Analyzing the âPhotographic Evidenceâ of the Nanking Massacre

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Images Photographed by the Japanese (4): Photographs of Murase MoriyasuOn its August 16, 1983 issue, the Mainichi Newspaper printed Photos 138 and 139under the headline, “The Nanking massacre was the fact: Photographs taken by a Japanesearmy veteran.” Discussion of the background information pertinent to these photographsshould precede their detailed analysis.The name of that Japanese army veteran is Murase Moriyasu. Since theirappearance on the Mainichi Newspaper, they have been reprinted in a substantial number ofpublications, including some teaching materials for children in Japan, as undeniableevidence of the alleged Japanese atrocities. They have also become book cover images:Photo 138 for RON-I and QINHUA, and Photo 139 for the Chinese collection of atrocitysurvivor testimonies.Murase started serving in the 17 th motor transport company of the supply regimentheadquartered in Meguro, Tokyo, as a private second class in July 1937. He visited suchlocations as Pusan, Tianjin, Beijing, Dalian, Shanghai, Nanking, Xuzhou, Hankou, thePhoto 139 Photo 138Photo 138: Watashi no jūgun Chūgoku sensen, p. 48.Photo 139: Watashi no jūgun Chūgoku sensen, p. 46. Judging from its width, this river isnot the Yangzi. It is more likely a small river that flows into the Jiajing, a tributary of theYangzi.219
Shanxi Province, and Nomonhan during his tour of duty before his homecoming in January1940. He had a part of “some 3,000 photographs” which he had taken during that timeperiod published in 1987 under the title of Watashi no jūgun Chūgoku sensen: MuraseMoriyasu shashinshū—Ichi heishi ga utsushita senjō no kiroku [My battle record at theChina front: Photo collection of Murase Moriyasu—record of battlefields as photographedby a soldier]. The following is an excerpt from the book’s postscript that sums up how itwas published.In the summer of 1983, Mr. Satō of zenshōren [a federation of Japanesesmall businesses] secretariat asked me to contribute an article—as well asphotographs if any—to the federation’s monthly magazine. One of thesephotographs printed on the magazine caught the attention of Mr. Tominagaof the Japan-China Friendship Association, who subsequently displayed it ata war photograph exhibit at a church in Tokyo. Then, Nameshida Takashiof the Mainichi Newspaper saw it and had it reprinted on the paper. Theresult was the media uproar.Some 170 photographs on Murase’s book are mostly snapshots of Japanesesoldiers, localities where they were stationed, and aftermaths of battles. Some of them,however, attracted media attention as photographic evidence of the alleged Nankingmassacre.A question worth asking here is whether or not Murase witnessed the allegedmassacre himself. Murase entered the following passage at the beginning of the sectionthat listed the photographs of Nanking: “As we passed through each village on our way tothe frontline, we began to see the bodies of those who had been massacred.” One may,however, question the truthfulness of his statement that he witnessed the remains of “thosewho had been massacred.”Certainly, more dead bodies one was likely to see, the closer he approached to thefrontline. One of the 6 th Division veterans said in his recollection, “The piled up bodies ofthe enemy, barbed wires that had been severed, and numerous weapons and uniformsabandoned—all of these testify eloquently to the severity of the fighting until yesterday.”Thus, contemporary observers all considered these bodies as combat casualties in theaftermath of military engagements in the frontline.Although Murase claimed to have witnessed the “bodies of massacred people,”that he considered them as the civilians whom the Japanese troops had massacred was anarbitrary conjecture. The perpetrators may well have been the Chinese. Furthermore,Chinese civilians were likely to evacuate their residences when their locality was about tobecome a battlefield.A sad reality of war is that combat deaths result from it. By disregarding this fact,Murase concluded that those dead bodies that he had witnessed belonged to the victims ofthe Japanese atrocities. Murase went on to say, “For unknown reasons, our supply columnwas not permitted to the inside of the city walls for two weeks. There was a rumororiginating from unconfirmed sources that a large-scale killing was in progress inside thecity walls.”220
Page 1 and 2:
Analyzing the “Photographic Evide
Page 3 and 4:
List of AbbreviationsCCPGMDICNSZIMT
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heard about the Rape of Nanking. I
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Discovery of a “top secret” GMD
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only in the Chinese edition of Timp
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Photos C and D, which appeared in t
Page 13 and 14:
Nanking massacre was published with
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Chapter 1: Realities of the Battle
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August 12, the Chinese army’s for
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Crisscrossed runningcanals.” Mans
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“Death-defying aerial photograph
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Sunday, November 28: Wang Gupan, ch
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Zhonghua Gate. Viewphotographed fro
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Escape of garrison commander TangTh
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Soldiers shouting “banzai” on t
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soldiers from civilians. Again, thi
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For example, combatants who are cap
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Graph: Nihon no senreki [Mainichi G
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An important fact is that the Japan
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the city.Given the non-occurrence o
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Victory ceremony in front of the GM
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Nanking Citizens Relinquishes Anti-
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I heard a hymn accompanied by an or
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Children riding mules in front ofNa
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with Chinese staff members of the s
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One week after the fall of Nanking.
