Photo/Illutration Bereaved family members enter the Nippon Budokan hall in Tokyo on Aug. 15 to attend a ceremony remembering the war dead. (Tatsuya Shimada)

When did Japan's "sengo" (post-World War II era) begin?

One obvious answer is that it started on Aug. 15, 1945, the day people gathered in front of the Imperial Palace and wept bitter tears, while blackout cloth coverings were removed from household lamps.

The image one gets is that of the Japanese people being freed from deadly wartime terrors and hailing their new lifestyle and value system.

But nothing is ever that simple.

The emperor's "gyokuon hoso" radio broadcast declaring Japan’s surrender was aired on Aug. 15, 1945, on the Okinawan island of Kumejima, too.

An entry in the local civil defense unit's log went, "The general public will be made to listen to the radio message about Japan's unconditional surrender."

But a harrowing tragedy ensued.

On Aug. 18, 1945, Japanese troops who were still hiding in the mountains set fire to the home of Kumejima resident Meiyu Nakandakari, his wife and 1-year-old son, killed them.

Japanese troops considered Nakandakari as a "spy" at the time because he had urged fellow islanders to surrender to the Americans, saying the latter would not harm Japanese civilians.

What was done to Nakandakari and his family could not have been more inhumane.

Up north, an evacuation boat transporting Japanese refugees from Sakhalin was attacked by the Soviet Union on Aug. 22, 1945, killing about 1,700 people. Their remains eventually washed ashore in Hokkaido.

The victims were Japanese settlers in Manchuria and prisoners of war in Siberia.

So, when exactly did Japan's "post-World War II era" begin?

A well-known haiku by poet Hakusen Watanabe (1913-1969) explained, "The war was standing in the back of the corridor."

By the time you become aware of the war's imminence, it is already shockingly close. It escalates rapidly and destroys everything in its path. And after it is over, confusion continues.

To use a trite analogy, war is like a storm.

Let us not forget that many people were killed even after the so-called sengo began.

Watanabe also penned this piece, "Step forward, all of you who understood the emperor's declaration of surrender."

I would very much like the soldiers on Kumejima to read it.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 17

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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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