The Actual Conditions of Russian POWs as Seen in “Matsuyama Suiyōkai kiji”

The Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 was the first conflict to be fought by two countries that were parties to the Hague Convention Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land. The Convention established among other things the treatment for prisoners of war (POWs). In this particular conflict, Japan held more than 70,000 POWs. The question of how to implement this treaty with respect to large numbers of POWs surfaced as a major issue.

In this article, I will try to look at what the actual conditions were at the time by looking at JACAR records about POWS during the war. (In the Japanese records of the time, both 俘虜 furyo and 捕虜 horyo were used for “prisoner.” In the original Japanese version of this article, the characters are left as they were in the materials being cited, while the text of the article uses only 捕虜.)

 

1. The Signing of the Hague Convention of 1899

The first Hague Conference was held in 1899 in response to an appeal by Emperor (Tsar) Nicholas II of Russia. Nicholas II held the conference with the aim of restricting military buildups by the countries involved. However, the countries did not show they approved of restricting such buildups. What the countries signed on to was called the Convention Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, or, as it is known, the Hague Convention.

 

[Image 1] Item: “Goshomei genpon, Meiji 33-nen, Jōyaku 11-gatsu 21-nichi, Rakusen no hōki kanrei ni kansuru jōyaku” [“Signed master copy, 1900, Treaty of November 21, Convention Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land”] (Ref: A03020484400, image 2).

 

 

Japan would ratify the Convention in 1900. Article 1 calls for the parties to issue instructions to their armed land forces “which shall be in conformity with the ‘Regulations respecting the laws and customs of war on land’ annexed to the present Convention.” Just what, then, is written down in the Regulations? The rules when it comes to POWs start from “Regulations: Chapter 2, Article 4.”

 

[Image 2] Item: “Goshomei genpon, Meiji 33-nen, Jōyaku 11-gatsu 21-nichi, Rakusen no hōki kanrei ni kansuru jōyaku” [“Signed master copy, 1900, Treaty of November 21, Convention Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land”] (Ref: A03020484400, image 21).

 

Article 4 stipulates that “[Prisoners of war] must be humanely treated,” while articles 5 and onward stipulate how POWs are to be treated. For example, Article 7 stipulates that “The Government into whose hands prisoners of war have fallen is charged with the maintenance thereof” and obliges that government to provide them with food and the like. Here we can see that the contracting parties have concluded an international agreement on the treatment of POWs.

The imperial edict on the declaration of against Russia of February 10, 1904 (Ref.: A03020585900) includes the passage, “We also command all Our competent authorities . . . to attain the national cause with all the means within the limits of the law of nations.” In short, it calls for complying with international treaties. There is an incident that illustrates such treaty compliance. In one engagement, Japan captured a 70-year-old Russian soldier. In the so-called Red Cross convention signed in 1864 (Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field), Article 6 states, “Those [wounded or sick combatants] who, after their recovery, are recognized as being unfit for further service, shall be repatriated.” This was seen as applying to this elderly soldier. Images 3 and 4 document the petition to request a Cabinet decision on the matter.

[Images 3]

 

[Images 4]

[Images 3 and 4] Item name: “Tekikoku rikukaigun eiseibu-in nami furyo ni shite chiryō no ato heieki ni taesu to mitomuru mono nado kikoku o kyōka su” [Permitting the repatriation of medical corps personnel from the armies and navies of enemy countries and prisoners of war who after recovering from treatment are recognized as being unfit for further service] (Ref: A01200220500, images 1 and 2).

 

This petition to request a Cabinet decision bore the written seals of all the members of the Cabinet below that of Prime Minister Katsura Tarō, and it decided the Red Cross convention would be applied to repatriate the elderly POW.

 

2. The Management of Prisoners by the Japanese Army

How, then, did Japan, which paraded its compliance with conventions, manage its Russian POWs?

