I would like to answer Masha, Marina and Ira. I think I can imagine your lively faces. I should respect your good questions.

Question 1. Japanese officers

It seems that my explanation might not be clear enough and caused some misunderstandings. I would like to explain it a little bit in detail. Food problem is a very important. Isn't it?

All prisoners were suffering serious hunger because of insufficient ration. I know that Russia itself suffered serious shortage of food after the war and in economical difficulty. So they must have difficulty to get food for prisoners. Hunger may be real cause of the problem. Many people who handle procurement and distribution of food committed a injustice frequently. They took a rake-off on our rations. They were not only Japanese, but many Russians too. There are bad guys anywhere in the world. When I came back to Japan and many books about the Siberian camps and found a calorie table of food served to prisoners. I was surprised to know the figures. I do not think that I got that much. My friends who were sick in bed suffered from insufficient ration.

Not only Japanese officers are guilty for a rake-off. Many of them were admirable. They paid respect to their subordinate. There were few bad officers who did very bad things. There are such officers in any army of any country. I have to apologize for unclear wordings. Even after 50 years, I still have a hatred for those bad people who raked off our insufficient ration and had enough while the rest of us were in perpetual hunger.

There is a proverb in Japan, "Tabemono no urami wa osoroshi" Grudges about the food are deep seated and long remembered. Do you have similar saying in Russia?

May be I have written too much and made you confused. Sorry about that.

Question 2.Were there Russians who were kind to Japanese?

At first I could not get familiar with Russians. I thought that Russians in the cold country is a fearful nation. When we worked together in the same workshop, I gradually understand that Russians are nice nation. I get have good impression of Russians for warm and big-hearted characteristic of Russians.

Russians became kind Japanese as we got to know each other better. Russian citizen kindly spoke to us from time to time. They shared food and tobacco even though their also suffered insufficiency. I have many good memories for this.

Question 3. Have I met families of prisoners who passed away in the camp?

Yes, I met them. It was very sad experience. As I have mentioned in my story, I visited Cherenhovo, Irkutsk in June, 1992 to visit graves of those people. When we returned to Japan, we visited those families to bring neat stones from the Lake Baikal and put it before the memorial tablet of late friends. It was very painful job even though it passed almost 50 years after the war.