James B. Harris: Profile of a Naturalized Imperial Japanese Soldier

Army Private 1st Class Hirayanagi né Harris,
right after training and his Baptism of Fire

As this site has documented before, there actually have been quite a few non-Asians who took Japanese nationality during the time before the modern constitution, under the nationality/naturalization laws of the Meiji Constitution. There are even some who served the armed forces of the time in some capacity, such as Eliana Pavlova, who brought ballet to the Empire and did morale boosting for the troops. It may surprise some to learn that there were actually some Caucasian men who were naturalized and conscripted and served on the front lines of the Imperial Army. There have been examples of non-Japanese westerners who were indirectly involved. A previous post documented the naturalized Gorham family, who had non-naturalized children who went to regular non-international schools in the early 20th century. One of the children, Don Cyril, participated in compulsory military training and war games — such as games where he'd have to plant a red flag to indicate where the "enemy" was — but was excluded from more sensitive activities such as "strategic planning conferences". Other than this, there was a very small contingent of "blue-eyed Japanese Imperial Soldiers" (青い目の日本兵 {aoi me no Nippon-hei}), but they were very rare. 平柳秀夫HIRAYANAGI Hideo né James Bernard Harris was one of these very rare men.

The Harris' only child,
loved by his parents

James B. Harris was born in 1916 in Kōbe, Hyōgo Prefecture to a British father from Wales and a Japanese mother; in modern day language, his phenotype would have probably been referred to as 『ハーフ』 {"hāfu"} (mixed race) in Japanese. He was brought up as a Catholic, both by his father and his international schooling in Japan. His middle name, Bernard, was his Confirmation name, given to him to seal the covenant in his holy baptism.

Changing to Starting out with British Nationality

His Japanese mother was from Chiba Prefecture. Japanese Meiji era marriage and nationality laws, like many laws made before the 20th century, were heavily interconnected and patriarchal. If a foreign woman married a Japanese national man, it was relatively easy for her to obtain Japanese nationality due to the master man of the household being Japanese. On the other hand, if a Japanese women, as is the case here, were to marry a foreign man, she would lose her Japanese nationality because it was assumed she would acquire the nationality of the foreign husband.

When Ura married Arthur Harris, she gained British nationality and lost her Japanese nationality. When James Harris was born, he acquired the nationality of the father, who was British. It would not be until 1985 when Japanese nationality laws were changed so that a child could inherit at birth Japanese nationality from not just the father, but either the father or mother.

Dad's delicious delight

His father was the Far East foreign correspondent for the London Times (aka "The Times"). Harris described his father as being "very British", with a love of drinking, especially Scotch whisky, traditional English billiards, and the same cigars that Winston Churchill smoked. Although he was described as a strict disciplinarian, he was also lauded as a loving and caring husband and father whom James respected. However, he also loved Japan and did not want to leave it. His favorite Japanese food was 鰻丼una-don (eel topped rice bowl).

The politics of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries emphasized empire-building. Due to the limitations of cooperative global trade and the advancement to the era of industrialization, if you were a country with limited natural resources (such as the United Kingdoms of England + Wales + Scotland & Ireland or Japan), it was thought that the natural thing to do was to expand your territory to include areas that could provide the raw materials to supply your people. Additionally, the housing and transportation infrastructure at the time led people to mistakenly believe that Britain and Japan were overcrowded at the time (despite the population of both lands being fractions of what they are today) and needed more space, which was achievable through colonization. Finally, it was more of a eat-or-be-eaten world back then. Commodore Perry showed Japan with his black ships and cannons that you couldn't just keep to yourself; if you did not militarize and follow the ways of the other empires you would end up being subjugated and become somebody else's territory, as Japan learned from seeing many of its neighboring Asian countries become the property of European and American nations.

American Influence

As it looked back in the early twenties

Partially due to the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, which happened when Harris was seven (7) years old and living in Yokohama, his father's job was relocated briefly to California. His father enjoyed living in Japan, but could not turn down the career opportunity it offered. This was before the airplane era, so they traveled to America via ship by way of Vancouver, which took over two weeks. They rested in Seattle for a bit before continuing on to their final destination of the suburbs of Los Angeles in Hollywood. They only stayed in America for five years, up to his 12th birthday, before his father was reassigned yet again to Japan.

In addition to the influence of his father, who was a subject of the British Empire at the time, Harris seeing the what seemed like limitless space and natural resources of America amazed him. In his youth, he learned about the differences between countries that have space and materials, like the America and Canada, and nations that did not, like Japan and the U.K. During the war, being on the losing side, he would later reflect on how this imbalance of manpower and raw supplies meant that in the long run, Japan never had a chance to win in an extended war based on national stamina.

After returning to Japan, "Jimmy" attended the Saint Joseph International School (known as Saint Joseph College at the time) in Japan, which shut down in the year 2000 due to financial difficulties. Because his Catholic international schooling taught exclusively in English & French and followed a primarily American curriculum, he was functionally illiterate when it came to reading and writing Japanese, even though he could speak and understand it without problem thanks to his mother and his early years living in Japan. Additionally, his exposure to California during his formative years allowed him to affect either a British-European or an American appearance in his mannerisms and speaking.

Changing back to Japanese and being Naturalized

They are buried in the foreigner
area of the cemetery because they are
with his father (head tombstone),
who never became legally Japanese.

Tragically, James Harris' father died a sudden relatively early death due to pneumonia when Harris was only sixteen.

