Of course, the friendliness of the people was a big part of it, but being able to communicate also made my trip to Taiwan a lot of fun. I was surprised not only by how well people understood English, but above all by how well they understood Japanese. Many elderly people didn’t just understand me—they actually engaged in conversation with me. As I mentioned earlier, I was truly astonished when I heard everyday conversation in Japanese in the villages of the Hualien-Taitung Long Valley.
Speaking of surprises, I was also taken aback by the “Ojōsan ikaga?” and “Musume iruka?” I heard at hotels in Taipei and Taitung. However, there’s a bit of a catch to this. Back in 1983, Japan was hurtling headlong into the bubble economy, and as if to symbolize this era of financial excess, many people—myself included—were turning their attention to overseas travel. Amidst this, there were certain (?!) types of tours to Taiwan—namely, the “How about a young girl?” or “How about a girl?” tours.
This is a story about an older guy I knew through a friend. Back then, he got hooked on those kinds of tours and started going to Taiwan almost every weekend. Eventually, he even entered into a mistress arrangement with a local woman. Apparently, even her family welcomed him with open arms. Was it a genuine connection? Or was it the power of money? I don’t really know the truth. Given that background, it was an era where even a poor bicycle traveler like me would get approached as soon as they realized I was Japanese.
While Taiwan gives a strong impression of being a cheerful place, it has a complex history stretching from the past to the present.
It is complex from the perspective of the island’s inhabitants. The ancestors of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples are said to be of Micronesian descent, a group widely distributed across the Pacific.
These were people who drifted ashore on an unknown island. Then, in the 17th century, came settlers from Fujian and Guangdong seeking new lands from the mainland, followed in the 20th century by an estimated 2 million other Han Chinese who crossed over to escape the civil war on the mainland.
Starting with the Dutch and Spanish, followed by the local Taiwanese, the Japanese, and then the mainlanders. The indigenous people of the island, who had previously known only inter-tribal conflicts, were driven from the plains to the mountainous regions by these outsiders, and eventually, the passage of time gave rise to conflicts among the outsiders themselves.
The era of Japanese rule is a crucial period when discussing Taiwan.
The Japanese government began modernizing Taiwan—starting with infrastructure development—after it was ceded by the Qing Dynasty. At the same time, they began implementing policies aimed at assimilating the people into the Japanese empire. The Taiwan Governor-General’s Office itself built shrines and temples, encouraged immigration from Japan, and required local Taiwanese and indigenous peoples to receive Japanese-language education.
Meanwhile, they intensified the suppression of opposition forces, including the subjugation of rebellious indigenous peoples and the crackdown on Taiwanese involved in anti-Japanese movements. Even amidst this, in the classrooms, Japanese teachers and Taiwanese children were earnestly engaged in their studies.
When the Pacific War began and volunteers were recruited for the Philippines and Southeast Asia, the number of Taiwanese and indigenous people who applied exceeded the quota, far surpassing expectations. It is said that some even submitted enlistment applications written in blood using a brush.
Have you ever heard of the “Takasago Volunteer Corps”? They were volunteer soldiers from the indigenous Tayal and Amis tribes. The Japanese military, having fought against them before, was well aware of their high combat capabilities. They specifically gave these men Japanese names and sent them off to the battlefields. Many of the estimated 200,000 Taiwanese troops returned home after the war.
On the other hand, of the approximately 4,000 members of the Takasago Volunteer Corps who were deployed, only about 1,000 managed to return. Even though many of them had wives and children, they refused to flee and fought to the very end.
About ten years ago, a lawsuit filed by returning members of the Takasago Volunteer Corps against the Japanese government regarding unpaid military pay and related savings came to a conclusion. It was decided that only the savings would be paid, contingent on proof of eligibility. That amount was 100 times the face value at the time—it feels like an entirely different order of magnitude.
In addition, 2 million yen per person was paid as compensation. These war dead, who bore Japanese names, are enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine. Their children, who revere the souls of the deceased, have requested that their ancestors be removed from the collective enshrinement, but the shrine authorities appear to have refused these requests since then, citing the fact that they had already complied once.
