The Takasago Volunteers

yuanzhumin · 1st April 2010, 02:08 PM

The Takasago volunteers

Well, a very dear friend authorized me to reproduce hereafter, in this thread, a copy of the original picture he owns. I share this photo with you, because I would like to find more infos on this subject, and I hope it could be possible with your help.

On this picture, you can see Japanese troops from the Second World War, but there is something that distinguish them: each of them hold on its side a Taiwanese aboriginal sword. The fact is that they are part of the Takasago Volunteers, a special force/scout corp made up of Taiwanese Austronesian men that fought for the Japanese Emperor. As we can see while observing their very characteristic knives, these men are belonging to the Atayal tribe.

This picture brings back a neglected page of the history and more precisely the story of these aboriginal men that joined the Imperial Japanese Army to fight in the Pacific. Today, we still don’t know exactly how many they were, where they fought and how many died. We don’t have much documents or photos on them.

This subject is still very sensitive in Taiwan and elsewhere, and my purpose is not to hurt anybody but just to try to have some truth emerges, and if not, I just intend to give them some kind of homage --- not only to them but also to all the men that fought and died in this terrible conflict, whatever the side.

About the Takasago volunteers, see the Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takasago_Volunteers

yuanzhumin · 26th March 2011, 03:15 AM

I don't know if there is much interest on the subject of this thread

, but I found this fantastic document recently.

http://idv.sinica.edu.tw/etwisdom/20...thch-0036b.pdf

It's telling a fascinating story about these warriors, the Takasago volunteers, how a tribal Austronesian society and its people in Taiwan were caught in the Second World War, the colonial system, their problem of identities and the History between Taiwan, Japan and China.

Best

Nicolas

KuKulzA28 · 26th March 2011, 07:34 PM

Thanks for bringing this up, yuanzhumin, it's an often unknown and neglected part of Taiwanese, Japanese, and WW2 history.

You're right, it is a sensitive subject... and I think partly because Taiwanese peoples have always been greatly influenced by their larger neighbors... and finding identity can be hard. Throughout their history, Taiwanese, ben-di-zhun and yuanzhumin, felt somewhat distinct from their neighbors... but the Japanese occupation had profound affects, severely defeating and alienating the peoples, yet in many ways, transforming them into a very productive and loyal society... many Taiwanese were educated/indoctrinated in the Japanese system. For example, my grandfather can speak Taiwanese (hoklo) and Japanese, but much less Mandarin...

It seems despite initial sporadic guerrilla resistance by Han people, the aborigines put up the most defiant resistance (possibly because of the defensive advantage of living in mountains)... and ironically they became some very adept jungle-warfare troops for the Japanese empire... but I also think part of that is Japanese racial and cultural discrimination - they looked down on Taiwanese in general as barbarians, but Han Taiwanese as cowardly and greedy, while they saw Aboriginal Taiwanese as brave savages... almost like European notions of "noble savage" and "martial race"...

yuanzhumin · 29th March 2011, 09:06 AM

Kukulza, it's not a question of incriminating once more the Japanese or the Kuomintang for all the problems -- or saying that the Japanese were looking for the 'good savages', as you imply. The situation in the island was and is still far from being that manichean/simple. The aborigines simply wanted to be respected as what they are. It is the same today, as they want to be treated in a fair way like everybody else.

The issue is that since the beginning of the history of Taiwan, around the 17th century, when the island became chartered on the maps, the Han Taiwanese settlers and the aborigines didn't get along. The two communities are still having very different characters/situations today.

When the island was under the Dutch colonial power, the Aborigines were the closest ally of the Dutch and were fighting along them to crush all the revolts of the Han migrants that had came from China to work on the agricultural lands.

Finally, the Han migrants mixed with the plain tribes, but the tensions remained with the mountain tribes. Because of this mixing, 80% of today Han Taiwanese have at various degrees some aboriginal blood, but it is something that they ignore. They don't want to know or even recognize this fact when they are told about it, because most of the time they simply despise aborigines -- even today.

