Japanese woman discovers father's violent death in post-war Manchuria
Decades after World War II, Yoriko Miyazaki learned that her father was shot by Chinese communists in December 1946, ending a long family mystery.
Born in Morioka, Japan, Yoriko Miyazaki spent her early years in Manchuria where her father, a police officer, was stationed. She returned to Japan for school in 1944 and later learned that her mother and younger brothers had been repatriated to Moji Port in Kitakyushu. For years the family received no word on Masashi Miyazaki’s whereabouts.
When she was 17, a stranger wrote that the Chinese Communist Party army had shot Masashi in December 1946 and that dogs had already scavenged his remains. The revelation, though shocking, gave Miyazaki a measure of closure. During a high-school field trip to Hokkaido, she and her teacher met the man who had sent the letter, solidifying the truth.
Her mother later recounted the hardships endured after the war, including sexual violence by Soviet soldiers and extreme survival measures. Miyazaki now reflects on the futility of war, urging recognition of each individual victim’s life.
Why it matters
The story highlights the lingering personal trauma of World II and the human cost of conflict.
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