Ura, who had changed to British nationality by marrying her husband, was now an early widow and had a difficult choice to make. Both her and her son's connections to the British side of the family was not strong because long-distance travel and communication was not as easy as it is today. Because of this, she decided to re-acquire Japanese nationality and have her child naturalized to Japan and enter the Japan family register with her. His mother gave him the new Japanese name 平柳秀夫HIRAYANAGI Hideo. In this way, Harris' naturalization was similar to Lafcadio Hearn's path in that he was made Japanese effectively through on-paper "adoption": he was invited to register into an existing Japanese family register. In Hearn's case, he was invited into his wife's family register in order to ensure that the 小泉 {KOIZUMI} ex-samurai clan (due to their abolishment with the Meiji Restoration), which had no male heir, continued. In Harris' case, his mother reclaimed her Japanese nationality and brought her natural-born (not adopted) son into her family register.

Under modern naturalization laws, adoption of non-Japanese and even adoption of adults is possible, but it does not (nor does marriage — aka jus matrimoni) de facto confer or imply Japanese nationality. An immediate "family connection" may qualify the non-Japanese for 簡易帰化 {kan'i kika} (simplified naturalization) though.

Harris vs. Hirayanagi

Harris stated in his autobiography that although he was given this new name by his mother, he would use his original birth name that was given to him by his father as a professional name — especially when being associated with English language teaching and writing. However, when he needed to emphasize his Japanese identity (for example, when serving with other Japanese soldiers on the battlefield or to avoid being detained as a foreign spy after the outbreak of the Pacific War), he would use his Japanese name.

An Apprentice in Journalism under Burton Crane

How M&A and name changes made The Japan Times what it is today

English Newspapers in Japan in 1933

	The Japan Times & Mail	The Japan Advertiser
Founded	1897-Mar-22	1890-Nov-1
Organization	T.K.: silent partnership	K.K.: issued-share based company
President	芦田均 {ASHIDA Hitoshi}	Benjamin W. Fleisher
Capital	¥500,000 Funded by a grant from MoFA in 1921	¥150,000 funded from the U.S., especially the first company president
Pages	Evening Edition: 8~16 broadsheets Morning and Overseas Editions: 8 broadsheets	Morning Edition: 8~18 broadsheets Also published the weekly magazine "The Trans-Pacific"
Circulation	27,000 (1933)	15,000 (1932)
Subscription	Monthly: ¥2.50	Monthly: ¥3.30
Advertisement	1in.: ¥4.00	1in.: ¥4.50
Branches	Yokohama, Kōbe, Ōsaka	Yokohama, Kōbe, Ōsaka, various U.S. locations
Office Staff	84	89
Press Staff	20	28

Harris got his first break in the world of journalism with The Japan Advertiser (now known as The Japan Times) at the age of 17, and used the money he earned to pay his way through school.

His mentor at the paper was the "Big In Japan" Burton CRANE (バートン・クレーン {Bāton KURĒN}). Born in upstate Buffalo, New York to a minister's family (His father, Louis Burton Crane, would write the historically important book "The Teaching of Jesus Concerning the Holy Spirit" [public domain] which is still republished today), Burton Crane dropped out of Princeton University to work simultaneously at a construction company while writing for Elizabeth, New Jersey's "Elizabeth Times" and the Associated Press' Philadelphia branch. He would move to Japan in the fall of 1925, serving as a reporter for The Japan Advertiser while simultaneously being a special correspondent for the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Crane would work his way up to become the financial editor at the Advertiser, and gained a reputation as being one of the earliest foreign authorities on the Japanese economy. He would leave Japan in 1939 before the full outbreak of war in Europe, and returned to Tokyo during the Occupation to work in the Tokyo Bureau of the New York Times. Although he was based in Japan, he was injured on the battlefield in Korea covering the Korean War.

Burton Crane wrote
and directed for this troupe
which sometimes performed at
The Tokyo American Club.

When he wasn't too busy doing his day job of being a news reporter and journalism correspondent in Japan, Burton Crane had an additional public identity in the fine arts of acting and singing. Crane directing, wrote and published English language plays such as:

• "Stage-Stricken"
• "The House of Atreus"
• "The Mystery of the Silver-backed Hairbrush"
• "Agamemnon"
• "Hecuba"

Crane was also one of the first recorded foreign celebrity singers based in Japan. L.A. White, president of Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd. at the time, discovered Crane by accident when he was singing in broken Japanese at a banquet (with a lot of booze); Crane based his family in 六本木Roppongi (still popular among expats for its nightlife). While his wife not only worked at the paper, was the U.S. Ambassador's secretary, and taught English at the American School in Japan, Burton was known to sing impromptu songs at eating and (especially) drinking establishments around 浅草Asakusa whenever he had free time… dabbling with the famous comedians and actors of the time. This was before the era of カラオケkaraoke — which wouldn't be popularized by Ōsaka's 井上大佑INOUE Daisuke (no relation) until the seventies.

Columbia's L.A. White was looking for "domestic" singers to show off its new imported gramophone technology that used electrical amplification (in other words, the precursor to the modern phonograph) and compete with rival company Victor. American jazz was beginning to spread in Japan, and the American twenties hit which is now a standard, "My Blue Heaven", was very popular in Japan at the time. White had found his first artist, Crane, that checked all of his marketing boxes for showcasing his company and his wares.

The song title "My Blue Heaven" was translated to 『私の青空』 {"Watashi no Aozora}, but "aozora" was transliterated to AHOZORA [阿呆 {aho} = idiot/moron/imbecile/stupid] in pre-modern non-standardized Japanese ローマ字 {rōmaji} (Japanese transliterated to the Latin alphabet) on the vinyl disc label, leading to countless parody variations named "Stupid Sky" (あほ空 {aho-zora}) which are performed to this day.

