The REAL Last Samurai

~I speak to you tonight of one of Japan's living legends. You may have heard of him: his name is Hiroo Onoda, and for thirty years, he continued fighting World War II, long after his homeland had surrendered. His story is an incredible mixture of perseverance, hardship, blind loyalty, and faith. I first heard of Mr. Onoda many years ago, in a small book of true stories titled "Stranger Than Fiction", and I've always been intrigued by his story.

Hiroo Onoda was born in 1922 in Japan. After he turned 17, he moved to China to work for a trading company, but was drafted into the Japanese Imperial Army in 1942. However, unlike most of the rank-and-file cannon fodder, he was sent to a special school that trained soldiers in guerrilla warfare. Upon graduation in late 1944, the young Lt. Onoda was sent to Lubang, a small island in the Philippines, which at the time was occupied by Japan. By then, the war was winding down, and Japan was in retreat. Onoda's job was to direct guerrilla operations on Lubang in preparation for an Allied invasion.

His orders were very specific: "You are absolutely forbidden to die by your own hand. It may take three years, it may take five, but whatever happens, we'll come back for you. Until then, so long as you have one soldier, you are to continue to lead him. You may have to live on coconuts. If that's the case, live on coconuts! Under no circumstances are you [to] give up your life voluntarily."

If these orders seem extreme, consider this: Japanese soldiers were taught that to surrender was an act of cowardice that would result in execution and dishonor, and most took their own lives rather than be captured. During the long-running Battle of Okinawa, the situation was even more horrific: the soldiers told the civilians there that the Americans were going to to terrible things to them, so thousands of people hurled themselves and their children over cliffs and into the sea rather than be taken alive.

Now that you understand where Hiroo Onoda is coming from, the motivation for his subsequent actions will be more understandable. The expected Allied invasion did indeed occur on February 1 1945, scarcely a month after Onoda's arrival. The Japanese garrison was killed or captured, and Onoda was left with only four soldiers under his command. A few months later, Japan surrendered...but not Lt. Onoda. As per his orders, he and his squad took to the jungle and hills of Lubang and continued to harass the Allied forces on the island. After the Allies left, they raided the islanders themselves.

It's important to note that Onoda was not a bandit or a criminal who was hiding out in the jungle. He fully believed that Japan was still at war with the United States, despite all evidence to the contrary. The terrified islanders left messages, leaflets, and even newspapers to show him the truth. Japanese reporters and concerned citizens swept the jungle looking for him. Even his own father and brother arrived to search for him, pleading over megaphones for Hiroo Onoda to give up fighting.

To Onoda, all of these things had to be tricks. Japan would never surrender, he thought, but would keep fighting until the last Japanese citizen had been killed. All of the tactics used to convince him to surrender were clearly Allied propaganda: the papers were fabrications, the people collaborators, and his family coerced, traitors, or impostors. Isolated as he was on a small, undeveloped jungle island, he was unwilling to take only these things as evidence that the war had ended.

To support himself, Onoda lived off of bananas and coconuts, and what food he could hunt or steal from the islanders...although he considered it "requisitioning" rather than stealing. Isn't it amazing what we humans will rationalize through doublespeak? Later, Onoda requisitioned a transistor radio, and was amazed to hear of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. How nice, he thought, that even though Japan and the U.S. were at war, they could still hold a peaceful gathering of the world's athletes.

One by one, the three soldiers under Onoda's command either became fed up and left, or died. But Onoda continued to fight on...for thirty years. It wasn't until February 20, 1974 that things took a turn for the better. It was on that day that Onoda stumbled across Norio Suzuki, a young Japanese man who had told his friends he was “going to look for Lieutenant Onoda, a panda, and the Abominable Snowman, in that order." After Onoda nearly shot Suzuki, the two struck up a conversation and a tentative friendship.

By this point, Onoda was getting old (he was 52, Dad!) and tired of his endless fight, but was unwilling to give up. Suzuki wisely asked him if there was absolutely anything he could do, any evidence he could provide, to convince Onoda to stop fighting. Onoda replied that only a direct order from his superior officer would be sufficient. Suzuki agreed to help him, and they arranged to meet again. Soon afterwards, Suzuki returned with Major Taniguchi, Onoda's long-retired former commander, who ordered Onoda to stand down. For Lt. Hiroo Onoda, World War II was finally over.

He became a huge hero in Japan, a living symbol of his people's resilience and honor. The Filipinos were so glad to be finally rid of him that the President of the Philippines, Ferdinan Marcos, granted him a full pardon. Onoda went on to write a book titled "No Surrender: My Thirty-year War". His book deal and new-found fame made him quite wealthy.

But Onoda just couldn't adjust to modern Japan. His mind was still living thirty years in the past, when the culture, people, and even the appearance of his homeland were very different. In the end, he moved to Brazil, where he got married and became a successful rancher. In the 1980s, he finally returned to Japan and opened a nature school for children, to teach them to be mentally strong and self-sufficient. We can be sure that he has plenty of outdoor experience.

Recently, The Japan Times published an interview with Hiroo Onoda (now 84 years old) as part of the weekly "Words to Live by" segment. In the interview, Onoda shared several pearls of wisdom polished over his amazing life. He strongly encourages poeple to be more self-reliant and civic-minded, especially encouraging parents to raise more independent children. For example, he is disgusted that many Japanese students see their test results as the be-all and the end-all of their lives, which is exactly what the educational curriculum over here is intended to do. His stated goal in establishing the Onoda Nature School is to give children more power of choice.

Hiroo Onoda still retains his militaristic mindset. He believes that the Japanese of today are sleepy-headed and ignorant of threats to Japan, and will not awaken without a huge shock. He declares that Japan should retain the capability to defend itself from other nations such as North Korea without the need to rely on U.S. intervention.

He also had some more humorous tips, such as how "Men should never compete with women", because women "have a lot more endurance. My mother said that, and she was so right." It's nice to see that he's retained a sense of humor after thirty years in the jungle.

Attention, class: what can we learn from the story of Hiroo Onoda? The first and most obvious lesson, I think, is that we must accept changes in reality based on available evidence. Onoda's beliefs and mindset were so strong that he denied the mountains of evidence that the war was over. Today, I see many people denying reality and ignoring anything that contradicts their view of the world, such as people denying global warming, human evolution, or the nature of a certain conflict in the Middle East.

Second, Onoda's story shows us the power of belief. His belief in his nation and his duty were strong that he persevered for decades in unimaginably difficult conditions. He's completely right when he says that many people and children today lack self-confidence and are obsessed with trivialities that consume their lives. What they need is something to believe in that will motivate them...provided it doesn't lead them down the wrong path.

Finally, the story demonstrates the need for community. Humans are social creatures that need and rely on other people to survive. Personally, I'm quite introverted and perfectly happy by myself most of the time, but my life would be terribly dull and ultimately pointless without the friends and family that I value so much (that's why I'm writing this blog, people! For you!). In the end, even Hiroo Onoda couldn't live alone in the jungle forever, clinging only to his dreams and beliefs.

That's enough for now. Let me know what you think of Onoda's story. ~Oyasumi!