The townspeople of Biliran were surprised by the sudden doubling of the population of Japanese soldiers in their vicinity. But the newcomers were scheduled to be dispatched to other areas of Leyte after a period of training in Biliran.

For us older batches of soldiers, the arrival of the new soldiers was a welcome respite. It provided us the opportunity to hear updated news about Japan. So whenever the newcomers had any spare time, like in between training or when they went to the well to wash the dishes, we listened to their stories about Japan.

We also heard about the cho-yo (forced labor), whereby the military government pulled people out of their daily activities and forced them to work in factories or in military installations. Even the women were reportedly called up to work in the factories. All these news were almost unbelievable for the older batches of soldiers.

Anyway, the hardships and suffering in Japan showed in the appearance of the new soldiers. Their boots were made out of sharkskin (no longer of leather), and they wore ragged clothing.

Before the arrival of the new soldiers, I never imagined that Japan would lose the war against the US. But after listening to the stories about the suffering in Japan and looking at the new soldiers' miserable appearances, I began to doubt the possibility that we could win the war.

Of course, I knew that, as a soldier, I was not allowed to think outside the military line of thinking. But as a private citizen, I knew that America (the US) had many resources. And I came to think about the gap between the two countries (US and Japan).

Like other Japanese soldiers living in isolated islands such as Biliran, our main source of information about the war were the communiques and announcements issued by the general headquarters (in Tokyo, Japan). They provided us with a rosy picture of the war. But after welcoming the new soldiers and listening to their stories about Japan, we really got worried about the future of the war.

The "soldiers of 1940" were the ones most elated by the arrival of the "soldiers of 1943." They had spent more than three years in the military and had been in the Philippines more than two years. They had fought in fierce wars like in (Bataan and) Corregidor and other battlefields in Luzon Island.

Until 1943, it was generally observed by the Japanese military that the arrival of new soldiers meant the return of the older soldiers to Japan. Thus, the "soldiers of 1940" thought it was already time for them to go. So they started collecting souvenir items and welcome presents for their respective families, and prepared to pack up quickly once the order for them to go home to Japan had been received.

It was very hard for me to understand the older soldiers' happiness. After all, I had been in the military life only two years. Still, I felt that if the older soldiers could go back to Japan, the time would also come for me to return home. So, I also felt some kind of happiness during that time.
 

On April 13, 1944, Gen. Makino was ordered (by the general headquarters in Tokyo, Japan) to transfer the headquarters of his division from Los Baños in (Laguna) Luzon to Tacloban. From late 1941 up to April 1944 (covering the period of the fierce battles in Luzon, including Bataan and Corregidor), or about two-and-a-half years, the 16th Division was based in Los Baños.

A question bothered every Japanese soldier in Biliran: Why was the general ordered to move down to Leyte at that period of time?

As a young soldier, I was shocked by the telegrams. I began to suspect that something special might happen in Leyte. This was also the suspicion of the other soldiers. Of course, the most frightened and worried were the "soldiers of 1940" (who were expecting to be sent home to Japan).

Later, we received another telegram from the battalion headquarters (in Ormoc) informing us that, related to the transfer of the headquarters of the 16th Division to Tacloban, several infantry companies were also being moved from Luzon Island to Leyte.

Regarding the 9th Infantry Regiment where I belonged, only the 3rd Battalion used to be stationed in Leyte. But by April 18 (1944), all companies and battalions under this regiment were being moved from southern Luzon to Samar Island.

We the lower-ranked soldiers read between the lines of the telegrams and discussed the new developments among ourselves. We speculated then that the massive movement of Japanese troops was being made to prepare for the possible landing of the Americans on Leyte Island, perhaps in Dulag area through Leyte Gulf.

Since my colleagues and I never before imagined that the Americans would come to Leyte, the information sent through the telegrams really shocked us. Ordinary soldiers like me had thought that the Philippines was located in the rear zone of the war between the Japanese and the Americans. We did not expect to be pushed to the front line.

Before the telegrams (informing the Japanese soldiers in Biliran that the Americans might land in Leyte), I never imagined that I would die during the war. But after the telegrams came, I strongly doubted my chances of returning to Japan alive. I was more certain about dying if the Americans would come to Leyte.

I was born the first boy among four children composed of three boys and a girl. I lost both of my parents when I was still an elementary school pupil. When I was drafted by the military (in 1942), the brother next to me died of illness. Since I was not yet married, the remaining family for me was my elder sister and my youngest brother. Thus, there were only two people waiting for me in Japan. Of course, this rationalization was not the solution to my worries.

Though I suffered from my own worries, I knew that the "soldiers of 1940" were more depressed by the developments. They were the soldiers who had fought in battles against the Americans and had stayed more than two years in the Philippines. As they were older than me, most of them had their own families whom they missed.

Besides, the "soldiers of 1940" knew what a real war was like and did not wish to go back to the battlefields. They had encountered the modern war equipment of the American forces when they first came to the Philippines (in late 1941). There was therefore a big gap in experience between the older soldiers and us, the young soldiers, who had only joined the anti-guerrilla patrols. Thus, though we knew that the Americans were expected to come (to Leyte), we the young soldiers could afford to stay calm (due to ignorance of real warfare).

In the end, the "soldiers of 1940" could not return to Japan as they had expected. They were made to fight the war against the Americans in Leyte Island.

In my (radio) squad, Nishikawa and Yokoyama were the unfortunate "soldiers of 1940." In fact, among six of us in the radio squad, I was the only one who survived the war.

It does not make sense to talk about the misfortune of the "soldiers of 1940." After all, most of them died in the battlefield. But, if fate had its way, I wished that at least those two older soldiers (Nishikawa and Yokoyama) had gone back to Japan alive. I felt a deep sense of pity for them.
 

In late May 1944, the battalion headquarters (in Ormoc) sent a telegram informing our company of its plan to conduct a large-scale mopping up operation against the guerrillas. Of course, this activity had been conducted several times before. But this time, it was Gen. Makino, the commanding general of the 16th Division, who ordered the conduct of the special mopping up operation.

The guerrillas in Leyte remained very active, even though the Japanese soldiers had been conducting mopping up operations in several areas. This was because the American submarines were giving them arms and bullets. (Actually, there was only one recorded submarine landing, in Abuyog in June 1944. But the guerrillas had been receiving trickles of American assistance from Mindanao since March 1944.) So, their equipment were getting better and better. Of course, the Japanese soldiers were aware of this situation.

