Asian Studies

Nogi Maresuke, born in 1849 was the first son in Samurai family during the late Tokugawa period. The father of Nogi, Nogi Maretsugu served as a very powerful official in the Samurai family in the Mo RI clan from Choshu, which was located at the western tip of Honshu Island.  Compared to the Tokugawa shogunate, which was the feudal central authority, Choshu subordinated during the Tokugawa rule in Japan since early seventeenth century. Nogi spent his childhood in an environment of the elite of Samurai who ruled the artisans, merchants and farmers classes of the society of Tokugawa.

Nogi who liked reading literature during his childhood could not be by left by his father who was a specialist in martial arts to do so. His father was also not impressed by his attributes, as he was weak and shy as opposed to Makoto his younger brother who was aggressive and larger. In unity with his wife, Nogis father resorted to harsh disciplinary measures to correct the weaknesses of Nogi so that he could become a real samurai. In an effort to instill the right spirit in his son, Maretsugu succeeded by using one of the famous stories Ako Gishi where 47 samurai avenged the death of their master. That was a landmark in the life of Nogi latter determined his fate. Nogis attempt to ask for permission from his father at the age of fourteen to become a scholar landed on a deaf heave as his father was determined that as his first son he had to take after him. The persistence of Nogis father, for him to become an expert in martial arts and his desire to study made the boy to double his efforts and studied both the military science and literature. This effort made him excel in school and became successful in both mental and physical abilities, which made him to become a true samurai.

During this period that Nogi was growing up, Japan was in the processes of being a modern state. In 1950s, the Choshu was a base for the military that opposed western conquers but was also the base for the military support of the emperor. Their defense destroyed after some time when the Dutch, French, America and the British against the samurai. This made them abolish their primitive military techniques and the Choshu leaders started adopting western military technology, which grew with time. For Japan and Nogi 1860s were turbulent years where Nogi had to make a choice and he chose to support the then emperor by forming a military group that was loyal to the emperor.

Nogi died in 1912 when Emperor Meiji died on the imperial day of burial of the king by committing seppuku. The details of why and how Nogi died were kept secret for many years from the public. He drafted a note about what he wanted done after his death, which concerned so much the society and the future of Japan at large. The governments of the day made it possible that the information did not leak into the public because Nogi had serious will issue and implication on the governments of Japan and they ensured that none of the content of the will could be accessed.

Before the death of Nogi, he participated in Russo-Japanese war that granted Japan victory in 1905. Led by General Nogi Maresuke, the Japanese soldiers resorted to use what is referred to as the human-bullet, which caused about 59000 soldiers deaths. In the siege of Port Arthur, which took place in 1904, Japanese infantry braved artillery barbed wire entanglement, and machine gun fire with intention to storm the Russian fortress complex thereby leading to what is known as the human bullet attack. Many died in the attack on the side of the Jan but the Russian finally surrendered. The use of massive gunpowder and risking many generals and human-bullet is what made the Japanese army to ascend to higher ground and easily conquered the Russian until they surrendered. Human-bullet is not what only ensured their victory but a combination of other factors as well.

After such victory for Japan Nogi continued to be a loyal general to the emperor until the emperor died but still his loyalty continued after the death of emperor Meiji and even became unimaginable when on the day the funeral ceremony was to take place he decided to end his life. The death of the General then, which was also, regarded as an abomination left everyone wondering why the General decided to it.

How general Nogi committed the suicide and why he did it remained a mystery for a long time in Japan until after two decades that it was found out by a section of people that the General had  died intentional and had left behind a note as to why he did the act what his will was. Effort of the government to conceal the truth could not hold and eventually the truth came out. According to Lifton, Reich and Kato, General Nogi Maresuke died for three reasons increasing weakness and old age the loosing regimental colors in 1877 at Kumamoto, distress, and remorse at the death of his beloved emperor (as cited by Tsuzuki). He noted as well that his death was not seppuku but a Jisatsu as opposed to what the people had believed.

