如水会
実務英語研究会 |
如水会
実務英語研究会 |
| August 20,1994 | |
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Dear Yuichi: Again, another very interesting letter from you . Thank you. The copies of the Rescript was most interesting to read. I had scanned (read quickly) it in Captain David Jame's book The Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire. Your explanation of the style of writing and the intention of having it intercepted by Japanese overseas troops were of great help in my understanding it better. I have read and reread it a number of times. Each time I have learned a little bit more. It is important to read it from the Japanese point of view, especially the Emperor's position, in order to completely understand the purposeof what was trying to be achieved. In this respect, it seemed to be well written. It showed the futility of continuing the war if the nation was to survive. Therefore, the Emperor had no other choice. It lauded the Japanese people, the military and it's allies. The request for an orderly and peaceful cessation of hostilities was strong, but polite. An American, especially at that time, may have had the impression of it being rather flowerly and somewhat archaic in the wording. The acknowlegement of Japan's declaring war on the U.S. would be appreciated. There are statements which an American would consider hypocrisy (false statement). The desire to bring stabilization to East Asia had a hollo(false) sound to it. The invasion of another nation created destabilization, except for the invaders. The statements regardings Japan's desire not to infringe upon the sovereign of other nations nor to embark upon territorial expansion were considered to be completely false. A nation that invades other countries and sets up "puppet" government does it primarity to contain control of those countries and their natural resources. The time as given (05,04) means nothing to me due to the use of the comma. I do not recall seeing a comma used in giving the time. Time given on the 24 hour clock contain no punctuation (0504). Time on the 12 hour clock uses a colon (05:04). Since a punctuation mark was used on the Rescript, I can only presume it was used in error. The next question is When was it sent and how long did it take to transmit it? It is logical to assume it was sent at the time of the Emperor's speech and that it took only a few minute to get the message to London. However, there could have been an hour or more delay in getting it off to Europe. Since there is a minus nine hour time difference between Tokyo and London (-9) plus a few minutes for transmission time,then the reception time in London could have been any of the followings; 12:00n 1:00pm 2:00pm 3:00pm -9 -9 -9 -9 3:00am 4:00am 5:00am 6:00am The above calculation indicate there was a delay in sending the English copy, unless there was an unusually long time in the transmission,which would be unlikely for such an important message. My thinking has been based upon the assumption that the time given (05,04.) is the time of reception in London and not the time sent from Tokyo. My conclusion is - I do not know what is the correct time. There are two important questions which needed to be answered. Was there a time delay in sending the message? Was use of a comma in the time an error or does the British have a unique way of recording it. I will try to find out during my next trip to London. I am going to try to get on an AF flight to Germany on the 30th of August.Hopefully, I will be able to another flight from there to England as I want to see Tom Wade and some other friends. I will also try to get some clarification on the time (05,04) at the Public Records Office and at the Imperial War Museum. I will also try to contact your daughter and son-in-law. Thanks for their address. I am enclosing a list of names and the most recent addresses of men who were in Omori. About everyday 18 months I try to up-date the list and send a copy to each of the individual listed. It is in a constant state of flux (change) due to new names being added, people moving or dying and letters being returned as they no longer live there. This is a copy of my master list which I try to keep up-to-date,which is nearly impossible to do so.Dr.Goad's name, address and telephone number are on it. This particular list was mailed out on January 1,1991. There are some names which will be added when it next mailed out( B-29ers). You should find this list useful and interesting. Also enclosed are three pictures of myself which were taken in April and May when I went to Paris and Spain. I had sets made for my children and had an extra set. I will be most interested in seeing the video about Lt. Kato. B.J.Martin will be interested to know he was mentioned on Japanese TV. Last week I sent you a copy of Tom Wade's book which was published in Australia. It was sent to you as gift for having given me some much interesting and valuable information. I have not had a chance to read my copy. Yesterday, a man from a museum in South Texas came by to see and select some of my photos and other materials ( about Omori and etc.) for an exhibit. It will take me several days to get it ready for mailing. The exhibit starts October 15th. The Admiral Nimitz Museum in Fredrickburg, Texas will use some of my materials for an exhibit next year. I trust I have covered all of your questions. I must close now as my daughter who is living in Mexico city now (her husband is head of one of General Electrics division in Mexico) is in Austin and I wanted to go to see her. The misspelling was typogaraphical mistake. Sincerely, Bob |
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如水会 実務英語研究会
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