The 16th Division also started constructing pillboxes in many areas. In the past, the construction of a pillbox first involved the digging of a deep, large hole on the ground. After the excavation, a low, concrete structure with thick cement walls and roofing was erected over the hole. Hollow inside, and with a narrow entrance and narrower horizontal openings for windows, a pillbox was constructed so that the Japanese soldiers hidden inside could endure heavy bombardment and still shoot at the Americans.

However, in 1944, there was already a shortage of cement and materials to make strong forts. So, many improvised pillboxes were made by just digging the soil and piling up mud walls around the holes (with leaves and branches for roofing and camouflage).

Aside from the pillboxes, the soldiers of the 16th Division also had to complete the construction of airstrips - three in Burauen and one in Dulag.

The guerrillas were very active in bothering the construction works. They even shot at the car carrying Gen. Makino at that time. Thus, the 16th Division had to divide its precious soldiers both for the construction works in the making of pillboxes and the airstrips, and for mopping up operations to get rid of all those attacks from the guerrillas.
 

- The 3rd Battalion of the 9th Infantry Regiment (already based in Ormoc before the re-deployment of the other units);

- The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 20th Infantry Regiment; and,

- The 1st Battalion of the 33rd Infantry Regiment.

These forces were supplemented with portions of the artillery regiment, soldiers who specialized in construction works, the radio company, the hospital unit (medical corps), and units which specialized in constructing airstrips.

There were not many battalions of Japanese soldiers previously stationed in Leyte. But the general headquarters (in Tokyo) was gradually moving more forces to this island.

The major reason for the lack of manpower in Leyte was that some soldiers' units had to be sent to Samar Island, like the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 9th Infantry Regiment. Some soldiers also had to be sent to other Visayan islands for mopping up operations. This task went to the 3rd Battalion of the 20th Infantry Regiment.

Moreover, the Japanese military could not afford to leave Luzon Island, where many companies of soldiers were stationed. There was therefore an acute need for more soldiers.

So the general headquarters (in Tokyo), after learning that the Japanese forces in the Philippine archipelago was very inadequate, sent in reinforcement soldiers. The purpose of sending the extra soldiers was to raise the number of Japanese troops stationed in the Philippines from brigade to division levels. However, these reinforcements were not trained and not equipped enough (i.e., many were without guns) to work as soldiers. Thus there was not much that could be expected from their presence right from the start.

- The 9th Company would conduct anti-guerrilla patrols from Ormoc towards Villaba;

- The 10th Company would conduct patrols from Calubian to San Isidro, and also somewhere up north of Villaba;

- The 11th Company was tasked to patrol in the surrounding areas of Carigara and the mountains in the west; and

- The 3rd Machine-gun Company was assigned to operate in the Lemon area and the nearby mountains.

All these companies of soldiers assigned to different areas belonged to the 3rd Battalion of the 9th Infantry Regiment with headquarters in Ormoc. Their problem was the number of soldiers to conduct the mopping up operations.

For example, the 10th Company had a total of about 230 soldiers including the newcomers (reinforcements). But it had to maintain four detachments or stations in Biliran Island (including the company headquarters in Biliran town) and two other stations in mainland Leyte (in Calubian and Leyte-Leyte). Thus, the manpower situation was very critical. The number of soldiers that could be spared for the mopping up operations was only one-third of the total.

The regiment is composed of three battalions, with additional artillery and machine-gun soldiers. etc. The total number of soldiers in a regiment is about 3,500.

The division is composed of three regiments and some other units such as the radio company, sanitation and hospital company (medical corps), etc. The total number of soldiers in a division is about 15,000.

At that time, the 16th Division did not send home the "soldiers of 1940." So the total number of its soldiers was about 20 percent higher than the usual manpower of a division. However, despite the slightly increased number of soldiers, the different battalions in Leyte found it hard to conduct anti-guerrilla operations over a vast area.
 

Since Leyte-Leyte was in a very bad situation because of an active guerrilla movement in its vicinity, the order from the battalion headquarters was widely opposed in our company. But an order was an order; it could not be denied or resisted. So Lt. Shirai, the company commander, relayed the same order to the different stations under his supervision.

Lt. Shirai himself led two squads and the radio squad to conduct mopping up operation starting in Calubian. As a member of the radio squad, I had to go to Calubian as well.
 

Lt. Nakajima, the chief of the platoon assigned in Leyte-Leyte, arrived in Calubian by sea together with all of his men. He pulled out his station from Leyte-Leyte, per orders from the battalion headquarters (in Ormoc).

Lt. Shirai divided the soldiers who came to Calubian into four small units for the mopping up operation as follows:

- The unit from the company headquarters under Lt. Shirai, including the radio squad, was to move out from Calubian towards Villaba;

- The unit under Lt. Nakajima was to move out from Calubian down south towards the Naga River area;

- The unit under Mr. Yuzuki was to move out from Calubian towards the north; and,

- The fourth unit was assigned to remain in Calubian, from where it would support the units that had moved out when needed.

The unit under Lt. Shirai, of which I was a member, brought food and bullets enough for 10-days operation. There were about 30 of us in our group.

We waited for the night to fall before we moved out. We walked along a narrow grassy road after leaving the town proper. Instead of combat shoes, all of us wore jica-tabi, a footwear made out of cloth but with thick soles. We only had the stars to guide us.

I had the impression that northern Leyte was a especially poor area. This place was not developed enough. It did not have so many people, and not much transportation.

As we walked farther from Calubian town, the road became narrower and narrower. Sometimes we had to walk directly on the fields.

Of course, we also had to cross rivers without bridges. So our feet were always wet. We did not have enough time to dry them.

There were not many houses along our route. But sometimes I could hear dogs barking. Their noise made me think there were some houses nearby which I could not see.

The soldiers in our group who had joined mopping up operations in the past could walk very fast in the dark. But I, who was always relaxing because of my easy job in the radio squad, often lagged behind the group.

Along the way, if we found any nipa house, we would check the inside with the help of a lighted candle. However, it seemed that all the civilians had fled away. There were no people inside many houses that we checked. In some houses where we found people, they did not give us information about the guerrillas. They would continue to say they knew nothing about the guerrillas until we left.

In a sense, the guerrillas held the fearful civilians in front of the Japanese soldiers. But without the civilians' information, it was very difficult for the Japanese soldiers to chase all those guerrillas.

