Today, I will be storytiming the drawings of Kiuchi Nobuo, a retired member of the Japanese Air Corps during WW2. These drawings depict his experiences as a prisoner of war in an USSR detention camp and were divided into five stories, representing different time periods during his detainment and eventual repatriation.I will accompany each drawing with a title and description of the scene given by Nobuo in his website.
>De-lousing in Samham-ni>Meeting defeat and then rough life of prisoner of war in foreign country. It gives me much pain to tell about this all again. It appears that us, youngsters of Taisho era, are the only ones to befell such grim destiny.
>Lavatory in the open>"I have been reading my fortune and it fell to me to go back home in three weeks..." - "May be you really will..."Flat days of the POW started to go by. Lavatory in the open air, bordered by straw mats has also been a place for chat of comrades-in-arms, discussing important matters, like: "I have been reading my fortune today and it fell to me to go back home soon" and so on.
>24 men in a 10-square meters room>"I am sorry, my friends. This should hurt, but please be patient.">Some time later we went north by rail from Samham-ni to Heungnam. 24 men were quartered in one room of half-ruined worker apartments and it was so hot so additional heating became unnecessary. You couldn't find a place on a floor to lay down if you go out in the night.>>269233320I also forgot to mention that this is Story 1, titled "Going to Soviet Union."
>Moon blindness>"Lavatory">"Groping in the dark to lavatory thanks to moon blindness">In the end of December, when it was bitter cold, lack of vegetables and scanty dreary meal induced moon blindness. As a result my comrades-in-arms were blundering against each other going out in the night.
>Full tub of soil >"Don't spill the poo-poo.">Every night we were taking out a full tub of soil to flush it to large sink in the yard. How entertaining.
>Night shift>"Full moon is far too beauteous for a soldier of conquered country.">We had to walk those who were induced by moon blindness to lavatory. So we had to be on duty every night turning hourly. It was -20 ｰC outside and it was not easy job. I was sniffling looking at beautiful moon and frozen tears were on my cheeks.
>>269233300I assume he was captured during the Manchuria invasion? Interesting thread though I'm not sure how on topic it counts as.
>Baseball on grass>"Baseball game. Catcher missed the ball.">Whenever the weather was fine we walked outside for physical exercises. Vigorous ones played baseball with glove and bat.
>Forced march under a boiling sun>"Soviet soldier: "Hey, jabonsky, skare, skare!" (Hey, japanese, faster, faster!)">From North Korean port of Heungnam we went to small soviet port of Posyet.After that we had some forced march along longest 20 km fields. It was pretty hard for some of us and mud was all over them.>>269233441Yes, I'm pretty sure he was captured during the invasion of Manchuria. I was iffy on whether I should've posted this on /his/ or here, but I noticed that someone already storytimed it on the former so I decided to test my luck on the latter.
>Lasting rain >"Endless rain is tomorrow of POW">We camped near one village during two weeks. Thanks to continous rains the tents went soggy. Blankets on the floor damped, damping our bodies and souls. Many of us have ruined their health those days.
>>269233479Do you happen to know where he was held in the USSR? Far east Russia?
>Unfunny injections>"Mixed painful injections" >"Painful and completely unfunny injections.">After the rains have ceased we had horse drench injections. Man, that was painful. It was experience that caught the breath.
>>269233300Can't read now but this looks cool, thank you for the dump.
>40 men were hustled into freight car>"If it is lady Oharu goes in that norimon? Oh poor me!">"Davai, davai!"(Move, move!) - 40 men were hustled into 18-ton freight car and the doors were shut tight from outside. Every other car was secured by machinegunners. 50-car train departed west.>>269233524He was sent to Donetsk, so eastern Ukraine.
>Stop at Baikal >"We used same water for drinking and swimming">50-car train with 1500 japanese soldiers on board started a long travel along trans-siberian main line. We had a stop at Baikal lake. A tub was filled with lake fresh water.
>>269233533>had horse drench injectionsYikes, must have used literal iron pipes back then.
>Marvelous!>What a luxury! With habitually moves he muffled freckle with strip of newspaper. Then glued it with his tongue. He says: "A nu davai, jabonsky" (Here, japanese, give it a try)
>Barefeet dzemochka (little girl)>"Dzemochka leading goats along the sunflower field.">Our train, full up with passengers, moved along trans-siberian main line across Urals to Europe. The longest 30-days travel was over when we arrived to small ukrainian town of Slavyansk. A cute barefeet dzemochka(little girl) lead goatlings along the field, planted with sunflowers.This ends Story 1. Story 2 is titled "Hard work."
>>269233608...what?
>>269233564Wew, quite a long way from Manchuria. That they even bothered taking Japanese prisoners all the way there when they had all the other axis war prisoners in eastern Europe.
am I guilty for thinking this is comfy?
>Production rate >"Work in a 4-member crew is terrible, for the production rate remains the same but two must work as loader and carrier.">He that will not work shall not eat. We immediately got down to drawing stones from a quarry. I worked with a gavelock on a block of stone with daily production rate of 1 sq.meter per man.>>269233635I assume it's tobacco, and the Soviet soldier is rolling a cigarette.
>>269233633>ancient lolicon
>Young Russian soldier>"Russian soldier was watching us all day long, sometimes drowsy, sometimes reading a book aloud.">Broken stones were loaded into hand-barrows, pulled up on the hill and piled into some sort of wall. I cut my eye-teeth doing construction work for the first time in my life.>>269233659I was moved by how much optimism he had despite his circumstances; this is why I felt I had to storytime it. You are not alone.
>Sergeant is holding his nose>"Always next to me, keeping his eyes on me no matter what I was doing. Making the process a bit more complicated for me.">No use to tell him you need to go out- he won't understand you anyway.>>269233682Even in someone's painted memoirs, lolicon has to be mentioned.
>>269233659>tfw you will never be a soviet war pris-Hey wait a minute
>>269233633>Story 2 is titled "Hard work."Hard work correcting a dzemochka
>>269233698>sometimes reading a book aloudwhat an asshole
>Scythe>"The girl said that it's because one shouldn't spin his back.">Ones I tried to work with russian scythe. A young girl handled it easily while I was only sweating.