人々の明るさはもちろんですが、コミュニケーションがとれたことも台湾の旅を楽しくしてくれました。英語はもとより何より驚いたのは日本語がかなりの割合で理解してもらえたことです。多くのお年寄りが理解どころか会話を交わしてくれました。前述のように花東縦谷の集落で日常会話が日本語だと聞いた時には本当にビックリしました。
ビックリしたといえば、台北と台東のホテルでの「オジョウサンイカガ？」と「ムスメイルカ？」にも驚きでした。ただ、これにはガテンがいくところがあります。1983年当時はまさにバブルへとまっしぐらへ進んでいる頃、金満日本を象徴するかのように私を含め多くの人々が海外旅行に目を向けていました。そんな中、台湾ツアーにその種(?!)のツアー、つまり「オジョウサンイカガ？」「ムスメイルカ？」のツアーがあったのです。
私の友人の知り合いでイイ年をしたオッサンの話です。当時そのオッサンはその種のツアーにハマり毎週末のように台湾へと通うようになりました。あげくの果てに現地の女性と愛人契約までしたのです。愛人の家族までもが歓待してくれたそうです。情が通じたのか？ それともカネのチカラか？ 本当のところはわかりません。そんな背景ですから私のような自転車の貧乏旅行者でも日本人だとわかると声がかかった、そんな時代だったのです。
明るい印象の強い台湾ですが、過去から現在にいたるまで複雑な背景があります。
島の住人からして複雑です。台湾の原住民の祖先は太平洋に広く分布するミクロネシア系の人種といわれています。流れ着くように未知の島へとたどり着いた人たちです。そして17世紀に入り大陸から新天地を求めて入植した福建や広東の人たち、また20世紀に入り本土の内戦から逃げるように渡った200万人ともいわれるその他の漢人の人々たちです。
オランダ、スペインから始まり、本省人、日本人、そして外省人。部族間の争い事しかなかった島の原住民は、それら外来者によって平野部から山間部へと追いやられ、やがて時の流れは外来者間の争い事をも起こしていきます。
台湾を語る上で重要な日本統治時代があります。
日本政府は清国から割譲した台湾のインフラ整備を始めとする近代化に取りかかります。同時に同胞としての皇民化ともいえる政策を実施し始めます。台湾総督府自ら神社やお寺を建立し、日本からの移民を促すとともに現地の台湾人や原住民に日本語の教育を受けさせたのです。
一方、反抗的な原住民の討伐や抗日運動の台湾人など反対勢力への弾圧を強めていきます。そんな中でも教育現場では日本の先生や台湾の子供たちは学習に真剣に向き合っていました。
太平洋戦争が始まりフィリピンや東南アジアのへの志願兵を募ると台湾人、原住民ともに定員を上回る予想以上の数となりました。中には毛筆による血染めの入隊願いもあったそうです。
「高砂義勇隊」聞いたことはありませんか？ 原住民のタイヤル族やアミ族の志願兵です。彼らと戦った経験がある日本軍は彼らの戦闘能力の高さは承知していました。そんな彼らに特別に日本人名を与え戦地へと送り出したのです。20万人ともいわれる台湾人派兵の多くは敗戦後帰還しました。一方、約4,000人派兵された高砂義勇隊のうち帰還できたのは1,000人ほどでした。彼らの多くに妻子がいたにも関わらず、逃げることを良しとせず最後まで戦い抜いたのです。
10年ほど前でしょうか、高砂義勇隊の帰還兵が日本国政府を相手取り起こした軍人給与とそれに関わる貯金の未払い金の請求訴訟が結審し、証明の可否により貯金のみ支払われることになりました。それは当時の額面の100倍、ひとケタ違うような気がします。その他慰謝料という形で一人につき200万円が支払われました。日本人名を持つ彼ら戦没者は靖国神社に祀られており、死者の魂を敬う彼らの子供たちが合祀からの離脱を求めていますが、一度要求に応じていることを理由に神社側はその後は応じていないようです。
My Life with Bicycles 