The Japanese soldiers had some impression that most guerrillas were not brave enough to fight. The thinking was that they joined the guerrilla movement mainly because of the promise of payment by the Americans. This was deemed the reason why the guerrillas did not want to engage the Japanese soldiers in an open fight.

Despite this analysis, however, the Japanese soldiers also knew that they had to be careful. Because the guerrillas would attack if there was any chance for them to shoot or attack Japanese soldiers.
 

It seemed the people here were engaged in shifting cultivation or "slash-and-burn" farming. I observed some corn growing on burnt land.

We went to the house of the barrio captain and asked from him information about the guerrillas. This village official only told us that he had seen guerrillas before, but not around the time of our operation. His answer was very vague, and the Japanese soldiers thought it was a lie.

Of course, we were aware that it was quite natural for the barrio captain to tell a lie. Because among the civilians surrounding this man and the Japanese soldiers, there might have mixed some guerrillas watching him. So there was no sense for him to tell the truth.

We ate our breakfast in the village. We asked the barrio captain to cook some rice (that they brought) at his house, after which we took our meal. Later, after assigning some soldiers to keep watch, the other soldiers went to sleep (away from the sun, in the shade of the house or under the trees).

But as a radio operator, I could not rest as much as the others. I had to communicate with the battalion headquarters in Ormoc. While performing my work, I saw the village people looking at the soldiers from a distance. And because I did not know the place we were in, all the male villagers looked like guerrillas to me.

Some of the officers who could understand the Visayan language tried to make inquiries about the guerrillas. Of course, every villager they asked only answered, "I don't know." This was the only answer they could get for their effort.

After our rest, we waited for the sunset. At nightfall, we started out again and moved towards San Isidro.

The path we followed was narrow and we went up and around the corner of the hills. Then we walked away from this path and proceeded in another direction. Since I could see the North Star on the right and the Southern Cross on the left, I could tell we were walking westward. But there was no way for me to tell our exact location.

In the darkness, I could see some flares or fireworks bursting in the air in the distance. We understood this to mean that the guerrillas were sending signals to each other. We did not give much attention to these flares. They were far away.

Sometimes we could hear dogs barking. This made me think we were near some nipa houses again.
 

A waxing moon had risen in the sky.

We received an order to stakeout the guerrillas in this area. All the soldiers were made to separate and lie low along both sides of the narrow path. We were also ordered not to make any noise, and not to smoke (cigarettes).

Many mosquitoes bothered me; they made it very hard for me to keep still. Yet I was curious about how the other soldiers knew that the guerrillas were coming. Anyway, we had to wait.

About 30 minutes later, I heard steps of naked feet on the ground and the voices of Filipino men. Of course, there was no way of knowing whether they were guerrillas or not. After they had walked into our position, the soldiers stood up and manhandled those two Visayan-speaking Filipinos. They were arrested and bound up with ropes.

After a while, we heard another set of footsteps. Two other men were coming up to our position. But only one could be arrested. The other rushed into the tall grasses and fled away.

The three captured men only carried bolos in their persons. I thought they might be guerrillas because they looked very bad in their appearances.

According to an officer assigned in Calubian, the narrow path we were watching used to be the communication route for the guerrillas. So the captured men were deemed couriers between the civilians and the guerrillas.

During that night, we arrested 10 men who were all suspected as guerrillas. But all of them claimed they were civilians, even after very severe interrogation (including physical torture).

Since those men wore clothing just like the other peasants, and since they did not carry guns, I thought their claim might be true. Of course, I was also curious about their roaming around the mountains in the middle of the night.

Lt. Shirai, after getting suggestions from the other officers, ordered all those 10 suspected guerrillas to be killed. They were stabbed to death with the use of bayonets and left behind.

I was very much surprised by the very severe decision to kill those men so easily. However, I heard from a soldier under Lt. Shirai that those killed men should be guerrillas. He told me the guerrillas hide weapons in many places. Once the Japanese soldiers believed their claim that they were not guerrillas and they were set free, it was time for these guerrillas to fight back and kill. This soldier assigned in Calubian told me that once a person becomes suspected as a guerrilla, it was time for the Japanese to kill this Filipino.

The next day, Lt. Shirai sent a message by telegram to the battalion headquarters in Ormoc, reporting that his patrol unit had killed 10 guerrillas in the eastern part of San Isidro.

In Villaba, the mountains were higher. Together with the grassy hills, there were also mountains with forests. In the later part of the Leyte War, many Japanese soldiers came to these mountains of Villaba to defend themselves and also to counter-attack.

The Japanese called these mountains Leyte Fuji or Calbukos or Canquipot. Canquipot is the name for the same mountains known to the local people as Buga-buga. Anyway, these are very famous mountains in Japanese written histories of the Leyte War. Of course, at that time when we were conducting mopping up operation, I did not know the names of these mountains.

During the day, our patrol unit would walk under the trees and forests in the valleys. At night, we went up the hills or to the fields in search of the guerrillas and their headquarters.

Throughout this single mopping up operation we captured around 30 suspected guerrillas. None of them was released (all were killed using bayonets). I myself thought that about half of those 30 captured men were ordinary civilians and not guerrillas. But since the guerrillas wore clothes just like the civilians, there was no way to separate one from the other. This was a fact that the Japanese soldiers also had to face. (Mr. Nakajima claimed he had not seen the killings directly. But he was made to send radio reports to Ormoc about the number of "guerrillas that were captured and killed.")
 

I also tried to run after them. But I was carrying the radio equipment, which was very heavy, so I could not move fast. I gave up the chase and went back to the village.

I looked into the small houses. I found no weapons inside. But I saw a sick, old person lying in one nipa hut (he was not killed). It seemed that the villagers fled away because of their fear of the Japanese soldiers.

The soldiers were very angry (about their failure to capture any able-bodied villager). They started to suggest stealing a pig from this village. But Lt. Shirai did not allow this.

After investigating the houses (for any sign of guerrilla presence), we left that village.
 

But Lt. Shirai, the company commander, told or ordered his men not to do this. He banned this type of feasting not for the sake of the Filipinos but for the sake of the Japanese soldiers. Because there were so many cases in the Philippines when Japanese soldiers were shot at and killed by the guerrillas while eating and drinking tuba during mopping up operations.

