Okada, Sukyo Mahikari, and the Japanese military - Part 3
Finally! We have now managed to find a list of all the graduates from the 34th class (1922) of the military academy. It can be found in Rikugun Shikan Gakko, by Akimoto Shobo (1970).
Yes, Yoshikazu Okada’s name does appear in that list. You may recall I was starting to wonder if Okada was actually in the military at all, since we had not managed to find any war records for him. We still don’t have any other records, but at least we now know for sure that he was in the military.
The other reason we wanted that list was to double-check that the Sukyo Mahikari Tomomori was the war criminal Tomomori. If you read Part 2 of this series of posts, you’ll remember that we cross-referenced between various lists to show that the war criminal Tomomori was from the 34th military academy class, and Mahikari publications tell us the Tomomori who was Okada’s friend was in the 34th class. Therefore, logically, if there was only one graduate from that class with the name Tomomori, then the Sukyo Mahikari Tomomori was the war criminal.
The short answer is, yes, we are now 100% sure that the Sukyo Mahikari staff member, Kiyoharu Tomomori, was a war criminal.
Just to complicate matters a little, we know from Japanese Internet sites that Kiyoharu Tomomori’s name was originally Kiyoharu Baba. We don’t know why he changed his name. One possible reason is simply that he might have taken his wife’s name when he married (not uncommon in Japan). In any case, the list of 34th class graduates includes the name Kiyoharu Baba, and there is no-one in that list called Kiyoharu Tomomori. So, the Mahikari Tomomori was definitely the war criminal.
Since we now know the above, we no longer need photographic proof, but we have some photos anyway. The following photo is a group shot showing a man who we think looks like Tomomori. The man on the right edge of the photo, next to Keishu, looks quite a lot like photos we have of Tomomori from his war trial, but there is a difference of about 20 years, so it is difficult to be certain.
This photo shows Okada on the left, then Sadataka Matsudaira (also from the 34th military academy class), then Keishu, then the man who we think looks like Tomomori. Can anyone help us out with a positive identification of this man? Is it Tomomori, and if not, who is he?
Next we have two photos taken at Tomomori’s trial at Yokohama. (In the top photo, he is the one seated on the left.)
Next we have the slips identifying the above photos.
You will notice that the above slips say that Tomomori was sentenced to death, but his sentence was changed to life imprisonment at a retrial, and he was released from Sugamo along with all the other war criminals by 1958 at the latest.
Finally, we have a couple of photos from Tomomori’s prison records.
Yes, Yoshikazu Okada’s name does appear in that list. You may recall I was starting to wonder if Okada was actually in the military at all, since we had not managed to find any war records for him. We still don’t have any other records, but at least we now know for sure that he was in the military.
The other reason we wanted that list was to double-check that the Sukyo Mahikari Tomomori was the war criminal Tomomori. If you read Part 2 of this series of posts, you’ll remember that we cross-referenced between various lists to show that the war criminal Tomomori was from the 34th military academy class, and Mahikari publications tell us the Tomomori who was Okada’s friend was in the 34th class. Therefore, logically, if there was only one graduate from that class with the name Tomomori, then the Sukyo Mahikari Tomomori was the war criminal.
The short answer is, yes, we are now 100% sure that the Sukyo Mahikari staff member, Kiyoharu Tomomori, was a war criminal.
Just to complicate matters a little, we know from Japanese Internet sites that Kiyoharu Tomomori’s name was originally Kiyoharu Baba. We don’t know why he changed his name. One possible reason is simply that he might have taken his wife’s name when he married (not uncommon in Japan). In any case, the list of 34th class graduates includes the name Kiyoharu Baba, and there is no-one in that list called Kiyoharu Tomomori. So, the Mahikari Tomomori was definitely the war criminal.
Since we now know the above, we no longer need photographic proof, but we have some photos anyway. The following photo is a group shot showing a man who we think looks like Tomomori. The man on the right edge of the photo, next to Keishu, looks quite a lot like photos we have of Tomomori from his war trial, but there is a difference of about 20 years, so it is difficult to be certain.
This photo shows Okada on the left, then Sadataka Matsudaira (also from the 34th military academy class), then Keishu, then the man who we think looks like Tomomori. Can anyone help us out with a positive identification of this man? Is it Tomomori, and if not, who is he?
Next we have two photos taken at Tomomori’s trial at Yokohama. (In the top photo, he is the one seated on the left.)
Next we have the slips identifying the above photos.
You will notice that the above slips say that Tomomori was sentenced to death, but his sentence was changed to life imprisonment at a retrial, and he was released from Sugamo along with all the other war criminals by 1958 at the latest.
Finally, we have a couple of photos from Tomomori’s prison records.
posted by Anne at 4:58 PM
8 Comments:
Anne
My mind boggles when I look at these photos of Tomomori and think that if he was executed to death as degreed at his trial by the War Criminals Commission then maybe this organisation Sukyo Mahikari would not be in operation today preying on kumite’s fears. Such a pity. Obviously Keishu relied heavily on Tomomori’s advice to set up SM and no doubt he orchestrated the manipulation and control in SM’s policy today. If Tomomori is capable of allowing the torturing and beheading of 33 captured airmen AFTER the ceasefire of World War II then I wonder what kind of iron fist control he had in running the Japan HQ? It was a very smart move of the Okadas to keep everyone in line by emphasizing the party line of being “sunao” that is, be obedient/don’t question/just accept what we say. Only those who are brainwashed would be able to handle such twaddle. Yes, I accept I was once a brainwashed kumite but thank goodness I am now liberated from this iron-handed cult.
