Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Japanese: , 18 January 1918 - 1 April 2003) - nicknamed "the Bird" by his prisoners - was a known war criminal and Imperial Japanese Army soldier in World War II who served in a number of military internment camps. based on information from your browser. "[2], Following the Occupation, Watanabe became a life insurance salesman and was reportedly wealthy, owning a $1.5 million apartment in Tokyo and a vacation condominium on the Gold Coast of Australia. There have been many World War II stories told in film depicting triumphs of personal courage and survival. In the end, he laid the blame on, The modern, Japanese reactions to the Unbroken book and movie have been mixed and many hardline Japanese nationalists are furious about negative portrayal of the Japanese military. Zamperini, who died in July, was a crewmember on a warplane that crashed in the Pacific in May 1943 and drifted in a raft for 47 days with one other survivor before being intercepted by a. Resend Activation Email. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. Driven by a desire to feel powerful, Watanabe derives sexual pleasure and self-worth by using torture to dehumanize the prisoners. Here his living hell began, as . Mr Wade kept in contact with Zamperini with occasional letters and became close friends with some of Zamperini's fellow American POWs but his friends have now all passed away. In 1950, he visited a Tokyo prison holding several of his former prison guards. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. They drifted without food, water or shelter for 47 days before being captured by the Japanese. Mutsuhiro Watanabe, known as the Bird to POWs, was a sadistic Japanese leader at two different POW camps, Omori and Naoetsu. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. They don't see other again until after the war. I can understand how Watanabe was trying to be a good Japanese. He looked a perfect miler. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. !1954http . Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. Finally Watanabe allowed the American to put down the beam. The message was: The war is over. Husband of woman murdered with an ax convicted 40 years after her death Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Try again. camps, Zamperini's main problem was the physical abuse he was taking, including getting repeatedly punched in the face. He was obsessed with humiliating the famous Olympian, Louis S. Zamperini, by attempting to destroy his dignity, and to dehumanize him.The Bird was classified as a war criminal, placed 23rd on the most wanted list, by the US Occupation authorities for his mistreatment of POWs; along with several others such as the medical officer, a pitiless brute called Sueharu Kitamura, known as the Butcher. Yes, Unbroken is based on true events. "Unbroken" tells the real-life story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic athlete-turned World War II bombardier who survives 45 days at sea after a plane crash, only to end up in a Japanese prisoner camp. display: block; .component--type-recirculation .item:nth-child(5) { He was also portrayed by David Sakurai in the sequel. He was portrayed by Miyavi, who also played Finn in Arcane. July 3, 2014. He had unlimited money and. Failed to remove flower. I can understand how Watanabe was trying to be a good Japanese. But he was famous, as was the fellow who beheaded the Australian coast watcher. Louie carves his name into the wall, beside the names of the other marines who have carved their names there. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Mutsuhiro Watanabe (192509131)? Every night he had nightmares about the Bird. It is true, as far as it goes, but the story is incomplete. It didn't take long for the most viscous guard, Corporal Mutsuhiro Watanabe, who prisoners nicknamed "the Bird," or the "most sadistic man." The Bird said that he felt near sexual excitement. Mutsuhiro Watanabe is a man of many names and personalities. Watanabe was classified as a Class-A war criminal following the war for his abuse of prisoners of war (POWs) held by the Japanese military. Perhaps I will be able to watch it with a DVD. 'I thought he was very Italian in appearance, very athletic with beautiful long legs and compact body. [2] Watanabe did not apologize in the interview, but acknowledged beating and kicking prisoners. