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Foreword by Mei Xiaokan and Mei Xiao’ao

THE TOKYO
TRIAL AND
WAR CRIMES
IN ASIA
MEI JU-AO
The Tokyo Trial and War Crimes in Asia
 Mei Ju-ao

The Tokyo Trial and

War Crimes in Asia
Mei Ju-ao

Translated by Cao Yan, Zhan Jixu, Xu Tianlun

ISBN 978-981-10-7403-5    ISBN 978-981-10-7404-2 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7404-2

The print edition is not for sale in China Mainland. Customers from China Mainland please
order the print book from: Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press.
ISBN of the China Mainland edition: 978-731-3150-80-6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017964270

Based on a translation from the Chinese language edition:

东京审判亲历记 by Mei, Ju-ao
Copyright © Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press, All Rights Reserved 2018
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now
known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information
in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the pub-
lisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the
material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The
publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu-
tional affiliations.

Cover illustration: The National Archives and Records Administration.

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Singapore Pte Ltd.
The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-­01/04 Gateway East, Singapore
189721, Singapore
An Old Preface to International Military
Tribunal for the Far East (I)

Dr. Mei Ju-ao passed away for years. My memory of him awoke when Mei
Xiao’ao, his son, came to me with his book, The International Military
Tribunal for the Far East (unfinished), and asked me to write a prologue
for it. I am pleased to do so both for the reading public and out of my own
interest. Although this book remains unfinished, it is still of great signifi-
cance because it introduces the establishment and development of the
principles concerning crimes of war after World War II. Implementation of
these principles throughout the Tokyo Trial further clarified the condem-
nation and punishment of aggressive wars. Like the Nuremberg Trial, the
Tokyo Trial not only prosecuted conventional war crimes that went against
the laws and customs of war as provided for in traditional international
law, but also defined crimes against peace and crimes against humanity,
and went further to elaborate in great detail the concept of “conspiracy”
in aggression. While the four chapters completed by Dr. Mei put more
emphasis on the facts and procedures of the Tokyo Trial, this book does
contain a general explanation in its Chap. 1 as of the legal basis for punish-
ing the Japanese Class-A war criminals. Of course, a general explanation
may not replace a penetrating legal analysis, but it can help the readers
perceive the starting point and the direction of the Tokyo Trial, especially
as one can take a reference to the text of the Tribunal’s final judgment.
This is why I say that it is still of great significance although unfinished.
Another aspect for which importance should be attached to Dr. Mei’s
book is that it reveals a large amount of information on the Tokyo Trial that
outsiders do not have access to, which includes the process of organizing the

v
vi AN OLD PREFACE TO INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL FOR THE FAR…

Tribunal and the coordinative relations among its various departments, the
details about the determination of the list of Class-A war criminals and their
arrest and interrogation, the seat arrangement of the bench and its internal
working system, the organization, duties and working procedures of the
prosecution and the defense, the participation of American defence counsels
and the significance thereof, and so forth. It is a big pity, however, that the
final stage of the Trial, that is, the process of convicting and sentencing the
defendants, especially the war criminals responsible for the invasion of
China, is not reflected in these four chapters. Dr. Mei may have planned to
cover this part in his subsequent chapters, which would no doubt be a fasci-
nating story. At the time of the Trial, the KMT government lacked correct
comprehension and estimation. They thought since the fact of Japan’s inva-
sion of China was undisputable, the Trial must be no more than a formality,
with the war criminals punished accordingly, without the victim countries
having to provide much evidence. This being a misunderstanding already, to
their greater surprise, the United States sent a troop of lawyers to defend the
accused, in addition to the fact that seven of the eleven judges came from
common law countries, which caused imbalance between the prosecution
and the defence in favour of the accused. Although the Tokyo Charter stip-
ulated that “The Tribunal shall not be bound by technical rules of evi-
dence”, the Tribunal basically adopted the common law procedural rules.
Pressured by this situation, China had to on one hand object to the mechan-
ical application of highly technical rules of evidence, and on the other hand
to race against time, searching for evidence in the greatest possibility, includ-
ing relevant telegrams archived in Japan’s Ministry of War. These evidences
were presented at the final stage of counter-examination of the defendants
and their witnesses, so as to further substantiate the proof of their crimes in
China. It paid off finally. All the major war criminals responsible for the war
of aggression against China, such as Kenji Doihara, Seishiro Itagaki, Iwane
Matsui, Akira Muto and Koki Hirota, were all duly convicted and sentenced
to death, with their crimes made well known to the world.
As to its practical meaning, China has adopted an opening-up policy
since the third plenary session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China, and the number of foreign-related legal cases
have increased dramatically, most of which are taking place abroad. “To
know both yourself and your enemy”, we need to learn more about litiga-
tion procedures of other countries, especially those of common law coun-
tries, for which we are short of materials at present. In Chap. 4 of this
book, Dr. Mei elaborated on the trial procedures under the common law
 AN OLD PREFACE TO INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL FOR THE FAR… vii