Sorry I meant decreed and not "degreed" in the above comment.
butterfly
Amazing. That someone who sounds like a Yank or a Brit, war criminals from the Phillipines in the 1800's to Iraq in the 21st Century can accuse someone who is from Japan and who has been criminalised by those same war criminal countries. What garbage.
Sure, but being a “Yank or a Brit” does not blind me to the fact that the US and Britain (and numerous other countries) have committed their share of wartime and colonial atrocities. If it is a case of “let the nation that is without atrocities cast the first stone”, then we are in trouble. Should we ignore all atrocities on the grounds that our fellow countrymen are not blameless?
“War crimes” in general are fraught with philosophical difficulties. The Japanese war trials in particular have been criticized for being “victor’s justice”, and for their failure to also convict members of their military who committed even worse atrocities (if it is possible to grade atrocities from bad to worse).
Recognition of the above does not make Tomomori’s behaviour okay. The bottom line is that an atrocity is still an atrocity, and should be recognized as such....even if he was convicted under “victor’s justice” by a nation that is far from blameless.
After reading the research Anne has posted on Tomomori, I must admit to feeling quite ill and somewhat angry for awhile.
Tomomori was a product of his time, a military education and career extending over a long period of Japanese military expansion and war.
To oversee the torture and beheading of unarmed blind folded fellow human beings is a crime against all of us. The ultimate crime that can never be forgiven nor forgotten.
By being involved in such barbaric inhumane behaviour he has forfeited his right to be considered a person deserving respect. He was a killer of men, he crossed the line .
His actions have had an insidious impact on the families of those he murdered, he denied an opportunity for the human race to experience another Mozart, Einstein or Mickey Mouse.
It bothers me: This fellow Tomomori with human blood on his hands, turns up as a main player in a so called religion that is supposed to have the method to usher in a new ' golden age' of human civilisation.
A smell pervades the whole Mahikari organisation with a stench of moral corruption. According to a 1982 Japanese Chugai Nippo Magazine article, Tomomori reaped millions of dollars from mahikari members for his own use.
This stench will never wash away, even with the aid of all their new age woo woo words about karma, or spiritual purification.
Any reasonable person can see that war is an abomination. Politicians, religious leaders or anyone hiding behind words like,' casualties of war', 'collateral damage' or so called 'karma' or the so called' law of attraction' do not absolve themselves for the loss to the human race of the most remarkable of all phenomena for its survival: life.
By promoting themselves and what they believe, Mahikari and their kind are retarding human evolution by advocating pseudo-science and their brand of superstitious nonsense as 'universal truths'.
I really feel sad for all good hearted people caught up in this murky illusion of pious purity called Mahikari and its ilk and hope one day they will see through it all. Perhaps, support a broader minded community with a naturalistic world view, by adding their natural curiosity and fuelling the discovery of more real knowledge of this amazing world we all share.
Through a broad education, critical thinking and the study of nature (science) we can over come the mahikari kind of ignorance, the more people who find their voice to stand up and say enough, may just stave off a return to another dark age of religious fundamentalism and turn the spot light onto reason, respect and human dignity.
It's a pity that, as humans we do not understand the term "Live and let live". If I want to believe in Mahikari, Buddism, Christianity or nothing, for that matter, that is my right. Why is it that people who condemn the beliefs of others, usually do it in the spirit of liberating the so called 'good hearted people' from themselves. I believe you have the right to your opinion, but as a practitioner of Sukyo Mahikari for almost 32 years, I have a right to practice whatever I please. I have experienced love, truth, acceptance, and many miracles too numerous to mention.
Human beings are not perfect. But God, the Light and the teachings are. God has never failed me in this practice and when I feel distanced from God, it is I, not God that has the problem. I give endless thanks to the spirit of the universe, which I choose to call God, and to Sukyo Mahikari,through which I choose to practice to connect with God.
Mahikari's concept of sunao does not mean don't question or don't think. It means accept that your circumstances have happened and try your best to overcome them.
pienso que todo ser humano es inperfecto y por lo tamto se equivoca, pero lo mejor de todo eso es rectificar darce cuenta y cambiar por el camino del amor, rectificar es de sabios dice un refran , si fue o no el senor tomomori un criminal de guerra bueno eso esta mal, pero lo mejor es que si se transformo y rectifico para el bien esta que bueno y como dijo un gran sabio el que este libre de pecado que arroje la primera piedra ,recueden en los evangelios Pablo mato y persiguio cristiano pero despues se dio cuenta de su error y rectifico y se combirtio en uno de los defensores de Jesus, san Franciso fue a la guerra pero se dio cuenta que el camino verdadero era el amor y el sacrificio por los demas y sobre todo amor a Dios san cipriano hecHicero maligno se dio cuenta que el tener poder y maldad no era el camino y rectifico y pare de contar, si Dios los transformo y en señaron la rectitud, por que no este señor que acusan de criminal de guerra no justifico eso pero si exalto el cambio y tiene mi almiraciòn y apoyo, prefiero que se transforme en un ser de amor a que siga siendo un criminal de guerra ¡no les parece! yo les diria a estos criticadores negativos de oficio, "hipocritas" vean su vara en su ojo y no miran la paja de el ojo de su hermano y vean las cosas positivas de la gente y no juzgen el pasado de una persona si no su precente y si ese presente es bueno apoyen no critiquen su pasado, faricesos modernos que solo ven lo malo de todo y no lo bueno de las cosas
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