>>269233682Kek
>>269233721kek
>Potatoes>"Here, "japanese", have a potato.">Girls are very kind in every country. They say that Ukraine has very fertile grounds that's why they plant so many potatoes.
>After work>"Do svidania baryshnya"(Good bye, young lady), "Rabota-konets. Kolkhoz"(Job- over. Home)- we were saying good-byes is russian.">We end up our field work with just learned words "Do svidania"(Good bye), "Spasibo"(Thank you). Red dusk truly is beatiful. The skies of East Europe differ from the skies of Manchuria.
>>269233747based scytheloli mogging the nip
>>269233747Damn Slavic gakiNeeds scythe correction
>>269233772>potato correction
>Rough weather long race>"Even strong russian soldiers were impressed with horse's strength. "Really is a strong horse!">My comrade-in-arms (cavalryman) managed to get to camp's food store really fast in rough weather.
>>269233772>>269233796wholesome
>I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth>"This picture is pretty, but that day we were caught in a snowstorm and we had to work in black darkness.">We couldn't see anything at arm's length. Many were harmed that day. Death stared at my face when I fell off the steep. My friends supported me while I was coming back. My first thought after coming to myself was: "Is it here I am destined to die?!"
>>269233815That horse's ancestors survived Napoleon's Russian campaign A strong lineage
>Quarry>"If you always work at temperature of - 15 ｰC you start to get used to it. However there were lots of men, knocked down by frost."
>Icicle tears>"The war was over and dying here... so stupid... We called them, but none of them came back...">Winter temperature in East Europe can be as low as -25ｰC and -30ｰC and for natives of Japan life under the tents did not come easy. Somedays in a morning we were discovering that some of our friends were stiffed with cold.
>Icy river>"Such a wide river", - that's what I thought. It was Dnieper.">Loaded into trucks we were taken far away. My and my friend's job was to break ice on the river. One wrong step and you could sideslip and fall.
>>269233881sad
>You call that bath?!>"That day death stared at my face again.">By the soviet doctor's order we were taken out for bathing. Bathing at -25ｰC ?! I tell you- this is not a joke. We could easily die by hypothermia if we weren't such young and healthy. We thawed snow in iron barrels for each could wash in the frost with one bowl of water.
>>269233931Rough
>Food distribution>"Knife cuts bread. Black bread.">It was the best-hated liability. Funereal silence. All eyes focused on knife's cutting edge. Room half under the surface, lighted by thin self-made candle.
>>269233659even misery looks comfy when it's in nice watercolor
>>269233909Not fucking dying must have amount to pure luck. How the hell does one survive years for this?
>>269233975I assume he didn't do this for years. but still, very lucky
>>269233909IRL platforming0 remaining lives
>Prison camp half under the surface>In the northern territory of gigantic Eurasian continent lies japanese POWs prison camp. Frost at -30 is not a rarity.>>269233646Wherever they needed more manual labour from their pool of prisoners, I suppose. Nobuo did encounter soldiers from other Axis countries though.
>Women of Soviet Army>Female sergeant of Soviet Army. Female soldier of this gender-blind country was a surprise for us. Japanese of auld lang syne patriarchate were shocked. Frost resistant, characterful, tenderless and amazingly beautiful eyes were magnificent.
>>269234032much seed was spilled that night
>Gorgeous doctor-lieutenant >Most of the doctors were female. There goes gorgeous bosomy doctor-lieutenant with proudly straightened shoulders... This multinational country doesn't have any ignoration to other nations. So every japanese prisoner was inspected separately just like any other person.
>>269234032SEXOOOOOOO
>Potatoes sorting>The potatoes were always sorted in the storehouse. This job was for those who couldn't take anymore of regular hard work and those that were sick. You could hook iron bucket with electricity to boil and eat some potatoes. It was a good job.
>>269234058Milk truck has arrived for the suffering japanese!
>>269233975>Not fucking dying must have amount to pure luck.alway does desu, look at mizuki's memoirs for example
>Dreadful she-officer>"Chisto nado podmetat'!"(Clean well!)>One she-officer was very dreadful. Though it was fun. In a corridor, enclosed with glass you had to scratch off the dirt and then clean the floor accurately. Spot checks did not let us work scampy.
>>269234032>>269234058Where's the romcom between a nip POW and a Soviet Army bombshell?
>Shameful look >Once I have been inspected by female doctor and I looked shameful. She worried about mostly reduced sodiers, forcing them to go to bed: "Skoree spat'!" (Go to sleep now!) Her voice was very kind.
>>269234109>Though it was funkek
>>269234109>One she-officer was very dreadful. Though it was funBased masochist
>>269234003>Prison camp half under the surfacePithouses probably saved their lives in those conditions. Far better than the tents they had earlier.
>I will tell your mother>Tears flow couldn't be stopped. I cried all day long. It's awful when someone dies before your eyes. I promised to tell his mother everything if only I will come back home myself.
>>269234136oh no no no
>>269234136>"Skoree spat'!" (Go to sleep now!) Her voice was very kind.Did she come in later to comfort them?
>>269234109>Though it was funbased
>Rest in outland>May the ashes rest peacefully in outland. No matter if you are german or hungarian- it's all the same. Funeral... This could be your funeral tomorrow.This ends Story 2. Story 3 is titled "World is full of friends." What do you think of his memoirs so far?
>>269234166damn
>Hungarian soldier>In the end of June 1947 we were transfered from camp in Slavyansk to magyar camp. We were surprised by hungarian soldier, that met us, japanese soldiers, with "Patriot march". Seemes that every nationality has its individual peculiarities.>>269234003Now these other Axis soldiers have arrived.
>>269234193very interesting. bittersweet, moving.
>>269234166>>269234193The realities of war don't stop when the fighting is over.Enjoying it so far. Very rarely covered part of history in the west, so thanks for dumping it.
>>269233300He should be thankful that soviets didn't sell Japanese prisoners to China and Korea. Which means he only survived because of Soviet mercy.
>Vangria (Hungary)>Hungary was calling Vangria in Russian. Very cheerful, vivacious people. They work scampy(for they hate Soviet Union). They call themselves "japanophiles" and they know more about Japan than ourselves.
>Friends singing in chorus>Talking of optimism- slavonians are unrivaled. Ones one start singing, another one joins and there goes duet. Three or four more come by and there goes chorus. I think that russians are mostly musically gifted nation in the world. They will never say "stop" even if a prisoner will start singing.