This 25 track CD was actually released in 2006!

Crane's first hit would be a single titled, 『酒が飲みたい』 {"Sake ga Nomitai"} ("I want to drink saké[/alcohol]"). The two sided single disc was released in the Spring of 1931, with (heavily accented even for singing) ½ Japanese and ½ English lyrics. The B-side of the same single would humorously be 『家へかへりたい』 {"Ie e ka[e]ritai"} ("I Want to Go Home"), adapted from the same Irving King song, "Show Me the Way to Go Home".

The single was a hit and was even admired by some critics for its unique lyrics. Although Crane is credited with the song, most people believe it is based on either the UC Berkeley college marching ballad, "California Drinking Song" or the old American folk ballad "Drunk Last Night", and he had help with the Japanese lyrics from famous film producer, scriptwriter & critic, 森岩雄 {MORI Iwao} (who became a TOHO Executive Producer who oversaw the making of many Godzilla movies). The two would release a second single at the end of Summer that same year:

1. 『ニッポン娘さん』 {Nippon Musume-san} ("Honorable Japanese Daughter")
   (based on the 1924 World War Ⅰ song "Hinky Dinky Parlez-vous")
2. 『おいおいのぶ子さん』 {"Oi Oi Nobuko-san"} ("Hey hey Miss Nobuko")
   (based on the German drinking song "Trink, Trink, Brüderlein trink" [Drink, drink, brother drink"] by Will Glahé)

Crane would continue to release over two dozen silly comical singles — most of them being modest hits for the era in Japan. Contrary to his boast on an American television quiz show that he was compared to "Bing Crosby" in Japan, he was actually taken more seriously as a journalist; most considered his singing to be a stunt novelty act. Eventually, however, the novelty wore off: Crane's opportunities dried up when White returned to America in 1934. He switched to Teichiku Records in 1936 and produced one more record before packing it up and returning to New York in Autumn of the same year.

Burton Crane would return to Japan during the Occupation and reported mostly on economics, producing a half dozen books on the subject:

• この地獄も愛すればこそ {Kono Chigoku mo Ai Sureba Koso} (The Hell I Also Loved) | 1948 メトロ出版社 {Metoro Shuppan-sha} (translation by 平川唯一 {HIRAKAWA Tadakazu})
• Getting and Spending: An Informal Guide to National Economics | 1956 Harcourt, Brace and Co.
• 稼いで費って {Kaseide Tsuitte} | 1957 六月社 {Rokugatsusha} (translation of "Getting and Spending" by 熊取谷武 {KUMATORI Tanitake})
• A century of financial advertising in the New York times | 1957 New York Times
• The Sophisticated Investor: a Guide to Stock-Market Profits | 1959 Simon & Schuster
• The practical economist | 1960 Simon & Schuster
• Smart Money | 1964 Random House

In one of his final articles for the NYT on Japan, similar to how William Gorham called for the conversion of Japanese to a 100% katakana writing system, Crane enthusiastically wrote about a post-war SCAP movement to teach Japanese using only the rōmaji (Latin alphabet) writing system. In the end, the Japan (and the PRC) decided to "simplify" their what is now called 旧字体 {kyūjitai} (old Japanese sinograms) into 新字体 {shinjitai} (new Japanese sinograms) rather than abandon them. Japan has had a literacy rate exceeding 99% for over a half a century.

The New York Times had to use Crane's handwriting for his Japanese example because they couldn't print Japanese in 1946. Note the use of the now-obsolete ゐ[w]i and ヰ[w]i 仮名 {kana} (Japanese syllabet) characters. The last two paragraphs references the 財団法人カナモジカイ {Zaidanhōjin kana moji-kai} that ゴウハム・カツンド {GŌHAMU· Katsundo} was a member of.

After yet again returning to the United States after covering the Korean War from Japan (and getting injured), he lectured at NYU. Along with his wife Esther, he recorded his post Occupation memoirs with Columbia University, continued to publish for books and magazines, made a television appearance on the hit long running quiz show "To Tell The Truth" (Originally aired 1961-Mar-20, billed as a "stock market columnist and hit singer in Japan"), and worked long enough that the New York Times saw to it that he got an obituary (something he did not get from The Japan Times). Burton Crane passed away in 1963 at the age of 62.

On December 20, 1999, Burton Crane was picked and honored, among all the men and women who wrote from 1900 to 1999, to be part of the BNL 100: Business News Luminaries of the Century Awards.

Burton Crane's Influence on James Harris

According to Harris' memoir, Crane was a tough and disciplined mentor; he would only praise him for about ⅓ of what he wrote as a first draft and would often demand complete rewrites. Enamored with his Ivy League education (Harris did not know Crane was a dropout), he respected and looked up to him. Crane told Harris things like, "I can't use this. A newspaper article is not a elementary school or middle school composition!"

