10,000 Nights in the Jungle

10,000 Nights in the Jungle

I watched ONODA 10,000 Nights in the Jungle which is a 2021 French film directed by　Arthur Harari. This film was inspired by the life of a Japanese soldier, Hiroo Onoda. 

In 1973, when I was an elementary school student, I vividly remember Mr. Onoda on TV, he appeared from the jungle of Lubang Island in the Philippines, looking like a ghost of a Japanese soldier. He had been living (fighting) in the jungle for 29 years without believing that World War II had ended. His uniform was in tatters, but I have never forgotten his sharp eyes, the military cap on his head, his straight back, and his posture, which remained motionless.

The film is somewhat lyrical because it is produced from a French point of view. I thought it was very much a psychological portrait, with no political explanation. The visual beauty of the film is exquisite, the way the skin glows in the sun, the restrained yet latent dynamism of the figure waiting for the enemy against a large tree in the rain. The heavy, faded dark brown color was an accurate representation of the texture of the old cotton uniforms. The scene of mending these uniforms was also observed through the lens with great respect. The nature of time and space in extreme environments was an important aspect that was not expressed in words, but quietly presented through images and sound. Over the years, the actors themselves switched as they got older, but there was nothing awkward about that either. Mr. Onoda and his comrades-in-arms continued to carry out their daily duties as if the war had not ended, scouting the island and continuing their guerrilla activities.

In 1944, just before the end of the war, Mr. Onoda graduated from the Army's Nakano School, an elite school for training special units of the army. With the war's end just around the corner, he was ordered to to lead a ranger group and given hands-on guidance in guerrilla warfare and to serve as a "residual agent", gathering information in enemy territory, and sent to infiltrate the island of Lubang in the Philippines. He was given an absolute order to disrupt the enemy's rear and live on with death on your back and not to die.*¹ At the beginning of the guerrilla infiltration, Mr. Onoda had (only) three subordinates, but at the end after 29 years, in 1974, he was alone. The war would did not end for Mr. Onoda unless he received orders to be relieved of duty. *¹a heavy cross to bear

This is from an interview that took place when Mr. Onoda first met Mr. Suzuki, a young man of the generation who never knew war and who helped guide Mr. Onoda to accept the end of the war, after being discovered on the island. 

Mr. Suzuki : "Where is your home, Onoda-san?"

Mr. Onoda : “Your home? There is no such thing. I am fighting espionage and guerrilla warfare on this island as a leftover intelligence officer*². I don't live by running and hiding. I'm scouting the entire island to keep abreast of the situation at all times. And if I were to settle down in one place, I would be discovered immediately, and I would be dead with a bang [of a gun].”

*²(Note: a leftover intelligence officer is an intelligence officer who stays behind in enemy-occupied territory to collect various types of information in preparation for a friendly counterattack.)

Mr. Suzuki: “How many bullets are left in your rifle? Where are they kept? "

Mr. Onoda: “Don't ask nonsense questions!"

He thinks to himself, “This kid is driving me crazy. What a bold question. The number of bullets is my top secret.”

In the jungle, cut off from the outside world, Mr. Onoda believed that the war was not over, assembling information and his own theories from the radio and planes flying overhead. Conspiracy theories and fake news were tied to his hypothesis, and he remained vigilant against them believing them to be a trap set by a U.S. military plot. Twenty nine years had built up Mr. Onoda's strong physical ability and spirit, which he cultivated to survive. Did Mr. Suzuki's presence, far too incongruous to support a hypothesis of a trap or conspiracy, enter the space of Mr. Onoda's heart and release him from the spell of war.

In the testimony of one of the few Nakano School survivors, the Nakano School was a school that was like a phantom, far removed from reality and the exact opposite of the usual training of the regular soldiers. It emphasized a solitary battle that recognized individual abilities and was willing to use any means to preserve each soldier’s life, as opposed to the regular army that fought as a collective (jihad) that glorified death and denied attachment to life. As a result, a large number of regular soldiers lost their life like pawns without human dignity, but the fact is that on Lubang there was a lone battle like Onoda's.

Mr. Onoda jumped over the 29-year time gap and returned to Japan in 1973, a democratic society that had been made to forget that there had ever been a war. He received amnesty for his post-war activities from the U.S. and the Philippines; the facts were never investigated and he was never held accountable. The only information we have on Onoda's actual situation at the time is the testimony of the islanders of Lubang Island and Onoda himself. However, either out of the curiosity of the Japanese people or as a target to heal their postwar wounds, there were accusations of Mr. Onoda's misdeeds on Lubang Island, even as far as murder and riots, as Mr. Onoda was still at war with the enemy, and personal vilification as he was accused of being crazy or a liar.

Watching this film made me think, what are the facts? My view of Mr. Onoda changed in the completely opposite direction after encountering this film. Before, I used to look at him with the same outlook as Mr. Suzuki. 

Having heard reports of Japanese soldiers still waging war in the Phillipines, Mr Suzuki famously embarked on a journey to look for “Lieutenant Onoda, a panda, and the Abominable Snowman.”*³ He soon found Mr. Onoda.

*³ https://www.marinatimes.com/the-lieutenant-a-panda-and-the-abominable-snowman

The image of Mr. Onoda at the time was that shocking. But he was neither a panda nor the Abominable snowman. This is probably not the only irresponsible image I remember. How lax my memory and information were, even though it was my own childhood's fantasy. To rewrite those memories and live with them every day would be full of mistakes.

History is recorded based on historical documents and facts. History books are written by incorporating multiple perspectives and relativizing them, such as by asking people with specific experiences. However, in highly polarized history such as war, there are cases where facts are erased, victims do not survive, and perpetrators do not tell the truth. When there are agreements with governments, and when people like Mr. Onoda are not tried because of amnesty, it becomes difficult to clarify the facts. As time passes, it will become more difficult to think multilaterally about the facts, and the boundary between the perpetrator and the victim will become less clear or more and more divided. This is because perpetrators and victims are afraid to pursue the facts and improve the understanding of the cause and nature of the problem.

These issues are deeply related to the present, not only in war, but in all issues. Information in the online society is constantly updated and transmitted one after another, but how much information do we need to know? How well can we process the information we need by ourselves? Perhaps a convenient information processing system called an algorithm can help us with that part although algorithms are currently very controversial and have been cited as leading to increased divisions and misinformation. And how can we understand and process the fact of coincidental events? How can we remember everything in fairly and accurately? It is not easy to answer that. Although, not in the sense of a real history book, I thought I should spend time, feeling responsible for my Own History Book, examining and recording the facts of my experience from multiple perspectives, and rewriting them each day! (whether it is watching a movie, having dinner with friends, or reading a book). 

Because life should not be “just because” and to not end up spending 10,000 nights…

Thank you for reading  my newsletter March & April 2024.

April 11th, 2024

-Yuh Okano