Rape of Nanking

June 20, 2007 on 11:15 am | In Books | | Email This Post

I finally got around to reading The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang.

One of the points that Chang stresses in this book is that knowledge of the events that occurred in 1937 in Nanking is terribly lacking amongst Americans. Personally, I had a general knowledge of the Nanking Massacre before moving to Japan, but only after living here and hearing about the East Asia protests (mainly China and Korea) during Koizumi’s visits to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo was I prompted to learn more about the history on my own. That’s when I decided to finally read this book.

Does anyone here recall if they covered this specific event in their high school or university world history courses?

War is hell, but even so the Japanese army did an extreme number on Nanking.

Some historians estimate that more than 300,000 Chinese died in Nanking during the Japanese occupation. This is more than the atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. On the other hand, other historians/politicians, mainly Japanese, estimate that the Nanking massacre never happened, or that only a few thousand members of the Chinese military died in battle…

I have a much better understanding of the circumstances and details regarding this event now that I have read this book. It’s embarrassing to admit, but I did not know that the Chinese army in Nanking had already thrown down their arms and surrendered when the Japanese army marched in. There are also shocking images of Japanese newspapers published at the time that explain a race between two soldiers to see who could kill more Chinese the quickest. Intense.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Japanese history in the slightest.

You can learn more about the Nanking Massacre by reading The Rape of Nanking of course, but also use google, and read the Nanking Massacre wikipedia article.

If you can read Japanese, it’s interesting to compare the Amazon.com reader reviews of The Rape of Nanking to the reviews on Amazon.jp. The Japanese largely discount it as lies. In fact there is a popular book in Japanese called “Research of The Rape of Nanking: Methodologies and Strategies of Information Warfare in China” (my translation of the title) with the sole purpose of discounting The Rape of Nanking largely through denial of responsibility.

The Rape of Nanking itself has been translated into Chinese, but not Japanese. Apparently Chang had a disagreement with the Japanese publisher. The Japanese publisher wanted to only publish the book on the condition that it more than 90 “factual errors” first be corrected…

Of course, a book like this will always be controversial, especially from the point of view of the offending nation… All the more reason to read it.

- Harvey

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  1. Gravatar

    We did not cover this at all in history in High School, but instead focused on what the Japanese was doing to us here in Australia (which I guess if fair enough because there isn’t time to cover every single event that happened in history).

    So I’ve been largely unaware until the recent media talk over it.

    You know, every single country has done bad things, especially during wars. Wars are dirty. I can even (sort of!) understand the Japanese attacking when China had surrendered (not saying I agree with it, far from it - but I could picture say the US doing something similar in Iraq). What is definitely not OK is the denial of all this. Japan would have a much better face if they could just admit they did something wrong.

    Comment by Goddess Carlie — June 21, 2007 #

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    And then there’s Iran that denies the holocaust ever happened, and they weren’t even involved!

    Comment by Alex — June 21, 2007 #

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    I was saddened and shocked when I heard Iris Chang committed suicide. Her book was so important b/c Westerners were largely unaware of the issues surrounding comfort women until she published it. May she rest in peace.

    Comment by Lisa — June 23, 2007 #

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    We spent 2 days on the subject in a high school history class. First day was spent watching a documentary, then the next day was devoted to class discussion.
    …
    If you can read Japanese, it’s interesting to compare the Amazon.com reader reviews of The Rape of Nanking to the reviews on Amazon.jp. The Japanese largely discount it as lies.
    …
    I wouldn’t read too much into that. Consider how many Japanese would be able to read English well enough to work their way through the text. And among those who could, how many would pick that compared to something like Harry Potter? It’s not surprising that the few who read it are going to be those who already feel strongly that the subject needs to be refuted. I’d expect the same from non-native speakers who take on 『ザ・レイプ・オブ・南京』の研究―中国における「情報戦」の手口と戦略.