It was very common for Japanese soldiers to steal chickens or pigs from the civilians. The main reason was that the only food items provided them by the army for mopping up missions were miso (soybean paste) and ome-bushi (salted plums), aside from rice. This meant that the Japanese soldiers on patrol were hungry, always very hungry. And as they had to walk all day, it was quite natural for them to want some meat.

But we also had to remember that, in Leyte, almost all the citizens were against the Japanese soldiers. So it was very dangerous for the soldiers to relax and cook and eat in the village. Lt. Shirai had much difficulty convincing his young soldiers to understand this situation.

In August 1943, Lt. Shirai became the commander of the 10th Company based in Biliran town. As he was very strict in dealing with his men, many young soldiers did not like him. But even the older soldiers who were veterans of battles (in Luzon) also did not like his kind of leadership.

During evenings, Lt. Shirai would sometimes come up to the radio room (of the company headquarters in Biliran). He would talk in a very friendly way. Through these interactions, I could sense that he was suffering much from the relational problems with his men.

At that time, Japan had been at war for years. And because there were not many older and experienced officers anymore, younger officers were being sent to the front line of the war. The situation was just like in our (present) business society. It was very difficult for young men to govern the old and experienced guys.

During that time, Villaba was a thickly forested place. It was believed then that the guerrillas had their headquarters in the forest of this town.

In Villaba, there was a station of Japanese soldiers assigned to watch the waterway (seawaters) of the area. But as there were not many soldiers assigned here, it was hard for them to conduct mopping up operations.

Only a narrow, muddy road connected Villaba to Ormoc at that time. So this town was like an isolated island. The best form of transportation to and from this town was by boat, if one was available. Thus, for the guerrillas, Villaba was a very safe place to stay. The Naga River, northeast of the town, was a favorite haven for them.
 

Because of the absence of this equipment, many Japanese soldiers assigned to stations even close to each other had great difficulty getting information about their respective operations. This included information about the mopping up of guerrillas.

Our situation was therefore different from that of the guerrillas under Kangleon. They operated high-powered radios in many areas.

Because we were assigned in a remote area (Biliran), it was seldom for us to get our supply of canned goods from the army. We did not bring any canned food items during this operation. (Mr. Nakajima claimed that when he was in Leyte in 1944, there were no more canned goods available for the tobatsu.)

So the Japanese soldiers would get some camote (sweet potatoes) and gabi (taro root) from the civilians' fields and drink the water from young coconuts. These were among the luxuries available during mopping up operations, the main reason why many soldiers wanted to join this activity. Thus, for the Japanese soldiers, the best opportunity for them to cure their hunger was to steal food from the civilians.

It was a tradition in the Japanese army to teach the soldiers to become stronger by exposing them to harsh conditions. The belief was that suffering could make them stronger and stronger. However this tradition was imposed by top officials, who never knew anything about field realities. And in Leyte, this belief resulted in the virtual license for the young soldiers to steal from the civilians.

During this mopping up operation, a small map brought by Lt. Shirai was the only reference for the officers to get information about the topography and the route of the patrol. The ordinary soldiers did not know their whereabouts.

In northern Leyte, there were many hills and small mountains. The population was scarce, and there were not many places big enough to be called towns. And because the topography was almost similar in many places, we could hardly tell the difference nor find out our specific location.

Most of the civilians had some small kaingin (swidden farms) in the valleys. But they were extremely poor. They wore hand-woven fabrics made out of abaca fibers, which they sewed into clothing. Most of the children went around naked.

I used to be assigned in Luzon Island and had observed the situation of other Philippine villages. But when I was reassigned to Leyte, I noticed that the poverty in this island was very severe. I observed that the people were really poor.

So our anti-guerrilla patrol walked and walked day and night. But we could not find the guerrillas. We could only catch guerrilla suspects (who were all killed).
 

The guerrilla take-over of Leyte-Leyte was a big blow and an embarrassing shock for our company. It was the direct result of the order from the battalion headquarters to pull out the Japanese soldiers from that town and to shift them to the mopping up operation.

In response to this situation, Lt. Shirai sent a telegram to the battalion headquarters in Ormoc, requesting permission to dispatch some of his soldiers to Leyte-Leyte. After securing the permission, Lt. Shirai led two squads himself (plus the radio squad) and set out for Leyte-Leyte by sea together with the platoon headed by Lt. Nakajima. Only the platoon under Mr. Yuzuki, a warrant officer, was left to continue the special mopping up operation.

When we arrived in Leyte-Leyte, there were no guerrillas at all in the town proper. But there were no townspeople as well. Only 10 people from three families remained.

According to the story, the guerrillas came a few days after the Japanese soldiers left the town. They shot at the confiscated house where the officers used to stay, to release their hostile feelings. Then they gathered all the people for a meeting in the town plaza and declared that, from then on, any civilian who would cooperate with the Japanese soldiers would be killed.

The guerrillas went away afterwards. But they also took away with them several civilians whom they suspected to have cooperated with the Japanese soldiers.
 

Nene was about 24 or 25 years old. I did not know if she had a family of her own. She was quite a big woman and wore good, colorful dresses. And she was very friendly. Sometimes she would come to the house where the Japanese soldiers stayed.

Most townspeople of Leyte-Leyte were not eager to come to the Japanese soldiers' place. Only Nene would like to come. So we the radio soldiers were interested in her existence.

We thought Nene was a guerrilla sympathizer. But some of the Japanese soldiers wanted to talk to her. She was quite popular in the Japanese camp.

Since I held the suspicion that most of the townspeople, including Nene, were sympathizers of the guerrillas, I was really puzzled by their disappearance. After all, if my suspicion was correct, it was not necessary for them to flee away. And it was not necessary for the guerrillas to take Nene away with them.

The situation therefore puzzled me and made me apprehensive. I could not understand the real relationship between the civilians and the guerrillas.
 

In the evening of our arrival, Lt. Shirai called for a meeting of all the officers. Late that night, two squads were sent out for mopping up operation.

The next day, all the other soldiers were ordered to dig foxholes and to make a fort (including sandbags) around the building where we stayed. We were also ordered not to go out alone. Soldiers could only go out in pairs, and with their guns. There was also an order to shoot any suspicious-looking person.

Since Leyte-Leyte did not have a good relationship with the Japanese soldiers from the start, stern measures were imposed on this place. But I felt this was funny, because there were no people in the town proper.

