war. hometown

Russia blatantly invaded Ukraine under the eyes of the world. Putin's reasons for going to war are all for his own imperial dream. As a result, young Russians, unknowingly, went to war. Ukrainian young people, under the necessity, resisted. Everyone risked their lives.

In 1945, there were actually a group of young people who were also recruited to serve as soldiers to guard Taiwan, and were finally forced to leave their hometown. This group is "Wansheng" - Japanese born in Taiwan. The book I introduce this time is a young man who was born in Taiwan and brought back to Japan after the war - "Forever Taiwan Island: Taipei in 1945, a defeated Taipei in the eyes of college students in the old system".

Author Takeuchi Shotaro, in March 1945, he was in high school and was drafted into the army. The Second World War ended with the reading of the "Edict of the End of the War" by the Japanese Emperor "Yuyin Broadcasting". After the war, he waited to be cited. This book is a record of his memories in Taipei.

Anyone who reads history knows that what we read is "national history", which is from the perspective of the country. A lot of things are an angle. Fortunately, more and more people, like Mr. Takeuchi, are writing their own stories, so that readers can understand how people face in the moment from a micro perspective.

The book uses the pre and post war as a watershed. The previous paragraph tells about his days in the army. Don't think he's Japanese, he'll be treated well, he's also bullied by the superiors from Japan. After the defeat, when the US military dropped supplies, he still had this feeling:

It's really incredible to think about. Obviously, he had already made the consciousness of death in the mountains, but when he looked up and saw the wooden box falling towards him, he still felt the horror of death. It is not wrong to say that it is the instinct of living things, but human consciousness seems to disappear without a trace as long as the environment changes.
Death, goodbye. For the consciousness of death, I also say goodbye.

From the post-war period to the introduction period, he traded under his two sisters, Meiling Zibi. Meiling took care of Takeuchi's younger brother like a big sister until he returned to Japan. When he went to say goodbye, he found:

This is "forever goodbye". Originally, all I thought of was the death and goodbye caused by the war, but now I found out that there is still a "birth and separation" in this world that can never be seen again. I'll never see them again after this flight of stairs. What should you say when you leave at the end?

Such a situation still exists today. The TV pictures of the past ten days are all of this kind of footage.

Birth and separation will always appear at a time when you don't want to.

When the author left "home", he remembered a German poem by Wilhelm Arent. Japanese translation is this ——

わすれなぐさながれのきしのひともとは,
みそらのいろのみづあさぎ,
なみ, ことごとく, くちづけしはた, ことごとく, わすれゆく.

The Chinese translation is this (according to the translation of the book):

A single tree on the bank of a stream The color of the sky is light blue, every wave is kissed and then every wave is forgotten

The title of this poem is "Forget Me Not".

The author has never forgotten this hometown: the eternal island of Taiwan.

Those who left their hometowns because of the war will not forget their hometowns.
～～～～～～～～～～

Extended information:

"Forever Taiwan Island: 1945, Taipei's Lost Battle in the Eyes of Old Taipei College Students"
https://www.books.com.tw/products/0010912318?sloc=main