The Remains of War: Apology and Forgiveness: Testimonies of the Japanese Imperial Army and their Filipino Victims [Hardcover]

Jintaro Ishida (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2, 2002 | ISBN-10: 1585745715 | ISBN-13: 978-1585745715 | Edition: 1st

The Remains of War is an eye-opening collection of reminiscences about the atrocities committed by the Japanese Imperial Army soldiers during World War II, including a series of bloody massacres. It is a sequel of sorts to the author's first book, Walang Hiya (Without Shame), which, in 1990, was the first book to examine and acknowledge this dark era in Japan's past.

Through extensive research, Mr. Ishida became sympathetic to the plight of the Filipino victims. He collaborated with other World War II veterans in order get firsthand accounts both from Japanese assailants and their Filipino victims, and to expose the harsh truth of these horrible war crimes heretofore gone grossly unacknowledged by the Japanese government and its military leaders.

Ishida strongly believes that the present Japanese political leadership, once confronted with the overwhelming evidence of his book, should take full responsibility for the horrible acts committed against the Filipino people during World War II, and that they should offer an official and public apology, expressed through compensation. Whether or not this will happen remains to be seen. However, with The Remains of War, it is clear that at least one Japanese citizen and veteran has taken a significant step toward acknowledging and rectifying the shame of his nation's past. (5 1/2 x 8 1/4, 336 pages, b&w photos)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In February and March 1945, soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Army massacred several thousand Filipino citizens in southern Luzon in the name of guerrilla subjugation. Ishida, a Japanese World War II veteran, provides interviews with both Filipino survivors and Japanese participants in the killings. Although the types of questions Ishida posed, the size of his cohorts, and the sophistication of his analysis would fail any professional sociologist's standards, he captures the unvarnished horror of that slaughter as experienced and subsequently subsumed into the lives of those who witnessed it. If this narrative of death and destruction varies little from others of the violent 20th century, its great value rests in the range of feelings expressed 50 years later, from Japanese remorse to complete denial and from Filipino hatred to forgiveness. Despite some editing and translation lapses, this work offers a simple, humble, and haunting examination of a tragedy as remembered and assimilated by the human spirit. Recommended for all libraries. John F. Riddick, Central Michigan Univ. Lib., Mt. Pleasant
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From the Back Cover

"An extraordinary work of parallel reporting.... In plain language and painstaking detail, Mr. Ishida's book presents the words of both the Filipinos and the Japanese he interviewed, along with his own anguished reactions.... a wealth of historical material." -The New York Times"As long as Japanese like Jintaro Ishida keep confronting their own people with their dark past, it is very possible that the errors of that bygone era may never be repeated."-from the Epilogue by F. Sionil Jose, author of Dusk The Remains of War is an eye-opening collection of reminiscences about the atrocities committed by the Japanese Imperial Army soldiers during World War II, including a series of bloody massacres. It is a sequel of sorts to the author's first book, Walang Hiya (Without Shame), which, in 1990, was the first book to examine and acknowledge this dark era in Japan's past.Through extensive research, Mr. Ishida became sympathetic to the plight of the Filipino victims. He collaborated with other World War II veterans in order get firsthand accounts both from Japanese assailants and their Filipino victims, and to expose the harsh truth of these horrible war crimes heretofore gone grossly unacknowledged by the Japanese government and its military leaders.Ishida strongly believes that the present Japanese political leadership, once confronted with the overwhelming evidence of his book, should take full responsibility for the horrible acts committed against the Filipino people during World War II, and that they should offer an official and public apology, expressed through compensation. Whether or not this will happen remains to be seen. However, with The Remains of War, it is clear that at least one Japanese citizen and veteran has taken a significant step toward acknowledging and rectifying the shame of his nation's past. (5 1/2 x 8 1/4, 336 pages, b&w photos)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (June 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585745715
• ISBN-13: 978-1585745715
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,520,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Remains of War: Apologies and Forgiveness, November 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Remains of War: Apology and Forgiveness: Testimonies of the Japanese Imperial Army and their Filipino Victims (Hardcover)

The author of this book who is Japanese should be commended for his efforts in trying to get people to remember past atrocities committed by his countrymen. He goes to great lengths to try and talk to both the victims of these deeds and those who committed the crimes. Unfortunately it seems the majority of the individuals fit into two catagories: Impoverished Filipinos who although victims are reluctant to complain, being somehow hopeful that the Japanese Government will someday compensate them for there sufferings and Japanese Veterans who always seem to be doubting the facts of the events or were just doing as ordered and therefore feeling no responsibility for the results. I would give the book five stars for its subject matter but two stars for its writting style. This work of non-fiction which was originally written in Japanese is rather poorly transposed into English. I got the feeling that the author is in the minority in Japan when it comes to feeling any responsibility for past acts or even wanting to talk about the subject. I hate to say it but the lack of remorse on the part of most of the Japanese Veterans after almost 60 years made me feel much less guilty of how the US ended the war. A recommended read for anyone interested in the actions of the Japanese Army in the Philippines and how the Filipinos suffered under the occupation.