system and their applications in practice. Despite any differences between

the Tokyo Trial as an international criminal trial and the foreign-related
cases we are handling, mostly civil and commercial ones before domestic
courts in foreign countries, many procedural rules, and rules of evidence in
particular, are equally applicable for the trials in those domestic courts,
whether criminal or civil and commercial in nature. Dr. Mei’s book will not
only enlighten our research on procedural law in general, but has provided
urgently-needed references for dealing with foreign-related cases today.
Dr. Mei and I met in Chongqing during the anti-Japanese war. In early
1946, I visited the United States and Britain, conducting a field survey on
their judicial systems and practices. When I heard that Dr. Mei would act
as a judge in the Tokyo Tribunal, I was very happy about this excellent
choice. In early 1947, I was invited to join the Chinese prosecution team
in Tokyo. While working in different positions, both of us went through
the tortuous process of the Tokyo Trial. It has been 13 years since Dr. Mei
passed away. And other Chinese who worked for the Trial are now scat-
tered in various places, except for Professors E Lvgong and Wu Xueyi who
have also passed away. Mr. Xiang Zhejun, then Chinese prosecutor, is 95
years old and now confined to bed. Mr. Liu Zijian teaches at Princeton
University, Mr. Gui Gongchuo at Taiwan University, and Messrs. Qiu
Shaoheng, Yang Shoulin, Gao Wenbin, Zhou Xiqing, and Zhang Peide at
different universities in Beijing or Shanghai, for years and years as hard-­
working as they were in the past. Part of Mr. Qiu’s job relates to China’s
legal system. Mei Xiao’ao’s visit has reminded me of the events over 40
years ago, which are so vivid in my mind as if they had happened yesterday.
To take the opportunity of writing this prologue, I express my sincere
hope that these old colleagues of mine stay healthy, and continue to con-
tribute to China’s prosperity, and to the world peace and human progress
till our last breath.
How I wish we could see each other again, recollect the past together
and supplement this unfinished writing for Dr. Mei!

August 1986 Ni Zhengyu

[Ni Zhengyu (1906–2003), joined the Tokyo Trial in 1946–1948 and

prosecuted Kenji Doihara, Seishiro Itagaki, Iwane Matsui and other Class-A
Japanese war criminals. He was appointed as an associate fellow with the
Institut de Droit International in 1991. He passed away in 2003 at the age
of 97.]
An Old Preface to International Military
Tribunal for the Far East (II)

Dr. Mei Ju-ao, my dear friend, has passed away for more than ten years.
Now, his posthumous work International Military Tribunal for the Far
East is published and made known to all, which is a blessing for the legal
circle in China.
Dr. Mei dedicated his whole life to the law. He studied law in early years
and, at the age of twenty-four, earned his J.D. from the University of
Chicago. After returning to China, he engaged in legal education and
took part in legislative work. In 1946, as the Chinese judge, he partici-
pated in the trial of major Japanese war criminals in the International
Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo, which lasted for three years.
On the eve of the founding of new China, the KMT government appointed
him as Minister of Justice, but he resolutely refused to assume office, and
took a personal risk to return to Beijing from Hong Kong. After that, he
served as a legal adviser to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until his death.
During this period, he attended many international conferences as an
expert in law and diplomacy. Dr. Mei made a great deal of contributions
to law in his life, while his work in the International Military Tribunal for
the Far East constituted one of the most important ones.
The trial of war criminals, as pointed out by Dr. Mei, “is an important
event in international life after the Second World War and a pioneering
undertaking in human history.” Learning a lesson from the failed attempt
after World War I and in order to succeed this time, the major allies during
World War II repeatedly affirmed the principle of punishing war criminals
in several agreements. Thus, two international military tribunals were set
up after the war, in Nuremberg, Europe and Tokyo, the Far East, for the

ix
x AN OLD PREFACE TO INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL FOR THE FAR…