　やがて，三回に一回ぐらいはほめてもらえ，手直しをされながらも採用してくれることが多くなった。そうなるとぼくは有頂天になり，持ちまえのうぬぼれも頭をもたげて，翌日はまた張り切って原稿を書いてクレインにさし出す。すると，きのうの上機嫌はどこへやら，またまた苦虫を噛みつぶしたような表情でつき返してくる。ようやくつかみかけた自信が，その瞬間スルリとぼくの指のあいだから抜け落ちて，木っ端みじんにこわれてしまう。

──コンチクチョー，この男はおれにいやがらせをしているのか？

　そんなぼくの心の動きを察したのか，あるときこういってぼくにアドバイスをしてくれた。 「いいかジミー，よくおぼえておけよ。新聞の記事というのはこんなに狭いスペースに印刷されるんだ。それなのにおまえのようにやたら長ったらしい文章を書いてみろ，だらだらするばかりで読みにくくってしょうがない。そんなもの誰も読んでくれるもんか。いいか，アメリカの優秀なジャーナリストはな，センテンスをできるだけ短くして簡潔な文章を書くんだ。形容詞は単なるデコレーションにすぎないんだから必要最小限にとどめる。そのためには動詞が重要な働きをするんだ。まず動詞の使い方に気を配って，なるべく短いセンテンスになるように勉強してみるんだな」

—pg.49, "I Was a Japanese Soldier"

Harris explained that at first he thought Crane was bullying him, however Crane explained how precious space was in a paper and how the best journalists in America wrote the shortest sentences possible. Instead of using adjectives as decorations, the power of rich verbs should be emphasized.

Harris learned the advice well from his 先輩 {sempai} (master/senior), as he would be responsible for this famous three word headline at the age of twenty-five (25):

That point size type wasn't available, so each of the seven letters and exclamation point of "WAR IS ON!" had to be custom carved from wood for the JT's printing press.

Being Arrested, Held, Detained, Released… then Conscripted

After war broke out, the 憲兵隊 {kempeitai} (Imperial Japanese Army Military [secret] Police) detained those who were not legal Japanese nationals. There are indeed examples of Caucasian naturalized Japanese, men and women, such as the former William & Hazel Gorham from America and Rita Cowan from Scotland, and Eliana Pavlova from Russia who lived and worked in Japan during the Pacific War without being arrested or detained by the authorities.

Right after the Pacific War broke out, the police came to his workplace and arrested a bunch of foreigners with known Allied citizenship. Harris was not one of those who were arrested, though, so he assumed that the authorities knew about his Japanese nationality. He was wrong. They came back for him days later, with a warrant to arrest the (assumed to be) American James Harris.

The charge was being a 敵国人 {tekikokujin} (alien from an enemy nation) from America (despite the fact that he was actually originally born with British nationality due to his father's nationality).

He and his colleagues and bosses at work, foreign and Japanese, protested that he was naturalized and in fact, a Japanese national subject of the Empire and the Emperor. Without any immediate proof, however, the military police did not believe him and fulfilled the warrant for his arrest.

Records of nationality were not centralized back then (they didn't start converting 戸籍 {koseki} (Japanese family unit registers) to digital format until the 21st century). It did not help that Harris used his English name in professional life and in public print, and he could not read or write Japanese. Additionally, both the Kempei and the regular police assumed that the use of more than one name was suspicious and the activity that a spy would do; the fact that he didn't use his Japanese name in daily life meant that the name was probably a fake alias.

Led away from the Japan Times & Advertiser in handcuffs, he spent two (2) weeks in a jail cell before being transferred to a 敵国人収容所 {tekikokujin shūyōsho} (enemy alien detention camp) in Yokohama while his mother searched for paperwork and pleaded with authorities to prove that he was a legal Japanese national. He would spend eight (8) months in the internment camp with his name on a 交換名簿 {kōkan meibo} ([prisoner] exchange roster) list, waiting for an available ship to deport him to the United Kingdom in exchange for Japanese being held by Allied nations.

Bon Voyage from Tokyo Bay for Hikawa Maru

A total of 342 non-Japanese who were believed to possess enemy (Allied Forces) nationality (including those like Harris whose Japanese nationality could not be confirmed) were held at 34 locations across Japan.

In Harris' case, he was interned in the same place that was considered to be desired real estate by foreigners living in Japan at the time: he was placed in a re-purposed club house for the yacht harbor in the 京浜 {Keihin} area (in what is now Kawasaki City in Kanagawa Prefecture (神奈川県川崎市 {Kanagawa-Ken Kawasaki-shi}). The cemetery for foreigners was up on a hill in the same area. From the elevated area, you could see Ginkgo trees and the docking activity. Harris would sometimes pass the time by watching the now famous NYK Hikawa Maru (氷川丸 {Hikawa-maru}) do ports of call, usually travelling to Seattle and Vancouver, and sometimes New York.

The two story thatched roof house on the right,
which was a Japanese middle school,
and the white western style building on the left,
served as a detention camp.

Life at the detention camps for foreigners was apparently relatively easy at the very beginning of the Pacific War; Harris described being served sardine fish balls during his 48 hours in the police's jail (which he described as being "not bad" and "you got used to them").

During his time there, he and many others would receive visitors (usually family and friends) almost daily. They would supplement the provided food with things like beef stew & omelettes in addition to the daily soup & bread. Delicacies such as peanut butter and rye bread were also brought in and shared.

Near the end of the war, though, conditions at the detention centers (both for the detained and the staff & guards), like everywhere else in Japan, became desperate. All of Japan was starved of raw materials, fuel, food, and medicine. Five detainees would die due to lack of adequate provisions and medical care.

Most of Harris' days at the 抑留所 {yokuryūjo} (internment facility) were spend walking around in boredom. While being detained, he started and created a camp newspaper titled "Camp News Daily" — although it actually was published once a week. With limited supplies, and especially a lack of paper, he was sometimes reduced to writing notes on his hand while collecting information.

Just a few days before being sent off by boat to a foreign country, they finally confirmed his Japanese identity and released him.

