Japanese war orphans : abandoned twice by the state / Jiaxin Zhong.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Zhong, Jiaxin, author.

Series:

Routledge contemporary Japan series ; 7.

Routledge contemporary Japan series ; 7

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945--Children--China--Manchuria.

Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945.

Abandoned children--China--Manchuria--History--20th century.

Abandoned children.

Orphans--China--Manchuria--History--20th century.

Orphans.

Japanese--China--History.

Japanese.

Return migration--Japan--History.

Return migration.

Children.

History.

China.

China--Manchuria.

Japan.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

x, 240 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2022.

Summary:

"After Japan's defeat in August 1945, some Japanese children were abandoned in China and raised by Chinese foster parents. They were unable to return to Japan even during the mass repatriation carried out by the Japanese government in the 1950s. Most of them returned to Japan in the 1980s. They are called Japanese war orphans. They are victims of the Sino-Japanese War and have been exploited and abandoned by the Japanese government. They are also "border people" who have lived in the interstices between two nations, China and Japan, and are migrants who have exploited the gap in economic development between Japan and China to seek individual happiness. Modern East Asia underwent drastic social change. These drastic social changes affected the lives of the Japanese war orphans and their families in a variety of ways. Over the years, Zhong has interviewed Japanese war orphans, their Chinese foster parents, and Japanese volunteers. The title is an interview-based sociological study of the issue of Japanese war orphans. The first half of the Japanese war orphans' lives were spent in China, and the latter half in Japan. It brings to the fore the dramatic personal histories of the Japanese war orphans surviving in the interstices between two nation-states. Through analyzing the issue of Japanese war orphans, the research on the subject makes the following three points: (1) the powerlessness of civilians caught up in modern warfare and the long-lasting effects of modern warfare on the life histories of individuals and their families; (2) the nature of the modern nation-state, which exploits and abandons its citizens as though they were expendable; and (3) immigration as a product of modernization gaps. Scholars pursuing studies in Japanese society and historians of the Sino-Japanese war would find this an ideal read"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction: The creation of Japanese war orphans in China

1.1. The product of a major turning point in East Asian history

1.2. Prior literature

1.3. Characteristics of this research

2. Surviving as a Chinese

2.1. Children of the Japanese Army

2.2. Three foster parents

2.3. Working elementary school student

2.4. Joining the Communist Party of China

2.5. Reasons behind survival in China

3. Awakening Japanese identity

3.1. Late searches

3.2. The birth of patriotism

3.3. Joy and sorrow

3.4. Rejection from blood relatives

3.5. Reasons for returning and choosing not to return

3.6. Rejection toward the lucky Japanese war orphans

4. The warm "motherland" and the cold "motherland"

4.1. Measures to promote assimilation

4.2. Japanese language learning and employment

4.3. Alienation from Japanese relatives

4.4. Rock-bottom poverty

4.5. Old age

4.6. Second generation issues

4.7. Inclusion and exclusion

5. Lawsuits against "motherland" Japan

5.1. Leader testimony

5.2. Results and challenges

5.3. Inciting a misfortunate self-image

6. Gratitude and rejection toward Chinese foster parents

6.1. Japanese war orphans from the point of view of their Chinese foster parents

6.2. Chinese foster parents from the point of view of Japanese war orphans

6.3. Filial relationships between foster parents and Japanese war orphans

7. Japanese war orphans from the point of view of Japanese volunteers

7.1. Volunteer Japanese teachers

7.2. Attacks and misconstructions

7.3. Isolation within Japanese society

7.4. The foster parent gratitude association

7.5. Reasons for providing support

7.6. The image of a volunteer among Japanese war orphans

8. In between Chinese and Japanese cultures

8.1. Chinese nationals of Japanese ancestry

8.2. Escaping from Chinese culture

8.3. Similarities and differences with Overseas Chinese in Japan

8.4. Using awareness of bloodlines

8.5. The trap of nationalism

9. Conclusion: The nature of issues surrounding Japanese war orphans

9.1. The tragedy of modern warfare

9.2. Products of the modernization gap.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Zhong, Jiaxin. Japanese war orphans

ISBN:

9780367187576

0367187574

9781032138206

1032138203

OCLC:

1258039787

Publisher Number:

99989650480