trial of war criminals. The two tribunals successfully completed their tasks
in about one year and over two years respectively, which was a great
victory.
From the perspective of international law, war crimes and war criminals
are new concepts established through the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials.
Their establishment demonstrates a new development of international law,
especially the law of war. For a long time, there has been a distinction
between just wars and unjust wars in international law, while in modern
times this distinction is expressed as the difference between wars of aggres-
sion and wars against aggression. Although, in the strict sense, rules of
international law concerning such distinction have not yet been well
formed, condemning wars of aggression has long become part of the legal
consciousness of mankind and part of the new content of international
law. The punishment of war crimes and war criminals is derived from the
principle of differentiating wars of aggression and wars against aggression
and the principle of condemning wars of aggression, which, in turn, pro-
motes the development of such principles so that their status in interna-
tional law has been confirmed. As such, the two trials of war criminals
following World War II, i.e., the trials in Nuremberg and Tokyo, marks
indelible achievements in the history of development of international law.
It is very meaningful for Dr. Mei to write down his personal experience
of participation in the trial of war criminals in the International Military
Tribunal for the Far East. He started to write this book in 1962.
Unfortunately, once the “Cultural Revolution” broke out, his writing plan
was brutally interrupted. Before his death in 1973, he no longer had the
chance to continue writing. Therefore, this book represents an unfinished
draft with only four chapters. However, despite being unfinished, the four
chapters have discussed many important issues such as the establishment
of the Tribunal and its jurisdiction, the Charter and organization of the
Tribunal, the arrest and prosecution of major Japanese war criminals, the
trial procedures of the Tribunal, and so forth. This book is rich in materials
and deep in analysis. It is a valuable book and can serve as an important
reference book for the study of international law and international politics.
Books about the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and the
trials of war criminals which bear as great significance as this one are rare
even in the world.
As a jurist, it was a glorious and arduous task for Dr. Mei to participate
in the trial of international war criminals. With great efforts and after over-
coming tremendous difficulties—lack of attention and support from the
 AN OLD PREFACE TO INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL FOR THE FAR... xi

KMT government, delay and obstruction by the international reactionary

forces, etc.—he finally succeeded in making the International Military
Tribunal for the Far East pass a judgment against the major Japanese war
criminals that was basically consistent with the requirements of justice.
This was very much commendable.
Dr. Mei Ju-ao and I became friends after 1949. Just a few days after he
returned to Beijing, we attended together the inaugural meeting of the
Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs. At that meeting, Premier
Zhou Enlai praised his work and pointed out that “he has done a great
thing for the people and won honour for the country”, which was a best
appraisal of one important work Dr. Mei had undertaken in his life.

May 25, 1986 Wang Tieya

[Wang Tieya (1913–2003), outstanding jurist of international law in

modern China, professor at Peking University, and at Beijing Institute of
Politics and Law. He also served as director of the Institute of International
Law at Peking University. In 1987, he was elected Academician of the
Academy of International Law. He passed away in Beijing on January 12,
2003 at the age of 90.]
 In Memory of Our Father (Foreword)

Thanks to the efforts the Tokyo Trial Research Center and Shanghai Jiao
Tong University Press, My Personal Experience at the Tokyo Trial is to be
published, which is of great significance not only to our family but also to
the country. It will undoubtedly promote an in-depth study of the Tokyo
Trial, while expressing our lasting memory of our beloved father Mr. Mei
Ju-ao.

I
Our late father Mei Ju-ao, Ya Xuan (courtesy name), was born on
November 7, 1904 in Zhuguqiao Mei Village in Nanchang, Jiangxi
Province. Compared with provinces like Hunan, Guangzhou, Jiangsu and
Zhejiang, Jiang accepted new things slowly. However, our grandfather, a
clear-minded, knowledgeable and enlightened gentry, decided to send his
eldest son, our father, to the Exemplary Primary School of Jiangxi
Province, a school of the modern type which was rarely seen and not
highly praised then and there. Under firm support of our grandfather, our
father, who was only 12 years old, was admitted to Tsinghua School in
Beijing in 1916. With no connections, being far away from home and even
unable to speak the official language (Mandarin) well, the difficulties he
encountered in studying at Tsinghua were really not small. Students had
to strictly follow a semi military timetable and to take an active part in
western style physical exercises. No subject could be treated carelessly.
Otherwise, one would fail to go up to the next grade or run the risk of
being expelled from school. Many foreign teachers taught in English and

xiii
xiv IN MEMORY OF OUR FATHER (FOREWORD)