Anime and manga?
>Sumo>Mikado, Geisha, Fujiyama, Judo, Harakiri. Slavonians know these words. But when it comes to sumo- no one knows the rules. They thank you even when they lose.>>269234261Shh, it's "self-published manga," okay?
>>269234193Surprised how it's able to capture his daily life so colourfully despite the immense suffering. It's almost like it was made with some nostaligic melancholy for his time as a prisoner.
>>269234242>They call themselves "japanophiles" and they know more about Japan than ourselves.Magyar weebs?!
>>269234032>>269234058Unwomanly Face of War crossover
>Pilot - officer Pokrovsky>I've made friends with a pilot, captain Pokrovsky. Trusty to japanese honesty he was giving me his valuables and storehouse keys on his way to work. Where is he now?>>269234294That's exactly what I thought after reading his story. Story 2 and 3 really drive home this point.
>>269234242The original weeb!
>Friendly mongolian soldier>Russian army consists of soldiers of more than 120 nationalities speaking different languages. Mongolians understand russian, but speak rudely. However their faces and constitutions similar to japanese what tends to interaction. Besides they are great riders. I fell off the horse a few times.
>Skating>Children of any country are nice and inartificial. There skates little rascal on the way to school- "Zdras'te japon" (Good day, Japan!) sliding by.>Being asked about war he said: "Nah, we aint' gonna fight". Sweet. Children speak simple russian.
>>269233364I wonder if you can get used to this shit.
>>269234342The Mongols still ride the steppes to this day
>Socks>Very young soldier muffles his legs with snow-wet portyanki(puttees). I usually wear two pairs of socks so I gave him one pair. When asked about his age he said he is 14. Soldier scrubs his frostbitten legs with both hands and tears stand in his blue eyes. He must've been thinking of his mom.
>Russian children>Russian children are such naive and inartificial and they don't pay any attention to racial differences. I was very lucky I could play with them. I have also learned many new russian words. I adore children!
>>269234389man... this is too wholesome
>Good men in the world>Everybody took part in sparring match: Russia, Czechia, Poland, Germany, Italy and Japan. I tryed really hard and only in the end I found out that everybody have already seemed to give up to me, the shortest one. There are such good men in the world!
>>269234389Very sweet and rather sad
>Ye old double-decked bed>The bed was pretty antiquated and wobbled a lot. Besides- it was so tight so one soldier always kept falling off of it. I don't know what kind of dreams he had. Once I fell off myself and lost my chance to laugh at somebody else.
>>269234432Based manlet strength
>>269233453Nips liked baseball that far back ?
>Blaming taskmaster>Major used to call our taskmaster very often because of low production rate. The taskmaster was giving the major's blames estrangled look for he didn't speak russian. For this look and for our production rate too he spent a lot of time in a cell.This ends Story 3, Story 4 is titled "Let's stick together!"The biggest surprise in Story 3 was that Japanese POWs were even transferred to prisons with other Axis soldiers. I assumed all of them would've been in Far Eastern Siberia.
>>269234460The perils of the top bunk
>Executive>Every country has so called executives. There was eccentric old man among german soldiers who distributed duties among japanese soldiers.>>269234484American Christian missionaries introduced baseball in the 1800s, if I remember correctly.
>>269234484>Baseball was introduced to Japan as a school sport in 1872
>>269234408I'm surprised they let POWs play with children
>Poor mathematicians>"One, two, three, four, five",- no matter how many times you count you will make mistake anyway. Perhaps because of japanese soldiers, forming four columns. Most of young russian soldiers were poor mathematicians and they were spending a lot of time on calculations.
>>269234527The german sports that old evil nazi scientist look perfectly
>Loviness>Men and women took part in rebuilding the city after the end of WWII. Valiant women were handling even the most dangerous jobs. It was hard to imagine something like this in Japan those days. Some of russian women were even attracted to japanese soldiers. Those were beautiful moments.
>>269234494I could understand why these stories were not told in the West for so long, even up to today. It messes with the gulag death camp narrative if you learn things sucked but were pretty chill at times as well, considering they are POWs that killed millions of Soviets.
>>269233633>DzemochkaNow im interested.
>>269234592The BNC (Big Nippon Cock)
>>269234592alya...
>>269234592why are the japanese such tsunderes for russians
>>269234592>Some of russian women were even attracted to japanese soldiers.But that's forbidden love!
>>269234592Nip soldier needs Slavic tomboy wife
>Eyeless destiny>Steel erection. This job was dangerous and we had to wear work shoes. Ten of us were destined to do this job: cross the top wooden bar on metal frame to pour cement out of barrow.>>269234596They're also told from a fairly obscure POV; although, many Japanese soldiers didn't come back because the conditions were still harsh.>>269234572His name was Wilhelm Stolz, a doctor who became a POW in the Eastern Front. He did reunite with Nobuo in 1970.
>>269234674>Steel erectionI'd be the same around those overall-clad women
>Coal unloading>This kind of job must have been done by efforts: we had to unload coal from freighter car. Being urged by "faster, faster" we shoveled without cease.
>>269234704>cringe unloading
>Labour gracing men and women >City rebuilding plan budgeted five years, so even young ladies were hard at this work. Labour graced men and women.
>>269234672imagine their daughter
>Thieves>Few minutes before evening parade we were stealing. We were stealing light bulbs to put some light to our camp. We were hungry and we poked a hole in bag with bamboo stick to take some rice. We couldn't take away a lot though.
>>269234596I think it's less about a narrative and more to do with it being too obscure coupled with the iron curtain locking away these stories.
>>269234727all men are imprinted with a need for tomboy
Movie related is a great depiction of Japanese POW’s in the USSR post WW2 for those interestedhttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt22037646/
>Jackhammer>I think it was train wheel. If you stand too close to it while it's being casted your eyes will be hurt by hot air. We levelled the wheel's surface with jackhammer. Small debris cut my eye so I couldn't see and german doctor operated me.>>269234674I was wrong about Stolz being the executive. I apologize for this misunderstanding.