His reunion with his family would be short lived, however, as he soon received papers requesting he report for a medical checkup — the first step before being drafted:

平柳秀夫
　右徴兵検査執行ニ付左記日時徴兵署ニ出頭シ本書ヲ以テ徴兵署ニ届出ツヘシ

Please do clean your screen after using this app.

He underwent a comprehensive medical examination for the first time in his life at the age of 26. "Comprehensive" means the doctors even went so far as to measure his penis! Thanks (?) to his participation in sports, he passed the physical with flying colors and received a certificate to prove it: first class grade-A health and fitness.

Being of perfect health and almost the perfect age (mid-twenties), the 赤紙 {akagami} ("red paper"; military draft card/call-up paper; a colloquialism for 召集令状shōshūmeijō due to their color) arrived at his mother's home soon afterward his physical exam, and the Japan Times and Advertiser's "James B. Harris" officially became 陸軍二等兵平柳秀夫Rikugun ni-tō-hei HIRAYANAGI Hideo (Hideo HIRAYANAGI, Army Private 2nd Class).

The color red was only used by the Imperial Army for
standard service. White, blue, and crimson (Navy)
versions were also issued.

Stationed in Northern China for Four (4) Years

Hirayanagi né Harris is front right, with his
comrades-in-arms right after basic training.

He began training in central Japan in 山梨 {Yamanashi} — where Mt. Fuji (富士山 {Fuji-san}) is located — as part of the 63rd Army Corp, east division.

Training was tough for him, because although he could speak and understand verbal Japanese without any problem, he was practically illiterate, especially when it came to the much more difficult 漢語 {kango} (Sino-Japanese vocabulary) that was used heavily in the military writing — especially since the military had to refer to a lot of non-Japanese Chinese terms and geography for pragmatic reasons. He would secretly look up the words and scribble ローマ字 {rōmaji} ruby readings above the characters, exactly like what this website does. This was a little risky, because if people saw him writing in the alphabet of the enemy they wouldn't trust him at worst; at best they wouldn't trust him with their lives because they would fear that he was incompetent and lacked the ability to understand orders properly.

People who are mixed race with Japanese (ハーフ {hāfu}) tend to fall into three types (and often their phenotype changes due to age as they physically develop, especially from infant to child and during puberty): they look almost Japanese, they look almost completely not Japanese, and then there are those in the middle.

Harris [sic] appeared very Caucasian "White" compared to the other troops who surrounded him. The other soldiers, he joked, must have been considered to be "a Martian" (火星人 {kaseijin}). He noticed the other soldiers in training couldn't help but dart their eyes back and forth when he was first presented his standard issue bayonet-affixed Type 38 military rifle.

On the other hand, he said that some of the officers went out of their way to help and assist him and went (relatively) easy on him, understanding the special circumstances. They considered having him in their unit to be good luck, like a "guardian angel." This was especially unusual for the era and period as it was not uncommon for commissioned officers to bully, slap, and hit non-commissioned troops for no reason at all.

Nevertheless, the training was grueling, as the intent was to turn everybody into effective fighters and to prepare them for actual combat.

河南省新乡市 {Hénán-shĕng, Xīnxiāng-shì} (Xinxiang City, Henan Province, China)
Japanese Imperial Army Divisional Headquarters in 新郷 {Shingō} (1942)

After training, his entire unit was sent to northern China to the area written and pronounced as 新郷 {Shingō} in Japanese — it is currently known as Xinxiang City (新乡市 {Xīnxiāng-shì}) in the modern PRC geography and 簡体字 {kantaiji} (simplified Chinese sinograms). This area was in the northern part of Henan (in Japanese: 河南 {Kanan}). It was considered strategic by the Japanese Imperial military for two reasons:

1. It was part of the water route for the 283km Wei River: 卫河 {Wèi hé} in simplified Chinese or 衛河 {Eiga} in 新字体 {shinjitai} (new Japanese sinograms).
2. A new railroad line was being built along with the existing line that stretched from the capital Bĕijīng (北京 {Pekin}) to the Canton region / Guǎngzhōu (広州 {Kōshū}), from Xīnxiāng to Jiāozuò (焦作 {Shōsaku})

The Imperial Army had already invaded the area and was occupying it. Harris/Hirayanagi's soldiers main job was to entrench, defend, and attack the guerrilla tactic NRA Eighth Route Army (八路軍 {hachirogun} / simplified Chinese: 八路军 {bālùjūn}), allied to the communists at the time.

He quickly experienced his first action on the battlefield while shoveling a hole: a rifle bullet grazed his head. His "baptism of fire." After this first incident, he said he became a little less afraid and became a little more accustomed to battle.

河南省汤阴县 {Hénán-shĕng, Tāngyīn-xiàn} (Tangyin County, Henan Province, China)
Japanese Imperial Army Company Headquarters in 湯陰 {Tōin} (1942)

After his first assignment, he was relocated and given the new duty of guarding a small nearby city in Tangyin. It was a walled fortified city, similar to a Japanese or European castle-based city.

Battle with the Chinese communists' 18th Army Group was very bloody and very personal. The Japanese Type 38 rifle was the longest standard rifle used by all the militaries of World War II: 128cm long. With the standard bayonet attachment at 40cm, it was even longer. There was a good reason for its unusually long length: Japanese soldiers were comparatively short (average height of 160cm), and the rifles were not automatic, so the Japanese needed the extra reach for stabbing if the first shot should miss in close combat and/or there wasn't time to (re)load your weapon. Hirayanagi/Harris had this to say about spilling blood during war:

I really didn't like the feeling when the bayonet pierced the body. I'm not sure how many people I killed, but I ended up splattered in blood from head to toe, and had no idea that I was stained red.

