Japanese Director Michihiko Yanagimoto

A freelance journalist, Mr. Yanagimoto has recorded much social change during his 14 years in Taiwan. In addition to covering such topics as the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant controversy, the elections, the February 28th Incident, Taiwanese opera, and the Wushe Incident, he has devoted a special focus to the Takasago Volunteers. His documentaries on the subject include The Takasago Volunteers from Wushe; Three Soldiers from Hualien; and We Fought for Japan-The Aging Veterans of Shoufeng Village. His films have elicited a strong response in Japan, where they have been shown on NHK, Asahi Television, and Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS).

Says Yanagimoto: "All the documentaries have been really well received. Lots of people wrote to me, then reporters started asking for interviews. A community education center in Hino City, Tokyo Prefecture organized a couple of tours to Shoufeng Village. Even the school for Japanese expatriate children in Kaohsiung sent students on a trip to Shoufeng Village. And a university professor in Japan has taped the documentaries, which he shows to his students before lecturing on Taiwanese or Asian history.

The reaction at colleges and universities in Taiwan, however, has been different. "Last year and the year before last, I went to show the films at Tunghai University and Soochow University, but the students there thought Laisuwano and the others were nuts to fight for Japan when the Japanese treated them so badly." But the old folks in Shoufeng Village have complaints of their own, complaints that are shared, furthermore, by others that Yanagimoto has visited, such as the men in Wushe who managed to survive their stint with the Takasago Volunteers. Says Yanagimoto: "These old guys have got a few bones to pick with people too. Since they were Taiwanese people fighting for Taiwan, they wonder why no one calls them veterans and treats them accordingly."

The effect of the war upon these old men has left Yanagimoto with a keen appreciation for the power of history and nations to alter the course of people's lives: "It's been more than 50 years since the war, but even now, people's bodies and lives show the signs of war and colonialism." As for war, Yanagimoto says: "Starting the war was Japan's greatest mistake." His work in Shoufeng Village remains unfinished, and time is of the essence. "I'm in a race against time, against the aging of these old people." Tewaikasau passed away last year. Yanagimoto still wants to document the stories of families who lost husbands and fathers in the war. He wants to talk with women whose husbands joined the Takasago Volunteers. "I want to use my video camera to make an accurate record of their lives. That's my most important work right now."