    Comment by Michael — June 23, 2007 #

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    The problem with Chang’s book is that it’s riddled with inaccuracies and mistakes. This has given a lot of ammunition to the (ludicrous) massacre deniers. Her book is a polemic. This undermines legitimate work on the massacre. For example, at least one of the photos she used was widely known to be a fake before she used it (although it isn’t clear she knew this, but it’s typical of her sloppy research). The 100 man killing contest you mention is also dubious (there’s a lot of evidence it wasn’t true–although not enough to say for sure). You can find much better information on the Nanjing Massacre for free at places like Japan Focus (website). David Askew has a very good article on it.

    Comment by Etn — June 29, 2007 #

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    i truly loved the book. there was so much about history i didnt know. and i am so sad to hear about chang’s suicide, but her memory will leave on especially because of her great contribution=)

    Comment by martina manalo — August 14, 2007 #

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    I think you should all know that ALL the pictures used in the book are fake. Check out “Analyzing the “Photographic Evidence” of Nanking Massacre” (Nankin Jiken Shoko Shashin o Kenshoo suru) which is a study of all 143 photos that are supposed to be “proof” of the “Nanking Massacre” (published from Shoshisha, 2005 by Higashinakano Shudo et al) The authors traced the photos to where they ORIGINALLY CAME FROM, and they’re all fake! they studied over 40,000 photos in this effort. Iris Chang said she interviewd the “victims” of the incident, but remember, these interviews were done with the full backing of the Chinese government, and that’s a communist one-party country with no freedom of speech. The whole issue is highly political, and the Communist party is whipping up this propaganda as raison d’etre of their existence - ie resistance against the devilish Japanese, and if they can rally the US against Japan, so much the better for their hegemony in Asia. They certainly succeeded in getting US sympathy BEFORE WWII, during the China Incident, one method which was to collect and circulate fake photos in the US via magazines like Life and get American sympathy and donations. Now the same original photos that had been collected, trimmed, and re-captioned, are being used again! PLEASE read the book.

    Comment by Michi — November 23, 2007 #

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    Accepting history isn’t something that Japan excels at.

    Remember the advertisement in a US paper by Japanese who were determined to deny the comfort women issue?
    http://www.japannewbie.com/2007/06/21/comfort-women-deniers-take-out-ads/

    Comment by harvey — November 24, 2007 #

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    Can you READ Japanese? I guess the language barrier it why people don’t understand that this country has freedom of speech that is not present in either China nor, for that matter, South Korea. Maybe even the US, in the sense that we have books from all parts of the world translated into Japanese, when the US’s primary interest seems to be literature published in the English language. Iris Chang’s book was not published here not because of the ridiculous reson that she gave, i.e. some kind of pressure from the right, but because the publishers became too embarrassed with so many ridiculously beginner’s level mistakes about our history that even a kid would recognize, but she refused to get those corrected. Don’t make sweeping comments like “Japanese don’t accept history” without even examining contrasting evidence - and the pictures being fake is a pretty big deal. Remember, the whole issue is highly political. We should be cool and look at both sides.

    Comment by Michi — November 26, 2007 #

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    Michi - Yes, I read Japanese.

    You’re passionate, that’s good! We need more passionate citizens.

    Comment by harvey — November 26, 2007 #

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    I’ve become more interested in the Nanking Massacre more recently.

    Am Japanese, grew up in Europe, currently studying Chinese in China. Will be studying East Asian Studies in the US v. soon.

    I’ll reserve making a conclusion on this highly political and emotional topic without first reading various books with contrasting views.

    I’ve not gotten round to reading the Iris Chan book, though I’ve had it in my possession since 98…

    One thing I’ll say is this - I think a lot of Japanese believe bad things happened in Nanking.

    But only those that deny it happened gets press overseas.

    As you know, in Japan, lots of books get published, including extreme books.

    However, I’m pretty sure (though not backed up by any statistics) that the middle roaders are still in the majority (in terms of numbers of death, those believe that not 0 nor 300,000, but somewhere between 20,000-50,000 died).