In the 19th, when the camphor and wood industry encroached on the traditional territory of the mountain tribes, Han militias were set up to hunt down aborigines. When the Japanese arrived in 1895, the Aborigines first fought them as you underlined, but then they accepted their rule, seeing it as a way to become real citizens equal to the other and not a 'game' to hunt down.

Today, many aborigines are still siding with the main political force, mostly the Kuomintang, because that's were they think they find a better protection. And for the aborigines that have lost their illusion with all the political movements in Taiwan, they look towards another power. A Truku leader fighting for tribal autonomy told me once that they have often received promises of autonomy from the Taiwanese authorities, but with no results. So now he is looking towards China where, he thinks, the minorities in Southern provinces already enjoy political autonomy.

Don't forget, Kukulza, that the aborigines situation in Taiwanese society today is far from the Taiwanese dream: their life expectancy is 20 years less than the average in the island; when they have a job, it's often the less qualified and the worst paid. They have poor access to medical treatment, are suffering from alcohol, all kind of abuses, are often the target of (taiwanese) developpers trying to steal their land. Very often, the families have exploded with the parents working in the cities when the children are left in the mountain villages with their grand parents... Still today, even if it's changing slowly, many aborigines are ashamed of their origin, often trying to hide it -- I have quite few examples among people around me.

Discrimination ? At least, the government consideres that they are discriminated, as there is an official program of positive discrimination to give aborigines some priority access to job in the administration, school and university system, police, army...

Sorry if I bothered anybody with this long post that is from very, very far linked with ethnic blades. But anyway i made up my point.

If the moderators wish to delete this post, I would understand.

Best

Nicolas

KuKulzA28 · 29th March 2011, 10:59 AM

No, I think you bring up very good points yuanzhumin... their story is very much like that of many aboriginal peoples struggling to maintain cultural integrity, autonomy, and respect despite more powerful invading civilizations...

I think putting the proper context is important.

1st April 2010, 02:08 PM	#1
yuanzhumin Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Ex-Taipei, Taiwan, now in Shanghai, China Posts: 180	The Takasago Volunteers The Takasago volunteers Well, a very dear friend authorized me to reproduce hereafter, in this thread, a copy of the original picture he owns. I share this photo with you, because I would like to find more infos on this subject, and I hope it could be possible with your help. On this picture, you can see Japanese troops from the Second World War, but there is something that distinguish them: each of them hold on its side a Taiwanese aboriginal sword. The fact is that they are part of the Takasago Volunteers, a special force/scout corp made up of Taiwanese Austronesian men that fought for the Japanese Emperor. As we can see while observing their very characteristic knives, these men are belonging to the Atayal tribe. This picture brings back a neglected page of the history and more precisely the story of these aboriginal men that joined the Imperial Japanese Army to fight in the Pacific. Today, we still don’t know exactly how many they were, where they fought and how many died. We don’t have much documents or photos on them. This subject is still very sensitive in Taiwan and elsewhere, and my purpose is not to hurt anybody but just to try to have some truth emerges, and if not, I just intend to give them some kind of homage --- not only to them but also to all the men that fought and died in this terrible conflict, whatever the side. About the Takasago volunteers, see the Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takasago_Volunteers Attached Images

26th March 2011, 03:15 AM	#2
yuanzhumin Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Ex-Taipei, Taiwan, now in Shanghai, China Posts: 180	I don't know if there is much interest on the subject of this thread , but I found this fantastic document recently. http://idv.sinica.edu.tw/etwisdom/20...thch-0036b.pdf It's telling a fascinating story about these warriors, the Takasago volunteers, how a tribal Austronesian society and its people in Taiwan were caught in the Second World War, the colonial system, their problem of identities and the History between Taiwan, Japan and China. Best Nicolas

