Ghost in the Well: The Hidden History of Horror Films in Japan by Michael Crandol (review)

Abstract

to remember that defendants were in the dock, sometimes on trial for their lives. Obedience to superior orders was a powerful argument, regardless of the fact that the tribunals did not recognize it as a full defense, and it is only to be expected that low-ranking accused would make full use of it. That does not necessarily make it valid. Witnesses in two trials described by Takeda—the “Double Tenth” case, which concerned crimes committed against civilians in Singapore suspected of espionage (p. 43), and the Penang trial for mistreatment of local civilians (p. 57)—testified that some interpreters had acted independently in beating prisoners and otherwise abusing them, such as by continuing the mistreatment even when the soldier for whom they were interpreting was absent from the room. The Penang interpreter who dragged the woman prisoner behind the motorcycle was assisted by another interpreter. Another Penang interpreter was said to have “frightened” women prisoners.5 Obedience to superior orders cannot fully explain these crimes. Interpreters and War Crimes is an important contribution not only to interpreting studies but also to the understanding of war crimes committed during World War II in Asia and of the court proceedings that followed. Takeda’s book puts military interpreters and the dangerous work they do squarely on the center stage. The complexities of interpreting, the difficult personal circumstances of the interpreters, and the professional hazards they faced in the conflict in Asia, however, should not obscure the fact that their number included true war criminals.