2
1st. Friday. 晴明. 4° below zero. 陰 十一月 二十五日
4
The thermo readings recorded here are taken from the meter hung against a post in the covered porch just out of my rooms which are more less warmed. Hence at least one or two degrees must be higher than the temperature in the open air.
5
To Chosun Shrine 10 a.m. to attend the New Year Day Service. Very cold.
6
As soon as the Service was over about 10:50, Miss Kim Helen and I made the usual New Year calls on the Governor General etc.
7
Thus has begun the 18th year of Soh-wa(1943) . Everybody greets the New Year with fear and uncertainties instead of joy and cheer for reasons not far to seek.
8
Ⅰ. The series of brilliant victories that have crowned the Japanese Army and Navy during the last 12 months have brought down the pride-balloon of Anglo-Saxon prestige and arrogance to the earth. The sun flag of Japan is proudly waving over the citadels and Government buildings on the islands which John Bull and the Dutchman held in their iron grip for 3 centuries. The Japanese have proved themselves a miracle among the nations of the world. They have gotten enough to satisfy their age long ambition. Why don't they stop here instead of seeking new fields to conquer? Japan can't afford to sacrifice one single submarine or one single brave soldier or sailor just to please Hitler.
9
Yet our rulers tell us that the real war is yet to come; that we must be prepared to be visited by enemy planes; they say that this year is to see the final contest between the Axis Powers and the Allies.
10
Ⅱ. The 統制 or Control or Socialization or Monopolization of every thing we eat and use is causing unnecessary hardships on the people. We can't buy an ounce of ginger or a handful of chestnuts without permit from the Prefect of Seoul. Crowd of petty officers are armed with power to search the bags and person of men and women at every R.R. and bus station to confiscate any sort of agricultural produce, including meat, eggs etc. All this is done in the name of patriotism and loyalty. I don't suppose Teno Hyeika knows anything of these outrages, if he did I am sure he would not tolerate them.
11
Ⅲ. To increase agricultural productions is the great objective for which the rulers are bending all their efforts. But the farmers silently and sullenly refuse to respond to the appeals of the officials. The farmers says: "What is the use of producing more than what I need absolutely? The more I produce the more they take from me leaving nothing to eat and nothing to wear. The price of everything has gone up 3 or 5 times it was few years ago. Rice alone is sold at the nailed-down price(公定價格) of ￥21 per bag or ￥2.00 per "mal." The price doesn't cover the cost of production." To these complaints, the rulers have one stereotyped answer: "To complain is treason. It's disloyalty to calculate the cost of production. Just produce whether your farm pays or not pays. Think of the hardships of the brave soldiers in the front."
12
When a man complained that the district officials compelled farmers to plant cotton where cotton wouldn't grow, a police director, who has power of life and death in his hand said: "When you are told to plant cotton, just plant it whether it grows or not. Think of the hardships of the soldiers in the front." These almighty officials ought to know it is not human nature to sweat and work if a farmer knows that the fruits of his labor will be all taken away from him, leaving him and his family nothing but crushing debt and starvation. The bravest army in the world wouldn't willingly fight if they know or suspected that all the fruits of their victories would be taken away from them at last, by someone else.
13
Ⅳ. Is there anything to make me welcome the New Year with cheer and joy? The outlook is dark.
15
2nd. Saturday. 晴明. 9° below zero.
18
3rd. Sunday. 晴明. 10° below zero.
21
4th. Monday. 晴明. 11° below zero.
24
5th. Tuesday. 晴明. 12° below zero.
25
Our thermometer read 12° B.z. at 6 a.m. to 8. I took it and hung it tree on a twig in the open air. In ten minutes the meter registered 14° below zero.
27
6th. Wednesday. 晴明. 12° below zero. (蒼) 十二月一日
29
Stayed indoors with a touch of cold.
31
7th. Thursday. 晴明. 10° below zero.
33
Wife is suffering night and day from pain at the pit of the stomach (命門) and the shortness of breath. One say imagine her awful suffering when she can neither sleep nor eat anything.
35
8th. Friday. 晴明. 10° below zero.
36
Seoul home. 7:30 a.m. attended the 愛國日大詔奉載式. Bitterly cold. Snow from 7 to 9:30. Beautiful p.m. Wife seems worse. Face, hands and feet perceptibly swollen.
38
9th. Saturday. 晴明. B.z. 12°.
39
Seoul home. Bitter cold. Evening papers are jubilant that the Nankin Government declared war against America and England this morning.
40
6 p.m. the new president of Chosun Bank gave a supper at Chosun Hotel.
