Stories of Ancestors and War

Introduction

I went to visit my paternal grandparents for the first time in a while.
There was something I had been curious about for a long time, so I asked them while handing over my new book introduction and graduation thesis. It was a very good story that I can only hear now, so I decided to put it into writing. I originally thought about posting it on Facebook, but it was too long, so I am writing it here.

Things I was curious about

The answers I received

Then, the following answers were returned. (I will specify the family name below.)

1. How were you able to go to a higher school under the old system despite being from a farming family?

It seems to be related to the history of the Kobayashi family itself. The Kobayashi family moved around and eventually settled in a relatively peaceful land (present-day Togo Town).

In the 1584 Battle of Komaki and Nagakute, they refused to hand over rice, so their house was burned down and they had to move. After establishing a base nearby, they have lived as farmers for 10 generations to the present day (though my grandfather is the youngest of 10 siblings) without any particular major problems.

During the Edo and Meiji periods, they were called the Kobayashi clan and were apparently influential figures to some extent. Because of that, they were a family with economic power for farmers, and they were able to send many of the 10 siblings to higher schools under the old system. (The reason why we can trace it back to the Azuchi-Momoyama period is that it has actually been turned into a book. That is why it is important to leave things in writing.) (*1)

2. Were there any people who were conscripted? Where were they sent to serve?

Three people were conscripted: the eldest, second, and third sons. The eldest son (deceased) disliked farming and was conscripted just as he was about to start working at Toyota Motor Corporation. He was mobilized to Burma (present-day Myanmar) for the Imphal Campaign and returned home emaciated. At that time, he had also contracted malaria. He returned to Toyota Motor Corporation and worked until his retirement.

The second son (deceased) worked as an intelligence soldier (likely referring to a communications soldier) in the Army at a naval port in Rabaul (Papua New Guinea). One day, they were attacked by the U.S. military, and while his partner desperately escaped to convey the information to their allies, the second son could not escape and was killed in action by machine-gun fire.

The third son (deceased) got a job at a company and worked in Shanghai. However, he was conscripted at that time. Even though China had a Kuomintang-Communist cooperation, there were many warlords and guerrillas, and he saved his life by running away. After returning home safely, he worked as a part-time farmer and was also a manager at the Sasado Country Club (*2).

3. How did you live after the war ended?

Because we were farmers, we ate rice and steamed sweet potatoes. However, rice at that time ranged from "first-grade rice" to "fifth-grade rice," and since third-grade rice was supplied to schools, we called it "classroom rice," and what we actually ate was the poor-quality rice that remained unsold, or barley rice. First-grade and second-grade rice were supplied to the government, and we sold fourth-grade and fifth-grade rice on the black market. It apparently sold for a very high price.

Based on that story, my grandfather said, "Kids these days are too picky. In my time, we 'ate to survive,' so we didn't have the luxury of being picky. I envy you, but you should make sure you can eat a variety of things just in case." (*3).

Aside: Who is the Prime Minister that left the biggest impression on you?

I was not born yet, but the one I respect the most is "Kakuei Tanaka".
By introducing the gasoline tax, he triggered the car boom and laid the foundation for the automobile industry that continues to this day. Also, there is no doubt that he developed the whole country through highway and Shinkansen plans. However, by concentrating the Shinkansen in Tokyo, he created an irreversible concentration of everything in Tokyo, and based on the idea of covering deficits with profitable lines, he created the Japan Railway Construction Public Corporation, which further expanded the already deficit-ridden national railway lines and dealt the final blow. Therefore, while I look up to him as a mentor, I also evaluate him as a cautionary tale.

In the case of my paternal grandfather: Hayato Ikeda

My grandfather at the time worked as an employee at a small-to-medium-sized company, and he says that his salary increased visibly due to the Income Doubling Plan. Thanks to that, he says life became much easier.

In the case of my maternal grandfather: Masayoshi Ohira

He was also raised as a farmer. By getting to the bottom of the "why," he climbed all the way to Prime Minister. It seems that the connection of being raised as a farmer just like him gave my grandfather a certain amount of hope.

Footnotes

*1 While old documents remain in my maternal grandfather's family line, not much is known about my grandmother's family line. Looking at it this way, it is clear that the family system still leaves an influence in this form even today.

*2 Incidentally, my maternal grandfather's father (my great-grandfather) was a teacher, so he was exempt from conscription. My grandfather and his brothers were elementary school students at the end of the war, so they were not conscripted. Similarly, my maternal grandmother's father (great-grandfather) was conscripted shortly after getting married and went to Kyushu, but fortunately, he contracted tuberculosis and returned home. He worked as a bank clerk at Tokai Bank. (If my grandmother's father hadn't contracted tuberculosis, my current grandmother wouldn't exist, and neither would I, so I am once again grateful to be alive.)

*3 I would like to record my maternal side's stories here as well. My grandfather went to Toyokawa (Akasaka) for school evacuation, and because he was too much of a troublemaker, he was moved to the Hamamatsu area, where there was plenty of food (especially sweet potatoes and rice). The problem was after the war ended. There were no goods, so he obtained food at the black market, and for school life, the classrooms were rabbit hutches. Since other people had eaten the rabbits during the war, the empty spaces were converted into classrooms (it was quite smelly, but there was no choice because we had to move forward). He made prints on the spot using a mimeograph. However, he said the paper quality was so poor that it tore immediately. A teacher once gave him an umbrella, but because the fabric was thin (since it was paper, after all), it immediately developed holes as soon as it rained and became useless. His socks also developed holes right away. My grandfather used to say, "Cherish your belongings. You will suffer when war comes. Do not be picky about food. To survive, you will have to eat things you dislike." My grandmother, whose stories I haven't heard in detail and want to record while she is still alive, told me many times since I was in kindergarten that there was no food right after the war, so she even ate salmon bones. She said she couldn't have survived the hunger otherwise. She also strictly told me, "Don't be picky, and cherish your belongings."