Today Ikuko Ishito is talking about the second half of her life.
In the first half of his life, he graduated from the Japanese Nursing School to be stationed in the Northeast China Field Hospital, then to the Japanese defeated military doctor who was forced to commit suicide by retreating, and then to joining the Chinese army from the dead, meeting the Chinese soldier Zong Xuding And the two were married and gave birth to a lovely daughter.
These were all mentioned in the previous article.
Ito firmly chose to live in China, join the Chinese army and nationality, mainly because of the aftermath of the disaster, a new understanding of militaristic Japan and the war.
Japanese female soldiers who were abandoned in China did not return to China until 27 years after the end of the war, and what did Japan reward?
(Pictured)
1. Death of husband
In 1954, at the age of 29, Ito returned to his hometown of Rugao, Jiangsu Province, with her rehabilitated husband.
Rugao millennium ancient city, poor living conditions.
The Rugao County Hospital, where it was located, had no running water or electricity at that time, and there were not enough people during the operation.
As a nurse surgeon, Ito considered it home for the rest of his life.
Every day, she gets up early to fetch water and sweep the floor to cook needles, anesthesia, and work together in the morning, middle and evening.
Her own type O blood played another role here, when she transfused blood for 107 wounded Chinese soldiers at the Mudanjiang Field Hospital.
Now, she works as a nurse in Rugao, donating blood as always, transfusing blood 12 times for hospital patients.
(Japanese female nurse in World War II)
In the difficult period of the country, she could not keep up with the nutrition, and she quickly lost more than 30 kilograms.
It is said that the county magistrate also paid special attention to this Japanese female nurse and specially sent brown sugar, eggs and lard for her to make up.
Knowing that she always gave nutritional products to the hospital for food, this time the county magistrate specifically instructed her: "Eat it all within one week, and do not transfer it to others." ”
These efforts and reputations in the hospital are of great help to a "foreign daughter-in-law", and many twists and turns in the future are rewarded.
At this point, her tuberculosis husband's condition deteriorated, and the doctor told him to "prepare for the aftermath in a month".
The family that was hard to form was facing collapse again within a few years.
If the husband is gone, she is a Japanese daughter-in-law living in Rugao?
This is tantamount to the hospital forcing her to jump into the river to commit suicide 10 years ago, another sunny thunderbolt and a cliff in life.
(Ikuko Ito and her husband in 1993)
Grief and crying didn't help, and she chose to fight like last time.
He began to rescue his husband with all his might.
The husband had gastrectomy, she was all he had, buying vegetables, cooking, laundry, housework, etc., he took it all up, and when he was busy, he did not take off his shoes and went to bed for a month.
During this period, her husband underwent a total of 4 surgeries, and the hospital staff competed to give her husband a blood transfusion.
When her husband died in 1994, her neighbors said, "Thanks to Ito, Papa Munakata was able to live to this day."
(Ikuko Ito, 1925-2016)
II. Japanese Daughter-in-law Becomes a "Japanese Spy"
Her husband's illness was only the first blow to her.
The bigger blow is in the back.
In 1957, because he married a Japanese female soldier as a daughter-in-law, Zong Xuding was put on a hat by people with ulterior motives and sent to the labor school for reform.
This is something he thought about when he got married 6 years ago, and he didn't expect it to come.
At that time, China and Japan did not establish diplomatic relations, what would be the consequences of marrying a soldier of an "enemy country"?
Unclear positions, spies, treason... A brain charge was taken.
This was the third blow in Ito's life.
She still had to fight.
She remembered an old general when she was a soldier in the Chinese army.
Immediately set out in Beijing to ask him for help.
When the old general learned about the situation, he was indignant and comforted her to go back first, promising that "I will solve this matter."
A week later, the relevant parties in Rugao received a notice from their superiors that the problems set by the sect were improperly determined and "should be corrected."
The husband was released, and the two cried with their heads in their arms.
A few years later, when someone mentioned "Japanese secret agents" again, she was strongly opposed by the people of Rugao, and more than 70 hospital wounded and sick people blocked the door of her office and blocked those who came to look for trouble.