41
In the first place wife's sickness is really serious. It may take months and months to get her out of danger. Then the accumulated debts with no prospect to pay them off this year.
42
The rising taxes knows no "ceiling," while demands for patriotic contributions of various kinds has no bottom. Added to these Jung Bong Sup's hospital debts; Candler's old debts; brother Chi-Wang's dreadful debts; Chi-Chang's threatening debts worry me day and night.
44
10th. Sunday. 陰蓀. B.z. 2°. (舊) 十二月 五日
45
Seoul home. Miss 孫貞圭 called in on us last night. She was very uneasy about wife's condition. She went so far as to say that wife may pass away anytime before this month is over!
46
All I can pray for is to repeat;―
47
"Lead, kindly light, amit th' encercling gloom
49
The night is dark (and the way is unknown)
51
Keep thou my feet; and I do not ask to see
52
The distant scene; one step enough for me."
56
11th. Monday. 晴明. B.z. 12°. (舊) 十二月 六日
57
Seoul home. Bitterly cold. Granular snow all the afternoon yesterday from 12 morning. Very unsatisfactory in view of the fact that we need good falls of snow to enrich our parched fields for farm crops. 永善 tells me that 金鉉俊, the over-seer of our farm at Omoi(烏山) has embezzled ￥600.00 of our money during last two years. Another addition to the long list of faithless men whom we have had as our employees.
58
Koreans complain that the Japanese don't give important positions to Koreans in Government departments and in business offices. The Japanese answer is that the Korean is not reliable, that he has no sense of responsibility, no idea of public morality and very little sense of gratitude for benefits received. Koreans say the Japanese, are, as a rule, lazy, inefficient and prone to become "nama-ikis" when humored.
59
These are very serious defects but are the Japanese correct in their criticism? From my experience during the last 49 years I am obliged to agree with the Japanese critics. For many years I have tried to get a reliable and at the same time sensible man as our majordomo to superintend our servants etc. I have tried old men and young men, men from the country and men of the city. All proved unreliable, lazy and ungrateful. I have found these defects in all the houseboys and servants I have had. They are unreliable lazy and ungrateful. They have no regard for the interest of their employers. They are wasteful, careless and thoughtless. In these times when rice and fuel and other staple articles of our domestic economy are hard to get, it is in vain to ask our servants to economize these necessities of life. They say "ye―ye" but do not show the least sign of complying with the pleads of their employer.
60
Unreliability, laziness hence inefficiency and ingratitude constitute the basic vices of the Koreans not only in servants but also in employees in higher walks of life. They are utterly destitute of public spirit, they live in two circles. One small and the other large. The small circle contains "me" and "mine" The larger circle contains all who are outside of "me" and "mine." In the Y.M.C.A., in schools, in Chang Moon Sa as well as in my private affairs I have been distressed by employees whom I could not trust. All of them want most pay for lest work. The trouble is the higher you raise their wages the lazier and the more ungrateful they get. Oh, the string of faithless employees I have had makes me sick to think of them. Same inexperienced young men and disgruntle old men dream of an independent Korea. But with the Koreans of this generation, you can no more build up and keep up an independent Korea than you can build a sky-scraper with sand. The best thing for the Korean race is to get seasoned and drilled into the Japanese mould of character tempered with Korean's love of peace and gentleness. The Korean is a good timber by nature. All he wants is to be properly seasoned.
62
12th. Tuesday. 晴明. -16°. (舊 十二月 七日)
65
13th. Wednesday. 晴曇. -15°. (舊 十二月 八日)
66
Seoul home. About 4 p.m. wife perspired profusely and her hands and feet felt so cold that she asked for hot water bag and hand-warmer.
68
14th. Thursday. 晴明. -18°. (舊 十二月 九日)
69
Seoul home. Bitterly cold.
71
15th. Friday. 晴明. -7°. (舊 十二月 十日)
74
16th. Saturday. 晴明. -8°. (舊 十二月 十一日)
77
17th. Sunday. 晴明. -8°. (舊 十二月 十二日)
78
Seoul home. Wife is getting gradually better. She breathes easier and speaks more cheerfully and sleeps longer and oftener than she has done during the last three or four weeks.
80
18th. Monday. 晴明. -8°. (舊 十二月 十三日)
81
Soul home. This spell of bitterly cold weather for weeks on and without good refreshing snow falls is already making farmers anxious.
