Collected Historical Materials on the Nanjing Massacre, Volume 33: Memoirs of Japanese Officers and Soldiers

The Nanjing Massacre Historical Materials Collection, Volume 33: Recollections of Japanese Military Officers and Soldiers is named Recollections of Japanese Military Officers and Soldiers because it mainly consists of their memoirs. Other materials are included in this volume as appendices. Since these memoirs were written more than a decade, and in some cases several decades, after the events, they inevitably contain errors of memory, such as mistakes in dates, locations, and unit designations. Some authors also approach the historical facts of the Nanjing Massacre from their own positions and viewpoints, and express vague or erroneous understandings. Readers should assess these claims critically when referring to the materials. To remain faithful to the originals, none of the source materials were altered during translation and editing, so that they would retain their original form. Obvious errors in the sources, such as names and place names, were corrected in translation; passages whose original meaning was unclear were left as they were and explained in notes. Material unrelated to the subject was omitted, with omissions marked “omitted,” “opening omitted,” “middle omitted,” or “ending omitted.”