The first thing to mention is that it established an organization to centrally manage information about its prisoners. The Prisoner of War Information Bureau (Furyo Jōhōkyoku) was established on February 21, 1904. Establishing such an organization set forth in Article 14 of the Hague Convention Regulations. Russia also set up a similar body, telling us that immediately after the outbreak of hostilities both countries would carry out their handling of POWs in line with the Regulations. Army Vice Minister Ishimoto Shinroku was given a joint appointment to serve as director-general of Japan’s POW Information Bureau. Next, let us look at what sorts of tasks the Information Bureau performed.

 

[Images 5]

 

[Images 6]

[Images 5 and 6] Item: “Furyo Jōhōkyoku jimu toriatsukai kitei seitei no ken” [Establishing regulations for the handling of the duties of the Prisoner of War Information Bureau] (Ref: C03020021700, images 3 and 9)

 

Images 5 and 6 are, respectively, “Regulations for the handling of the duties of the Prisoner of War Information Bureau” and the appended cards. First of all, the Hague Convention Regulations stipulated in Article 14 that an “individual return,” i.e., a card or ticket, be created for each individual POW. One of the duties of the POW Information Bureau was to prepare such cards recording information such as the name and nationality of each prisoner. We can see in the Bureau’s regulations that they created templates for these cards and laid out what sorts of information was to be recorded.

Japan would later go on to create a variety of regulations such as “Furyo toriatsukai kisoku” [Regulations on the treatment of prisoners of war], showing that it was encouraging compliance with the Hague Convention. In particular, the file labeled “Taishō 7-nen: Furyo ni kansuru shorui [Ōbun]” [1918: Documents regarding prisoners of war (European languages)] (C10073232000) contains a pair of booklets both titled “Furyo ni kansuru hōki” [Laws and regulations regarding prisoners of war] (C10073232200 and C10073232300). As their titles indicate, they contain information about the laws concerning POWs.

 

[Table 1] Laws and regulations regarding POWs enacted in 1904. All English translations unofficial.

 

Japan began enacting a series of regulation even before its promulgation declaring war was issued in February, and as Table 1 shows continued to so afterward. Furthermore, one of the items that should be noted in particular is “Furyo jiyū sanpo oyobi minka kyojū kisoku” [Regulations regarding prisoners walking freely and residing in private housing]. Neither the Hague Convention itself nor its Regulations contain any mention about the right of POWs to walk about freely. It could be said that Japan guaranteed the rights of POWs in a fashion that advanced the agreement further. We will see what application of this right to walk freely meant in the next section.

 

3. Actual Conditions at the Matsuyama Prisoner of War Camps as seen in “Matsuyama Suiyōkai kiji”

Considerable research has already been done about the treatment of Russian POWs. In particular, thanks to the work done at Matsuyama University and to the publication of Ehime-ken shi [The history of Ehime Prefecture], we know many of the particulars regarding conditions at the prisoners’ camps established in Matsuyama that we will be introducing here. The reason for all the interest in Matsuyama is because it is where the first Russo-Japanese War-era POW camps were built. Initially, no new facilities were built in Matsuyama. Rather, they established prisoners’ camps at four locations by using existing buildings such as those at the temple Dairin-ji.

Photo 1 is a contemporary shot of the POW camp that was established at the temple Hōryū-ji. This writer took a photograph of a photo titled “Hōryū-ji shūyōjo gaibu no kōkei” [Exterior view of the Hōryū-ji prisoners’ camp] that is held in the collection of the Saka no Ue no Kumo Museum so readers can get a sense of the facility. As one can see from this photo, many Russian soldiers lived in a single prisoners’ camp.

 

[Photo 1] “Hōryū-ji shūyōjo gaibu no kōkei” [Exterior view of the Hōryū-ji prisoners’ camp] (photo taken by the writer of materials in the Saka no Ue no Kumo Museum collection).

 

Photos are not the only records from which we can get a sense of the conditions for POWs. To give an example of a record that is easily viewed through the JACAR database, we have the “Matsuyama Suiyōkai kiji,” or “Report of the Matsuyama Wednesday meetings.”

Just what were the Matsuyama Wednesday meetings? Initially, as noted above, POW camps were established at four locations around Matsuyama. As the war expanded and the number of POWs was on a rising trend owing to victories by Japanese forces, the number of prisoners’ camps also increased. More than 4,000 POWs were being held in Matsuyama in April 1905, the largest number at the time of the Russo-Japanese War. The Matsuyama Wednesday meetings were held as the number of POWs grew. The first meeting took place on November 30, 1904.

