According to Japanese media reports, Toshio Higashino, who was a medical student at Kyushu Imperial University (now Kyushu University) during the "Kyushu University Human Dissection Incident" at the end of the Pacific War, passed away in 2021 at the age of 95. A special exhibition introducing collected materials is currently being held at the Kyushu University Museum of Medical History (in Higashi Ward, Fukuoka City). Following in the footsteps of Mr. Higashino, he continued to call attention to the tragedy of the incident and the war.
Four Experimental Surgeries on Prisoners of War
This incident is the subject of the novel "Sea and Poison" by Endo Shusaku. Eight American prisoners of war died during an experimental surgery conducted at the Imperial Institute of Technology's medical school. These prisoners were crew members of a B29 bomber, and some were captured when they collided with a small Japanese fighter plane while parachuting near the border of Oita Prefecture and Kumamoto Prefecture on May 5, 1945.
Mr. Higashino was a medical student who witnessed two of the four surgeries without knowing the situation. He brought IV bottles to assist in the surgery and helped collect specimens from the deceased prisoners.
The Kyushu University Human Dissection Incident refers to the non-therapeutic human dissection experiments conducted by the medical department of Kyushu Imperial University (now Kyushu University) in May to June 1945, during which eight American military prisoners were subjected to live dissections. The incident was led by Professor Fukutarou Ishiyama, involving surgical procedures such as the removal of the lungs and liver, resulting in the deaths of all prisoners involved in the experiments.
Twenty-three Japanese soldiers and doctors were convicted in a military court for crimes including hanging, but later had their sentences reduced. Mr. Higashino was not charged with this crime, but he independently investigated the case along with a gynecologist. In his book "The Truth of the Stigma: The Kyushu University Human Dissection Incident" (1979, Bungei Shunju), he wrote, "As I gradually uncovered the truth behind the incident, I began to realize that the real pain and folly of the war were vivid."
Court records, photos of practice rooms, etc.
Mr. Higashino's family donated about 500 documents stored in several file boxes. Among them, Mr. Higashino selected 35 items, including handwritten notebooks, draft manuscripts of "Shame" organized in chronological order, court records, and photos taken during autopsies.
In addition, Mr. Higashino also searched for the captain who survived after being captured and sent to Tokyo, as well as photos of his visit to Virginia, USA, 80 years ago, and letters exchanged with the captain. A total of 51 items are on display, including other books published by Mr. Higashino.
Academic researcher Yoko Tokuyasu of the history museum said, "I hope people will think through the materials that the nonsense and inhumane acts caused by extreme wartime conditions that Mr. Higashino complained about are still relevant today."
Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1841434486894604/
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