[Paper] Aspects of First-Generation Japanese-Indonesians in 1950s Sumatra: Focusing on Residence and Occupation (In Reports and Papers)

Ito Masatoshi (Assistant Professor, Department of International Liberal Arts, Nihon University College of International Relations)

Introduction
　The term Japanese-Indonesians [1] refers to the former Japanese soldiers (first-generation Japanese-Indonesians) dispatched to various locations in Indonesia during the Pacific War who remained there after the war ended, took part in the Indonesian War of Independence (August 1945 to December 1949), and chose to stay after independence as well, and to their descendants (second and successive generations).
　In 1958, the then Ministry of Health and Welfare of Japan published a List of Sumatra District Non-Returnees (Appendix: List of Japanese Remaining in the Sumatra District); this Appendix listed about 155 names, Japanese legal domiciles, and Indonesian occupations, as well as unit names and ranks in the former Japanese Imperial Army [2]. With this Appendix: List of Japanese Remaining in the Sumatra District, created from 1951 to 1958, as its basic material, in addition to the information obtained through the author’s own fieldwork thus far, this paper provides an overview of the status of first-generation Japanese-Indonesians in 1950s Sumatra.

1 Historical background on Japanese-Indonesians
1-1 From entry into Indonesia through Indonesian independence
　From March 1942 through August 1945, for approximately three and a half years, Indonesia was controlled by the Japanese army. Most first-generation Japanese-Indonesians entered the country in 1942 or 1943 as soldiers in the North Sumatra or Aceh provinces, or reached Indonesia on their own after being demobilized on the ground in neighboring countries. Some came directly from Japan to Sumatra, while others entered Indonesia via the Port of Belawan in Medan from Thailand, Malaysia, or Singapore. Others came to Sumatra from Java or Ambon via the North Sumatran ports of Belawan, Tanjungbalai, or Tanjungkarang, or by air from Aceh [3]. However, first-generation Japanese-Indonesians also included Japanese civilians who had taken part in the Pacific War and Indonesian War of Independence after coming to Sumatra for business purposes before the war.
　On August 17, 1945, two days after the end of the war, Indonesia’s first President, Sukarno, read out an independence proclamation, launching the four-and-a-half-year War of Independence against the Allies and the army of the Netherlands, Indonesia’s former colonizer. At this point, there were some 290,000 Japanese military remaining in Indonesia, including both army and navy [4]. Of these, some one to two thousand are said to have taken part in the War of Independence, but the exact number remains unclear.
Reasons for deciding to remain in Indonesia included simple fondness for Indonesia and its people, children with and/or marriage to local women, fear of becoming a war criminal or a prisoner of the Allies, reluctance to trouble relatives by returning home with the label of a deserter or traitor, rumors of the destruction of Japan or attacks on return ships, desire to carry out the duty taken on in the Pacific War, imprisonment by the Indonesian independence forces, etc. [5].
　Although the Allies had ordered Japan not to transfer any weapons to Indonesia, some weapons were handed over in secret (including those seized from the British and Dutch armies during the war) [6] and others deliberately hidden on riverbanks and under barrack floors for the Indonesians to find. Most likely, Japanese soldiers did this out of a fondness for Indonesia, a sense of having failed to fulfill the mission of the Pacific War (a free Asia), or as a last resistance to the Allied forces.
　“Participation” in the Indonesian War of Independence suggests that all remaining Japanese soldiers were in the thick of the fighting; however, their “participation” included not only direct or guerrilla combat with the Allied forces, but also care of the wounded, repair and production of weapons, combat training for Indonesian soldiers, and sometimes even Japanese-style agriculture. In their different ways, each “contributed to Indonesian independence.”

1-2 “Java” and “Sumatra” groups after Indonesian independence
　Below is a survey of former Japanese soldiers conducted by Fukushi Tomo no Kai (Welfare Association), a mutual aid association of Japanese-Indonesians [7]. In Table 1, (1) Victims of the War of Independence shows those who died fighting or of illness during the War of Independence. Of the 246 victims in (1) and the 288 MIA during the War of Independence in (2), 231 and 276, respectively, were in Java or Sumatra; the others took part in the War of Independence in Bali, Kalimantan, etc. The dead and missing combined account for 534 people (59%), or almost sixty percent of the total.
　Conversely, the sum of (3) Survivors who stayed in Indonesia after the War of Independence and (4) Survivors who returned to Japan after the War of Independence, is 369 (41%). The 45 people in (4) (5%) are those who had returned to Japan on evacuee ships by the mid-1950s (see Table 1). According to Fukushi Tomo no Kai, it was not possible to survey other locations such as Sulawesi and New Guinea.