>>269234750>nip sees rice>loses all decencyshamefur display
>>269234750The mouse reported them to the secret police
>Hospital in Druzhkovka>I spent next two months in "Drossikovka" hospital. I was blind for two weeks. I recognized importance of seeing. I made friends with kind-hearted comrades-in-arms and young german soldier. After I could see again I patronaged weak patients to thank for help given to me. Everyday was a joy of helping them.>>269234759Thank you for this information, I do have a trilogy of movies to recommend (although certainly more cynical and grim than this memoir).
>>269233772That is very generous of them. Weren't Ukranians starving to death around that time?
Grim, but still better than living in postwar Japan
>Night shift>I didn't like night shifts: I was very sleepy. The night shifts were rotating. Production rates were high and many soldiers were traumated while rushes. Sometimes people even died.>>269234814Holodomor was more than ten years before this, but I wouldn't imagine post-war living conditions being that great; if someone could inform me on this, that'd be lovely.
>>269234828was it that bad?
>Manual transportation from storehouse>The storehouse stored only heavy stuff so it was pretty hard to carry something in or out. Japanese soldiers worked so well so russian doctor worried about it.
>>269234839>Sometimes people even died.how the fuck
>German pretending to be japanese>Japanese like rice and we were given this precious in Russia food. But the amounts were very small and sometimes a german soldier came to have some rice, pretending to be japanese. He was getting quite a blessing for it.>>269234873Subpar labour and living conditions combined with high quotas.
>>269234193I'm comparing it mentally with a reading of a Japanese POW in the US that I listened through a year ago.Night and day difference. We sent our POWs to like... Kansas, gave them pies and roast chicken. One of the writer's friends was paranoid that everything was poisoned or that they'd be enslaved or starved to death. Eventually he had to begrudgingly admit that they were fine. He was expecting Russia, I think.
>>269234899no wonder they love the germs so much
>Painful seats>We bathed twice or once a month. It was hard to sit- we were so thin so bones clashed with hard surface of bank.
>>269234899lel
>>269234814Wasn't that in the early 30s during collectivization and grain confiscation? This is the 40s.
>>269234847It was fucking grim. Everything burned to the ground, everything of value gutted, under foreign occupation, women forced to sleep with the enemy for food etc.Korean War reversed some of that as Japan was the perfect base for operations.
>All the westerners have huge noses.I never understood how the Japanese got so fixated on this particularly stereotype.
>Ping-pong tournament>Cheerful japanese POWs have organized ping-pong tournament with germans. Perhaps because of strange way to hold racket japanese have easily won.The German playing ping-pong looks like Nakane from Strongest Legend Kurosawa.
>>269234958anon, we're on /a/you have watched anime and read manga, right?they're typically drawn without nosesthe japanese nose is a very unnoticeable thing
>>269234109All japanese men are masochists
>>269234032At this point just the sight of a woman would be something.Also she's showing some leg.
>Culinary antipathy>Wherever you are you can meet envy at your plate. Japanese dishes look larger and germans looked carving knives at them. They eat bread and pottage, japanese eat boiled rice, miso soup(home made) and other dishes.This ends Story 4, Story 5 is titled "Going home soon!"
>>269234960The Aryan fears the SamuraiIn Pingpong
>Nobility of music is above all the countries and borders>Me and my friend(music academy student) were writing sheet music all night long. In a morning we give the sheets to german orchestra that plays japanese music for us. We don't know their language and we can't speak the language of words, but we all understand the language of music. The world of music truly has no borders!I forgot to mention it in the Story 4 ending painting, but I wanted to thank you people for sharing in this story with me; I thought this would've been archived due to lack of interest but I'm very happy with the turnout.
>>269234109>>269234139>>269234143>>269234183>>269234995like my mega milk femdom doujins
>German orchestra performs japanese classic>Concerto at last. German orchestra plays music of distant Japan. Japanese soldiers awkwardly perform traditional dance to native music. The joy of upcoming return grows. The departure date is already known.
>>269235002Breadbros, our response?
>Don't cry, Natasha>Every reunion means parting. I remember a girl, who felt a great tug at parting. Poor Natasha, who whispered bitter farewell, what do you do now, what happened to you?
>>269235044thanks for dumping anon it's very interesting and touching
>>269235085they're both carbs
>>269235044Thanks for posting anon, this was a wonderful surprise.
>Good-byes in different languages>Good-byes is different languages. I think that world really is one and all the people are alike. We all cry, saying good-byes. We don't know the language, but raise your hand and wave and saying is unnecessary. All this time in russian prison camp was well-spent... I think.
>>269234981Point being, it's not like historically the Japanese had any opposition to portraying themselves as having large noses. Nor is this style like anime or manga. But somehow, at some point, "westerners have massive fucking schnozzes" took over and almost all drawn Japanese media decided to latch on to this depiction.
>>269235097natashabros...
>>269235097The madman got away with it!
>>269235097did he leave behind a little japanese-russo bastard?>>269235120https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raUmiDbkrhs&ab_channel=Leon%E2%84%A2
>>269234960The krauts were allowed to have the nazi cross kek?
>Along siberian railroad far-far away to the east.>Unlike that train that brought us to Russia this train had doors open wide. In this point of world, in Siberia, the sun doesn't go down completely and sky is clear even in the night. They call it white nights. Along siberian railroad we roll and roll far-far to the east, to the east...>>269235128It was a trope inherited from Nanban (1500s-1600s) era depictions of Portugese and Dutch traders.
>>269235120>All this time in russian prison camp was well-spent... I think.damn.
>"Gifts">It's hard to force yourself to use box-toilet in the train so we come out at every stop, to sit like birds on rails leaving "gifts"
>>269234226Seems weird to me, but I have seen some eastern european band songs on YT so they must be popular to them.
>>269235120>All this time in russian prison camp was well-spent... I think.It changed him. For the better? I guess he'll find out.
>>269235182kek
>>269235044Thanks for the dump. Best thread on /a/
>People can be very strange>The moment we came off the train in Khabarovsk we were attacked by dreadful representatives of Japanese Communist Party who started to agitate for it. They were so strange. (I am not blaming modern Japanese Communist Party. Please, don't take me wrong!)
>>269234242Fucking weebs, it just keeps happening.
>>269235163Yeah, but I mean...
>>269235206jesus imaging coming back home after years of imprisonment only to get attacked by your own people
>>269235206If the nip commies promised Slavic tomboy girlfriends, they would have all joined immediately.