The document in Image 7 states the reason for holding these meetings as, “It is necessary to learn in detail about the state of affairs of these POWs as their numbers increase.” It was decided that the interpreters working at the prisoners’ camps would meet every Wednesday from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. We can infer that the aim was to share information from the interpreters who were in daily contact with the POWs in order to make improvements to how they would be dealt with in the future among other issues. To see what sorts of information the interpreters shared at the first meeting, let’s have a look at the meeting minutes (see Image 8).

[Image 7] Item: “37.12.1 Furyo Jōhōkyoku-chō e Matsuyama Furyo Shūyōjo-iinchō yori furyo no jōkyō shōsai ni chishitsu no tame; 11.30 Dai-1-kai kaigo igō maishū suiyōbikai o gishi tsūyaku ni danwa seshimu” [December 1, 1904 To the Prisoner of War Information Bureau Director-General from the Matsuyama Prisoner of War Camp Chair to fully inform in detail about prisoner conditions; Conversations being held through interpreters to discuss meetings held every Wednesday since the first held November 30] (Ref. C06040910500, image 1).

 

[Image 8] Ibid. (Ref. C06040910500, image 4).

 

Interpreter Hieda gives the names of the eight prisoners being detained in the Matsuyama Public Hall. He says they are “heavy drinkers” who cannot “keep their dignity,” and the other Russian officers regard them as “individuals who are not only staining the reputation of officers but are also defaming the honor of Russian soldiers in general.” From this we see that the first meeting provided a venue for the interpreters to share information about those individuals among the POWs whose conduct had become a concern. Aside from five interpreters, the meeting was also attended by the camp commander Cavalry Colonel Kōno—who is listed as the transcriber—and an Ensign Matsuzawa.

We can see a change in the content of the minutes of the fifth regular Wednesday meeting. The accounts given by the interpreters have their own individual headings, and the minutes have become something from which we can intermittently glimpse their daily communication with the POWs.

 

[Image 9] Item: “Ryōkō no heisotsu” [Good soldiers] ((Ref. C06040911500, image 1).

 

For example, let’s have a look at the page titled, “Ryōkō no heisotsu” [Good prisoners] (see Image 9). The report mentions that “an individual who was eagerly learning to help medical staff in the sickroom” was “very delighted” when he was “loaned white work clothes.” Reading the minutes of these weekly meetings can allow us to get an intermittent look at the POWs’ everyday lives. But the daily lives of the POWs are not the only thing we can check on through the “Matsuyama Suiyōkai kiji.” They also make clear just how the system for managing POWs discussed in the previous section was applied.

Let’s turn our attention now to the right to walk about freely that Japan recognized, a pattern that went beyond what was in the Hague Convention. We will start by identifying what sorts of provisions were in place on the right to walk freely.

 

[Image 10] Item: “Furyo jiyū sanpo oyobi minka kyojū kisoku kitei no ken” [Regulations and provisions regarding prisoners walking freely and residing in private housing] (Ref: C08070689700, image 1).

 

The document we will look at is “Regulations and provisions regarding prisoners walking freely and residing in private housing” (see Image 10). The provisions set down here say that “an individual who swears an oath” can “walk freely with in a specific area outside of the POW camp.” The provisions also include the pattern for the written oath. The Russian POWs would swear an oath based on this pattern, but problems arose surrounding the oath.

The first free walk at Matsuyama took place on April 22, 1905. Image 11 shows the minutes of the 15th Wednesday meeting, which was held three days before.

 

[Image 11] Item: “Jiyū sanpo ni kansuru sensei in tsuite” [Concerning the oath regarding walking freely] (Ref. C06040920900, Image 1)

 

Looking at this record, we see that the Russian POWs said that the word sensei 宣誓 (“oath”) translated into Russian was prisyaga присяга, which they said was “a word for religious contexts and even in the Bible its indiscriminate use was forbidden.” In response to the Russians, Japan changed the word from sensei to senyaku 誓約 (“pledge”), and Camp Commander Kōno explained the regulation to the prisoners. Having received the explanation, the POWs took the pledge regarding going on free walks. However, it is said that initially only one-third of the POWs took the pledge. Such was the kind of turmoil that came with the regulations over the right to walk freely. So, then, what was a day for walking freely actually like?