I tried to roam around the town proper, to look for some changes in the vicinity. I found out that most of the people fled away without bringing any of their belongings or without locking their doors.

I then understood that the people were in real haste to flee away from the town. Even the water outlet in the plaza, which used to be noisy with many women washing clothes, was very calm. Only the sound of the flowing water could be heard.

Next to the house where we stayed was the town's government building. All its rooms had been ransacked. The documents were scattered on the floor and every piece of furniture was turned upside down. Even the old typewriter was also destroyed.

Lt. Shirai tried to exert effort to convince the townspeople to return to their homes. He ordered one squad of soldiers to go out and make contact with them. But we really did not know where the people had gone. We could not do anything about this situation.

At least 600 townspeople had fled away. Their disappearance was somewhat shameful for the Japanese soldiers in Leyte Island. So Lt. Shirai was visibly peeved. Of course, his feeling was shared by all of us. The soldiers especially hated the guerrillas for arresting Nene.
 

We knew that the platoon under Lt. Nakajima was so fierce, perhaps because they were isolated in a small place like Leyte-Leyte. But at that time, not only this platoon but every Japanese soldier in the town was irritated by the situation.

The interrogation of the five guerrilla suspects was fierce and cruel. They were beaten and kicked and their faces were blooded and swollen. But they continued to claim that they really did not know the guerrillas. However, after hard interrogation, some of them started to speak up, although they kept the important information secret.

The suspects' plight made me think they were really worried about the guerrillas. Perhaps their families were with the guerrillas in the mountains. Perhaps they were really afraid their families would be executed if they gave information about the guerrillas to the Japanese soldiers.

But one guy did not say anything. He was so tough, he bore the brunt of the physical torture inflicted on him. He was about 30 years old, very short, a bit fat, and muscular. He was square-faced and not handsome. But he had very impressive eyes.

A soldier who knew judo (Japanese wrestling) was given the task of interrogating this tough guy. In the process, he wrestled the guy to the floor again and again. The noise of the beatings could be heard in the room of the radio soldiers.

The soldier who interrogated the tough guy was a big fellow. He spoke with a loud voice, so that almost all the other soldiers who were scolded by him were easily frightened. But he could not frighten the guy he was interrogating, who just stared at him and did not even give his name. Because of his sheer toughness, this guy was suspected by the Japanese soldiers as a key person in the guerrilla organization, or perhaps as an officer of USAFFE (United States Army Forces in the Far East).

The interrogation of the five guerrilla suspects lasted three days. Only the tough guy did not squeal any information.

Then Lt. Shirai ordered all the five guerrilla suspects killed. I could see the tough guy staring at us Japanese soldiers as they were lined up and dragged away from the building we were staying. Only that guy stared at us very fiercely.

All the five men were brought to a field just outside the town proper. There they were stabbed to death by bayonets during the night.

Because the townspeople of Leyte-Leyte had fled away, it was very difficult for us to get any food. So we went out and stole food crops from the civilians' farms and fields. We also captured and butchered carabaos for food.

For us Japanese soldiers, only rice, miso (soybean paste) and shoyu (soy sauce) were the food items provided by the army. So it was really difficult for the soldiers to survive (without stealing other food items from the civilians).

I felt the situation we were in was funny. Here we were, calling the townspeople to return to their homes. But at the same time, we were stealing from their fields and killing their carabaos for our food. So it was quite natural that the situation did not improve at all in Leyte-Leyte. There were serious discrepancies between our words and our deeds in dealing with the civilians.

I heard that the Philippines was under Spanish colonization about 300 years. Of course, the Spaniards ruled the people. But at the same time, they built many churches and sent many missionaries to give the people the Catholic faith. So there were many churches all around the Philippines. Thus, even in this very small town in the province, there were churches. And most of the people were Catholic Christians.

Then the Americans came to power after the Spaniards. They tried to introduce English as the national language of the Philippines. And they built many schools all around this country. So in Leyte-Leyte, the school building we went to was probably built under the American administration, because it was quite new. Perhaps it was built just before the war.

We entered the building and I noticed that the classroom was clean. Of course, there was some dust, but the desks and chairs were brand new. And we could smell the new paint on the walls. I also saw a small washing place (sink) made of white porcelain.

I was amazed to see some signs of a piped water system in this town, like the outlet for tap water (in the school plaza). I knew that the system was not quite finished. But I could see that there was some plan to bring (piped) water all the way to this remote area, so remote even cars (four-wheeled vehicles) could not come here.

Of course, I did not know the vision for colonizing this country by the Americans. But at least I could feel their determination to provide some education to the local people. I was moved somehow by their energy. It was really amazing.

At the same time, I was forced to think about the wealth of the Americans; and the fact that we Japanese did not have the same idea (as the American colonizers). We were really poor in this kind of (colonizing) effort.

From Leyte-Leyte to Ormoc, one route was to hike to the village of Lemon, some 15 kilometers away. From Lemon, one could reach Ormoc by riding on one of those passing Japanese military trucks. This was the shortest route. But the Lemon route was very dangerous because of the guerrillas. It was impossible for a Japanese soldier to take this route alone.

The other (longer) route was by banca to Carigara, from where one could reach Ormoc on a truck. But Carigara was almost seven hours away by sea. And there was always the possibility of sailing into bad weather.

It was therefore a hard choice to go to Ormoc.

Anyway, I was ordered to go to Ormoc by hiking to Lemon. I was escorted by six soldiers.

The seven of us left Leyte-Leyte late in the evening, for my first experience to go to Lemon from this town. As the other six soldiers were already very familiar with the area, because of their participation in the mopping up operations, I was placed in the middle of the column during our hike. We expected to reach Lemon early the next morning.

We only had guns and handy bombs (grenades) for weapons. We walked out of the town proper on a southbound road that crossed a field. Although I could not see very well, it seemed there was an idle field on the right and a hill on the left.

We went up the hill, from where we could see the waters of the bay of Leyte-Leyte. When we took a rest, it was already two o'clock in the morning.

As we proceeded, I noticed that the road was winding. There was a small grassy hill on the left and a small forest on the right of the narrow road we were walking on. A little farther, there was a forest and a bush on the right and rice paddies on the left. There was also a low range of hills from the direction of Lemon on the left side.

We passed by some nipa houses, but we could not tell if there were people inside them. And I noticed the many fireflies. There were some trees with so many fireflies they looked like Christmas trees.