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. However, in 1952, the United States granted amnesty to Japanese war criminals, after which he. Prison guard Mutsuhiro Watanabe was so relentless in his torture of the POWs that it left Louis with nightmares and constant dread. He served as a bombardier in B-24 Liberators in the Pacific. To use this feature, use a newer browser. As stated in the closing titles, the real Mutsuhiro Watanabe refused to meet with Louis Zamperini, however he did agree to be interviewed for a TV program on the occasion of Zamperini's 1998 run in Tokyo. In the movie, which was released on Boxing Day, Officer Matsuhiro Watanabe relentlessly tortures the one-time Olympic hero Zamperini by making him hold a railway sleeper over his head for 37 minutes. the wings. These figures discount a host of captives who did not survive in Japanese hands on the battlefield, or after being shot down, for long enough to be statistics., Hastings wrote that the POWs liberators were stunned by the stories they heard: of starvation and rampant disease; of men worked to death in their thousands, tortured or beheaded for small infractions of discipline. He noted that It seemed incomprehensible that a nation with pretensions to civilisation could have defied every principle of humanity and the supposed rules of war., Japanese Imperial Army Unit 731, which carried out medical experiments on prisoners during the war that matched or even surpassed Nazi Germany in cruelty, was particularly infamous. Please enter your email and password to sign in. Miyavi, who plays Mutsuhiro Watanabe in Unbroken, at the films New York premiere. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. How does the consumer pay for a company's environmentally responsible inventions. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? "And when I think back to 1945 when we left Naoetsu, it was such a horrible place in our minds, I couldn't look back. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Continue Learning about General Arts & Entertainment. When did Masao Watanabe die? I was just in a great joy of complete release and liberation, he wrote in 1956, that I was not guilty., The modern, Japanese reactions to the Unbroken book and movie have been mixed and many hardline Japanese nationalists are furious about negative portrayal of the Japanese military. More planes were lost in ____________ than in combat. Bird of Prey. I staggered back and sat on the laps of two men sitting watching. Failed to delete memorial. He said: 'I would rather not comment on that.'. Watanabe severely beat Zamperini during his time as a POW, and was reviled among the American captives. / CBS. His wife - he had married a Miami woman named Cynthia Applewhite in 1947 - urged him to go to listen to a young preacher named Billy Graham. Zamperini, who died in 2014, was one of Americas greatest track and field Olympians. Verify and try again. Zamperini decided to serve the Lord. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. Wade said: 'As far as I know I believe I am the last British survivor of Omori camp but I do not know about the Americans.'. But his son said no to any meeting. 'If the former prisoners want, I would offer to let them come here and hit me - to beat me,' he said. I can respect him for that but he went too far with the beatings and near torture. This is your one-stop encyclopedia that has numerous frequently asked questions answered. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. I can respect him for that but he went too far with the beatings and near torture. Died on: December 23, 1948. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. Watanabe went into hiding for seven years and was never prosecuted, emerging back into society only after war crimes prosecutions were stopped and the U.S. However, Watanabe went into hiding and was never prosecuted. In the end, he laid the blame on sinful, absurd, insane war. He saw himself as a victim. Then he swung it like a baseball bat against the left side of my head and then the right. Describe Mutsuhiro Watanabe's background: He became a lowly corporal at a POW camp not an officer; rich; well-educated; graduated from Japanese University; has long line of high ranking military officials in family. This man, Mutsuhiro Watanabe, is only a corporal at Omori before being promoted to . The stunned Wade was ordered to Watanabe's room where the Japanese NCO reached for his 4ft kendo sword, made of tightly bound bamboo. Unbroken was initially pitched as an Oscars contender, but Jolies latest film has so far received only lukewarm reviews. Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who as an airman during World War II crashed into the Pacific, was listed as dead and then spent 47 days adrift in a life raft before being . But he couldn't find the Bird. Yet 27 percent35,756 out of 132,134of Western Allied prisoners lost their lives in Japanese captivity, Hastings wrote. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? down Mutsuhiro Watanabe, was renewing its effort, sending out photographs of and reports on the fugitive to every police chief in Japan. Although it is understood that Wade was unhappy about certain passages in Unbroken he prefers to draw a veil over the issue. On a search and rescue mission, Zamperini's plane experienced mechanical difficulties and crashed into the ocean. 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