>>269234242This can't be real.
>Nakhodka>Abe-san, who was in charge, tried to reason with these communist party guys. They used to visit us during those two weeks that we spent in Nakhodka, teaching us labour songs, but we stood buff.>>269235216>hates communism>lazy >japanophileHungarians would've made great /jp/ posters.
>>269235097One must read the subtext here. Based impregnator
>This all brought tears to my eyes>Even conquered country has rivers and hills. Here they are: japanese islands, bosomed in trees, Maizuru port - this all brought tears to my eyes. Someone shouted "hurray!". Some of the soldiers haven't been home for 10 years.
>>269235241No tomboy wives, no buy.
>>269235044been lurking, thanks for posting. I highly appreciate it
>>269234321This seems very wholesome despiste the fucked up circunstances
>>269234242>>269235216>>269235239aliens will one day look down at us and wonder why the fuck everyone was so obsessed with one reclusive island people
>Motherland>We stepped on home land, we listened to creaks of pier boards, we listened to the sound of our own steps. Meeting party shouted loud hurrays, thanked us, shook hands with us. Japanese Red Cross nurses shined bright with their white clothes.
>>269235182Good times make Japan men.Hard times make pajeet men.
>DDT cure>Bath was the first place to visit. We were saying to each other aloud: "How good!" - "Yeah, never been better!"We've been treated by DDT cure and, finally, we felt like true japanese.
>>269235301Author on the far right
>>269235275imagine the feels
>>269235268fucking madmanmalnourished and he still managed to pull a slavic waifu
>>269233380He's talking about them losing visual acuity from starvation?
>Oh, tatami!>"Tatami! Tatami!" We tumbled and rolled on them, squeezed our cheeks up against them - oh dear motherlike tatami! >I am so happy! Only then I realized that I am finally home...
>>269235301>>269235323>>269235352they fucking made it. I teared up
>>269234242>>269234259>>269234287>>269234361>>269234389>>269234432damn, everyone is just... regular people?
>Dischargees train>Dischargees train arrived at Kusanagi station(Shizuoka prefecture). Young brother came up at run and called my name and watched me, grown stout, leaving the train. My father came up at run to me too:"Is that you, Nobuo?" - "Yes", - I saluted him. He could only breeze out: "I'm so glad..."
>>269234408If i saw this without context, it seems like a sweet story.
>>269235352This is why the old folks refuse to live in westernized housing. Tatami is home.
>>269235379bros...
>>269233434It is fun sometimes to walk around during the winter in my area because it gets cold enough that my beard gets icicles from my breath and my hair freezes from the sweat and moisture. But thats just me doing it for funzies, rather than suffering it with shitty winter gear and no warm home to return to.
Here is a colourized photo of Nobuo and his brother at the time.Thank you for participating in this storytime of his memoir. I've attached a link to his website below. https://kiuchi.jpn.org/en/nobindex.htm
>>269235379could you fucking imagine?
>>269235410thanks again for the dump, kino thread. imagine a manga adaptation of that, I would eat that shit up.
>>269235379>He could only breeze out: "I'm so glad..."Of course. Imagine not seeing your son after 10 hellish years. Prayers answered.>>269235410Best dump /a/ has had in a long time. Thank you anon.
>>269235379;_;
>>269235410I forgot to post the wikipedia article to the movies I wanted to quickly mention.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Human_Condition_(film_series)
>>269235410I remember it being dumped sometime last year, thank you.>Nobuo Kiuchi, passed away at 2:30 p.m. on April 24, 2023Maybe that's why
>>269234592it's like one of my Japanese Animes
>>269235410Thanks for the dump anon!
>>269234596>millionswhy not billions?lmao
>>269233608That sentence is like madlibs
>>269235223Nobunaga; japanese history's most influential westaboo
>>269235097>>269235483natasha bros...did he see his kid?
>>269235483I checked the archives and only found that it was partially storytimed on /his/.
>>269235501Those girls they were extremely close with killed billions, and birthed at least one.
>>269235410Thanks
This reminds me of Giovanni's Island. Another Russo-Japanese story about the aftermath of WW2.
>>269235002I think even monkeys get mad if one gets a different food than the other. It's just hardwired into us.
One must wonder how such an experience will harden you as a man and give one character.
Good thread.
>>269235097This is so sad.
>>269235364except niggas
>>269235182No doubt his ability to see the humor in all this contributed to his survival.
>>269235120The real treasure was the friends we made as POW.
>>269233633Stupid dzemochka brat, need correction!
So he really got that natasha girl pregnant?
>lonely pregnant girl crying over him leavingHe got that natashapuss alright
>>269235206Commies are the worst to their own countrymen it seems.
>>269235832easy boy>>269235852seems so>>269235876i really hope he got to meet his child at least
>>269235352>>269235301There is something about stories of people coming back home after a long time.It's heartwarming if a little sad.
>>269235917>i really hope he got to meet his child at leastIf he somehow ever did it wouldn't have been until the 90's
>>269235379Cute dog.
Finally a good storytime thread and not another garbage romcom #388 vol 7 being dumped
>>269235410All look the same.But seriously, thanks OP, it was quite an interesting view of the life of a POW. I really appreciated it
>>269235978I agree. A feeling between happiness and melancholia. Finally being able to rest after a grueling yet impactful experience.
>>269235410Thanks, OP. It was an interesting read.
>>269233698>be reading good book>get drafted>decide to finish the book after coming back>go to war>become pow>spend months living in terrible conditions doing forced labor>live every day thinking about going back home and finishing the book>asshole soldier spoils the entire book>mfw
>>269236156kek
>>269235120This turned out a lot more heartwarming and optimistic than I expected. Thank you for the storytime, OP.
>>269233881>-25ｰC and -30ｰCSad for them, but I wish it got that cold here.
>>269235410Thanks for the dump, was a great read
>>269233698No wheelbarrows?
>>269236383In soviet Russia, you are the wheelbarrow
>>269235410Thank you so much anon. It was really good
>>269235002The fact that they feed the prisoners differently depending on their origin is the kind of sensibility I would never expect from a fucking sovier war prisoner camp.
