Need some info on WWII Japanese Army barracks

My dad was stationed at Atsugi after WWII, he slept in the barracks the Japanese had used. They were almost identical to regular barracks. So I assume, at least there, they slept in bunks.

I recall some talk years ago about some real country bumpkin Japanese recruits who'd never slept in a bed before being inducted so that's your answer.

Sort of like my father in laws story about these Appalacian boys he went through basic training with in WWII. They ate off their knives.

When learniing about military training in the pre WW2 ere of the Japanese Army and Navy, one of the most striking differences in the training from western armies was the brutal, harsh treatment of the recruits and trainees. Any soldier or sailor was allowed to beat a recruit senseless for minor infractions of rules.

These are very well described in the book Samurai! by Saburo Sakai, Japan's greatest fighter pilot and Kamakazi by Yasuo Kuwahara & Gordon T. Allred . Both give very detailed accounts of the brutality directed at the lower ranks by superiors.

Japanese recruits were not given bunks. Beds were not used by the Japanese until well after WW2. Thery slept on mats, called tatami,on the floor. Naval recruits, later on, were allowed to sleep in hammocks as they diud aboard ship at sea.

異人種間の親子 or konketsuji means biracial child. Any reference to mixed parentage in Japan is normally derogatory. Prior to WW2 and during, most definitely derogatory

I have Samurai and a friend borrowed Kamakaze years ago and failed to return it. As I haven't seen either him or the book since I should probably suspect that I won't be getting it back <GRIN>

If you need it I will send my copy to you. The used ones are running $25.00 or so on Amazon

Or I can scan pages for you

gwendy85 said:

I know 'ainoko' and 'konketsuji' both basically mean the same thing (child of interracial parentage), but can anyone tell me if any of the two can be considered derogatory? Thanks again!

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Ainoko is considered derogatory, as it also strongly implies that the person is an illegitimate child. I have had people ask me if I am one, and when I told my Japanese friends about it, they were quite shocked.

Konketsuji is neutral and more PC, but can have negative connotations depending on the context.

gwendy85 said:

Thanks Tocotin! More on that though. You see, my character isn't illegitimate, but rather, his mother's father was French (married to his Japanese grandmother) but he'd been told to keep this fact a secret his whole life. Can the term 'ainoko' still apply to him?

Thank you so much for clarifying this for me

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Oh, glad to be of help But what period are you writing about - WWII, right? The term ainoko, in the meaning you use, is most likely to be encountered in the post-WWII era (contrary to the popular belief, "ai" in "ainoko" is not "love"). Usually refers to a child born of Japanese mother and non-Japanese (mostly white or black) father.

Konketsuji is a much broader term, and might be better suited for your character, as he's only quarter French. Actually, my own MC is half-French, half-Japanese, and I might use konketsuji myself if need be, but definitely not ainoko.