LAST WORDS OF THE SEVEN SAMURAI:

 

The Great East Asian Conference was held in Tokyo 
in November,1943. This conference adopted 
resolutions proclaiming "Liberation and 
independence from the Western Powers" and 
"Abolishment of racism".

Since the China Incident, Japan and China suffered 
a great deal of casualties. But it meant they were 
sacrificed in what should be called a justified war of 
Great Pan Asia, in which they fought to win 
independence from the Western Powers.

All people in Asia shall forget this time's hardship to 
join hands in the future. Pan-Asian people shall 
acquire rights just like other people in the world, and 
should rather be proud of being nonwhite races. All 
Asians should respect the Indian judge of the Tokyo 
Trial. His impartial judgment was Pan-Asian people's 
pride.  

If this war had paved the way for Pan-Asian people's 
right to life to be accepted by the world, we should 
all be gratified. The Western Powers should cast off 
their ideas of exclusionism and move forward with a 
sense of co-prosperity.

There are ones who express dissent on this matter.  
They're ungrateful for not knowing the value of air 
and soil.  Somewhere in Asia, we must have 
someone who can see...how the world changes.

The Japanese generals were sentenced to death for 
"crimes against peace" the "ex post facto law" which 
were not included in the previous international laws 
and were established by the conquering nations 
after the war was over.

On Chiang Kai-shek's government, the "Three Alls 
Policy" was definitely conducted by the Chinese 
troops.  We Japanese soldiers were alleged to have 
done "kill all, burn all and loot all" activities, but 
residents have fled, and houses were empty.  
There was nothing left for us to loot.

To America, "killings outside of war are crimes, 
killings during wars are legal".

We failed in resolving the China issue. But if our 
deaths could pave the way for better relationship, 
we'd be content.

The spirits of over two million war dead are watching 
us.  They are watching Japan's truth and pride.

Buddha's teachings that go beyond life and death 
are shining in front of us, even though our lives shall 
end very soon.

 

Without a spiritual connection through common faith 
and culture, promoting goodwill between China and
Japan would be hard.

In 1939, clays collected from battlefields in Nanking 
and Shanghai was brought back to Japan.  Then a 
ceramic statue of Bodhisattva was built in Atami， 
Japan to comfort the souls of war dead of the two 
countries, using mixed clays collected in China and 
Japan.  That is the statue of Koa Kannon. Under 
the faith of Kannon, the war dead shall be treated 
equally, friend or foe alike.  

Small, limited existence is the nature of humans, but 
the righteous wind of divinity is blowing over Japan, 
the country of gods.  And the power of peace from 
Bodhisattva of Mercy prevails brightly all over Asia.