>>269233931>>269233953In fact, this was torture used by nazis in concentration camps to kill prisoners/jews, IIRCNot sure now if they just had then wash in freezing weather, or it was having them shower and then throw then into the cold where the poor people would die from cardiac arrest(may have been in Die Ermittlung by Peter Weiss)
>>269233320>de-lousingthose damn commies gassing superior imprisoned japanese mangaka
>>269234596>>269234751this, no conspiracy reallygulags, the millions of dead and nkvd etc were fucking real nevertheless
>>269234940Yes. I think thinks were bad in part of soviet union too, while Stalin exported grin to Czechoslovakia and other places for propaganda purposes.But this may have been a year before that, for example. Also, the situation might have been different per region.
>>269234960reminds me of that episode of Ping Pong Club where Hitler loses in ping pong to the japanese writer and starts WWII as a result
>>269235044Yeah, it was very interesting read, thanks for posting that.To hell with wars and those who start them, fuck.
>>269233796Did they wear their uniforms at all time? No prison clothes?
>>269235299surely the ayy's will have their own nippon equivalentmaybe some far off planet that makes pornography beyond mortal comprehension
>>269235888MANY SUCH FUCKING CASES. FUCK.t. former eastern block
>>269234242>They work scampy(for they hate Soviet Union)Based HUNG ARYANS
This dump is fascinating. Thanks a lot OP.
>>269235379Tears in my eyes.>>269235444>Best dump /a/ has had in a long time. Thank you anon.fucking absolutely, deservedly checkedThanks too.
>>269235410Great thread, thanks for posting
>>269234958So surely drawing Jews with huge noses equally confounds you, right anon?
>>269237296there, there
>>269235379Oh, it's raining...
>>269235410Thanks, OP. This was much better than I thought it would be.>>269235483RIP
>>269233850>>269233835>>269233931>>269233958It's surreal to read about a POW's punitive prison experience as if he's recounting working for a bad temp job
>>269234058>>269234032>>nearly died>>two pages dedicated to the hot chicks he saw at prisonThanks OP, I have never known of this until now, but this artist's alright
>>269233320>>De-lousingI didn't know what was an actual word. I thought it was made up by the mars volta/
>>269237717it's the little things that spark the light of life back into you
>>269235364If you haven't noticed already this artist has an aptitude for seeing the lighter side of things (and a fine taste for women). Give the pen to another personality and it will be filled with treachery, backstabbing and human toxicity in a prison camp.
Nice.
>>269235335Reality of death heightens the drive to reproduce
>>269238063As someone who once fell deathly ill, I couldn't stop jerking off full blasts of cum for like two weeks afterward.
Commies need to fucking die tho
>>269234032>>269234058>slav blondes>takes up 2 pages of the story.damn slav succubus
>>269236383wheelbarrows can be a pain in the ass on poor terrain, two dudes are more versatile. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRnwg3dpboc
>>269235410Thank you OP, that was a good read.
>>269234596I mean, about 55,000 out of the 600,000 sent to labour camps never made it back because they died. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/seisaku/2009/11/01.htmlIt's a matter of perspective (and the location of the camp, he was in Ukraine rather than some shithole in Siberia), since many chose to remember this period with nostalgia and as an important lesson in resilience, and many also remember it as a horrific and traumatic experience. >>269237981 is right in the sense that the artist was able to focus on the small but bright things, despite being in an environment he knows was harsh, to say the least.
This seems like a vacation compared to shit like 731 and the other Jap POW camps.
>>269235410Good thread. Thanks OP
Based. We need more threads like this. Anything to push out the *cord garbage
>>269235299Medium sized islands are strangely overpowered on Earth, with Japan and England being notable examples.
>>269235299Pretty sure the reason is that those with the moolah want to "save" Japan so they're investing a ton into promoting Japanese tourism and culture through various mediums
>>269234361This made me tear up bros
>>269239710i just want anime and manga to stay cool and non-pozzedlove me asslove me titslove me rapelove me slaverylove me kinosimple as
>>269237679Perhaps that might inform you that the slave in wageslave isn't just hyperbole.
>>269233300does this qualify as isekai?
>>269239765Same bro same
>>269234624KEK
>>269234617Good question.
>>269235302deep
>>269235074Uhhh so is this a crossdressing Japanese soldier or...?
>>269235097Why the fuck didn't the nigger stay?! Fuck him
>>269239710Weebs predate that. And by a decent amount, judging by those Hungarians. I think Japan is just the exact right ratio of exotic to familiar, at least from the perspective of Westerners, for lots of people to think they're neat.
>>269235120Okay here come the tears
>>269239944Cutest POW was chosen for the role
>>269239951Ah yes, I'm sure the POW totally had a choice in the matter.
>>269234847Every single post-war WW2 axis was brutal.The allies saw it as their god given right to exact not only "reparations" officially but vengeance unoffically. There were scores of rapes committed against Germans. The anti-JP hate that koreans have isn't merely regional conflict as much as it is holdover from the hatred during the WW2 era.
>>269235241BEASTbe... My HERO.
>>269239951Nigger, in what world do you think a Jap POW would be offered any choice about staying in the USSR or leaving?
>>269235978Ah, the Homecoming arc of the hero's journey...
>>269235379>>269235444I assume he said>yokattaHuh?Just like that kimetsu episode I guess and how they kept repeating it. It's one of those default words that can be charged with a ton of emotion.
>>269239954>Weebs predate thatYeah, I know. That doesn't contradict my point whatsoever, in fact it's a little irrelevant.
>>269239985>>269240007Then the woman should go with him, fuck it
>>269240133It was the start of the Cold War and the Iron Curtain; it wasn't meant to be.
>>269240133They should feel fortunate that the Soviets were lax on POW-civilian commingling and didn't execute both of them once found out like Japan certainly would have.
>>269233608Based Ivan showing Nobuo how to roll a fat one with commie newspappers
>>269239989>There were scores of rapes committed against Germans.Remember reading that 1 in 4 German women in the region were raped by USSR soldiers following the fall of Berlin. Hard to say how accurate that is given the change in relations the US had with the USSR, and the increase in anti-Soviet propaganda, following the end of the war, but still something to think about.
>>269234842>memeIvan, please. Tankie scum.
>>269239989Krauts should count themselves lucky they "only" suffered that. After the shit they pulled it wouldn't be suprising if the Soviet would have razed the entire country to the ground and enslaved its entire population.
