Photo/Illutration An orchestra of German soldiers of the Bando POW camp (Provided by the Tokushima Prefectural board of education)

The city of Naruto in Tokushima Prefecture is famous for its "uzushio" tidal whirpools that form in the Naruto Strait in the Seto Inland Sea. 

But for tourists from Germany, another popular place to visit is the former site of the Bando POW camp, where about 1,000 German soldiers captured during World War I were held.

Next week, it will be exactly 100 years to the day since the camp's closure in 1920.

"This facility's fame in Germany is owed to its director, Toyohisa Matsue," said Kiyoharu Mori, 53, director of the Naruto German House museum that stands near the former camp site.

An officer of the Imperial Japanese Army, Matsue (1872-1956) ensured that the prisoners were treated well, reminding his subordinates that these Germans were all "soldiers who fought for their country, as would any soldier."

Matsue allowed the prisoners to engage in athletic and musical activities, including forming an orchestra, which resulted in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony being performed for the first time in Asia in 1918.

When the virulent Spanish Flu pandemic started affecting the camp, Matsue provided the inmates with milk, soup and thermometers, and took every measure to disinfect their quarters.

He was criticized by the army's top brass for being "too soft on the prisoners," but he held his ground.

Matsue's father was a samurai of the Aizu Clan, which supported the Tokugawa Shogunate but was defeated by the pro-Meiji Restoration Satsuma and Choshu Clans in the Boshin War (1868-1869).

In consequence, the Matsue family suffered great financial hardship, and Matsue himself did not fare well in the army.

But according to Mori, Matsue believed firmly that losers should not be humiliated.

He was exacting with ranking officers, but gentle on his subordinates. His refusal to compromise with his superiors resulted in transfers he did not want.

After retiring from the army, Matsue became the mayor of the city of his birth and worked to better maintain the graves of members of Byakkotai, a group of teenage samurai of the Aizu Clan who fought in the Boshin War.

According to his biography, Matsue valued the feudal concept of "bushi no nasake," which translates as "compassion of samurai" and means that every warrior must respect and honor his enemy.

As such, Matsue was always on the side of defeated or vulnerable members of society.

The city of Naruto is currently involved in a collaborative effort among four Japanese and German municipalities to register the Bando POW Camp with UNESCO's Memory of the World.

Matsue would never have foreseen the camp becoming recognized internationally as a historical site where a war's winners and losers transcended mutual grudge.

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 28

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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