In the middle of the bridge, one soldier-escort pointed downstream. At first, I did not see what he was trying to show me. But I soon noticed there were many human skeletons scattered on the dry riverbed he was pointing at. This meant that the soldiers who conducted mopping up operations executed people in this area and left the dead bodies on the riverbed.

It was in Sta. Cruz (Laguna) in Luzon Island, during my training there, where I first killed a person. My victim was a former USAFFE soldier. For two or three days after I killed him, I was reminded of his face again and again.

But after coming to Leyte, I realized I was no longer surprised by the killings. The situation here was really bad. So many things were happening in Leyte.

After the guerrillas attacked Leyte-Leyte, the Japanese soldiers were aching for revenge against them. But we could not get any cooperation from the civilians. Instead, they reported our activities to the guerrillas. So the feeling of hate towards the guerrillas increased with each passing day.
 

There were about 50 houses of civilians in Lemon. This village was strategically important. It was the only place with a Japanese checkpoint along the main road that linked the eastern and western parts of Leyte. The machine-gun company of the 3rd Battalion was stationed here. They stayed in the school building.

Nowadays, Lemon is more populated, and buses going to Biliran Island via Leyte-Leyte stop over here. It is the junction of the highway going to Tacloban or Ormoc. There are many small shops (stores) here offering (mainly snack) items for the passengers. But during the war, commercial gasoline was not available. So the civilian cars could not be seen on the road. Only (alcohol-powered) military trucks were moving around. The civilians used horses for their transportation.

That early morning in Lemon, I could see several civilian children or adults looking at us from their doors or windows. Their expressions were cool and suspicious.

We took our rest in Lemon, after which I left my escorts and rode on a passing truck towards Ormoc. I noticed there were already more trucks on the road, compared to six months before when I traveled through this road to Ormoc. I also noticed that the trucks were covered with thick iron slates on the sides. This meant that there were many ambushes by the guerrillas.

One thing amazed me. Troop reinforcements had been arriving in Leyte. Yet the guerrillas were not threatened at all. In fact, they seemed to have become more and more powerful against the Japanese soldiers.
 

Higuchi and I parted from each other about six months before, when we first came to Leyte. He was assigned in Ormoc while I was assigned in Biliran Island.

Ormoc seemed just like a small town in the countryside six months before. But during this trip, it already looked like a big, modern city after I had stayed long in Biliran town.

We went inside a restaurant near the seashore. Because he was assigned in the battalion headquarters, Higuchi had much information to tell. He told me that Leyte might become the battlefield in the near future.

During the night, the electric light was very bright for me who had become used to Biliran Island, where we used coconut oil lamps for our lighting. Ormoc really looked like a city. Higuchi even gave me cigarettes of an imported brand, which was a rare item for me.

I was scheduled to return to Lemon in the evening of the next day. So I still had extra time to roam around Ormoc with Higuchi during the day.

Ormoc has a harbor where medium-sized ships could dock at the wharf. As it is near Cebu, it is one of the big harbors in the Visayas. A big market building (actually, the bus station) now occupies the northern part of the wharf. This portion was a sandy beach during the war. In the south, we could see from the wharf the chimney of the only sugar mill in Leyte in Ipil (district of Ormoc). Its operation was stopped because of the war.

The Philippines was one of the biggest sugar-producing countries in the world. The war caused this country to lose its export market. So the sugar cane fields were left idle and unattended.

The Japanese military confiscated many sugar mills and their stocks of sugar. Then it started producing alcohol out of the sugar. The alcohol was used as alternative fuel to gasoline for the military cars and vehicles.

But this policy (of confiscation) created a sugar shortage for the civilian population. The people did not like it. This meant that the Japanese military did not really have any intention to ease up the life of the civilians. So the people did not show a good face to the Japanese soldiers, because of the shortage of basic commodities.

After roaming around Ormoc, Higuchi and I went inside a small restaurant to drink coffee. The restaurant had a signboard outside, but it did not serve Coke or soda. Only native coffee and calamansi lemonade were available.
 

As we talked, we wondered about what would become of us (in case the Americans would come to Leyte). We had no idea.

Higuchi was born to a farmer's family in Shiga Prefecture. He had two younger brothers and two younger sisters - four siblings in all.

On my part, I had an older sister and a younger brother. Of course, I was worried about them, of what would happen to them if something adverse happened to me.

At that time, I thought I would share in the future the same fate as the Japanese soldiers who fought in Guadalcanal, in Attu Island (of the Aleutian Islands), or even in Makin or Tarawa (atolls in Kiribati, formerly the Gilbert Islands). They perished in these islands because of the powerful attacks of the Americans.

We knew that the situation in New Guinea was already hopeless. We knew that many wounded Japanese soldiers were being transported to the military hospital in Manila. And we knew that the situation was really getting worse and worse everyday, even if the general headquarters (in Tokyo) was releasing good news.
 

It seemed everybody in town knew about the incident in Leyte-Leyte. The family of the priest particularly asked me so many questions about what really happened there. They were afraid Biliran town might suffer the same fate as Leyte-Leyte.

So I told the priest's family that many guerrillas were captured during the mopping up operations. I also told them my view that the capture of the guerrillas would make it easier for the civilians who had fled away to return to the town proper of Leyte-Leyte. But I actually doubted that they believed what I said.

According to Higuchi, my colleague in Ormoc, the Americans were coming (to Leyte) over the next few months. But I could not imagine what would happen to Biliran, and to myself, when that event comes. At the same time, I could not tell the truth to the family of the priest. This dilemma made me so upset.

The family of the priest was so kind to me whenever I visited them. But because I was already keeping secrets in my heart, it had become hard for me to return to their house. Moreover, I was still wondering about the marriage match to Salucia (niece of the priest). I was such a fool to have made some sort of a promise for this.

Anyway, the daily life in Biliran was the same as usual. I still went to the house of the priest, and to the house of Elsa.

During the later part of June (1944), there were so many telegrams coming in and out. All the contents were marked "Confidential" or "Extra-Confidential." So it looked like the (Japanese military) situation was getting really strict and hard.

At that time, there was also rumor that some guerrillas were coming out even in Biliran Island. But because the Japanese soldiers were scattered in Naval, Kawayan and Caibiran, and because we did not have many soldiers, we did not conduct any mopping up operation.