(1) Victims of the War of Independence	246 (27%)
(2) MIA in the War of Independence	288 (32%)
(3) Survivors who stayed in Indonesia after the War of Independence	324 (36%)
(4) Survivors who returned to Japan after the War of Independence	45 (5%)
Total	903 (100%)

　The above figures on Japanese soldiers remaining in Indonesia are based only on the results of a survey by Fukushi Tomo no Kai. As mentioned above, some one to two thousand former Japanese soldiers are said to have participated in the Indonesian War of Independence, with 700 to 800 in Sumatra alone. Those who survived the War of Independence and chose to remain in Indonesia thereafter are the first-generation of Japanese-Indonesians.
　From the mid-1970s, when first-generation Japanese-Indonesians throughout the country set out to establish Fukushi Tomo no Kai, they tended to use “Sumatra group” and “Java group” to refer to those remaining in each area. Because the vast majority of the remaining Japanese were in Java and Sumatra, there is no equivalent use of terms such as “Bali group” or “Sulawesi group.” Although more than a few first-generation Japanese-Indonesians moved from Sumatra to Java, they remained part of the “Sumatra group” because it was in Sumatra that they had decided to remain in Indonesia. Thus, first-generation Japanese-Indonesians can be roughly divided geographically into the Sumatra and Java groups; the Sumatra group can be further divided into those brought to Medan from Aceh by the Indonesian army after independence [9] and those originally scattered through North Sumatra. According to Kato, many of the former subsequently moved to Java, whereas most of the latter remained in Sumatra [10].

2 Residential areas of first-generation Japanese-Indonesians in Sumatra
　This section discusses the residential areas of first-generation Japanese-Indonesians from 1951 to 1958, based on information in the materials from the Appendix: List of Japanese Remaining in the Sumatra District. Because area names were not always clear from the phonetic Japanese used in the documents, this paper’s discussion is limited to what can be understood.

2-1 Residential areas other than Medan
　Based on the material above, the residential areas of first-generation Japanese-Indonesians in 1950s Sumatra, viewed by province, were Aceh, North Sumatra, Bengkulu (then South Sumatra), and South Sumatra [11]. At the city and regency level [12], in order from the largest number of first-generation Japanese-Indonesians, residential areas included the cities of Medan (67), Pematangsiantar (15), Tanjungbalai (11), Palembang (11), and Padang Sidempuan, as well as the regencies of South Tapanuli (7) and Langkat (5); there were also 11 people whose place of residence in Sumatra could not be identified. Other than Palembang, the capital of South Sumatra Province, all the other cities and regencies are in North Sumatra. Since the next section contains a detailed discussion of Medan, the capital of North Sumatra Province and home to the greatest concentration of first-generation Japanese-Indonesians, this section discusses areas other than Medan.

Pematangsiantar City (15 people)
　Pematangsiantar (below, Siantar), which had the second largest population of first-generation Japanese-Indonesians after Medan in the 1950s, is about 130 kilometers southeast of Medan. Some Japanese-Indonesians had apparently settled down with families in Siantar even before independence. Why did they favor this region?
　Since Siantar had been designated as a Japanese army gathering point, some 400 Japanese soldiers who had been stationed in Meulaboh, Aceh Province, made their way there immediately after Japan’s defeat [13]. In addition, the Imperial Guard division headquartered in Medan during the Pacific War was relocated to Malihat Farm in Siantar at the end of October 1945 [14]. Furthermore, in 1951, many former Japanese soldiers were put on cargo trains for confinement and transported from eastern Aceh to Medan; three fled the train on the way when it slowed down. They arrived in Siantar and hid in the forest. This anecdote is familiar among first- and second-generation Japanese-Indonesians in Medan. In addition to these three, it is reasonable to think that many first-generation Japanese-Indonesians who saw Indonesia achieve independence in Sumatra made their way to Siantar, a Japanese army gathering point and the former Imperial Guard division headquarters.
　According to one first-generation record, the Sumatra Siantar Japanese Association was formed on October 10, 1956, by 16 volunteers. It was a small organization, comprising, in addition to the 16 first-generation Japanese-Indonesians and their 14 spouses, 20 of the second generation. Their residences spanned Siantar and its environs, including two villages in the surrounding Simalungun Regency (Tangga Batu Village in Hatonduhan County and Balimbingan Village in Tanah Jawa County).
　By the mid-1960s, the members of the Association had gradually started relocating to Medan. As a large city, Medan provided more work opportunities, which was probably the reason for their moves. By the late 1990s, almost all the members had moved separately to Medan or Tanjungpura, with only two Japanese-Indonesian households still residing in Siantar.

