アジアの曙

Yamato, mensile italo giapponese (Monthly Japan-Italy) was founded in Fascist Italy in 1941 to spread knowledge about Japan, a friendly country. The editorial board was a mix of Japanese and Italian, with Pompeo Aloisi, Giacinto Auriti, Giuseppe Tucci, and Pietro Silvio Rivetta on the Italian side.

Japanese Sticky Notes during the war

Japanese Army Armored Boat

"Monument to the Unknown Soldier" in Kodomonokuni (4) After the war, the land of Kodomonokuni was confiscated by the US military in Japan, but at first the reply from the US military was a firm "no". Mr Kurushima then went directly to the US military commander, and as a result, a dramatic reversal occurred and the answer was "yes". The commander, who also came from the Boy Scouts of America, was a Scout, and during the meeting they talked about Scouting, and he replied that he would reconsider whether or not to return the property. After the meeting, the two gave each other the three-finger salute and parted. In the car on the way home, Kurushima is reported to have murmured: "I'm not coming back with this".

"Monument to the Unknown Soldier" in Kodomonokuni (3) The Monument to the Unknown Soldier was erected on 5 May 1966 with donations from fellow Scouts. Mr Hidesaburo Kurushima (1888-1970), then President of the Boy Scouts of Japan, took the initiative in collecting the donations in order to pass on to young Scouts the foolishness of war and the nobility of friendship that transcended friend and foe. Mr Kurushima was from the business world and was the chairman of the (then) Ministry of Health and Welfare's Special Committee on Central Children's Welfare Institutions when Kodomonokuni was founded.

"Monument to the Unknown Soldier" in Kodomonokuni (2) After the war, the American soldier visited the Boy Scouts of America headquarters and told them this story, which was relayed to the Japanese when an officer from the US Scouts headquarters visited Japan in 1952. The US soldier did not reveal his real name. The Japanese soldier appears to have been killed in action. This happened during an unnamed Scout warrior. The actions of this unknown Japanese soldier are the crystallisation of the Japanese spirit of bushido and scouting.

"Monument to the Unknown Soldier" in Kodomonokuni (1) This is a story from one of the fiercely fought South Sea islands during World War II. An American soldier lies seriously wounded. A Japanese soldier with a gun with a sword passes by. When the soldier realised what was happening, he thought "Oh, I'm going to be killed" and fainted. After a while, the American soldier wakes up. The Japanese soldier is no longer there. He notices a piece of white paper that has fallen near him and casually puts it in his pocket. He was carried to a field aid station and survived. The piece of paper he picked up at the time had this written on it. "When I tried to stab you, you gave me the three-finger salute. I was a Boy Scout too. Boy Scouts are brothers. You and I are brothers. And you can't be allowed to kill something that has lost its fighting ability. I've bandaged your wounds. Good luck."

During World War II, a private was hospitalised. A private is the lowest rank. It is a weak position where he is mistreated daily by the old soldiers, Commander-in-Chief: ”What!” Commander: ”That's it!” Division commander: ”It's a big deal!” Other great people: ”We must go to visit him!” The private's name was Yoshimitsu Tokugawa. He was the grandson of Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the last shogun of the Edo shogunate.