is a British lawyer's narrative of Japanese atrocities in WWII and in the years immediately preceding. Baron Russell of Liverpool was a senior legal advisor to the British Army of the Rhine during the nazi war trials, and on the basis that someone who writes history is a historian, he qualifies for that title too. Russell starts his narration in the early 30's with the Japanese concession in Manchuria, the running warfare this involved with the Kuo Min Tang government of Chiang Kai-shek, and the conduct of the Japanese military during that period. His purpose in taking his start-point here is to analyse, to some extent at least, the roots and origins of the mind-sets that led certain human beings to behave in the way they did during WWII.

Russell's analysis takes him and us as far as this - Japanese imperial culture was based on total loyalty to the Emperor. A faction in the army took a fanatical interpretation of this loyalty, not one that was amenable to reason, and saw or purported to see a divine destiny for Japan in dominating the far east and possibly more than just that. So absolute was this mission that no consideration of humanitarian values, and no laws that stood in the way of the mission's fulfilment, could be tolerated. Russell does not try to probe much deeper that this, and I would say rightly not. His book was first published in 1958 following the success of his earlier Scourge of the Swastika. The prime virtue of his writing is precisely that it recounts the events from a lawyer's perspective, not totally detached by any means, but having its focus on facts rather than on expressions of outrage, and steering clear of sensationalism. He does not try to account for the change in Japanese posture from its traditional isolationism to this new spirit of aggression, and he does not try to assess the extent to which the religious or quasi-religious element was genuine and to what extent a garb for something more secular, like the contemporary nationalism in Germany. Still less does he probe the basic question of what `faith' may be said to be in the first place or ask (let alone try to answer) the question that should be asked of any believer in any religion, namely `Why?' Why believe in the divinity of the Emperor rather than in, say, Zeus and Hera? Why indeed.

I support entirely the limitations he has accepted for himself. He had quite enough to do in following his agenda of factual accuracy, his lawyer's perspective is valuable furthermore in assessing matters of legal interpretation, and his unemotional tone helps the reader's focus too. Here and there we catch glimpses of theories that must have crossed his mind, such as in the mention of inferiority complex at one point, but he sticks to his last and does not pursue these. I found that my own interest was less in the grand political scenarios and strategies than in what little the book contains about the mentality of those perpetrating the atrocities. There are excerpts, for instance, from the training manual of the Kempei Tai, a kind of Japanese equivalent of the Gestapo though with some important differences. These leave no doubt that torture was considered legitimate on the basis of `do what you have to do'. There is a statement from no less than Tojo himself at his trial that Japanese foreign commanders had wide latitude in their choice of methods and that questions about these were not asked. There are reported comments from certain local commanders that the prisoners were subhuman, and these, together with the strategic perception that supposed global dominance by the Anglo-Saxon powers had to be fought, seem to me to lend credence to the theory of inferiority complex. In particular there are a few snippets from letters written by the troops. These mainly give plain statements of what was done, but one or two actually evince an access of humanitarian conscience. Rightly, Russell knows better than to draw conclusions from unrepresentative sampling, and I for one was left with a picture common to scenes of undisciplined behaviour by soldiery down the ages, regardless of creed. No doubt it was on a bigger scale, but it was a familiar picture, Emperor or no Emperor. One squaddy puts his and his fellows' excesses down simply to `excitement', and that is hardly new or specific to this divine mission as opposed to other divine missions or their secular counterparts.

Lord Russell's style is dry, clear and economical. As far as it's possible to read such stories without revulsion, it's possible in this book. The final chapter, as we might expect from a lawyer, is a summary of the trials of the major actors and the sentences they received. As usual, Russell permits himself a certain amount of comment but does not become emotive. One interesting detail is that there was a dissenting opinion from the Indian judge, who found that all the prisoners should be exonerated on all charges, on the ground that these trials were, or would be seen as, victors' justice - I'm not quite sure how to read this. There is no mention whatsoever of the fire-bombing of Tokyo, of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or of General LeMay. As these topics are not mentioned, there is no discussion of the difference in principle from atrocities performed hand-to-hand at ground level. Issues at this depth are not explored in this book, so regarding this particular difference the question left with us once again is - what exactly was it?

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Might Throw My "Sony" in the Ocean After Finishing This Book!, September 27, 2009

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Bernie Weisz "a historian specializing in the... (Pembroke Pines,Florida U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Knights of Bushido-Hardbound: A Short History of Japanese War Crimes (Hardcover)

Lord Russel of Liverpool, whose real name was Edward Frederick Langley Russell (1895 to 1981) published this book in 1958. After being queried to write a Japanese version as a companion to the book he wrote on the history of Nazi war crimes, he began this work. The Scourge of the Swastika: A History of Nazi War Crimes During World War II Lord Russell set out to meticulously chart the barbaric path of destruction the Japanese military perpetuated between 1931 to 1945. This book takes the reader on the rampage the Japanese troops took through China, S.E. Asia, Java, Sumatra, Borneo and other countries, executing citizens, raping innocent women, massacring prisoners of war on both land and out at sea, and finally, exploiting P.O.W's and native populations

Lord Russell curiously names this book "The Knights of Bushido". The term "Bushido" means the "Way of the Warrior". This was a Japanese code of conduct which described the concept of bravery, courtesy, and especially of the "ideal knight". Personifying "Bushido", the Japanese soldier was supposed to embody the "seven virtues" of this code, which were "rectitude" (integrity and moral excellence), "courage", "benevolence" (kindness), "respect", "honesty" , "honor" and "loyalty". After reading this book, it is very hard for the reader to juxtapose the Japanese code of conduct with the atrocities the forces of the "Rising Sun" committed, which was everything from murder and rape, to torture and cannibalism. Surviving The Sword: Prisoners Of The Japanese 1942-45 I initially tried to find this "Bushido" on exploring how the Japanese forced women to serve as "Comfort Women" (prostitutes used to serve and satisfy the sexual desires and burn off excess testosterone of the Japanese military machine. Cries of the Korean Comfort Women But in this endeavor, the Japanese pursuance of this theoretically honorable code was not to be found.