Padang Sidempuan City and South Tapanuli Regency (7 people)
　The Tapanuli River Japanese Association was formed in 1952 in the Tapanuli district [15] in the southern part of North Sumatra Province (see photograph 1). The memoirs of first-generation Yamanashi Shigeru (1922–1996) [16] and the testimony of a second-generation Japanese-Indonesian man provide information on how first-generation Japanese-Indonesians assembled in the Tapanuli district and the names of 12 people thought to have been members of the Tapanuli River Japanese Association. However, interviews with second- and third-generation children and grandchildren of Association members have not been able to clarify how many members were in the Association (there are 15 pictured in photograph 1), what its activities were, or when it was dissolved. Thus, although information on the Tapanuli River Japanese Association is limited, it may be surmised that it was formed for fellow first-generation Japanese-Indonesians to acknowledge one another in a foreign land and create a sense of emotional solidarity.

Palembang
　Palembang, in South Sumatra Province, was famous for the presence of a parachute troop. The Appendix: List of Japanese Remaining in the Sumatra District shows 11 first-generation Japanese-Indonesian residents. Unlike Siantar and Tapanuli, there was apparently no Japanese association in the area; very few are thought to have lived in Palembang for long, with nearly all relocating to North Sumatra Province, Bengkulu Province (likewise in Sumatra), Lampung Province (at Sumatra’s southern tip), or Java.

2-2 Medan, a major first-generation Japanese-Indonesian residential area
　According to the Appendix: List of Japanese Remaining in the Sumatra District, 67 of the 155 first-generation Japanese-Indonesians in Sumatra in the 1950s resided in Medan. With some 3,000 of their second- through fifth-generation descendants living in Medan today, the city has been a Japanese-Indonesian center since the 1950s. The section below examines why first-generation Japanese-Indonesians gathered in Medan.

Reasons for the concentration of first-generation Japanese-Indonesians in Medan
　From December 1950 to October 1951, after Indonesia achieved independence, the Japanese soldiers remaining in Aceh, along with their families if present (over 100 people in total), were transported to two locations in Medan for confinement. The Indonesian government conveyed the Japanese soldiers to Medan on the pretext of protecting them before deporting them to Japan. This was a preventive measure to avoid involving the Japanese in the activities of the anti-governmental extremist Islamic movement Darul Islam [17].
　Despite this pretext, the real reason why the Indonesian government ordered that the Japanese soldiers be transported to Medan was that they were considered a threat as possible leaders and foci of armed forces among the people of Aceh. At the time, the Indonesian government was attempting to merge the Aceh, East Coast, and Tapanuli provinces (the latter two now North Sumatra Province) into a single North Sumatra Province. Aceh had stood firm against Dutch attacks since 1874, not becoming completely colonized until 1904. The Acehnese had fought with unique strength in the War of Independence as well. The government was therefore convinced that the Acehnese would protest the amalgamation of their province, and took measures to prevent the involvement of former Japanese soldiers there. Former Japanese soldiers living elsewhere (in and around Medan, in Tapanuli, etc.) immediately after independence were allowed freedom in their daily lives, without governmental monitoring. Thus, the most significant reason for the concentration of first-generation Japanese-Indonesians in Medan in the 1950s was their deportation from Aceh by the Indonesian government.
　There may also have been other reasons why first-generation Japanese-Indonesians gathered in Medan. As the largest city in Sumatra, Medan must have been a promising area for finding work. Some people may also have heard of the existing first-generation Japanese-Indonesian community there and chosen to seek psychological stability among their landsmen, even at the cost of economic security. Furthermore, the expansion of Japanese companies in Indonesia from the mid-1950s may also have encouraged these Japanese-Indonesians to settle in Medan. This, however, was also a factor in the relocation of some first-generation Japanese-Indonesians from Sumatra to Java.