    Still a horrific number.

    The deniers get a voice in Japan which gets picked up by overseas press precisely because they are allowed to speak their mind.

    I think that shows democracy at work, which is a good thing, whether you are disgusted by what is being said by some right wing (or left wing) people.

    Comment by Bob — December 19, 2007 #

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    Where do people get the idea that there is no free speech in Japan? As far as the so-called “Rape of Nanking” controversy is concerned, those who believe this fallacy can be quite at ease in the sense that there has been full coverage (propaganda?) supporting this view ever since the Tokyo Trial at the end of WWII, when this news sort of popped out of nowhere upon the Japanese public via the Allies. The greatest supporter has been Asahi, the only Japanese newspaper allowed in China during the Cultural Revolution, which held a huge campaign to promote the story. NHK, the national broadcasting company, has also been sympathetic to the view. Oddly, those who support this view tended to ignore the genocide in Cambodia, or the plight in Tibet, and used be very pro-North Korea. There are numerous books and articles published by both sides, and I will cite some later.
    The soldiers back from Nanking and Japanese who had been to Nanking were those who protested and taken aback by the accusation, but they were mostly socially stygmatized or ignored in the aftermath of the war. One thing to note is that over 100 Japanese reporters and writers did enter Nanking after its fall and none of them reported any irregularities. It’s easy to say that they all lied, but there are photos and even a video (yes!) of Nanking when this huge genocide supposedly took place, but it’s so odd to see smiling children and peaceful scenes. Also, even if soldiers were told to kept quiet (ha ha!) genocide of this scale is not easy to keep quiet. Word gets around. You have tens of hundreds and thousands of soldiers coming back to Japan, and it’s impossible I think to keep something of this scale quiet. Many many personal diaries and memoirs have been published, but none indicate it. During the war, it often happened that Japanese people even in remote places knew about defeats etc. that they weren’t supposed to know because little by little, news does leak out. If you read Rabe’s diary, you will notice that he himself didn’t see any bodies. None of the Westerners witness the killings. (I’m not talking about combat) This, in a place the size of Central Park in NY. I’m sad to say the Japanese government has never protested against the Nanking accusation, which I think is totally and ethically wrong of the government. There has also been books (rightist, I guess you would say) denying the “Rape”. They have been a minor force. Also, it’s impossible to do a proper “historical study” in China since history is politically decided there. Whatever the Chinese government decides becomes proper history, and they are presently having a huge campagin to promote Nanking to blackmail Japan. However, there has been a turnaround in studies recently because Taiwan has become a much more democratic country in recent years and documents and memoirs of the Nationalist party which escaped there after the Communist takeover are gradually becoming accessible. This has uncovered a whole new set of information about collaboration and intelligence activities of Chinese and Westerners on the forging of the Nanking story. Some recent study includes painstaking research on photos used to “verify” atrocities. Who originally took it, and where? Can it be found in other publications of that time? Where was it first used? The result has been that ALL photos were doctored.i.e. the caption was changed, the place was changed, some were trimmed of vital information, and borrowed from totally different circumstances.
    I think the Nanking story eases the sense of guilt of the Westerners on the atomic bombings etc., and since Iris Chang’s book is so mesmerizing and passionate, it will appeal to anyone with a sense of right if the whole story is true. However it is the biggest fallacy and the most successful piece of war-time propaganda
    of the last 100 years.