82
I have been reading Mr. 大川周明’s Twenty Six Centuries of Japanese History (二千六百年 日本史) . It is a remarkably good book. One who has thoroughly digested this book will have a masterly grip of the great events that have built up the wonderful history of Japan. Mr. O-gawa tells in concise forms how, when and by whom a great event was brought to pass in the history of Japan. He in clear, impartial, and sensible way gives the cause and effects of the great movements which formed the foundation and steel ribs of the frame work of the Japanese nation.
83
Mr. O-gawa is not a fanatical Japanologist who want us poor Koreans believe that the history of Japan began 1,795,000 years ago that the Japanese are the most virtuous, most moral and the most righteous people in the world. The truth is that as we, as individuals, are all sinners, all nations especially so called great nations who have carried out their greatness by sword, were sinners judged by the standard of a religion, Buddhist, Confucianist or Christian. There is no Righteous Nation under Heaven. But taking the human nature as it is―mean, treacherous and selfish, and taking the nations especially the so called great nations like England, Russia, America, etc. etc. etc., no better than individual human beings, Japan stands high in national sense of rectitude.
84
Our Japanese masters underrate us too much because we are so hopelessly helpless. They think the Koreans can be made to believe anything they want. The intense practical realism of Confucianism has taught the Koreans to smile at all mythological stories of all religions. Of course the Japanologists can force down the throat of the Korean the shintoistic legends as Mohammed did by "Koran or sword" method. But is it necessary? A Korean can be a loyal and patriotic subject of Japan without accepting all the theories and dogmas of the Japanologist. Don't force Koreans to tell―to say, they believe in things which they don't believe. I wish there were some broad minded statesmen in Japan like Ito or Okuma today.
86
19th. Tuesday. 晴明. -2°.
87
Seoul home. Beautiful afternoon. Almost like a spring day.
89
20th. Wednesday. 晴明. -4°.
92
24th. Sunday. 晴明. 零下 12°. (舊 壬年 十二月 十九日)
94
Mr. Imaizumi(今泉) , the wellknown Japanologist says some wonderful things in the lectures which he gave in different cities in Korea a month ago. For instance; 1. The gods of heavens(ァマッカミ) gave commandment to us Japanese people to the ten-thousands of ten thousand generations to rule(or manage or administer(經綸) the universe(字宙) . That is certainly a big orders. The solar system alone has eight or nine planets. The ultra-Neptune being 4 billion miles from the sun. We must be in a hurry building ships and airplanes to carry our laws, regulations, armies, navies, governors and officials of every kind to these far off planets. How are we to rule or administer or manage them without putting them under our officials? But what about the millions and billions of stars ir the infinite space which the word universe or 字宙 implies We have certainly a big task far bigger than the Great Asia War we are now engaged in. How and when are we to put these billions upon billions of starry worlds under our rule and administration?
95
According to Mr. Imaizumi, we Japanese being the children of gods we are all righteous and good as matter of course we have no errors to be enlightened from as the Buddhist say nor sins to be saved from as the Christians teach. Our Japanese morality, religion and thoughts are absolutely right while they are relatively right in other peoples.
96
Mr. Imaizumi asserts that the Teno not only rules this universe, he rules the neither world as well. He proves it by citing the fact that the Teno has from of old donated lands to, and conferred titles on departed spirits or "kami"(gods) . I may humbly reclined the old gentleman that the Emperors of China and even kings of Korea donated lands to and confered titles on the spirits of great saints "Hat-ko itsi-u"(八紘一子) which the theologians of Japanology preach in season and out of season and which every Japanese statesman and every Japanese nationalist proclaim today has been a puzzle to the non-initialed. But to me at least the meaning of this doctrine has been clearly defined by a great writer late in the 18th Century. He says something like this: "As Japan is the Root and Source of all nations.... all countries should become the subsidiary countries of Japan for the manifestation of the essence or flower of the Japanese national structure. The princes or rulers or all nations should submit themselves as the subjects of Japan for the realization of the ideal or essence of the Japanese national structure and for the unification or domination of the universe or the world." (日本ハ萬國ノ根源ナルガ故ニ國體ノ情神ヲ發輝スル二於テハ萬邦悉ヮ 口本分國トナリ萬邦ノ君主等シヮ日本ニ臣眠シテ□テ 字內ノ統一ｦ實現シ得ブキコトデァル) 佐藤仁淵.
98
25th. Monday. 晴明. 零下 14°. (舊壬牛 十二月 二十日)
99
Seoul home. Bitterly cold. Memorial day in honor of our grandfather.
101
31st. Sunday. 晴明. 零下13°. (舊壬牛 十二月 二十六日)
102
Seoul home. Bitterly cold. This being my 79th anniversary of birthday our children gave me quiet family celebration. Wife's serious sickness prevented her from doing anything for me.
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