The Sumatra Medan Japanese Association
　In 1953, the Sumatra Medan Japanese Association was established by first-generation Japanese-Indonesians, who called it the Medan Japanese Association (see photograph 2). Facing issues in every aspect of daily life, including Bahasa Indonesia, work, and legal status, they felt that these problems could best be handled in common by an organization in solidarity rather than by individuals. They held Year-End and New Year’s parties at a hotel in Medan, cleaned the Japanese cemetery, and held memorial services for the O-Bon holiday. First-generation Japanese-Indonesians from as far away as Siantar, Tapanuli, Aceh, etc., participated in the events along with those residing in and around Medan.

3 Occupations of first-generation Japanese-Indonesians in Sumatra
3-1 Doktor Jepang
　Notable among the occupations of first-generation Japanese-Indonesians was the large number of medical practitioners, called “mantri kesehatan doktor Jepang,” or “Doktor Jepang” for short, in Bahasa Indonesia. Documents suggest that as many as a third of the 100 or so former Japanese soldiers in the Aceh area made a living as Doktor Jepang [18].
　The Japanese literary scholar Hagitani Boku (1917–2009) entered Indonesia from the Port of Belawan, Medan, North Sumatra Province in May 1943 as a member of the Imperial Guard. He served in field hospitals and warehouses in Kabanjahe and Siantar in North Sumatra, as well as Lhokseumawe and Perlak; he safely returned to Japan after the war, without remaining in Indonesia. Hagitani’s memoirs record his experience of providing medical care to the Acehnese in wartime as a kind of assistant Doktor Jepang [19].
　Elsewhere, Hasegawa Toyoki (born 1917), who returned safely to Japan via Thailand after the war, provided medical care in Kisaran, North Sumatra Province, during the Indonesian War of Independence [20]. Hasegawa describes his time as a Doktor Jepang thus: “It wasn’t that the smooth-talking quack’s prescriptions cured anything, just that the medicinal effects on the local people, who had never experienced medicine, were amazing” [21]. Given the others also providing medical care to Indonesians, the existence of Doktor Jepang may have been well known not only among the local people but also among the former Japanese soldiers before Indonesian independence.
　The Appendix: List of Japanese Remaining in the Sumatra District includes “medicine seller,” “medicine merchant,” and “doctor” among the legible occupations; of 155 people, at least 18 were engaged in medical care or medicine sales between 1952 and 1958. Geographically, they were in Medan, Sibolga, Padang Sidempuan, and Pematangsiantar in North Sumatra Province as well as in Meulaboh and Langsa in Aceh [22]. From descendants as well as non-Japanese Indonesians familiar with first-generation Japanese-Indonesians, the author has confirmed the existence of clinics run by first-generation Doktor Jepang from the 1950s, after Indonesian independence, in Lhokseumawe in Aceh as well as Asahan, Kisaran, Kotanopan, Batang Kuis, Tebing Tinggi, and Binjai in North Sumatra.
　Would it be possible to consider first-generation Japanese-Indonesians working as “medicine sellers” or “medicine merchants” as Doktor Jepang as well? For example, one first-generation Japanese-Indonesian listed as a “medicine seller” is remembered, in his second-generation children’s conversation with the author, as traveling among villages by bicycle to provide medical care. Furthermore, the testimony of other second-generation Japanese-Indonesians as well as various documents [23] confirms that many of the first generation engaged in medical care.
Therefore, many of those listed as “medicine sellers” or “medicine merchants” may not only have sold medications but actually provided medical care.
　Doktor Jepang, who practiced medicine without official licenses, apparently called each other quacks. However, they probably improved their medical skills as they performed their duties.
It was these Doktor Jepang who accepted fruit and vegetables from patients in poverty in lieu of medical fees, and rushed to see to troubled villagers at any time of day or night.
　They were treasured by local residents for other reasons as well. In addition to their rarity value as Japanese hailing from faraway lands, these orang Jepang were usually able to cure the ills they treated. Furthermore, there were no pusat kesehatan masyarakat (shortened to puskesmas) local clinics at the time, and the hospitals built in the Dutch colonial era were geographically distant for people living in the countryside.

