Teandra Richards Professor Neddy D. McMills English 101. 0814 October, 11, 2011 The Rape of Nanking Although Japan’s history and culture fuel its army’s brutality, china’s lack of awareness, preparedness and leadership contributed to Nanking’s overwhelming defeat. The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang is also referred to as the forgotten holocaust of World War 2 this is a story taken from three different perspectives. Why after centuries of futile destruction, does man persist in waging war?

In the non-fiction work-tron, by Iris Chang, the author chronicles the events of Nanking’s devastation in the winter of 1937-38. The Story will represent tragic tales from the view point of a Japanese soldier, the Chinese, and the westerners. The Japanese cultural belief system contributes a lot to the brutal killings which occurred in Nanking and other parts of Asia, Shintoism: the indigenous religion of Japan consisting chiefly in the cultic devotion, to deities of natural forces and veneration of the Emperor as a descendant of the sun goddess. merriam-webster. com/dictionary) which leads researcher’s to the assumption that the Japanese are so far gone and brain washed; they are less humane than other cultures: “an implication I find both impossible and condescending” (I. Chang 55). The Japanese Army had cultural beliefs that were deeply rooted, unethical and inhumane, this is all they know and practice. There is no excuse for the actions of Japan’s army: “Bushido the (“Way of the Warrior”). To die in the service of one’s lord was the greatest honor a samurai warrior could achieve in his lifetime.

Such codes of honor were certainly not invented by Japanese culture” (I. Chang 20). Large contributions to their brutal actions are from negative reinforcements. These Japanese soldiers endured inhumane treatment in training of becoming soldiers. The Japanese refer to this as Bentatsu. This is form of tuff love or an act of love (217). However The Japanese could never keep far away from Fabrication after all the twentieth-Century Japanese identity was forged in the thousand year system; also Japan’s Militarism was another form of fabrication a form of deceit.

The Japanese had been training over time for battle, while the Chinese had boycotts against the goods of japan. The Japanese Imperial Army grew angrily fueling Japan’s army brutality. The Chinese got caught with their pants down the Japanese listened to the orders which were given: “for the Chinese people, the imperial government endorsed policies that would wipe out everyone in certain regions in china. One of the deadliest was the “Three-all” policy Loot all, kill all, burn all” (215). The Butchery involved 7 steps of trickery.

The Japanese where actuarially shocked, looking how easy it was to deceive and use their deception on the Chinese people. The Japanese soldiers were puzzled that they had the Chinese people restrained to not over throwing, the Japanese with the little man power they had at one point. 2 Thousands of Chinese surrender after the fall of Nanking. The reluctance of the Chinese army to fight back shocked the Japanese soldier who is named Azuma Shiro, also the solider whose perspective is used in the first half of the book.

Azuma tells in detail the way of the Japanese cultural belief, in which suicide was the answer preferable to die than to be captured that is Japanese way of life. Azuma shed some light on emotions: “A welter of emotions filled Azuma. He felt sorry for the Chinese soldiers,” (44). There was some sort of humanity just for a second awakened in Azuma. If the Chinese who had been captured retaliated against the Japanese at the time when they had little man power less damage would have been done.

Do to the Cowardice which was found in the hearts of the Chinese Azuma, Japanese solider confessed that he was secretly afraid of the Chinese at one point in time from previous battle. 3 The Lack of preparedness was greatly displayed among Chinese troops. Chiang and his air force corps went into a fight blinded. For about four days they fought without any strategy this was a lack of leadership. Things only seemed to get worse from there the man power was given, but the language barrier of the soldier from different origins made speaking to each other very difficult.

Men were sick, hungry and tired without energy these men were not prepared to fight. Another contributing factor of the lack of awareness was many of the soldiers were newly recruited soldiers some of which never handled a fire arm. In conclusion the rape of Nanking was the most brutal event which took place in history also known as the forgotten holocaust of World War 2. Where which Japan took advantage of China’s lack of awareness, preparedness and leadership which were all main factors contributed to Nanking’s overwhelming defeat in the 1937-38. 4