Chen Qian/Shanghai Daily news

The horrors of the Nanjing Massacre are denied by many in Japan. Chen Qian talks with a Japanese teacher who collects proof about the massacre because she is determined that her country shall face up to its war guilt.

Japanese primary school teacher Motsuoka Tamaki at the book launch ceremony in Shanghai. She collects proof about the massacre because she is determined that her country shall face up to its war guilt.

It's already her second book about the Nanjing Massacre of 1937 and it seems unlikely it will be her last. Japanese primary school teacher Motsuoka Tamaki has again returned to one of the most brutal atrocities of the 20th century in her book, "Nanjing Massacre - The Split Soul of the Victims."
Recently published in Chinese by the Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House, the book has collected the personal stories of 120 victims of the atrocity. Most of the female victims had been raped by Japanese soldiers.
Invading Japanese troops occupied Nanjing on December 13, 1937, and the six-week-long massacre began. Historical records showed that more than 300,000 Chinese - not only wounded soldiers but also civilians - were slaughtered in an orgy of violence.
Motsuoka, 58, says collecting information from the victims was not easy. Most were reluctant to recall the misery and pain they endured, especially those women who had been raped.
"But people today should know the facts," says Motsuoka, "especially young Japanese because they won't find the stories in any history book in their home country."
Zhu zhiling, an editor with the Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House, says the company has printed about 5,000 books and the book is available in local bookstores.
Zhu says the publishing house has kept in touch with Motsuoka for years and all editors are deeply impressed by her spirit and conviction.
"She told us the collected material well and truly shows how much harm the Nanjing Massacre has brought to the Chinese people," Zhu says.
The idea of making the past clearer first came to Motsuoka because, as a primary school teacher, she found that Japanese history books did not mention the war and some even denied it.
So after the Nanjing Memorial Hall of Compatriots Murdered in the Nanjing Massacre was built in 1985 in Nanjing, the capital of neighboring Jiangsu Province, she went to visit it.
"The first visit deeply impressed me," Motsuoka recalls, "especially after talking with a victim named Li Xiuying."
Li was stabbed 37 times by Japanese soldiers when she was pregnant.
"Her face was like a basin with bruises in the picture," Motsuoka says. "And I will never forget it when she said she would tremble when seeing Japanese again even after so many years."
Right after the visit, Motsuoka made up her mind to seek more proofs of the atrocities committed during the Nanjing Massacre and to disclose them to the public.
She visited the memorial once a year afterwards and began to visit Japanese soldiers who took part in the massacre.
Most of the victims refused to talk to her and she had to try again and again to persuade them.
An old man surnamed Xu drove Motsuoka away when he realized she was Japanese and told her he would have a heart attack if he talked with a Japanese.
"But I didn't give up because every living victim is very important to my work," Motsuoka says.
She explained to the old man what she was doing and finally he broke his silence.
"He told me about one day during the massacre when he hid in a corner and witnessed many people being killed cruelly by Japanese soldiers. His story left me in tears," Motsuoka says.
A woman who was raped when she was only six years old rebuffed Motsuoka five times. Motsuoka persisted and won her trust in the end. "She told me that she has had to wear diapers all her life after the nightmare," Motsuoka says with pain in her voice.
Every time, with the permission of the interviewees, Motsuoka recorded their conversation and made copies of any pictures.
As a Japanese, she found that it was easier for her to talk with Japanese soldiers about the massacre. In 2002, Motsuoka published a book containing the testimony of 102 soldiers.
In her nearly 20 years of research, Motsuoka has met a lot of resistance. Right-wing forces in Japan have tried to interfere in her work and Motsuoka has had to keep her home telephone number private. She says she is always alert when out in public.
"When I am walking on the street, I look back all the time to see whether someone is following me or it a car is rushing towards me," she says. "I never stand in the first row when waiting for Metro trains to avoid being pushed onto the tracks.
"After the first book was published, I received more than 1,500 threatening messages online but there were a few supporters."
Professor su Zhiliang from the Shanghai Teachers' University, who has collected a vast amount of historical data to document the atrocities committed by Japanese troops against Chinese sex slaves during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) views Motsuoka as a comrade.
"She is regarded as a traitor in the eyes of most Japanese," Su says. "But I should say that she loves her country very much and what she is doing now is really for the future benefit of her country."
Motsuoka has now visited China 41 times, this year in Wuxi and Nanjing for the 60th anniversary of China's victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.
Before arriving in Shanghai, she presented some articles - including diaries of Japanese soldiers and military uniforms collected from Japanese troops - to the National Museum in Beijing, where an exhibition devoted to the Nanjing Massacre is on show.
Motsuoka says Japan brought untold disaster to the people of many Asian countries but today the Japanese Government is conceal the aggression in history textbooks.
During her stay in Shanghai last weekend, Motsuoka went to Baoshan District looking for more victims and witnesses of the massacre.
Motsuoka says she will not stop her work now that the second book has been published.
"As a teacher, my duty is to let my students know the truth of history," Motsuoka says. "Everyone should admit and make an apology for the mistake they've made."