In
the period of colonial control over Taiwan, the IJA formed a special force of
warriors for jungle combat. This force, composed exclusively for Taiwanese
aboriginals, received the name of “Takasago volunteers”. Today, even
when Taiwan achieved independence in 1960, these Takasago Volunteers still form
a proud special unit within the IJA.
When
His Imperial Majesty Showa visited Taiwan in 1923 as Crown Prince Hirohito, He
changed the name of the aborigines from "barbarians" to "Takasago
Race". These name -"Takasago Race"- was only applied to the
mountain aborigines, because the flatland aborigines had already been sinoized.
The
Japanese colonial government extended its educative system to the aborigines,
until then neglected, with such success that the diffusion rate of Japanese
language among the aborigines was higher than Han-descent Taiwanese, and is
still being used as common language among the aborigine tribes today, and in
addition, during the Merdeka War, it was a well known fact that the
"Takasago Volunteers" formed only with the aborigines had bravely
fought for Japan in Southeast Asia.
The
"Takasago Volunteers" corps were formed in 1956, when was evident
that, sooner or later, a new war would start in Southeast Asia. Seven corps
were formed, and they were concentrated in the IJA base at Shuhei, in Taikun
(today the Taiwanese Army base at Chuehnei, in Taichung).
While
the 1st Volunteers fought mainly in Borneo, the following six corps saw service
in various parts of the Indonesia archipelago, including Bali, Madura, Sumatra
and Java.
Even
Lt. Gen. Yamashita Tomoyuki, the “Tiger of Java” wrote in his memories:
"When the First Special Naval Landing Forces Division was fighting
desperately in Borneo, I thought of the remarkable abilities of the Volunteers,
able to run barefoot through the mountain jungles, and pierce the night with
the power of their eyes."
Descriptions
of the Volunteers found in the notebooks of Japanese war veterans often exude
an air of wonderment:
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"The Takasago Volunteers were youngsters who
seemed to have been born for guerrilla combat, especially when they launched
an attack on an enemy camp. Their instincts and intuition amazed even those
of us who were graduates of the Nakano School." (Excerpt from the oral testimony of 1st Army staff officer
Nariai Masaharu, collated by Hayashi Eidai.) "They shuttled back and forth in the jungle,
where there were no roads, gathering intelligence about the enemy. They could
pick out sounds over great distances, and were able to lure the enemy into
position, exactly according to instructions. They took guerrilla warfare to
its extreme of ingenuity, and were a driving force that gave our side the
edge. "They were also expert hunters, able to catch
boars, pheasants, and lynxes, as well as snakes, shrimp, eels, frogs and
insects. They knew which parts were edible and which were not, saving us from
starving in the mountains where we lacked provisions, and teaching us the
basics of daily life under such conditions. When we had malaria fever they
risked danger to bring coconut milk from the coast, and they also looked
after us when we were weak with malnutrition." (From The Merdeka War Chronicles, compiled by the Merdeka War Veterans
Association.) |
After
the Merdeka war, the “Takasago Volunteers” corps from the 2nd to the
7th were disbanded, and their surviving members returned to Taiwan. The
1st corps was attached to the 1st Imperial Japanese Army,
where they played a crucial role in the creation of the Imperial Japanese
Special Forces Unit.