The second clause of general Nogis note the line of the noble Nogi family to be discontinued so as to get rid of disgrace by preventing hearkening to the will of the heaven. Nogi also noted in the will before he died that the city or government should take his compound. The release of details of his note embarrassed and humiliated the authorities by exposing their manipulation. The government did not fulfill the will of the general by a pointing heir from the Mo Ri, which violated the Nogis will.

It is these very reasons that made Nogi to live on even after his death. The regime of the Meiji and the following governments made Maresuke a formidable nationalistic and militaristic propaganda, which he never liked. After the success and pain suffered in the Russo-Japanese war Nogi tried to be a symbol for unity where he encouraged his fellow fellow citizens to embrace the state, unite and to persevere the losses they incurred in the previous wars. His suicide at the death of Emperor Meiji made him a hero and a role model almost like a god amongst the soldiers where he expressed what the spirit of areal soldier should be which is to devote themselves to all national causes including atavistic, expansionist, collective suicidal and xenophobic. His loyalty and virtuous and honest deeds were praised for many years after his death.

General Nogi Maresuke had serious impact on the Japanese attitude during World War II. It is important to note, first that when Japan entered the Second World War in 1941, the swiftly achieved a number of victories, which enabled them, occupy most areas of the Pacific and South East Asia by March 1942, barely one year later. General Nogis loyalty and other special attributes and virtues influenced the victory Japans involvement in the Second World War and their claimed victories. In the note that the general left after his death kept secret from the public, he urged soldiers to remain loyal to the state. This made the soldiers to disregard anything that could be contrary to their loyalty to the government of Japan thereby making them join the war, which such king of a formidable force and spirit that made them achieves a lot in terms of victory within a short span of time.

Another quality that General inspired into the lives of the soldiers of Japan is honesty and virtuousness. These are paramount for a battalion or any group to succeed. When the soldiers were equipped with the spirit of virtue and honestly they made it easy for their government and leaders to command them positively this made them realize the success. Maresuke further urged the people of Japan to devote their efforts to national causes whatever the cost. Being like a god to the soldiers, when the World War II began, Nogis inspiration was still fresh in the minds of the soldiers. This made the soldiers ready to offer anything they could in serving the national cause of their beloved country Japan.

Another fact that was fresh in the minds of the people of Japan was the notion that all should be ready to commit collective suicide for the sake of the country. With this kind of inspiration on the part of soldiers, they were not afraid at all to die in the war and nothing can lead to victory easily,  than when soldiers fight with bravery. They borrowed from general Nogi who was their role model, who during Russo-Japanese war led his battalion to defy the bullet, barbed wire fence and machine gun fire just to gain victory for their country. During the Second World War, all these revoked after the release of the will of General Nogi. It therefore by affected the fight that the soldiers of Japan gave their opponents because like their hero Nogi they feared no machine gun fire.

General Nogi also influenced the soldier and the people of Japan to fight and hate any foreign effort to interfere with their country or state in the spirit of xenophobic. With this kind of spirit of detesting anything foreign, Japanese soldiers might have double their effort to contain and defeat the foreign nations that posed threat to the existence of their state. This together with collective responsibility, which called for them to remain united as one, did play out during the war when they fought tooth and nail united together until they beat their enemies.

They were urged by their hero to devote themselves to expansionist principle of economic and territorial expansion. This also made them fight with vigor in order to conquer even more. The atavistic attribute also enabled them to leave alone their past kind of life to be a people that are responsible and patriotic to their state. Due to the fact that all these principles had just been revealed and the fact that the people of Japan held Nogi in their hearts with high esteem, there was unity in these principles which both the civilian upheld and enabled the civilian support the soldiers and same principles enable the soldiers to participate in the war patriotically. General Nogi Maresuke indeed affected the attitudes of the Japanese, which enabled them fight selflessly until they got series of victories in the World War II.