The “Matsuyama Suiyōkai kiji” carries an account about the first free walk. Let’s have a look at “Ichiban-chō furyō shōkō jiyū sanpo dai-1-nichi jōkyō” [Conditions on Day 1 of free walks by commissioned officer prisoners in Ichiban-chō] (see Image 12).

 

[Image 12] Item: “Ichiban-chō furyo shōkō jiyū sanpo dai-1-nichi jōkyō” [Conditions on Day 1 of free walks by commissioned officer prisoners in Ichiban-chō] (Ref: C06040922300, image 1).

 

From this, we learn that the free walk took place like the turmoil that immediately preceded it was nothing but a fabrication. People spoke of things like how “Everyone went outside on the day with pleasure” as they came together ahead of the designated time at the assembly point while taking note of one another, and “It’s an extremely rare thing for us prisoners to walk freely.” However, there is also a report that speaks of “the phrase ‘free walk’ being one of oppression,” pointing out the growing dissatisfaction over the fact that the amount of time prisoners could go out to the contrary had decreased after they made the pledge. That there were such frictions over the right to walk freely is also a fact.

Then, in the “Photo album of Russian POWs” held in the Saka no Ue no Kumo Museum, we find a photograph labeled, “Bicycling exercise in Dōgo Park for commissioned officer prisoners on their free walk.” Photo 2 is a snapshot taken by this writer of that photograph. It shows Russian POWs pedaling about Matsuyama City’s Dōgo Park on bicycles.

 

[Photo 2] “Jiyū sanpo furyo shōkō Dōgo Kōen jitensha undō” [Bicycling exercise in Dōgo Park for commissioned officer prisoners on their free walk] (photo taken by the writer of the “Roshia-hei horyo shashinchō” [Photo album of Russian POWs] in the Saka no Ue no Kumo Museum collection).

 

As we have seen, the “Matsuyama Suiyōkai kiji” includes descriptions of the prisoners’ lifestyles and their individual characters, among other things. That said, it also includes reports on what POWs foresaw with regard to the war situation between Russia and Japan.

[Image 13] Item: “Baruchikku kantai ni tsuite” [Regarding the Baltic Fleet] (Ref. C06040923800, image 1).

 

“Reminisce – JACAR: The Battle of Tsushima Through Online Archival Records,” released on the same day as the Japanese version of this article, is a special feature on the Battle of Tsushima (Battle of the Sea of Japan) that decided Japan’s victory in the Russo-Japanese War. As that video shows, up until just before that decisive battle took place, Japan could not get a grasp on what route the Baltic Fleet would take to get to Vladivostok.

The 17th Wednesday meeting took place on May 17, 1905, as this was going on. The meeting report includes the details of a discussion about the Baltic Fleet that Interpreter Ogasawara had with a Russian naval officer POW. The POW said, “The base for the Japanese fleet will have to be Chemulpo (present-day Incheon).” We can sense from this that he was making predictions as to how the battle would unfold. The Battle of Tsushima that took place on May 27 through May 28 saw Japan inflict significant losses on the Baltic Fleet. There is also a report from an interpreter at the time saying that the POWs “did not have faith in the slightest” in that outcome (Item: “Bakantai zenmetsu ni tsuite” [On the annihilation of the Baltic Fleet], Ref. C06040926700, image 1).

 

[Images 14]

 

[Images 15]

[Images 14 and 15] Item: “Ko-Kaigun taisa Boisuman byōjō nado” [Medical condition of the late naval captain Boysman” (Ref. C06040940600, images 1 and 2).

