Hello everyone
Welcome to Taiwan Bar
Today let's talk about the Kominka period
In 1937
The Marco Polo Bridge Incident erupted
Marking the beginning of wars between China and Japan
Taiwan was also dragged into the fight without a choice
The Governor-General of Taiwan
Swapped from military guys to office guys and now swapped back to military guys
Swappidy swap swap swap
The original plan of assimilation also juiced up
And tried to force the Taiwanese to transform into Japanese entirely
Today let's talk about
How the Taiwanese changed from westernized suits and ties
Into wearing kimonos and wooden clogs
So how did the Japanese Japanize Taiwan
And turned people into loyal soldiers
who fought wholeheartedly for Japan?
Ahem
Here we go!
Japan, famous for its Tale of Genji
Was of course serious about “educating” the Taiwanese
First off, the national language movement
Bear in mind that the national language here
Is neither Taiwanese nor Mandarin
But Japanese Ni-hon-go
Aside from widely setting up institutes for the Taiwanese to learn Japanese
Those who spoke excellent Japanese, su-goi komin
Would also be awarded with a
“Japanese Family” plate by the Governor-General
Enough to make all your neighbors super jealous
After mastering Japanese
why not give yourself a Japanese name?
Replacing Chinese names with Japanese ones was optional in Taiwan
Unlike Korea, where it was mandatory
So Lee Teng-hui could be named Iwasato Masao
Ko Wen-je could be named Aoyama Wen-je
Chang Jia Jia would’ve been Gongchang Jialu Jialu
And Lin Che would've been
Kobayashi chin chin
huh?
These “Japanese Family” and “Japanese Name Changing” awards
Not only made you look hot and cute
It also came with other perks
For example kids who changed their family names and spoke Japanese
Could get into Japanese elementary schools easier
Their parents prioritized as civil servants
And the whole family could receive more food during war
For some people
Nothing was more important than better food
and their children's education
Any method was worth trying
Aside from names and language
Religions and customs
were also targets for change
The Governor-General promoted Japan's Shinto
It dumped a bunch of Shinto shrines
to replace Taiwan's folk religions
Hoping to increase Taiwan's loyalty to Japan
They not only asked citizens to go to Shinto shrines regularly
They also required families to enshrine Shinto Onusa
So the ancestral tablets and statues of traditional Gods that used to be in the living room
Were taken down, burned and sent off to neverland
Besides religion
Traditional Taiwanese opera and puppetry
were replaced by dramas in which characters wore Japanese costumes
Chinese columns in newspapers and Chinese classes in schools were all banned
And replaced by AIUEO AIUEO pro-Japanese literature
With one after another Kominka movements
The Taiwanese had no choice
But to be a good “ko-min”
A good Japanese citizen
Shinto shrines built during the Japanese rule
Have also been happily kept to this day
NOT
They've been knocked down by the government
Ruins of the Shinto shrines
Are now martyrs' shrines all over Taiwan
Hold on!
Let's clarify something real quick
Ano…
Slogans like
“Join the military and open the door to infinite possibilities in life”
People seem to think is a recent thing...
huh?
The Kominka era was also a time of war
Taiwan, as a colony, of course was going to be dragged into this mess...um, I mean
Of course was going to happily join the Greater East Asia War
At first, the Taiwanese were only recruited as logistics corps
servicemen and translators
But as the Pacific War broke out due to a little Pearl in 1941
The first group of armed Taiwanese soldiers appeared a year later
Of course these were our beloved aborigines
After the unforgettable Wushe Incident
The Japanese learned how brave and fierce the aborigines were
They were as bad-ass as the hulk
Should be easy to smash any enemy
So the Japanese took advantage of the aborigines
They put together the legendary “ Takasago Volunteers”
and sent them to smash in Southeast Asia
Afterwards, the Japanese government started an official recruitment
The “Rules for Special Voluntary Army”
At first, they only wanted to test the waters and take 1000 people
But instead, 426 thousand people came
Huh? Yeah
426 thousand people!
That's even more than the current ROC military force
Pick up your game, military brothers!
Judging from the numbers
Taiwanese people seemed to be more eager to fight for Japan
than fighting for Rihanna's concert tickets
This is as mysterious
as why cats always block TV screens!
In order to become that lucky 0.2%
these passionate boys
Composed letters with their own blood
to show their determination to sacrifice for the nation
They sealed applications with bloody hand prints
Or drew a Japanese sun flag with their blood
What unbelievable passion and creativity!
After all that
It might seem like the Taiwanese have actually turned into Japanese
However
Even though urban areas were like Japan's Kominka factories
The great countryside was still full of Taiwanese language and life
In 1945, the day the "Jewel Voice Broadcast" announced Japan's defeat
The older generation danced with joy,
celebrating the return to the homeland
However, the youngsters born after the 1920s
had fully received Japanese education
So they had no deep feelings for the past era
Instead, they were sad that the days were over
and Taiwan had fallen to the "enemy"
This history reflected
Different national identifications by different generations
In Wu Chuo-liu's novel, Orphan of Asia
The protagonist admired Japan's civilization
while also bearing the abuse of Japanese colonization
When he set foot on China
He was treated as a spy
In the end, this tragic character
Went mad under all kinds of psychological conflicts
This ending reflects the dilemma the Taiwanese faced at that time
Lost between China, Japan and Taiwan
Not knowing where they belong to or who they are
Dear audience, do you know who you are?
Al-righty, after all that talk
I'm a bit thirsty
Let me finish this Shaoxing, and we'll see you next time
Cheers!