3-2 Others
　According to the Appendix: List of Japanese Remaining in the Sumatra District, occupations of first-generation Japanese-Indonesians other than Doktor Jepang included lumber workers (12), automobile mechanics (11), farmers (9), Japanese company employees (8), mechanics and repairmen (3), building contractors (3), drivers (3), soldiers in the Indonesian army (3), fishermen (2), and merchants (2).
　Mechanics and farmers tended to strike out on their careers alone, whereas lumber workers, building contractors, etc., might have worked in pairs to start joint businesses. Furthermore, some depended on the cooperation of Indonesians in their daily lives, finding employment with in-laws and other relatives by marriage or through friendships made and cultivated during the Pacific War or the Indonesian War of Independence (e.g., being hired at a factory managed by Chinese-Indonesians), or running lumber or contractor businesses based on investment from the Toba Batak. Indonesians seem to have thought well of first-generation Japanese-Indonesians, including both Doktor Jepang and others, for their skill, honesty, and conscientiousness. Their “typically Japanese” punctuality and care for their work was arguably appreciated by locals.
　Many first-generation Japanese-Indonesians frequently changed jobs in the 1950s, after Indonesian independence, when even native Indonesians struggled to survive. One made his living in Siantar, after being demobilized from the Indonesian army, as a motorcycle mechanic and Doktor Jepang. Thereafter, he moved to a town about 30 km from Siantar and became a vocational school teacher. His subjects ranged from physical education (judo and karate) to music, Japanese, crafts, and art.
　The Appendix: List of Japanese Remaining in the Sumatra District indicates one first-generation Japanese-Indonesian working as a “judo teacher” in Medan as of 1958. Besides him, there was another judo teacher in Siantar. He worked in Medan from the early 1950s, having previously run a judo dojo in Siantar (see photograph 3). For some time after moving to Medan, he traveled back to Siantar on weekends to teach judo to Indonesians (mainly Chinese-Indonesians). However, as his work in Medan picked up he began to be constantly busy, leaving judo teaching to his Indonesian students.

　In contrast, some first-generation Japanese-Indonesians frequently changed jobs until retirement and supported large families. The prevalence of large families among first-generation Japanese-Indonesians meant that many of the second generation left school and started working to contribute to the family when they were of high school age, or in some cases even after graduating from elementary school. The first generation were able to rely on their children for support, even when their own incomes were unstable.

Japanese companies
　The Appendix: List of Japanese Remaining in the Sumatra District identifies eight first-generation Japanese-Indonesians working for Japanese companies such as Kashima Trade, Daido Bussan, Toyo Cotton, and Marubeni. Japanese companies began to open branches in Indonesia in 1956, with full-scale business beginning in 1967 when Japan passed the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act [24]. In addition to the four companies mentioned above, there were 25 or more Japanese companies in Sumatra (many with branches in Medan) which employed first-generation Japanese-Indonesians, including Mitsui Bussan, Nomura Trading, etc. [25].
　First-generation Japanese-Indonesians, who spoke Bahasa Indonesia and were familiar with the area, were valuable and useful for Japanese companies. However, they were often hired as local staff with limited terms of employment, almost never as full employees. In any case, they were generally well served economically by the presence of the Japanese companies, passing on employment opportunities to one another and using their connections to start businesses in Indonesia. They were also delighted to receive information about Japan and Japanese foods through the Japanese companies. Furthermore, their involvement with Japanese companies enabled them to renew and retain their connections with Japan.

