On September 3, 2015, at the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, a 95-year-old Japanese elderly man who came from afar was awarded the "Victory Medal of the War of Resistance Against Japan" by the Central Committee

On September 3, 2015, at the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, a 95-year-old Japanese elderly man who came from afar was awarded the "Victory Medal of the War of Resistance Against Japan" by the Central Committee.

The old Japanese man's name was Kobayashi Hirosumi. Born into a family of monks, he grew up with a kind heart of compassion for all beings. At the age of 21, a conscription order directly broke Kobayashi's life. Under pressure from the Japanese government at the time, he had to pack his bags and join the ranks of the invading forces.

In 1941, Kobayashi Hirosumi followed the troops to the countryside near Muping County, Shandong Province. Here, he saw the Japanese soldiers wantonly killing innocent people without the power of chickens, and he could not understand this behavior, which also led to his isolation from others in the army.

During a sweeping mission, because the guerrillas of our army came very quickly, the small unit of Kobayashi Hirosumi did not have time to retreat and was directly scattered by our army. The wounded Kobayashi Hirosumi became a prisoner of our army.

On the way to the prisoner's rehab, Kobayashi considered it shameful to be a prisoner and tried to commit suicide twice, but without success.

After arriving at the reform center, Kobayashi thought that he was about to face torture, but he saw that the Japanese soldiers who had also been captured were very leisurely, and some were still helping Chinese develop explosives.

This scene made Kobayashi Think he was back in his camp. Later, he learned that Chinese soldiers would not be like the people in their own country, who would be captured and brutally killed.

In the prisoners' camp, they carried out reforms, doing work such as ploughing the land and repairing houses. It was also here that Kobayashi relaxed his body and mind for the first time, and his heart was no longer tormented by those acts of aggression and killing.

A few months later, Kobayashi said to a Chinese friend he knew, "I want to join you, and if I can, I am willing to follow you in fighting for the defense of the motherland." ”

Later, Kobayashi's application letter was forwarded to the director of the reform institute, and the director saw from the letter that Kobayashi Hirosumi was sincere in joining the army. Subsequently, on the recommendation of the director, Kobayashi became a soldier of the Eighth Route Army.

After entering the Eighth Route Army, in addition to doing a good job of the work he was responsible for, Kobayashi Kuancheng would also share with the soldiers some of the steps of using the captured weapons and equipment.

The soldiers also trusted this "Japanese Eighth Route Army" and regarded him as a comrade-in-arms who fought against the enemy together. Because of his excellent work, Kobayashi Became the Head of the Coastal Branch of the Anti-War Alliance of our army and actively carried out anti-war propaganda work.

One day in 1944, under the cover of the Eighth Route Army, Kobayashi Hirosumi came to a Japanese stronghold and began to shout: "Brothers of the Japanese army, I am also a Japanese, please don't shoot... I was wounded and taken prisoner during the battle, and they didn't kill me, they helped me heal and treated me well..."

This act of his also attracted the attention of the Japanese army. The Japanese army was in the stronghold and asked loudly, "Are you Japanese?" "From time to time, there are some swear words.

In their eyes, Kobayashi Hirosumi was an unforgivable "traitor", and the Japanese army even rewarded Kobayashi Hirosumi with a heavy reward for his head.

In 1946, the second year of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Chen Yi led his troops to Shandong to prepare for the handover of Japanese troops after the surrender.

At that time, the Japanese troops did not recognize the Communist Party and refused to hand over their weapons to Chen Yi's troops, resulting in the work being unable to continue. One day, he approached Kobayashi and hoped he could go to negotiate with the Japanese.

Kobayashi immediately agreed after hearing this, and he came to the Japanese stronghold in Xin'an Town to negotiate with the other side and conveyed to them the requirements of the mainland army.

In the end, the Japanese troops agreed to hand over the weapons to Chen Yi's troops. Kobayashi Kansumi successfully completed the task handed over by Chen Yijiao, and this negotiation and exchange also won an opportunity for Kobayashi Kancheng to later join the Communist Party of China.

One day, Shu Tong came to him and asked, "Would you like to join the party?" Kobayashi was very excited, and he nodded his head, and he tentatively asked, "I am Japanese, can I join the party?" ”

Shu Tong said without hesitation: "You have also contributed to the victory of the revolution, and I will be your introducer to the party." ”

Subsequently, Kobayashi Waka wrote an application to join the party, and under the introduction of Shu Tong, successfully joined the Communist Party of China. Later, Kobayashi remained in the Jinan government, helping to handle some of the repatriation of Japanese prisoners of war and Japanese overseas Chinese.

In 1953, in order to allow Kobayashi Toshi to return to China as a glorious identity, the organization specially transferred him to the Fengzhen People's Hospital in Inner Mongolia. Introduced by his comrades-in-arms, he met a nurse in Fengzhen. The two were married soon after because they had a good feeling for each other. The following year, when his son was born, Kobayashi named him "Xianming" because that year, China promulgated its first constitution.

In 1955, many Japanese who stayed in China returned to China one after another. Kobayashi Hirosumi also submitted an application to return to China because he missed his hometown and relatives. In preparing to return to China, the mainland government gave Kobayashi Hirosumi a lot of convenience and at the same time ensured his safety in returning to China.

However, when he finally returned to his homeland after many years of absence, he was monitored by the Japanese government. Ignoring the occasional surveillance officer who appeared near his home, he began to run for his livelihood, and finally worked for a shipping company, working until retirement.

After his retirement, the Japanese government also ended his surveillance. Because they found that in the course of these decades of surveillance, Kobayashi Hiroshi had not done a single thing out of the ordinary, and he was not a spy sent by China.

After that, Kobayashi began to give speeches throughout Japan, telling about his anti-war experience in China and calling on everyone to cherish peace. At the same time, he also traveled back and forth to China many times to participate in Sino-Japanese friendship work.

In 2015, 95-year-old Kobayashi received an invitation letter from China inviting him to a conference commemorating the 70th anniversary of the victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan.

After receiving the medal, he said: "I will always be a member of the Communist Party of China and a soldier of the Eighth Route Army!" ”

In 2019, Kobayashi died in Japan at the age of 99.

#历史人物 #