26th March 2011, 07:34 PM	#3
KuKulzA28 Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: between work and sleep Posts: 731	Thanks for bringing this up, yuanzhumin, it's an often unknown and neglected part of Taiwanese, Japanese, and WW2 history. You're right, it is a sensitive subject... and I think partly because Taiwanese peoples have always been greatly influenced by their larger neighbors... and finding identity can be hard. Throughout their history, Taiwanese, ben-di-zhun and yuanzhumin, felt somewhat distinct from their neighbors... but the Japanese occupation had profound affects, severely defeating and alienating the peoples, yet in many ways, transforming them into a very productive and loyal society... many Taiwanese were educated/indoctrinated in the Japanese system. For example, my grandfather can speak Taiwanese (hoklo) and Japanese, but much less Mandarin... It seems despite initial sporadic guerrilla resistance by Han people, the aborigines put up the most defiant resistance (possibly because of the defensive advantage of living in mountains)... and ironically they became some very adept jungle-warfare troops for the Japanese empire... but I also think part of that is Japanese racial and cultural discrimination - they looked down on Taiwanese in general as barbarians, but Han Taiwanese as cowardly and greedy, while they saw Aboriginal Taiwanese as brave savages... almost like European notions of "noble savage" and "martial race"...

29th March 2011, 09:06 AM	#4
yuanzhumin Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Ex-Taipei, Taiwan, now in Shanghai, China Posts: 180	Kukulza, it's not a question of incriminating once more the Japanese or the Kuomintang for all the problems -- or saying that the Japanese were looking for the 'good savages', as you imply. The situation in the island was and is still far from being that manichean/simple. The aborigines simply wanted to be respected as what they are. It is the same today, as they want to be treated in a fair way like everybody else. The issue is that since the beginning of the history of Taiwan, around the 17th century, when the island became chartered on the maps, the Han Taiwanese settlers and the aborigines didn't get along. The two communities are still having very different characters/situations today. When the island was under the Dutch colonial power, the Aborigines were the closest ally of the Dutch and were fighting along them to crush all the revolts of the Han migrants that had came from China to work on the agricultural lands. Finally, the Han migrants mixed with the plain tribes, but the tensions remained with the mountain tribes. Because of this mixing, 80% of today Han Taiwanese have at various degrees some aboriginal blood, but it is something that they ignore. They don't want to know or even recognize this fact when they are told about it, because most of the time they simply despise aborigines -- even today. In the 19th, when the camphor and wood industry encroached on the traditional territory of the mountain tribes, Han militias were set up to hunt down aborigines. When the Japanese arrived in 1895, the Aborigines first fought them as you underlined, but then they accepted their rule, seeing it as a way to become real citizens equal to the other and not a 'game' to hunt down. Today, many aborigines are still siding with the main political force, mostly the Kuomintang, because that's were they think they find a better protection. And for the aborigines that have lost their illusion with all the political movements in Taiwan, they look towards another power. A Truku leader fighting for tribal autonomy told me once that they have often received promises of autonomy from the Taiwanese authorities, but with no results. So now he is looking towards China where, he thinks, the minorities in Southern provinces already enjoy political autonomy. Don't forget, Kukulza, that the aborigines situation in Taiwanese society today is far from the Taiwanese dream: their life expectancy is 20 years less than the average in the island; when they have a job, it's often the less qualified and the worst paid. They have poor access to medical treatment, are suffering from alcohol, all kind of abuses, are often the target of (taiwanese) developpers trying to steal their land. Very often, the families have exploded with the parents working in the cities when the children are left in the mountain villages with their grand parents... Still today, even if it's changing slowly, many aborigines are ashamed of their origin, often trying to hide it -- I have quite few examples among people around me. Discrimination ? At least, the government consideres that they are discriminated, as there is an official program of positive discrimination to give aborigines some priority access to job in the administration, school and university system, police, army... Sorry if I bothered anybody with this long post that is from very, very far linked with ethnic blades. But anyway i made up my point. If the moderators wish to delete this post, I would understand. Best Nicolas

29th March 2011, 10:59 AM	#5
KuKulzA28 Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: between work and sleep Posts: 731	No, I think you bring up very good points yuanzhumin... their story is very much like that of many aboriginal peoples struggling to maintain cultural integrity, autonomy, and respect despite more powerful invading civilizations... I think putting the proper context is important.