Conclusion
　Otsudo Noboru (1918–2000), a leader among the first-generation Japanese-Indonesians, wrote a memoir in the Monthly Report No. 169 (May 1996), examining his own experiences and dividing the lives of first-generation Japanese-Indonesians into six periods covering the 50 years after the war. The six periods he describes are: 1. The late 1940s “Indonesian War of Independence” (4 years); 2. The 1950s “Struggling to make a life in Indonesian society” (10 years); 3. the 1960s “Establishing an identity and livelihood” (10 years); 4. the 1970s “Moving forward and aging” (10 years); 5. The 1980s “Growing old and establishing Yayasan Fukushi Tomo no Kai” (10 years); and 6. The 1990s “Old age and passing the torch of Yayasan Fukushi Tomo no Kai” (10 years).
　This paper has described period 2. in Otsudo’s classification, the 1950s “Struggling to make a life in Indonesian society,” with the first-generation Japanese-Indonesians of Sumatra as a case study. The results revealed that first-generation Japanese-Indonesians gathered in North Sumatra Province, particularly its capital of Medan, and that, excluding those who succeeded as Doktor Jepang, most first-generation Japanese-Indonesians experienced economic hardship. In a period when even native Indonesians were struggling, Japanese-Indonesians supported one another in order to survive.
　To clarify how first-generation Japanese-Indonesians lived in a foreign country in the 1940s and 1950s, the author intends to continue research on time periods 1. and 2. above, along with the Japanese colonial era in Indonesia, focusing on the micro-perspectives of first-generation Japanese-Indonesians who took up new religions, married local women, and interacted among Japanese-Indonesians as well as with local Indonesians.