>>269240133>>269240179real folk blues
>>269235120Great thread and OP is not a faggot. Can you post your movie suggestions?
>>269240339I already posted The Human Condition, but I also enjoyed Ode to my Father (although this one isn't about Japanese POWs but about a Korean who lives through the rapid development in South Korea) and They Fought for their Country (more light-hearted movie about the Soviet soldier's perspective of the Eastern Front).
>>269233300Wow, the only interesting thread on /a/. No coomer content, no incel fantasy, just history.Thank you OP.
>>269240263And the West bombed Dresden, among other atrocities.War is simply horrible, but after it's over that should be that.
>>269239989>>269240263There was also the post-war expulsion of the Germans in eastern Germany (now Polish or Russian) conducted by the Soviets. Tens of millions of Germans either were expelled (and sent to the West) or were killed in forced labour, poor living conditions or revenge attacks. It was an extremely messy and brutal affair.
>>269233300Interesting thread. Thanks for posting
>>269240693>coomer>incelGo back.
>>269235410Excellent thread, OP.
>>269235128Most japanese noses are flat while most westerners noses are pointy, it's not that hard to understand
>>269239765
>>269235410Thanks for dumping.
>>269234847Takashi Yanase created Anpanman from his experience living in Japan after the end of WW2, where he faced starvation countless times, which made him dream about eating an anpan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AnpanmanAnpanman's March (English subtitles): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pErpuMHceL4
>>269233796>kolkhoz>homeI don't think so
>>269234058>bosomyLove the uncommon wordings in this tale
>>269234109same energy >>269230881
>>269234242>>269234302>>269234339>>269235216>>269235299He's talking about Turanizmus, it was a real movement. The newest and most comprehensive book about it is actually translated into English, if you are curious.>For more than two centuries, Hungarians believed they shared an ethnic link with people of Japanese, Bulgarian, Estonian, Finnish, and Turkic descent. Known as "Turanism," this ideology impacts Hungarian politics, science, and cultural and ethnic identity even today.>In Go East!: A History of Hungarian Turanism , Balázs Ablonczy examines the rise of Hungarian Turanism and its lasting effect on the country's history. Turanism arose from the collapse of the Kingdom of Hungary, when the nation's intellectuals began to question Hungary's place in the Western world. The influence of this ideology reached its peak during World War I, when Turanian societies funded research, economic missions, and geographical expeditions. Ablonczy traces Turanism from its foundations through its radicalization in the interwar period, its survival in emigrant circles, and its resurgence during the economic crisis of 2008. Turanian notions can be seen today in the rise of the extreme right-wing party Jobbik and in Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán's party Fidesz>Go East! provides fresh insight into Turanism's key political and artistic influences in Hungary and illuminates the mark it has left on history.The short gist of it is that some people theorized back in the days of Friedrich Max Müller that the nations which do not speak either a indo-european or a semitic language, like Hungarian, Japanese, or the Turkic languages, descended from a common ancestor, just like all indo-european speaking peoples are linked by some degree of common ancestry through the original indo-european speaking tribes who spread those languages from Ireland to India.
>>269233300Good thread, are there any other manga about the experiences of Japanese soldiers in WW2? Like the oneshot by Shigeru Mizuki.
>>269241841that is weird as it is interesting
>>269233524I am russian from Krasnoyarsk and live in a house built by the Japanese POWs.
>>269234958>>269235128Caucasian noses in general are narrow and forward-portruding, asian noses in general are flatter and wider. You can have a big schnoz either way but the meme is not entirely ungrounded.
>>269234494"When I came back home working in corporate, I couldn't tell the difference."
>>269235379;_______;
>>269241917>be jap>get drafted for grorious empire>get captured>be POW in russian gulag>eventually make way back home>become salaryman>miss the nostalgia of the POW campsbeing japanese is suffering
>>269234759I guess he didn't write about "Dzemochka" or red haired women in those letters.
>>269241897It kind of started as a response to panslavism and pangermanism, and had a colonializing edge to it in the sense that turanists believed Hungary (as a member of the Austro-Hungarian empire) ought to become the leader of all turanian peoples just like Russia wanted to become the leader of all slavs and Germany the leader of all germanic peoples. After WW1 and Trianon it started to take on a noticeably anti-western tone but alongside that current existed a very much curious attitude towards oriental culture and its theorized legacy in then-current day Hungarian culture. So turanists were turbo weebs in the sense that they were not only interested in Japan, but also thought them to be distant cousins with whom they shared a common cultural heritage. It resulted in a lot of weird shit like secessionist buildings with indian and persian motifs on them, neopagans performing sacrifices on mountains, people trying to turn buddhism into a shared turanist ancestral religion of sorts and claiming that the Buddha was a turano-hungarian prince, etc.
>>269241841>Japanese, Bulgarian, Estonian, Finnish, and Turkic descent.The most powerful allience...
>>269235410thanks for the story time anon
>>269242066>secessionist buildings with indian and persian motifs on them, neopagans performing sacrifices on mountains, people trying to turn buddhism into a shared turanist ancestral religion of sorts and claiming that the Buddha was a turano-hungarian prince, etc.this is hilarious
>>269242157Really, I feel like there's a lot of this kind of shit in the region that americans never learn about. Croatians thought themselves to be related ot persians, ukrainians to scythians, poles to the ancient sarmatians, etc.
>>269242121>suomigdi anon I'm trying to feel melancholic here, not laugh.
>>269242258>Croatians thought themselves to be related ot persiansIf you are curious to the "how", I heard that it has to do with the names of the land and people of Croatia being thought of as deriving from the name of King Cyrus of Persia.
>>269241841
>>269242258>Croatians thought themselves to be related ot persians, ukrainians to scythians, poles to the ancient sarmatians, etc.These are all true, though.
>>269242323vgh...tvranbros...
>>269235097I think you skipped some important pages OP
>>269235410Thank you, such a good read
>>269242258Swedes used to think they were Turks as well kek
>>269242680A lot of smaller towns in Hungary have their names displayed both with Latin letters and rovásírás, which is kind of an offshoot of the turkic script. Practically nobody can read the latter script, though, but it became a big thing to learn it in chuddy circles in the later 2000s.
>>269234561>can't organize a company into four ranks Stalin really had the best ones in East Germany.