Other "Martians"

Hirayanagi/Harris described meeting other Japanese soldiers who were like him:

• One fellow soldier was a journalist like him. His father was American, and his mother was Japanese and a former aviation pilot for Asahi Shimbun (newspaper). He was drafted because he too had acquired Japanese nationality and thus was required by duty to fight for his country.
• Another soldier he met in the Henan Province had a German father and a Japanese mother. Although the man had German nationality, he was obligated to fight with the Japanese because of agreements the Japanese had with the Axis Powers.

The Body Has Its Limits and Breaks 

At a field hospital in Xinxiang, China.
Brought in on a stretcher after
3 battle injuries & a worsening liver.

In May of 1945, due to multiple war injuries, starvation, and a failing liver, Hirayanagi/Harris' body finally broke down and he had to be carried to a field hospital via stretcher by his comrades.

Realizing that he might be able to use this as an opportunity, he asked for and received a transfer to military intelligence away from front line active combat.

Ironically, it was his native English ability that allowed him to make this transfer.

He wouldn't have much opportunity to use his English skills to intercept and interpret Allied communication, however, as just three months later on August 9, 1945, the Soviet Union broke their neutrality truce pact with Japan, formally declared war on Japan, and simultaneously invaded the east, west and north fronts of Manchuria, China. The Soviets decimated the depleted and exhausted China-based million man strong Japanese Army in astonishing speed.

Without that last ditch hope, the Empire of Japan unconditionally surrendered to the Allies on August 11th by accepting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, allowing occupation by SCAP and the Americans — a preferable scenario compared to risking letting the Soviet Army go further and occupy the four main islands of Japan like it occupied eastern Europe and East Germany.

After the War

At Fortune, he worked with world
famous photographer Horace BRISTOL

Hirayanagi returned to "The Japan Times & Advertiser", which had, due to mergers and acquisitions of other English papers in Japan (including the paper that 小泉八雲 {KOIZUMI Yakumo} née Lafcadio HEARN worked at, "The Kobe Chronicle"), been renamed at that time to simply "The Japan Times". There, he covered the IMTFE (The Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal) for the paper and assisted the Americans in interpreting the huge amounts of data, names, structure, the organization and the demobilization of the Imperial war-time military apparatus. He would also assist the United States in the decryption of old Japanese communications. After completing those assignments, he would move to the American financial magazine "Fortune", which was a fairly new magazine at the time, having been founded just fifteen years prior, ironically at the start of the Great Depression.

He was the voice of "English
for Millions" for over 30 years

Beginning in 1958, he served as the guest lecturer for the new syndicated national radio program 『百万人の英語』"Hyakuman-nin no Eigo" ("English for Millions"). He would continue working for the popular program until its broadcasting ended, over 33 years later. Additionally, he was part of the radio/short-wave syndicated program 大学受験ラジオ講座 {daigaku juken rajio kōza} (College Entrance Radio Course; popularly known and abbreviated to 『ラ講』"rakō") for over forty years from 1952 to 1995, serving as their first and lead English teacher.

Accompanying text for
the SW radio program

At the invitation of 赤尾好夫AKAO Yoshio (who happens to be buried at the same Tama Cemetery as Harris), a Japanese pioneer of foreign language education, distance learning, as well as being a Japanese broadcasting and media magnate who studied Italian at 東京外国語大学Tōkyō Gaikokugo Daigaku (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies), he served as editorial adviser and managed the development of educational materials for Akao's first publishing company, 旺文社Ōbunsha (Obunsha Co., Ltd.). It is thanks to this that many Japanese who did not live in a big city in the early days after The War got their first exposure and English education to/from a native speaker.

paperback and e-Book available

While at Obunsha, Harris co-authored a few books related to English learning:

• 日米会話必携 {Nichi-Bei kaiwa hikkei} (Japanese/American Conversation Handbook), 1955/1961
• 英語演説の仕方 {Eigo kōsetsu no shikata} (English Speech Methods), 1956

Outside of his core language educational duties, he oversaw the translation of an abridged collection of mystery fiction from acclaimed Japanese novelist 江戸川乱歩 {Edogawa Rampō} (If you say that pen name quickly over and over it sounds like "Edgar Allen Poe". That is intentional); first published in 1956 by the Japanese-exporting publisher Charles E. Tuttle Company (now known as Tuttle Publishing), it was the first time such a collection of short stories from the famous author/critic 平井太郎 {HIRAI Tarō} was released to the English-reading world.

The incredible thing about this translation was that Harris couldn't read Japanese, and the original author couldn't write in English. The translation was a collaborative effort, with the two of them meeting once a week. The author would read aloud a line from the book, and Harris would confirm his understanding, attempt to type a few drafts on a manual typewriter, and the two would discuss the translation and the finer nuances of the conveyed and intended meanings. They would do this for a period of five years to complete the English translation. This translation was a direct slow cooperative & collaborative effort between the author and translator for every single sentence, and thus the quality of the translation is excellent.

In 1974, Harris assisted and helped prepare Prime Minister 佐藤栄作 {SATŌ Eisaku} deliver his speech in English for the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony, which was awarded to him for signing the nuclear arms NPT in 1970.

Japanese miniskirt lengths in the
late 60s and early 70s. As worn by
"Golden Half", not regular people.

