Feature: Japanese abbot vows forever pursuit of peace amid efforts to collect materials on Japanese invasion

NAGOYA, Japan, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Shortly before China's ninth national memorial day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre, two experts, one from China and the other from Japan, who have long been engaged in the collection and preservation of historical materials of the Japanese invasion, met again online after three years.

"Mr. Daito, long time no see. I'm sorry to meet you in this way. We have received the historical materials you helped to collect in Japan this year. Thank you very much," said Ai Delin, head of the cultural relics department at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, eastern China, when talking via video link with Satoshi Daito, abbot of Enkoji Temple in Japan's Aichi Prefecture.

This year, Daito collected 51 sets of historical materials in Japan for the memorial hall, including a battlefield log written by Jun Arai, a soldier among the Japanese invaders, and relevant photos of the Unit Ei 1644 Japanese troops.

"In the Battlefield Log, Arai recorded the setting up of a 'comfort station' by Japanese invaders in Nanjing on Jan. 1, 1938, which was the earliest record of its kind after the formal establishment of the 'comfort women' system," said Ai, briefing Daito about the preliminary results of Chinese experts' study of the historical materials.

"The photos of the Unit Ei 1644 Japanese troops filled the gap of previous studies, which can be verified with the remains of the victims of the Unit Ei 1644 and related research," Ai said.

Since the year of 2005, Daito has collected and donated more than 4,500 pieces or sets of materials to the memorial hall in Nanjing.

"I studied modern Japanese history in college, which is the study of wartime history. In my junior year, I spent 30 days in northeast China, where I visited the sites of mass graves and that of Japanese Unit 731 troops," Daito told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

"I can't imagine why the Japanese did such cruel things then, and I wonder what the Japanese should do today," he said.

Daito became the abbot of the temple upon college graduation, when he also began a study on Japanese monks who accompanied the Japanese army during the war of aggression against China.

"At that time, Japanese monks supported and defended the war of aggression against China, which was a problem that I should thoroughly reflect on as a monk," said the abbot.

Daito believed that historical research, rather than lying in books, requires more collection of historical materials and evidence. "We should let evidence and historical facts speak themselves, so as to clearly understand the nature of the war of aggression," he said.

As his research deepened, Daito was exposed to a growing number of historical facts regarding the Japanese war of aggression against China, and his understanding of the nature of the war became much clearer.

Two decades ago, Daito visited Nanjing and got in touch with the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, to which he began to provide historical materials related to the Japanese invaders.

"Every morning, I would wake up and browse online auction websites for 30 minutes. Without paying attention, valuable historical materials could be missed, or even more likely to be seized by right-wing forces and completely destroyed," said Daito, whose work of collecting historical materials has never stopped over the years.

"I like history very much and have the ability to collect historical materials, but I don't do it out of interest, but rather the responsibility for the future," Daito said.

"I hope to leave these historical materials to future generations. In 50 or even 100 years, they can still be studied, which can be accessible not only by researchers in China, but also those in Japan, the United States and other countries. I will pursue peace forever," said the abbot.

In addition to collecting historical materials, Daito also works to publicize historical facts. Nagoya, where he holds a peace-themed lecture every year just before Aug. 15, the day when Japan surrendered in World War II, has become a focal point for Japanese right-wing forces to attack him.

Daito showed Xinhua a video which recorded how the Japanese right-wing elements were attacking him: The right-wingers wore abusive signs on their chests, shouted insults at Daito with loudspeakers, and even besieged him.

"I would not argue with them whether the Nanjing Massacre actually took place, instead, I would show them the evidence. Official operation logs of the Japanese army such as the Battlefield Log were all undeniable truth. With the evidence in hand, some people gradually realized that I was not making it up out of thin air through my speech, and gradually acknowledged the fact," he said.

With unwavering courage to face his opponents, Daito constantly presented historical facts to the right-wingers and taught them practical lessons of modern history, which Japan lacks most at present.

But the threat from the right-wing forces never ceased.

When asked if he was ever afraid, the 57-year-old abbot replied with a smile: "A friend of mine in Nanjing told me, 'Don't be afraid. There are 1.4 billion Chinese people on your side.'"

On the morning of Dec. 13, when sirens blared in China reminding people to remember the past, the bells also rang across the sea at the Enkoji Temple in Japan's Aichi Prefecture for the victims killed in the Nanjing Massacre.