Analyzing the “Photographic Evidence” of the Nanking Massacre

Peaceful scene inNanking: Japanese soldiersriding a horse-wagon onthe Zhongshan Street.”Tokyo NichinichiNewspaper, 26 December1937, evening issue.Friday, December 24 and afterward: The 16th Division started screening Chinesecombatants out of the safety zone, under the command of Major-General Sasaki Tōichi,commander of the 30th Brigade. There were two reasons why the Japanese army had toremove combatants again from among the refugees. The first and major reason was thatthe “mop-up” operation immediately after the fall of the city failed to round up anyofficers.Regulations of Hague Convention rigorously request that a POW should answerwith his name and rank in full faith (Article 9). According to a battle report filed by the7th Regiment, which operated in the safety zone, “The interrogation of POWs capturedup to this date—December 15—shows that almost all Chinese combatants rounded up arenon-commissioned officers and enlisted men, and no officers among them.”(Nankinsenshi shiryoshu Vol.1, p.51) Absence of officers among the POWs was extraordinarybecause escape from inside the city walls was practically impossible then. Inevitably,the Japanese military leadership suspected that a substantial number of officers were stillhiding in the safety zone. Again, their concern was that the presence of combatants ofunlawful status among civilians might endanger the security of not only the Japanesesoldiers but also the Chinese civilians. The Japanese thus resumed the screeningprocess for security and self-defense purposes.Uchida Yoshinao, who assisted in Major-General Sasaki’s work as a translatorthat started on this day, said:Since the Chinese garrison was comprised mainly of men fromGuangdong, Guangxi, and Hunan who spoke the southern dialect as theNanking citizens, dialectical difference did not serve as a goodmeasurement to distinguish former combatants from civilians. Instead,we identified combatants by their physical outlook. We collaborated46