For serious crimes, discipline was more complex. The
victim could be turned over to a Judo expert for suitable punishment.
He could be given the water treatment. He could be tied to a fence
post, and slapped beaten or kicked by each passing soldier. He could
be used for bayonet practice by recruits. Severe crimes called for an
officer to unsheathe his samurai sword and behead the criminal. The
head was displayed to others, tied to a bamboo pole, so the observer
would learn that crime does not pay. Enlisted men with little or no
rank, had no one to slap, beat or kick, so a captured enemy filled an
important gap in their system. In the minds of the Japanese, they
were. Not barbarians or savages, but merely loyal and patriotic
personnel administering a just punishment to those who dared to defy
authority, the Emperor or the Gods.
Atrocities were committed on many work details, including the farm.
Some were for the punishment of rather minor rules and others were for
the amusement of the guards, who enjoyed watching the Americans
performing super Herculean tasks.
Once a month, I had to carry hundred pound sacks of rice from the gate
to mess halls.
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