>>269235352>Tatami... tadaima
>>269234899>Moshimoshi, nihonjin desu, Reis onegaishimasu.
>>269240840>but after it's over that should be that.Good joke. Losing a war is like an admission of guilt. By failing, you concede that your cause was unjust and evil. And it is the privilege of the winner, whose victory validates his moral superiority, to decide your punishment.
>>269234899>sometimes a german soldier came to have some rice, pretending to be japanese...just how?
Fascinating stuff, OP.
>>269235888Commies tried to kill DeGaulle when he arrived in Paris.
>>269242680I happened to stumble upon the Lydian alphabet the other day and was surprised by how runic it looked. I think that's just what a phoenician derived alphabet being carved into hard surfaces always ends up looking like.
>>269239944Crossdressing isn't exactly uncommon in Japanese or Chinese theater, so they wouldn't have seen anything strange in that.
>>269243238
Is this the only good WWII anime?
>>269243439More like standard procedure, in a lot of places women were seen as unfit to do theatrical stuff for various reasons.
>>269233585I didn't expect a beach episode
>>269235410Thank you.
>>269243230That's a naive take. Maybe on paper the state admits its crimes and pays the reparations, but the citizens will keep seething for generations. They will think that they are the victims of evil and one day they will bring the judgement on the evildoers.
>>269234917Night and day difference how those countries looked after the war.
>>269236781But why not? Remember how they started, even if some values like trans rights were lost alog the way.
>>269234109>One she-officer was very dreadful. Though it was fun. In a corridor, enclosed with glass you had to scratch off the dirt and then clean the floor accurately. Spot checks did not let us work scampy.a tale as old as timea tale as old as time
>>269239985>>269240007>Some Japanese prisoners who had been held for decades, who by this point had married and had started families, elected not to permanently return to JapanWikipedia says some managed
>>269235379Thanks anon. This was a really nice read.
Next chapter when?
>>269235097>natasha got the nakadashi
>>269234527>American Christian missionaries introduced baseball in the 1800s, if I remember correctly.There was a related Samurai Champloo episode too. Being largely unfamiliar with the sport, seeing ronins play with bats was pretty zany.
>>269237981>Give the pen to another personality and it will be filled with treachery, backstabbing and human toxicity in a prison camp.Last portion of The Human Condition by Junpei Gomikawa, there's an English translated film trilogy adaptation of it.
>>269244463The movies were phenomenal, it's insane how the novels haven't been translated.
>>269240231>Remember reading that 1 in 4 German women in the region were raped by USSR soldiers following the fall of Berlin. Hard to say how accurate that isthe method they used for counting those was not used for counting raped women in western occupation zone. That should tell you enough. Oh and the method was - take registered 1945-46 abortions with soviet/unknown fathers in one berlin hospital with the most abortions and multiply the number by a million.
>>269235097>what do you do now, what happened to you?that hits hard, if they never contacted eachother he died without knowing his child
>>269235348If you don't get enough of the correct vitamins or something you temporarily loose your night vision.
>>269233746That was the standard way of reading until quite recently.
>>269236793They're clearly heating the water.It says there that it was doctor's orders so probably against lice etc. but they didn't have the proper facilities.
>>269243604Interestingly i read somewhere that in the beginning ALL roles were played by women, and then they completely reversed it and made the theater men only.
>>269234032>>269234058>>269234109>>269234136>>269234592>>269235097>>269235155>>269235268>>269235335>>269244129Japanese men and russian women, a classic. Pic related is an old shunga of the russo-japanese war (cucking though), it's like they were always fond of them. I mean even nowadays in the japanese porn industry you can find thousands of porn video starring a russian girl and a japanese actor.
>>269244835The Japanese army had "night vision pills" containing high doses of certain vitamins in WW2, no idea if they really worked though.
>>269234596There's literally nothing new about these stories you're just ignorant.Soviet POW camps after the war had abhorrent death rates for axis prisoners, that were being held there illegally mind you, from completely preventable causes like the elements and lack of food.But obviously just as well it wasn't always all horrible.
>>269243858That's why the winners also 'deradicalize' their occupied lands with institutionalized guilt and destruction/replacement of their culture to prevent a future uprising.
>>269236781It's likely that the Japanese themselves are also making the food.I don't see it making sense any other way.
>>269245021Odd seeing a nip doing the cucking in their own artwork rather than the other way around. The occupation did a number on them.
>>269245032No reason they wouldn't.Multivitamin pills are a good solution when getting proper food is difficult.
>>269235348>>269244835Vitamin A is needed in your eyes, if you don't get enough of it you will eventually go blind. Night blindness is one of the early symptoms. Eat your carrots!
>>269245177Is it really? The japanese were always very patriotic and zealous when it comes to war. I mean you could say that during the showa era they were kind of brainwashed by the empire propaganda and they went full peak warmonger. But they were already raiding ancient Korea and shit for centuries. The end of WW2 changed the country forever. The only thing that never changed is their love for white (especially russian) women. See the Yulia Nova effect, or how the ukrainian women refugees are so popular in Japan things like that, it never changed.
>>269239989Well things weren't all that rosy for the victorious powers either. Britain's economy was in shambles and rationing was a thing. France meandered and eventually had to dissolve the republic, install a dictator, and create the current one. And you probably know what happened to China. USA should count its blessings
>>269235348>>269244835>>269245032You're thinking of night blindness. It can be caused by a number of things, but the most common by far is retinol (vitamin A) deficiency. Without enough retinol you stop producing lacrimal fluid and your corneas start to dry out, harden and become opaque leading to less light making it through the cornea and therefore being unable to see shit in low-light situations. You get dietary retinol mostly from eggs, liver and dairy products and the metabolization of foods rich in beta-carotenes like dark leafy greens and orange/yellow fruits and vegetables. Stuff like carrots, turnip greens, mangoes, pumpkins, etc. Night blindness is one of those problems like beri-beri and scurvy that used to happen a lot to soldiers because their rations were basically a couple pounds per day of simple carbohydrates plus whatever they could scrounge up living off the land but is now mostly limited to places like Africa.
>>269240576The Human Condition is one of the best films I've seen and the first thing that comes to mind after seeing this. Although I have to say the first part is the best out of three. Another film rec of Russian and Asian intermignling would be Dersu Uzala but its on a completely different topic.