The dean was also present and said, "Ito is a meritorious man, if you want to pinch me, you will beat me!" ”
After this storm, Ito felt that rugao people were more amiable and reliable.
(Rugao Old Street)
3. Return to China
In the early 1970s, China and Japan established diplomatic relations, and Ito finally ushered in the dawn of his life.
At this time, she had been living in Rugao for 18 years, speaking a strong Rugao dialect, and was a Chinese woman who was no different from the townspeople of the countryside.
Her husband advised her to write a letter to her Relatives in Japan, after all, her flesh and bones had been worried about life and death for nearly 30 years.
Soon, a letter from his hometown, the relevant departments actively promoted Ito to return to China to visit his relatives.
After experiencing many twists and turns in her life, her husband told her that her health is not good, there are not many days to come, you still go back to Japan to settle down, don't think about me and my children.
Ito was very angry: "After so many years of saying this, do you want me to show you my heart?" ”
In September 1972, Reikuni Ito.
At the port of Yokohama, a banner was already marked: "Welcome to Ito Yuko who has returned from China!" ”
Government officials, media reporters and family and friends are all looking forward to it.
The scene was very touching, and Ito and his brother and sister hugged each other. The brother said, "Don't cry when you see your mother for a while, she's about to get sick..."
But how is this possible, 30 years of separation of flesh and bones to reunite today, cardamom into Xu Niang, green silk into flowers and hair, how can it not shed tears.
The 84-year-old mother put her arms around her daughter and cried: "This is good, the conditions at home are better than China, just come back..."
Indeed, after the war, Japan developed into an economic power in just 10 years, and by the 1970s it was a modern country.
The log cabins in Ito's hometown have been turned into small Western-style buildings, upstairs and downstairs, electric lights and telephones, refrigerators and color TV washing machines...
(Masayoshi Ohira meets with Ikuko Ito)
All walks of life in Tokyo celebrated the veteran, and inside the Prime Minister's Office, Foreign Minister Masahiro Ohira held her hand and said happily:
"You've worked hard! Take a good rest and see more. ”
The foreign minister also asked her if she would like to return to Japan to settle down, and if so, "I welcome you on behalf of Japan!" ”
Ito had made up his mind and smiled at the foreign minister's words.
In order to keep this former Japanese female soldier, the Japanese government promised to give her a house, arrange for someone to take care of her later life, and promised to bring her children back to Japan.
Six months later, Ito told his mother that she was going back to China.
"Mom, I love you, I love Japan, but I'm not going to leave China, where I have my husband, my daughter, my career, there are countless kind Chinese, and I can't create a second separation." 」
At this time, the mother was sick and lying on the bed, always afraid of not seeing her daughter again, blindly holding hands and crying and begging her:
"Child, there are not many days for your mother to come, you come back to settle down, don't go anywhere, accompany me every day..."
What a tough choice.
Flesh and blood affection, cone heart erosion bone.
On the last day of 1972, Ito passed the fourth challenge of his life, tearfully bid farewell to his parents, and returned to Rugao, China, and returned to her husband on the night of Chinese New Year's Eve.
This small citizen who came with strong winds and waves was not simple.
Since then, Ito has been constantly writing letters with his parents, and often returns to Japan with his children, but each time he returns early and returns to his husband as soon as possible.
(Ikuko Ito, former left)
After the death of her husband, she and her daughter lived in Rugao.
She was as busy as ever: preaching patriotic education to students, going out to give speeches many times, teaching Japanese for free, Japanese businessmen came as translators, and asked for doctors and medicines for her neighbors...
She was nearly eighty years old, but she was deaf and clear-eyed, and spoke softly, just as the usual gentleness of Japanese women, and was highly respected.
Like the people of Rugao, she also likes to watch anti-Japanese movies made in China such as "Tunnel Warfare".
Once when watching "Nanjing Massacre", I couldn't help but shed tears when I saw the Japanese army brutally killing people, one moment saying "militarism" in Japanese, and the other saying in Chinese: "Beast, how can this be counted as a person!" ”
At 18:05 on December 8, 2016, the old man who left his heart in China passed away quietly. He died on December 31, 2012 at the age of 9