Manchukuo - "Japan's Bastard Child"

     "The Manchurian Incident" gave birth to a country that Japan called Manchukuo.  Not only did the country of Manchukuo was born as a result of an illegal act by the Kwantung Army, the gekokujo, but it was a country that during its short existence no one recognized as a legitimate state.  Only Japan's axis allies, Nazi Germany and Italy more or less recognized Manchukuo as a country.  The Japanese opponents of the militarists, mostly scholars and some journalists, referred to Manchukuo derisively as "Japan's bastard child."  The Kwantung Army and their supporters in Tokyo government tried all sorts of things to prop up the puppet government and give it legitimacy.  The first thing they did was to bring the deposed last emperor of China, Pu Yi, and declare him as the new Emperor of Manchukuo.  There was an elaborate coronation ceremony and Pu Yi became the Emperor of Manchukuo, however, no one bought the sham!  In The Manchurian Tales there is a chapter called "Manchukuo" and in it I describe Japan's attempt to create a Manchukuo diplomatic corps which it sent to various countries in Europe to "introduce" Manchukuo as a legitimate country.  This was but one of the many attempts by Japan to provide legitimacy to Manchukuo.
     For those who have seen the Hollywood movie The Last Emperor, the lavish production gave some indication of what went on at the time, but as always, not very accurately.  Once again, as Hollywood is always prone to do, I suppose you could say that "artistic liberties" were taken with history and things were portrayed not quite the way they really were, but more like what the director of the movie wanted.  As mentioned in the earlier blog on "GEKOKUJO," Hollywood's idea of history as seen in the movies the 47 Ronin and The Last Samurai are quite different from reality and The Last Emperor was no exception.  But that's Hollywood.  No one should take Hollywood version of history seriously.  After all, Hollywood is in the entertainment business, not in presenting facts.
     For those of you who have been following my blogs may recall and earlier piece called "The Manchurian Princess."  In that blog I mentioned that Chin Pi Hui aka Yoshiko Kawashima, a minor Manchu princess was related to the royal family and Pu Yi, the last Emperor of China.  She was also a mistress to a Japanese General and later to the head of Japanese Intelligence.  The Japanese used her to gain access to various Chinese officials and Manchu aristocracy.  It was through her that the deposed Emperor of China Pu Yi was introduced  to the head of Kwantung Army Intelligence.  They became good friends, and Pu Yi constantly badgered the Japanese to place him back on the throne.  So, when Japan created Manchukuo and placed him on the throne, his wish was partially realized.  However, what he wanted was to be on the throne back in The Forbidden City!  Make no mistake about it.  He collaborated with the Japanese and was a traitor to China!
     In 1937, after Manchukuo had been in existence for six years, Japan launched an invasion of China, this time with the full approval of Tokyo government which was controlled by the militarists since the gekokujo of 1936, the Ni Ni Roku Jiken.  The invasion, naturally was initially launched from Manchuria by the Kwantung Army.  As it happened later in Japan's Pacific Campaign, initially the Japanese Army enjoyed stunning successes on the battle field.  The Chinese Nationalist Army was still fragmented, still controlled by warlords in various parts.  To top it off, there was now the communist party led by Mao Tse Tung that had its guerrilla force that was also a contender for control of China.  In short, it was a mess.  Under such conditions, the Japanese Army had no trouble sweeping through the Chinese countryside, easily defeating Chinese forces that they encountered.  You could say that the Japanese Army in China became drunk with success and thought that they were invincible.  In some ways, it is not surprising that something like the terrible, infamous "Rape of Nanking" could take place where over 200,000 civilians were massacred, raped and butchered by the Japanese Army.
     In Manchuria, the problem with the Korean Freedom Fighters was put under control.  Because now the Japanese had complete free reign in Manchuria, they operated ruthlessly in the countryside, sometimes executing the entire village population that supported the guerrillas or was suspected of supporting guerrillas.  Additionally, the Korean Freedom Fighters that were trained and supported by the Chinese were engaged in fighting the Japanese in China.  Those that were trained and supported by the Soviets were pulled back across the border into the Soviet Union and incorporated into the Soviet Red Army.  So, there were literally no Korean guerrillas left to fight the Japanese in Manchuria.
     So, for a time, during the so called Manchukuo period, Manchuria was relatively peaceful.  The banditry was controlled, most "hoonhoozy" were eliminated or chased off.  The Korean guerrilla activity was squashed, and the Chinese warlord was no more in Manchuria.  It was, like the quiet before the storm.  But it was very misleading.  Japan's success against disunited and disorganized Chinese resistance gave them false confidence.  The Japanese Army was feeling that it could defeat anyone, they were invincible!  But they should have looked in their own back yard and realized that all was not well, that their army was not invincible, that it could be defeated!