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Peddlers wishing to trade withJapan
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My mission was to visit the office
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Chapter: The First “Photographic
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Analyses of Group A photographs1. S
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Contemporary Japanese publications,
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Of course, the image of a lone infa
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Photos D and E are in a booklet ent
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(c) Bombing of the USS PanayRBS lis
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Photos C and D: The Panay sinking i
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about-to-take-place beheading was a
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(a) Four military personnel at the
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of a living person posing for the c
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Apart from this speculation, anothe
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8. Apparently, no one in uniform ha
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the quote above makes it clear that
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Photo A: A clip of Photo 13 as prin
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Photo 15: “Shatou.” The first a
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Formation of thegroundPhoto C: “P
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Four identical individuals are show
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As for Chiang Kai-shek and his GMD,
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3. Still Images of Dead BodiesIf th
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Timperly may well have selected thi
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According to the RBS’s caption,
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Photos 26-28:RBS was the first sour
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One can easily point out difference
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Shanghai. Several photos I saw when
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In 1998, however, Hata Ikuhiko unea
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Photo E: Asahi Graph, 10 November 1
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Photo I: The original of Photo 36 w
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Photo J: This is the original of Ph
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however, stated that the girl in th
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Group B photographs: Photographs th
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WMRB introduces Photo 45-51 as scen
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Photo 48Photo 49117
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According to the caption of Photo 5
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Agnes Smedley describes how the Com
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Photo 58Photo 59Photo 60123
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The RBS caption of Photo 62 says,
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Conclusion: Composite, Play-up, Rep
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The following sources made referenc
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Horizontal and vertical ratio of th
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Photo 133
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have not been seen by anyone else u
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137
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The same background as the “origi
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Photo G Photo F Photo CPhoto C: RON
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“Courtesy of Marion Fitch”RON-Y
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some 50 photographs which he had ta
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Fitch Photos -(21)Photo 93 Photo 91
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Photo B Photo A Photo 84Photos 84 a
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Photo 88Photo 88: An identical phot
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and 90, one may assume that the pho
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Forty-five years later, however, Na
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Japanese side. But [the unearthed m
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(2) Alleged murder of childrenAmong
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It is Carl Mydans, an American in C
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inspired anti-Japanese sentiment am
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Another notable fact is that a sold
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military have appeared in several N
Page 171 and 172: Photo 102Photo 102: One of the phot
Page 173 and 174: Photo PPhoto OPhoto O: Watashi no j
Page 175 and 176: In one case a [Communist] Party mem
Page 177 and 178: In view of such a Chinese tradition
Page 179 and 180: army’s conduct after its entry in
Page 181 and 182: Photo 108Photo 108: “[C]hildren b
Page 183 and 184: Photo UPhoto U: Type-94 light armor
Page 185 and 186: Army rose near Zhonghua Gate.” Ju
Page 187 and 188: (11) Images of Shanghai re-captione
Page 189 and 190: Chapter 4: Misleading use of the Ph
Page 191 and 192: * Magee photo (1)Magee’s film (MF
Page 193 and 194: * Magee photo (3)MF: Group of women
Page 195 and 196: This photograph has been cited as e
Page 197 and 198: (d) Ulterior motive behind the incl
Page 199 and 200: discrepancy between the realities i
Page 201 and 202: Photo 126Photo 126: RON-YY, which f
Page 203 and 204: Images Photographed by the Westerne
Page 205 and 206: As for Photo 130, RON-YY said, “O
Page 207 and 208: Photo A Photo 131Photo 131: Second
Page 209 and 210: and she found the following passage
Page 211 and 212: Images Photographed by the Japanese
Page 213 and 214: Photo 134Photo 134: Zusetsu Shōwa
Page 215 and 216: Photo FPhoto DPhoto EPhotos D and E
Page 217 and 218: much larger number POWs obeyed a sm
Page 219 and 220: Photo IPhoto 136Photo I: Fukyoka sh
Page 221: As for Nihon no shinryaku: Chūgoku
Page 225 and 226: half open. Since Murase most likely
Page 227 and 228: Map 2Map 2: “Assault on Nanking.
Page 229 and 230: Photo N: A photograph among the rec
Page 231 and 232: emoved them away from the shore to
Page 233 and 234: find an old man lying on the ground
Page 235 and 236: spring or summer time—as illustra
Page 237 and 238: correspondents who assisted in the
Page 239: e-captioned pieces. This publicatio
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Analyzing the âPhotographic Evidenceâ of the Nanking Massacre