Mihoko: 83 Years Ago,Uncle Nie Rongzhen Saved Me in a Basket

On the occasion of the 50thanniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan,an old friend from Miyakonojō,Miyazaki Prefecture,Japan,wrote a letter to Chongqing,where its Chinese sister city Jiangjin District is located:

“Sincere congratulations on the 50thanniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China.It was nearly 83 years ago that Marshal Nie Rongzhen of the E ighth Route Army of C hina saved my life on the battlefield.I appreciate the care extended by Chongqing as always,despite how dras tically the world i s changing right now.I wish the two cities and both countries prosperity and the peoples happiness!”

The letter was written by Kakoi Mihoko.What is the story behind her and Marshal Nie Rongzhen?

Back in August 1940,the Hundred Regiments Offensive was launched in the war-ridden Taihang Area.When the Eighth Route Army soldiers cleaned the battlefield following a fierce campaign,they found little Mihoko and her baby sister wailing inside a collapsed house.Upon an inquiry from the soldiers on how to treat the two girls,Marshal Nie made an instruction immediately: bring them to the command post.

The two girls were escorted to the front-line command post,where Nie Rongzhen was stationed,by specially-assigned soldiers in a basket.It was confirmed that the sisters were orphans.Mihoko was only five or six years old at the time,and her sister Rumiko,who had suffered grievous injuries,was much younger.Lying in a basket,Mihoko with some minor injuries appeared a little flustered,when she suddenly saw Nie come in.

Nie looked at her and smiled.He took some pears from his pockets and peeled them for Mihoko,and used hand gestures to ask for her name and age.Mihoko gradually let down her guard and felt at ease with this kind uncle.She could feel that Nie was a good person even though she couldn't understand what he was saying.

值此中日邦交正常化50周年之际，日本宫崎县都城市的一位故人，向中国友好城市江津区所在的重庆市发来一封信：

“衷心祝贺日中邦交正常化迎来50周年……中国八路军聂荣臻将军在战场上救我性命，已是近83年前的事了……纵然当今世界变化激烈，感谢贵方一如既往给予我关爱。祝愿两市、两国蓬勃发展，人民幸福！”

The Letter from Kakoi Mihoko栫美穗子的信。

写这封信的人名叫栫美穗子，她与聂荣臻元帅之间发生过什么故事呢？

In the following days together,little Mihoko followed Nie around almost every day.She regarded Nie as her father,and Nie also treated her as his daughter.

Considering the danger at the front-line command post,Nie finally decided to send the two girls away and made the arrangement personally.He prepared some pears in the basket so that the two girls wouldn’t cry for food on the way.Sad to see them go,Nie,hugged them gently and patted their little heads for best wishes when the two were leaving.

Time flies.After several decades apart,Nie,who was already a Marshall General of the Republic of China,still held the two girls dear in his heart.One day in 1980,when he was interviewed by a reporter of the PLA Daily,the reporter showed three photos and Nie sighed: “The war is cruel,but the children are innocent.I wonder how the two girls are doing and where are they now?”

On May 28thof the same year,an articletitled Little Japanese Girl,Where Are You?published inPLA Daily,covering the story of how Nie Rongzhen saved these two Japanese girls.Then,the article was shared by the Japanese newspaperYomiuri Shinbun.Soon,the story of the Chinese marshal’s humanitarian rescue of Japanese war orphans became a sensation in Japan.

With the support of the friendly Japanese people,Mihoko was found in Kyushu in less than a week.It turned out that after being sent to the Japanese garrison in Shijiazhuang,the sisters were transferred to Shimen Hospital,where unfortunately the younger sister Rumiko died of illness.Then Mihoko was brought back to Japan by her uncle in October 1940.

At that time,Mihoko was already married with children.When she was interviewed,she could not hide her excitement.She wrote a letter to Marshal Nie and expressed hopes to visit Beijing to show her gratitude in person for saving her life back then.

After receiving Mihoko’s letter,Nie carefully read all the contents and the attached photos.He was very happy and said,“I read Mihoko’s letter,and her recent and childhood photos,which very much resemble the baby Mihoko.I finally find her after 40 years.It is so rare and precious.I am really happy.And I wish Mihoko and her families great happiness.”

时间回到1940年8月。战火纷飞的太行地区打响了百团大战，经过一番激战，八路军战士打扫战场时，在一处坍塌的民房里发现了正在哭泣的美穗子和她的妹妹。战士请示上级如何处理，司令员聂荣臻当即指示：把她们送到指挥部来。

就这样，两个孩子由专人用箩筐挑着送到了聂荣臻所在的前线指挥部。经查实，姐妹俩是孤儿。当时，美穗子大约五六岁，重伤的妹妹瑠美子更幼小。受了些轻伤的美穗子躺在箩筐里，忽然看见聂荣臻进来，她看起来有些慌张。

Nie Rongzhen and the Little Mihoko聂荣臻与年幼的美穗子。

聂荣臻看着她和蔼地笑了，一边从衣兜里掏出一个梨给她吃，一边用手势比划着问她叫什么名字、多大年纪。这样暖心的举动，让美穗子渐渐地不再恐惧，对眼前这个伯伯印象很好。她虽然听不懂聂荣臻说的话，但是能够感受到他是个好人。

In July 1980,at the invitation of the China-Japan Friendship Association,Mihoko visited Beijing with her three daughters and met her life-saver again.Mihoko couldn’t help but kept sobbing,holding Marshal Nie’s hand tightly.She bowed deeply and touched his hand with her forehead to express her utmost respect.Much to Nie’s consolation,Mihoko called Nie “Dad”.