 

Incidentally, there were also some soldiers detained at the Matsuyama POW camps who died in Japan, unable to return home. Images 14 and 15 together form an account that describes the medical condition of the Russian naval captain Vasily Boysman. Boysman went into the hospital on September 12. On the 15th, his condition turned critical. Every day from the 15th onward, Boysman’s medical condition is recorded in the report. The medical officers’ treatment proved fruitless, and on the 21st he passed away.

Today, there is a graveyard for the Russian POWs who died located behind Matsuyama University. As can be seen from Photo 3, Boysman’s grave towers over those around it. Boysman ranked highly even among the other dead soldiers there at the site. There are graves for 97 other Russian soldiers at the same cemetery. These soldiers who died without being returned to their homeland even today continue their eternal rest in Matsuyama.

 

[Photo 3] “Washirī Boisuman no haka” [The grave of Vasily Boysman] (photo taken by the writer at the Russian Soldiers’ Cemetery in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture).

 

4. Conclusion

The Russo-Japanese War was the first conflict that saw the Hague Convention that set down how POWs were to be treated being applied. The issue of how to handle POWs within the context of international standards is also connected to how warring nations understand one another’s cultures. The aforementioned example of the religious issue that arose over the word “oath” in applying the right to walk freely provides evidence of this.

The questions of just how far the culture and customs of another country are accepted by foreign prisoners living in that country, as well as just how far they are accepted by the local community, remain present just under the surface even today.

So, what did Russia feel about the handling of Russian POWs being detained in Japan?

 

[Image 16] Item: “Rokoku furyo juryō iin zai-honpō dōkoku furyo in taisuru teikoku no yūgū kansha no ken” [Thanks expressed by the empire for the cordial treatment of Russian POWs given by members of Japan’s committee for the reception of Russian POWs] (Ref. C03026988100, image 1).

 

Image 16 is a report from Foreign Minister Katō Takaaki to Army Minister Terauchi Masatake on the gist of a meeting he had with one Lieutenant-General Danilov, a member of the committee on the reception of POWs. Danilov expressed his gratitude to Katō for the “kind and considerate reception” the Russian POWs had received and for the “cordial sympathy” that the Japanese people had shown them. There are other records (see, for example, “Rokoku Furyo Jōhōkyoku chōkan yori furyo toriatsukaikata in kansuru kansha no ken” [Expression of gratitude from the Russian Prisoner of War Information Bureau director-general regarding the treatment of prisoners of war], Ref. C03027402100) that also record expressions of gratitude from the Russian side for the handling of POWs. One could say that records such as this show that Japan’s POW policy was in compliance with international agreements.

In the present article, I have taken up the topic of prisoners of war during the Russo-Japanese War, with a particular focus on the “Matsuyama Suiyōkai kiji.” There are numerous other records about POWs from the same period. I encourage you to seek them out.

 

*When citing materials in the original Japanese text of this article, some changes were made to the writing for ease of reading. For example, katakana were changed where appropriate to hiragana.

 

Reference

• • Chiba Isao. Kyū-gaikō no keisei. Keisō Shobō, 2008.
  • Ehime-ken-shi hensan iinkai, ed. Ehime-ken shi, kindai, jō-kan. 1986.
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  • Kita Yoshito. “Junēbu jōyaku teiyakukokukan no Nichi-Ro sensō.” In Kurosawa Fumitaka and Kawai Toshinobu, eds., Nihon Sekijūjisha to jindō enjo. University of Tokyo Press, 2004.
  • Kita Yoshito. “Nichi-Ro sensō no horyo mondai to kokusaihō.” Gunji shigaku (Vol. 14, No. 2, 2004).
  • Kita Yoshito. “Nichi-Ro sensō to jindōshugi.” Nihon hōgaku (Vol. 80, No. 2, 2014).
  • Matsushita Sachiko. “Nichi-Ro sensō no Roshiajin horyo shūyōjo saikō.” Nihon rekishi (No. 909, 2024).
  • Murata Hitoshi. “Nichi-Ro sensō-ki ni okeru Roshia-gun horyo e no taigū.” Kōgakkan shigaku (Kogakkan University Press, No. 37, 2022).
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Maekawa Yūta, Assistant Researcher, Japan Center for Asian Historical Record