Lord Russell starts off with a horrifying example of the plunder the Japanese wrought in China, starting with the fictitious Sept. 18, 1931 "Mukden, China Incident", an incident that simply never occurred. Horror in the East: Japan and the Atrocities of World War II Falsely claiming that a Chinese Brigade had attacked a Japanese patrol on a railway in Mukden, the "Rising Sun" government used this as a spurious justification to invade and occupy Manchuria, and eventually land it's troops on Hong Kong, French Indo-China, Thailand, Malaya, the Netherland East Indies, the Philippines, New Guinea, all territory lying between Eastern India and Burma on the one hand, Australia and New Zealand on the other.

The reader of this book will aghastly digest Lord Russell's description of the massacre of 200,000 Chinese civilians and P.O.W's in the first six weeks of the Japanese "Central China Expeditionary Force" occupation of Nanking.The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II As Lord Liverpool described: "The Japanese troops were then let loose like the hordes of Genghis Khan to ravish and murder (in Nanking). Many were crazed with drink, but no attempt was made by their commander or their officers to maintain discipline among the occupying forces. They looted, they burned, they raped and they murdered. Soldiers marched through the streets indiscriminately killing Chinese of both sexes, adults and children alike, without receiving any provocation and without any rhyme or reason. They went on killing until the gutters ran with blood and the streets were littered with bodies of their victims. Rape was the order of the day, and resistance by the victim, or by members of her family who tried to protect her, meant almost certain death". Lord Russell informs the reader that the Japanese commanders gave their troops full license to commit wholesale murder, arson, looting and rape, of which incredulously 20,000 occurred in the first month of hostilities. Lord Russell followed the Japanese Armies swath through China, where they fought like barbarians. Contrary to being "Knights of Bushido" they brought death, suffering and destruction to innocent people and defenseless villages wherever they went.

Lord Liverpool takes up the majority of this book with his description of the general treatment of P.O.W.s. Blood & Bushido: Japanese Atrocities at Sea 1941-45 While clearly explaining the laws of both the "Hague and Geneva Conventions, which outlined P.O.W. treatment, Liverpool points out that the object of holding prisoners of war was to prevent them from rejoining their own forces and again taking up arms. However, Lord Liverpool gives one paradigm after another of how the Japanese murdered, beat, bayoneted and tortured P.O.W.'s. With Only the Will to Live: Accounts of Americans in Japanese Prison Camps 1941-1945 There are within the pages of this book countless stories of how prisoners of war were robbed of their possessions and how they worked day and night in horrifying conditions on prohibited tasks. Naked Island There are photos in this book that show that not only were they kept in filth and squalor, but to use the Japanese Prime Minister Tojo's expression of "No Work, no food" became the pretext for Japanese abuse and P.O.W. deprivation. Many of the P.O. W's were starved to death or reduced to living skeletons working 18 hours a day, 7 days a week, exposed to the disease ridden elements, with little sleep and scarce nutrition. The story of the "Bataan Death March" makes the reader of this book wonder if the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were sufficient retribution.

Other topics Lord Russell discusses are the murders of captured aircrews (all shot down and captured airmen who bombed Japan received the death penalty), the Japanese atrocities perpetuated on the P.O.W's engaged in building the "Burma to Siam Railway", and the absolute worst place for a P.O.W to be, inside a Japanese transport ship. Called a "prison hulk" or a "Hellship" , P.O.W.s were transported from place to place by the Japanese at sea in holds and coal bunkers of dilapidated vessels with no drinking water, food, air, lavoratory facilities nor medical attention. Death on the Hellships: Prisoners at Sea in the Pacific War Being unidentifiable with Japanese markings, they were subjected to allied attacks from sea and air and many P.O.W.'s suffered hellish deaths. Of the 126,000 British, American and Australian P.O.W's forced to ride them, over 19,000 died by "friendly fire" of pursuing Allied submarines and warplanes.

Lord Russell devotes another large part of this book to the prison camps per se, both military and civilian. Lord Russell documents the Japanese actions against the inmates, including, but not limited to vivisection, rape, torture and cannibalism, which accounts of are not printable in this review. Finally, Lord Russell finishes this book by recounting the barbaric actions of Japan's navy in the wake of it's attacks on Allied shipping, including the ramming of lifeboats, the machine-gunning of survivors and the bayoneting and beheading of captives.
Lord Russell allows the reader to feel that justice ultimately prevailed with his account of the war crimes trial results. The "Double Tenth"(Singapore) and "International Military Tribunal" (Tokyo) convictions and executions of the individual war criminals are examined. A Trial of Generals: Homma, Yamashita, Macarthur This is a tremendously enlightening book that all students of 20th Century history need to examine. However, Lord Russel makes it clear to the reader that all the atrocities described in this book are descriptive of the "bottom line". He leaves us with the following warning: "For every revolting incident which has been described, a hundred have been