Of course, we organized a mopping up unit for Biliran, composed of some soldiers from the company headquarters. But we reasoned out that even if the island (Biliran) was small, it was big enough for the existing soldiers to conduct effective mopping up operations.
 

1. Prepare for the attack from the enemy, and protect the buildings they were using;

2. Conduct regular training exercises, including training against air raids; and

3. Confiscate rice and food materials and stock them in preparation for the fighting.

It was really confusing for the Japanese soldiers to perform all these activities. But these had to be done. An order was an order. Even the members of the radio squad were required to work on this order from the battalion headquarters.

A few days after the order came out, we started digging along the road between the company headquarters building (the confiscated government building of Biliran town) and the building used by the radio squad, to put soil and sand inside sacks, and to stack the sandbags around the two buildings. The townspeople were puzzled by this fortification effort of the Japanese soldiers.

At first the local residents were just surprised. But when we started our training exercises, they also started to keep their distance from us. The town plaza was used for the training of the Japanese soldiers. It was a big field without any obstacles. So it was a nice place for training.

The focus of the training was mostly against the air raids. Of course, these were conducted in preparation for the landing of the Americans. But we were sort of kidding; because we trained to ward off the enemy planes mainly with our guns.

Only five bullets could be filled in this "made-in-1905 gun." It was quite old, even older than the guns used by the guerrillas.

In contrast, the Americans were armed with sophisticated weapons. We knew that new types of guns were being developed in Japan. But these were not issued to us. All that we had were the san-pachi-ju (made-in-1905 guns).

The Japanese soldiers used to carry their "made-in-1905 guns" with the leather straps strung over the shoulders. But with the acute shortage of leather in Japan, the soldiers were ordered to remove the leather straps from their guns for these to be sent home. This order shocked us. If even the leather straps of our guns had to be sent home, then there must be nothing left in Japan.

In lieu of leather, we improvised straps for our guns using thin rope provided by the army.

During that time, most reinforcement soldiers were sent out of Japan without their own guns. Others carried guns that were not useful anymore - model guns for the teaching of students.

It seemed the general headquarters in Japan had thought that the gun-less soldiers they were sending out could secure their guns elsewhere, such as those from soldiers who died in the battlefields. But this was quite ridiculous. The soldiers could not fight without their guns.

Because of the diggings and the training, I no longer had much time to go out. But I still took time to go to Salucia's house (the convent). Everybody in her house asked me if the war was already coming, if something was going to happen. They were quite worried by the developments in our camp.

But Lt. Shirai, the company commander, told us not to tell anything to the townspeople, so that they would not worry. If ever, we just had to tell them we were conducting routine training. Of course, nobody believed us.

During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, there was some inflation because the military issued so much money. But in 1944, the inflation rate got so weird, especially in cities like Manila. However, in Biliran Island, the inflation was not as bad as in Manila, because there were not many Japanese soldiers in this island. But then, even if we had the money, there were not many things to buy here.

Of course, in Leyte-Leyte, there was no way to buy anything because there were no civilians in town. And in Calubian, the people did not have enough food except for their own consumption. So it was almost impossible to buy anything from the population.

But we had to do something to stock food. So in line with the order from the battalion headquarters, the company commander had a checkpoint set up in the Biliran Channel. Soldiers from our company started to check up the big bancas that sailed through this channel, to search for cargoes of rice and to confiscate them.
 

The width of the Biliran Channel was about two kilometers on the average. But in front of Biliran town, a small peninsula jutted out to sea. This meant that the width of the sea was only 500 meters here. (In fact, the width of the channel is less than 200 meters at its narrowest portion below the Biliran Bridge, which now connects Biliran Province to mainland Leyte.) So it was quite easy to check the bancas from Biliran town.

Several officers and soldiers were assigned to manage the checkpoint. They checked up the bancas that sailed by. Most of the items loaded in these bancas were ginamos (salted fish), abaca (fibers), buwad (dried fish), and some other daily commodities. But there were also bancas loaded with rice. Their rice cargoes were confiscated, in exchange for cash payment of about one-fifth of their actual market price.

The people in the bancas were really angered by the compulsory purchase of their rice. They asked for the prevailing market price in exchange, since the price set by the Japanese military was so cheap. But we had to follow the order, which also fixed the price for the confiscated rice. So the requests for a fair price were not granted.

The storage of the company was located on the ground floor of the building used by the radio squad (across the company headquarters). Everyday, the forcibly bought sacks of rice were stocked here. And it was our duty as radio operators to make a daily report (about the rice confiscation?) to the battalion headquarters (in Ormoc).

There were several bancas that tried to flee away from the checkpoint. In some instances, the soldiers gave chase and shot at the fleeing bancas and caused injuries on some of their passengers.

In a few days, all the storage rooms were filled with sacks of rice. But the bancas also did not sail through the Biliran Channel anymore. Instead, they sailed east of Biliran Island (a roundabout route in going to Cebu).

It was quite obvious that the rice confiscation shocked the townspeople of Biliran. They started to become really scared and afraid of the Japanese soldiers. Even the families of Salucia and Elsa started to treat me rather coldly, a fact which saddened and pained me. So I finally realized that I had assumed the position of an oppressor who came to occupy this area.

Of course, the kinds of (hostile) deeds shown by the Japanese soldiers alienated the Filipinos from becoming friends of the Japanese.

The news of Lt. Nakajima's death sent the company commander into panic. Soon after the incident, Lt. Shirai sent three squads of soldiers to Leyte-Leyte to assist in the mopping up of the guerrillas. So the guerrillas in Leyte were getting more and more aggressive, although we had been conducting mopping up operations which led to the death of the lieutenant.

My impression of the Filipinos was that they were an optimistic and very friendly people. But at the same time, they tended to be lazy. If they had extra money, they would not go to work. They would just stay at home or play around. Their attitudes were different from us Japanese.

But the Japanese military tried too hard to let the Filipinos work. At the same time, we were confiscating many products from them. So it was quite natural for us to be hated by the Filipinos.

We did not understand the nature of the Filipinos. We forced them to work under our occupation policy. I thought this was quite a simple mistake. Such a misunderstanding led to the quick destruction of our occupation efforts.

About 500,000 Japanese died out of this defeat in the Philippines.

I learned about the details of the last few minutes of Lt. Nakajima, of how he was killed.