Notes
[1] This paper uses various terms in accordance with the context, such as first-generation Japanese-Indonesians, former Japanese soldiers, Japanese soldiers, Japanese civilians and so on.
[2] Ministry of Health and Welfare (1958) List of Sumatra District Non-Returnees (Appendix: List of Japanese Remaining in the Sumatra District).
[3] Second-generation Japanese-Indonesians share the anecdote that the Japanese army entered Indonesia from Singapore not from Belawan but from Tanjungbalai, catching the Dutch army by surprise.
[4] Kawata Fumiko (1997) Indonesia no ‘ianpu’ (‘Comfort women’ in Indonesia), Akashi Shoten, p. 174.
[5] For detailed reasons why first-generation Japanese-Indonesians decided to remain in Indonesia, see Kurasawa Aiko (2011) Sengo Nihon-Indonesia kankeishi (History of postwar Japan–Indonesia relations), Soshisha; Goto Ken’ichi (2002), “Moto-Nihonhei Kumpul Otsudo (1918–2000-nen) to sengo Indonesia (Former Japanese soldier Kumpul Otsudo (1918–2000) and postwar Indonesia)” in Waseda University Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies Asia Taiheiyo Tokyu (Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies) 4: pp. 49-63; Hayashi Eiichi (2007) Zanryu Nihonhei no shinjitsu: Indonesia dokuritsu senso wo tatakatta otoko-tachi no kiroku (The truth about remaining Japanese soldiers: Records of the men who fought the Indonesian War of Independence), Sakuhinsha; Fukushi Tomo no Kai (2005), Indonesia dokuritsu senso ni sanka shita “kaeranakatta Nihonhei,” issenmei no koe (“Japanese soldiers who never returned” and fought in the Indonesian War of Independence: 1,000 voices), Fukushi Tomo no Kai vol. 200 Monthly Report excerpts, etc.
[6] Weapons given voluntarily or involuntarily to the Indonesian military (national army, youth party, other guerrilla groups) by the Japanese army during the Indonesian War of Independence numbered (including both army and navy), 63,000 pistols, 5,000 machine guns, and 427 cannons. Sankei Shimbunsha (1995), “Mikikanhei s. 20 (Unreturned soldiers s. 20),” Sengoshi kaifu (Opening postwar history), p. 437.
[7] Fukushi Tomo no Kai (in Bahasa Indonesia Yayasan Warga Persahabatan or YWP) is a nationwide association of Japanese-Indonesians founded in 1979 to further mutual support and connection among first-generation Japanese-Indonesians. It is headquartered in Jakarta, with branches in Surabaya and Medan. Japanese-Indonesians call it Yayasan or YWP.
[8] Fukushi Tomo no Kai (2005), op. cit., p. 382.
[9] As many as 100 former Japanese soldiers were transported from various parts of Aceh to Medan and confined there after Indonesian independence. See part 2, section 2 on this issue.
[10] In an email from Kato Hiroshi to the author on November 25, 2011. Formerly the Sankei Shimbun Jakarta bureau chief, Kato’s writings include Daitoa senso to Indonesia: Nihon no gunsei (The Pacific War and Indonesia: Japanese military rule).
[11] Combining Fukushi Tomo no Kai (1995) Moto Nihon gunjin zanryusha meibo Java Sumatra Bali (List of remaining Japanese soldiers, Java, Sumatra, Bali) (Yayasan Warga Persahabatan Dafter Issei Hidup Tahun 1995) and the author’s own fieldwork, it can be seen that first-generation Japanese-Indonesians were living in seven of Sumatra’s eight provinces (excluding Riau) as of 1995. Excluding a few who moved to Sumatra while unmarried, most of the first-generation Japanese-Indonesians had originally settled in one of the seven provinces, moving mainly for work purposes to Medan, Sumatra’s major city, or to Java or Kalimantan between Indonesian independence in the 1950s and the early 1980s. Some remained in the Lampung and South Sumatra provinces as well.
[12] In Indonesia, provinces (provinsi) are first-level governing authorities, followed by the equally second-level cities (kota) and regencies (kabupaten), akin to Japanese prefectures. It should therefore be noted that, unlike in Japan, cities do not belong to regencies/prefectures (e.g., Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture; Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture). Lower-level administrative units include districts (kecamatan), urban communities (kelurahan), residential districts (dusun), and villages (desa).
[13] Kamisaka Fuyuko (1997) Minami no sokoku ni ikite: Indonesia zanryu Nihonhei to sono kodomo-tachi (Living in a southern homeland: Japanese soldiers remaining in Indonesia and their children), Bungei Shunju, p. 35.
[14] Fusayama Takao (1992) Indonesia no dokuritsu to Nihonjin no kokoro (Indonesian independence and Japanese hearts), Tentensha, p. 97.
[15] Until 1950, Padang Sidempuan City and South Tapanuli Regency in North Sumatra Province formed Tapanuli Province.
[16] Yamanashi Shigeru (1985a) “Dokuritsu senso yodan: Maboroshijo 1 (Outtakes from the War of Independence: Fantasy Castle 1)” Monthly Report No. 39: pp. 1–2; Yamanashi (1985b) Dokuritsu senso yodan: Maboroshijo 2 (Outtakes from the War of Independence: Fantasy Castle 2)” Monthly Report No. 40: pp. 1–2; Yamanashi (1987) “Nagarowa (kawin lari = elopement)” Monthly Report No. 64: pp. 2–3.
[17] Kurasawa, op. cit. p. 139.
[18] Honda Tadahisa (1990) Parang to bakuyaku (Parang knives and gunpowder), Nishida Shoten, p. 250.
[19] Hagitani Boku (1992), Boku no Daitoa Senso: Kokoro atataka na Sumatra no hito-tachi, ichi shichohei no omoide (My Pacific War: A logistics officer’s memories of the warm-hearted people of Sumatra), Kawade Shobo Shinsha, pp. 153–156.
[20] Hasegawa Toyoki (1982) Sumatra muyado: Tora kenpei senkoki (Homeless in Sumatra: An MP on the run), Sobunsha.
[21] Hasegawa, ibid. p. 127–128.
[22] Ministry of Health and Welfare, op. cit.
[23] Cho Yohiro (2007) Indonesia zanryu moto Nihonhei wo tazunete (Visiting former Japanese soldiers in Indonesia), Shakai Hyoronsha; Masanori Yoshida (2010) Ibunka kekkon wo ikiru Nihon to Indonesia: Bunka no sesshoku/henyo/saisozo (Living in cross-cultural marriages in Japan and Indonesia: Cultural contact/transformation/recreation), Shinsensha, etc.
[24] Nagai Shigenobu (2008) Nihon/Indonesia kankei 50-nenshi: Arata na hanseiki ni mukete (History of 50 years of Japan–Indonesia relations: Toward a new half-century) Japan–Indonesia Friendship Year Executive Committee (not for sale), p. 21.
[25] Fukushi Tomo no Kai (1988), Monthly Report No. 80, pp. 4–6.

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