    Samples of Books denying the “Rape of Nanking”:
    1.”Nanking Jiken Shoko Shashin o Kensho suru” HIGASHINAKANO, Shudo; KOBAYASHI,Susumu; FUKUNAGA, Shinjiro (result of 3 years of examining photographic ‘evidence’)
    2. “Nankin Jiken Kokumintou Gokuhi Bunsho kara Yomitoku” HIGASHINAKANO, Shuzo (Top secret documents of Kuomingtang documents and what they reveal about the Nanking Incident)
    3. “Nanking Jiken no Sokatsu” TANAKA, Masaaki
    (Tanaka was secretary to General Matsui who oversaw the Nanking attack)
    4. “Nanking Jiken no Maboroshi” SUZUKI, Akira
    - thorough field research, interviews and studies of those involved in the 1937 incident. Received the prestigious 4th Oya Soichi non-fiction award
    5. “Nanking Jiken Hattenshi” TOMISAWA, Shigenobu (Traces the full history, from how the “Rape of Nanking” story was born, to today)
    6. “Nankin Jiken- testimony of 48 Japanese”
    ARA, Kenichi
    7. “Saishin ‘Nanking DaiGyakusatsu’ Sekai ni
    uttaeru Nihon no Enzai” OHARA Yasuo; TAKEMOTO Tadao - the second half of this book is in English
    8. “Puropaganda Sen ‘Nankin Jiken’” MATSUO, Ichiro (Study of photographical ‘proof’)
    9. “Nanking DaiGyakusatsu wa Koushite Tsukurareta - Tokyo Saiban no Giman” FUJI Nobuo
    (the hypocrisy of the Tokyo trial and how the Nanking story was made)

    Also - I almost forgot - Nanking and street scenes filmed by Toho from Dec.1937-38 when mass killings supposedly took place. http://www.catta.net/syouwaeizou/senkieizo.html

    Samples of books saying there was a massacre
    1.”Nankin Nanminku no 100nichi - Gyakusatsu wo mita Gaikokujinn ”
    KASAHARA, Tokushi (”100 days in the Safety Zone, and Foreigners who witnessed the massacre”)
    2. “Nankin DaiGyakusatsu Hiteiron 13 no Uso” KASAHARA, Tokushi (claims pictures prove atrocities, even if they were not taken in Nanking)
    3. “Ketteiban Nankin DaiGyakusatsu” HORA, Tomio
    (his comments that more than 200000 died was the trigger that started similar comments in school textbooks)
    4. “Nankin DaiGyakusatsu no Genba E” HORA, Tomio; HONDA, Katsuichi (their visit to China was backed up by the Nanking Holocaust Museum in Nanking)
    5. “Nankin Sen Tozasareta Kioku wo Tazunete - Heishi 102nin no shogen” MATSUOKA, Kan
    (testimony of 102 ’soldiers’ about atrocities they committed. All use pseudonyms. Packed with ‘testimonies’ such as then 12-year old soldier raping 50 women. More than 1000 such ‘errors’)
    6. “Chuugoku no Tabi” HONDA, Katsuichi (direct quotation of stories of atrocities, provided to him by the Chinese government. It was enormously influential and caused a huge sensation in Japan in 1070’s and re-started the it happened - didn’t happen debate)
    7. “Tenno no Guntai to Nankin Jiken” YOSHIDA, Hiroshi (”Emperor’s army and Nanking Incident”)
    8. “Nanking DaiGyakusatsu - Maboroshika Kousaku Hihan” HORA, Tomio (criticism of ‘didn’t happen’ side)
    9. “War in Asia” Edgar Snow

    References for both sides:
    1. “Nanking Jiken no Kakushin” - database of all primary sources on the Nanking incident FUJISAWA, Shigenobu
    2. “Nicchuu Senso Shiryoshuu 9 Nankin Jiken2″ compiled by HORA, Tomio (includes “What War Is” “Documents of the Nanking Safety Zone” and “Smyth’s study”)
    3. “Nanking no Shinjitsu” John Rabe
    (translation of John Rabe’s diary)

    Comment by Michi — January 15, 2008 #

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    Michi,

    Are you a Japanese? Why are you so agitated? If so, all your arguments and protests are useless.

    Comment by Michelle — March 31, 2008 #

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    I also think what American Atom bomb was bad..But after reading The Rape of Nanking. It’s nothing compared to what the Japanese done.

    Comment by Mary Jane — August 16, 2008 #

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