Beyond Blood and Borders | Japanese ‘war orphan’ repays China’s kindness through martial arts #中国新闻社

Beyond Blood and Borders | Japanese ‘war orphan’ repays China’s kindness through martial arts
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Martial arts represent the most precious gift bestowed upon Tsunematsu Masaru by his Chinese adoptive parents. At the age of six, fearing he might be bullied, they sent him to study under a renowned master. This nurturing care enabled him, whom others called “little Japanese boy” to gradually blossom into a true inheritor of Chinese martial arts.

Upon returning to Japan, Tsunematsu Masaru leveraged his mastery to establish martial arts schools across the country, introducing thousands of disciples to the profound depth and breadth of Chinese martial arts. While teaching Tongbeiquan (Tongbei Fist) and Mizongquan (Mizong Fist), he also used martial arts to foster grassroots exchanges between China and Japan.

“If not for China, I would not have achieved what I have in martial arts. China gave me a second life. The debt I owe to China is immense,” he said. Every so often, he would bring his Japanese disciples to China for martial arts exchanges, and together they would visit the graves of his adoptive parents, ensuring that this debt of gratitude was known and remembered by more people.

Eighty years after the end of World War II, a group of aged Japanese visitors recently arrived again in Northeast China. Many were in their 80s, marking what they described as their “final pilgrimage” to their “second homeland.” They are Japan’s “war orphans” — children left behind in China in the chaos following Japan’s defeat in its war of aggression, who were raised by Chinese adoptive parents.

The story of Japan’s war orphans begins with Japan’s aggressive expansion. In the 1930s and 1940s, alongside the Japanese Imperial Army that invaded and oppressed the Chinese people, hundreds of thousands of Japanese were dispatched to China as part of “Kaitakudan” (colonial settler groups) to seize farmland. When Japan surrendered in 1945, chaos ensued, leaving thousands of Japanese children stranded.

To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, China News Service has produced a special micro-documentary series, Beyond Blood and Borders. The series tells the stories of ten Japanese war orphans who were left behind in China after Japan’s surrender in 1945. Through authentic historical footage, personal testimonies from those who lived through the era, and expert analysis, it illuminates the profound humanity and transcendent love of Chinese adoptive parents—a love that knew neither blood ties nor national borders. The series delivers a powerful message to the world: “Never forget history and cherish peace.”

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