Marshal Nie,who was over 80 years old,gently patted Mihoko’s head and said,“China and Japan are neighbors linked by a narrow strip of waters,and there is no reason for unfriendly sentiments.The development of friendship between the two peoples is of great significance,and only with closer people-to-people exchanges can the bond and friendship between them be strengthened.We Chinese and Japanese must carry forward this friendship from generation to generation.”

After 40 years apart,Mihoko visited Beijing to extend sincere gratitude to Marshal Nie Rongzhen.阔别40年，美穗子赴北京面谢聂荣臻元帅。

相处的日子里，天真的美穗子几乎每天都跟在聂荣臻的后面，像他的小尾巴。她把聂荣臻当做了自己的父亲，聂荣臻也把她当做女儿一样。

考虑到前线指挥部比较危险，聂荣臻最终决定将两姐妹送走，并亲自安排送孤事宜。为了防止孩子在路上饥饿啼哭，他还特地准备了一些梨放在箩筐里。孩子要走了，他依依不舍地抱起她们，摸摸小脑袋，以示祝福。

时光匆匆，分别数十年，已是共和国元帅的聂荣臻还挂念着美穗子姐妹。1980年的一天，他在接受《解放军报》记者采访时，看到记者拿出的三张照片，感慨地说:“战争是残酷的，孩子是无辜的，不知这两个孩子到底怎么样了，她们现在在哪里？”

同年5月28日，《解放军报》刊发了标题为《日本小姑娘你在哪里？》的通讯，讲述了聂荣臻救助两个日本小女孩的故事。日本《读卖新闻》全文转载了这篇文章。很快，中国元帅在战争期间人道主义救助日本孤儿的故事轰动了日本。

在日本友好人士的大力帮助下，不到一个星期，身在日本九州的美穗子被找到了。原来，美穗子姐妹被送回石家庄的日军驻地后，又被转送到石门医院。在那里，妹妹瑠美子因伤病不幸去世。美穗子于1940年10月被伯父带回日本。

找到美穗子时她已经结婚生子，她在接受记者采访时难掩激动的心情，给聂荣臻元帅写了一封信，希望能有机会到北京，当面感谢他当年的救命之恩。

聂荣臻在收到信件后，仔细看了内容和所附的照片。他高兴地说：“看了美穗子热情洋溢的来信，看了她的近影和童年时的照片，很像她小时候的样子。阔别了40年，终于找到了，这很难得，我很高兴，我祝美穗子全家幸福。”

1980年7月，应中日友好协会邀请，美穗子带着3个女儿来到北京，再次见到了自己的救命恩人。霎时间，美穗子泣不成声，紧紧地握着聂荣臻元帅的手，深深地鞠躬，额头轻触他的手来表达自己最大的敬意。美穗子改口，管聂荣臻叫“爸爸”，让聂荣臻感到十分宽慰。

After that reunion,Mihoko became an active participant in events promoting China-Japan friendship and exchanges to express her heartfelt appreciation.She was honored by the Headquarters of the Japan-China Friendship Association and was elected as a director of the Miyakonojō Municipal Japan-China Friendship Association.In the following 25 years,Mihoko visited China five times as a special ambassador for the China-Japan friendship.In 1999,Mihoko’s city of residence,Miyakonojō of Miyazaki Prefecture and Marshal Nie’s hometown Jiangjin(now Jiangjin District) of Chongqing became sister cities.Mihoko has surely made great contributions to the people-to-people friendship between China and Japan.

Photo/Chongqing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries

Editor/Liu Dingrui

年届八旬的聂荣臻元帅轻抚着美穗子的头，感慨地说，“中日两国是一衣带水的邻国，没有理由不友好。发展中日人民友谊是十分有意义的事情，只有加强中日两国人民之间的往来，才能加深两国人民的感情和友谊。我们两国人民要世世代代友好下去。”

此后，美穗子怀着报恩之心，积极参与中日友好交流活动。她受到日本日中友好协会全国本部的表彰，还曾当选都城市日中友好协会理事。之后的25年间，美穗子作为中日友好的特殊使者，先后5次来访中国，并于1999年促成其定居地日本宫崎县都城市与聂荣臻元帅家乡重庆江津市（现江津区）结为友好城市，为中日两国民间友好作出自己的贡献。