In late June (1944), a squad of soldiers led by the lieutenant went mopping up for guerrillas somewhere southeast in the mountains of Leyte-Leyte.

One afternoon, the patrol spotted a few houses in a valley. They went to these houses, but there were no people around. So Lt. Nakajima allowed his soldiers to catch (and butcher) a pig for lunch. They started cooking the pig in the village. Although this type of feasting was prohibited as a matter of policy, the soldiers liked to do this. This policy was therefore ignored in many instances.

Lt. Nakajima was a graduate of the military school (in Japan). He was one of the elite cadets. He was quite diligent, and he was quite popular among the young soldiers as a gentle fellow.

I thought Lt. Nakajima was so used to mopping up operations. He just let his soldiers do as they wished, including feasting, during these operations. Perhaps this was his way of uniting the soldiers under his command.

Unfortunately, there were some guerrillas in the bush. They were surrounding Lt. Nakajima and his men. They sneaked close to Lt. Nakajima and shot him.
 

It was very hot that day, and I still remember noticing (the waters of) Biliran Channel in deep blue color.

Around that time, the radio soldiers were receiving so many telegrams. We even had to work late at night, because there were also telegrams at night. Because of this, I failed to visit Salucia's house or Elsa's house as often as I could. But I still went to these houses at times, bringing sweets (sugarcoated peanuts) and soaps for them.

Whenever I went to Salucia's house or Elsa' house, I was always asked whether the war was already coming. They were worried about the situation. Of course, I could not tell them the truth. But I was also wondering that, maybe, the war was really coming (to Leyte).

The "soldiers of 1940" were very disturbed by the news of the total destruction of Saipan. They had prepared to go home to Japan. But given the situation, it looked like their chances of returning home was lost. Indeed, some of them were ordered to go to Mindanao or Negros. They were desperate about their failure to go home.

As for myself, nothing much was happening. But I knew that everything, all the news and all the recent developments, meant that the situation of the Japanese soldiers in Leyte was getting more and more severe. That something big was about to happen.

At that time, five battalions under the 16th Infantry Division were already based in Leyte. The other four battalions of this division were scattered in other parts of the Philippines. The Japanese military could not transfer more troops to Leyte because of the lack of soldiers. Even if there was a great possibility that the Americans would come to this island.

On top of these, the 16th Infantry Division under Gen. Makino had to complete the construction of three airstrips in Burauen and one in Dulag. With only five battalions of soldiers, who also had to conduct mopping up operations against the guerrillas, the situation was really hard for the Japanese soldiers in Leyte.

There was no single bulldozer available for the construction of the airstrips in Leyte Island. Additional manpower had to be found. To complement the many soldiers from his division that were assigned to this task, Gen. Makino ordered the conscription of about 1,000 male laborers from the local population of Dulag, Burauen, Dagami, and Tanauan to work in the airstrips. (The conscripted laborers were gathered through the barangay captain. The Japanese officers dictated the number, the local officials delivered their quota of laborers for various tasks.)

Looking back, I learned after the war that all the activities of the Japanese military in Leyte were closely monitored by the guerrillas and reported to the Americans.

I suspected that the reason (Gen. Douglas) MacArthur decided to come to Leyte Island was the fact that there were not enough Japanese soldiers to fight against the American troops here. But this suspicion occurred to me after the war, and not during my stay in Leyte. Of course, at that time, we did not know the overall situation of the war. But we knew that things were getting worse for the Japanese soldiers in Leyte.

Anyway, we (the radio soldiers) had become busier than before. But we could still find time to swim in the sea, sometimes during late afternoons, when we strolled out to the wharf. We had time to enjoy, despite the difficult situation we were in.
 

The battalion headquarters (in Ormoc) informed us that it was sending a platoon of soldiers to conduct mopping up operations in Biliran Island. We welcomed the news and were elated by the offer. Then we made a plan for the mopping up.

But we were soon disappointed. The platoon sent to Biliran was actually composed of Philippine Constabulary (PC) soldiers.

The PC was activated after the (Japanese-granted) independence of the Philippines in October 1943. The Japanese military planned to recruit more PC soldiers, and eventually recruited former USAFFE soldiers and former guerrillas to join the Constabulary.

It looked like we Japanese gave the right to the Philippine government to organize a police force in the PC, in exchange for their services to the Japanese military. This was done because it was hard for the military to effectively cover the whole country. Of course, the PC proved to be more pro-American than pro-Japanese. There were so many instances when the PC soldiers attacked the Japanese soldiers or fled away with the military equipment issued to them.

Again, in the PC, the Japanese occupation policy ignored the natural tendency of the Filipinos to be pro-American. We just wanted to use the Filipinos, who rejected this gesture.

Anyway, we had to receive the PC soldiers dispatched by the battalion headquarters.

A few days after the telegram, about 50 PC soldiers arrived in Biliran Island by sea. All of them were armed with confiscated guns. They went to the mountains for the mopping up operation. But they failed to catch any guerrilla or to report an armed encounter with the guerrillas. So we Japanese soldiers were murmuring that perhaps the PC soldiers were having a good time with the guerrillas.

The company commander (Lt. Shirai) was angered by the challenge. He sent out two squads of PC soldiers for a mopping up operation. This group was away for a few days, but they could not catch any guerrilla.

The company commander did not disclose the content of the letter. But it amazed me that the situation in Biliran Island, which was very peaceful during my arrival six months before, had become so tense.

I knew that the Filipinos (in Biliran) used to remark that the Spaniards were not good, and that the Americans were bad. But they also remarked that the Japanese were weird. I thought this was because the Japanese did not have much experience in colonization. We made so many mistakes with our occupation policies.
 

I already forgot the exact date of the pullout of the whole company from Biliran Island. It might have been early in August (1944). I wanted to say good-bye to the families of Salucia and Elsa. But this was already forbidden, because our pullout was considered top secret.

We had a small party the day before our departure. We drank beer and heard a briefing from Lt. Shirai, the company commander. Lt. Shirai died later near Lake Danao during the battle (against the Americans in Leyte).

Around sunset, I went out to the wharf to see the Biliran Channel. Before, I used to see local residents strolling here. But at that time, even the children did not come anymore.

The wharf was calm and silent. There I thought of Salucia and the marriage match to her, and also of Elsa, both of whom I could not see anymore.

The sunset in Biliran was quite beautiful with the red sun (sinking). It was quite beautiful, as it had been always, when I was there.