Additionally, Harris was the Prime Minister's wife, 佐藤寛子 {SATŌ Hiroko}, private English teacher. Hiroko had studied English literature at 青山学院 {Aoyama Gakuin} (Aoyama Gakuin University) at the same time naturalized citizen Mrs. Hazel Gorham was attending. She was a bit of a talent/celebrity herself, making news when accompanying her husband (the PM) to the U.S. to meet with President Nixon to sign documents that would be part of what would become the 1971 Okinawa Reversion Agreement, wearing a miniskirt; although that was in fashion and the style for the American (and even Japanese) sixties, Japanese (and American) political fashion was and still is conservative. She would later appear frequently on television and published newspaper columns, essays, poems, and literature.

Back cover of his book

Hirayanagi published his memoirs on the 1st of August 1986, titled, 『ぼくは日本兵だった』 {"Boku wa Nipponhei datta"} ("I was a Japanese soldier") under his English-based name, 『Ｊ・Ｂ・ハリス』 {"Jei. Bī. HARISU"}. Although he kept a secret diary, written in English, during the war on the battlefield, he destroyed it after war ended and he returned to Japan, so his experiences had to be recalled from memory. Because he never learned how to read and write Japanese in international school, his English biography was translated into Japanese by 後藤新樹 {GOTŌ Shinju}; the original English drafts were never released.

Harris retired from work in 1998.

In his later years, he served as a trustee and councilor for the Eiken Foundation of Japan (公益 {kōeki}財団法人 {zaidanhōjin} 日本 {Nihon}英語検定協会 {Eigo kentei kyōkai}).

Other Members of the Harris Family

James B. Harris/Hirayanagi passed away on August 16, 2004, at the age of 87, due to pulmonary emphysema.

He purchased a plot in 多磨霊園 {Tama Reien} (Tama Cemetery), in the foreigner's section, for his father & mother (the main Christian cross tombstone), and his second & third sons (on a black granite slab on the side), who unfortunately passed away young. The naturalized Gorham family is also buried in this cemetery in the Japanese national section.

• 

  Father: Arthur M. HARRIS
  b.1887 d.1933 (46)

  Arthur Montague HARRIS (アーサー・モンタヒュー・ハリス {Āsā · Montahyū · HARISU})

  Relationship

  father (父 {chichi})

  Nationality

  GBR (Wales)

  Occupation

  Journalist

  Death

  1933-Mar-17 (age 46)

• 

  Mother: 平柳うら {HIRAYANAGI Ura}
  b.1867 d.1951 (84)

  Ura HARRIS (うら・ハリス {Ura · HARISU})

  Japanese Name

  平柳うら {HIRAYANAGI Ura}

  Relationship

  mother (父 {haha})

  Nationality

  JPN→GBR→JPN

  Death

  1951-Oct-15 (age 84)

• Tomiko HARRIS (富実子・ハリス {Tomiko · HARISU})

  legal Japanese Name

  平柳富美子 {HIRAYANAGI Tomiko}

  Relationship

  wife (妻 {tsuma})

  Occupation

  Ophthalmologist

  Nationality

  JPN

• 

  81.3Mhz FM J-WAVE
  Radio Personality / DJ / Navigator

  Robert Alan HARRIS (ロバート・ハリス {Robāto · HARISU})

  legal Japanese name

  平柳進 {HIRAYANAGI Susumu}

  Relationship

  Oldest son (長男 {chōnan})

  Born

  1948-Sept-20

  Blood type

  AB

  Occupation

  radio/television personality, author/writer/translator

  Nationality

  JPN

  Robert Harris / Susumu Hiyayanagi is currently the only surviving sibling of the Harris' three children. After graduating from the private 上智大学 {Jōchi Daigaku} (Sophia University), he roamed most of southeast Asia in 1971. He lived a year in Bali before immigrating to Sydney, Australia and living there for sixteen (16) years. While in Sydney, he founded and ran the Exiles Bookshop in 1979, which was locally famous for its picture gallery & poetry readings in the eighties and attracted many of the best poets in Australia, as well as other countries, for readings. After Exiles closed in 1982, Robert Harris translated and subtitled a lot of Japanese movies for Australian public television as well as did work for the production of some made-for-TV movies. Since returning to Japan in 1988, Robert began working in radio, hosting some programs on the multilingual nationally syndicated LOVE FM (based in Fukuoka at 76.1Mhz). Robert Harris joined the staff of Tokyo-based J-WAVE in 1992 and has hosted over a half dozen shows. Currently, he is the host of the one hour radio show "VINTAGE SELECTION" (『ビンテージ・セレクション』 {Bintēji · Serekushon}) , which has been broadcast every Sunday at 18:00 (JST) for about an hour since 2011. He is also currently the English narrator for the bilingual broadcast of UEFA Champions League Digest on on NTV. A prolific writer, he has translated, authored, co-authored, and penned many magazine articles (he wrote for Playboy magazine for eight years, including a critical analysis of film director 黒澤明 {KUROSAWA Akira} with Donald Richie), short novels, and books about his life and experiences, including, but not limited to:

  • 

    R. Harris did the overseas wanderlust
    expat genre before millennial hipsters
    made it cliché & uncool.

    『エグザイルス』 {Eguzairusu} ("Exiles") | 1997 講談社 {Kōdansha}＋α文庫 {Arufa bunko}
    
    • Audio Book
  • 『エグザイルス・ギャング』 {Eguzairusu · Gyangu} ("Exiles Gang") | 1998 東京書籍 {Tōkyō Shoseki}
  • 『ワイルドサイドを歩け』 {"Warudo Saido o Aruke"} ("Walk on the Wild Side") | 1999/2002 講談社 {Kōdansha}＋α文庫 {Arufa bunko}
  • 『地図のない国から』 {"Chizu no Nai Kuni kara"} ("From a Country with no Map") | 1999 幻冬舎 {Gentōsha}
  • 『黒くぬれ！アウトロー白書』 {"Kuroku nure! Autorō Hakusho"} ("PAINT IT BLACK! Outlaw Confessions") | 2001 祥伝社 {Shōdensha})
  • co-authored with 中谷彰宏 {NAKATANI Akihiro}: 『女々しい男でいいじゃないか。』 {"Memeshii Otoko de Ii ja nai ka?"} ("What's Wrong with an Effeminate Man?")｜2002 メディアファクトリー {Media Fakutorī}
  • 『幻の島を求めて 終わりなき旅路 エーゲ海編』 {"Maboroshi no Shima o Motomete Owari Naki Tabiji Ēgekai Hen"} ("Searching for the Phantom Island / The Endless Journey / Aegean Sea Compilation) | 2003 東京書籍 {Tōkyō Shoseki}
  • 『人生の１００のリスト』 {"Jinsei no Hyaku Risuto"} ("A List of One Hundred Dreams") | 2004 講談社 {Kōdansha}＋α文庫 {Arufa bunko}
  • 『"MOROCCO ON THE ROAD 終わりなき旅路 モロッコ編』 {Owari Naki Tabiji Morokko Hen"} ("Morocco On the Road / The Endless Journey / Morocco Compilation") | 2005 東京書籍 {Tōkyō Shoseki}
  • Co-authored and did the Japanese translation of Rolf Potts' Vagabonding: 旅に出ろ!―ヴァガボンディング・ガイド | 2007 ヴィレッジブックス {Virejji Bukkusu}
  • 『ワイルド・アット・ハート 眠ってしまった冒険者たちへ 』 {"Warudo · atto · Hāto Nemutte Shimatta Bōkensha-tachi e"} ("Wild at Heart To the Adventurers that Fell Asleep") | 2007年 東洋経済新報社 {Tōyō Keizai Shimpōsha}
  • 『知られざるイタリアへ　終わりなき旅路イタリア編』 {"Shirarezaru Itaria e Owari Naki Tabiji Itaria Hen"} ("Touching souls in Italy / The Endless Journey / Italy Compilation") | 2008 東京書籍 {Tōkyō Shoseki}
  • 『旅に出ろ! ヴァガボンディング・ブック』 {"Tabi ni Dero! Vagabondingu · Bukku"} ("Go travel! The Vagabonding Book") | 2008 ヴィレッジブックス {Virejji Bukkusu} (not the same book as the collaboration with Rolf Potts' original version)
  • 『アフォリズム ５２５の格言集』 {"Aforizumu"} ("Aphorism 525 Maxims Collection") | 2010 NORTH VILLAGE / サンクチュアリ・パブ {Sankuchuari · Pabu}
  • 『"WOMEN ウィメン: ぼくが愛した女性たちの話』 {Wimen: Boku ga Ai Shita Josei-tachi no Hanashi} (Women: Stories about the Women I've Loved) | 2013 晶文社 {Shōbunsha}
  • 『アウトサイダーの幸福論』 {"Autosaidā no Kōfuku-ron"} ("Essays about an Outsider's Happiness") | 2015 集英社 {Shūeisha}
  • 『世界を５０年間も放浪し続け学んだCOOLで自由な人生哲学』 {"Sekai o Gojū-Nenkan mo Hōrō Shitsuzuke Manada Kūru de Jiyū Jinsei Tetsugaku"} | 2015 NORTH VILLAGE / サンクチュアリ・パブ {Sankuchuari · Pabu}
  He wrote his first Japanese language auto lifestyle focused blog, "EXILES weblog", for about a year around 2008, were he was drive and highlighted Mustang driving in Japan, supported by his sponsor, Ford in Japan. He then moved to a second location at Bohemian and made this his official blog. To compliment his radio and writing work, he has also released a few Japanese language podcasts such as "The Planet green podcast" & "Australia's World Heritage Podcast". Finally, he has also worked with Japanese television, often but not always as a narrator:
  • ウゴウゴ・ルーガ {Ugougo · Rūga} (Fuji Television Network)
  • 『カイジGAME1』 {"Kaiji Gēmu Wan} (Pleasure [Gambling] Game One) (Fuji Television Network)
  • ロバート・ハリスのとーくセッション {Robāto · Harisu no tōku sesshon} (Robert Harris' Talk Session (BS11 Digital)
  • The ゲームナイト {Zā Gēmu Naito} (The Game Night) (BS NTV）
  • 『熱中時間　忙中”趣味”あり』 {'Netchū Jikan Bōchū "Shumi" Ari'} (The Enthusiasm Time; enjoying a hobby even when busy)（NHK）/ featured as a backgammon aficionado

• 

  Black stone epitaph / inscription to
  the side of Arthur's cross gravestone,
  with Ricky & Ronnie's: Japanese
  names, nicknames, ages & death.

  Ronald HARRIS (ロナルド・ハリス {Ronarudo · HARISU})

  legal Japanese name

  平柳秀美 {HIRAYANAGI Hidemi}

  Nickname

  Ronnie (ロニー {Ronī})

  Relationship

  Second son (次男 {jinan})

  Nationality

  JPN

  Death

  1974-Oct-30 (age 21)

• Richard HARRIS (リチャード・ハリス {Richādo · HARISU})

  legal Japanese name

  平柳英之 {HIRAYANAGI Hideyuki}

  Nickname

  Ricky (リッキー {Rikkī})

  Relationship

  Third son (三男 {sannan})

  Nationality

  JPN

  Death

  1985-Mar-18 (age 29)