most of the students had a good command of English. But our father
knew little of the language, which made it almost impossible for him to
understand the lectures. What should he do? He was determined to learn
from scratch and catch up with others.
Then, every day at the break of dawn, there would be two young stu-
dents by the lotus pond on Tsinghua campus. Sometimes they mumbled;
sometimes they asked and answered questions to each other; sometimes
they recited texts individually. Gradually, they became more fluent, and
their exercises became more sophisticated. That was our father and our
granduncle, Mei Yangchun, studying English together. Mei Yangchun was
only four years older than our father and was admitted to Tsinghua School
from Jiangxi Province in the same year. Working day and night, their
English improved rapidly, which helped them to make progress in other
subjects. During the eight years, their teachers and schoolmates looked at
them with completely new eyes because of their excellent academic
records. Later on, Mei Yangchun became a famous engineer, presiding
over the design and construction of important bridges such as Nanjing
Yangtze River Bridge.
Our father’s vision was increasingly open and he developed wider inter-
ests in his advanced years at Tsinghua School. He served as chief editor of
the Tsinghua School Magazine, and organized a progressive group named
“Chao Tao” together with some other students including Shi Huang, Ji
Chaoding, Xu Yongying, who were early members of the Communist
Party of China. Shi Huang died young as a martyr. Ji Chaoding and Xu
Yongying engaged in revolutionary work ever since and served as impor-
tant leaders in the 1950s and 1960s.
In 1924, our father went to study in the United States. He studied at
Stanford University and University of Chicago Law School, where he
received his J.D. degree at the end of 1928. Living abroad, he had always
been concerned about the destiny of his country. In response to the call
for the Northern Expedition to “overthrow the governance of the
Northern warlords” by the National Revolutionary Army, he joined Shi
Huang, Ji Chaoding, Xu Yongying and some other Chinese students in
the United States in initiating the Research Institute of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s
Thoughts, to actively promote revolutionary ideas among Chinese stu-
dents studying there and beyond.
In 1929, after visiting European cities including Paris, Berlin, London
and Moscow, he returned to China, following an absence of nearly 5 years.
 IN MEMORY OF OUR FATHER (FOREWORD) xv

II
In the 16 years from his graduation to assuming the position of judge in
the international court, he taught courses in civil law, criminal law, com-
mon law, international law and politics at Shanxi University, Nankai
University and Wuhan University successively. He also served as a part-­
time professor at Fudan University, Central School of Politics, and Judge
Training Institute of the Ministry of Justice. From 1934 onwards, he
became a member of the Legislative Council of the KMT government,
participated in its legislative work and served as acting chairman of its for-
eign affairs committee. At the same time, he worked as deputy director of
Sun Yat-sen Institute for the Advancement of Culture and Education and
chief editor of Collection of Current Affairs (a semimonthly journal), writ-
ing, translating and editing a significant volume of articles on law, foreign
affairs and international politics.
His writings in this period involved common law, civil law, Chinese and
western legal thoughts, and China’s constitution and criminal law, for
example, A Research on the Anglo-Saxon System of Law, The Napoleonic
Code and Its Influence, The History and Organization of Soviet
Revolutionary Courts, The History, Schools and Trends of Modern Law, The
Rule of Law in China’s Old Legal System, Criticism of the Constitutional
Guarantee Section of the Draft Constitution, and Comments on the
Amendment to the Criminal Code. A wide horizon, great variety of topics,
emphasis on both theory and practice, and rich research findings, these
could characterize his academic career at that time. His long-standing lec-
turing, investigation, reading and writing laid a solid foundation for his
legal theory and practice, which prepared him for his position as an inter-
national court judge in Tokyo.
Based on his perspective as a scholar of law, he had pointed out that
under a political system of KMT’s “one-party dictatorship”, “the party is
above all else. Each government act is based on the party’s principles and
assumes responsibility solely for the party. It does not make a contract with
its people and has no obligations to the people. In other words, the party
only has rights over the people, not obligations.” (Political Tutelage and
Provisional Constitution) As to the fact that the law was used as a tool for
the powerful and the rule of law could not be implemented, he prompted
a sharp question, “What had destroyed people’s liberty and trampled on
people’s rights? The law or the extralegal forces of government, the
xvi IN MEMORY OF OUR FATHER (FOREWORD)

­ ilitary and violence?” (Comments on the Revised Initial Draft of the

m
Constitution)
In addition, he was much critical of the legal education of the time,
perhaps out of his observations from teaching. Legal science and law
should be seriously treated, “however, law in China has become the most
shallow and boring subject”, and increasingly the teaching of law was
reduced to “fiddling around”. The teacher taught for money, the students
learned for a diploma, therefore “the society often regards law as a tool for
making a living or playing tricks, not as an academic subject or science.
The reasons why China’s rule of law cannot be achieved and the cause of
law is despised may vary, but the corruption in legal education is one of
the leading ones.” (A Discussion on the Textbooks and References for
Common Law Courses)
The above examples are but the tip of the iceberg of his ideas on the
science of law, which may still have an enlightening significance today.
(For the quoted articles, please refer to A Collection of Mei Ju-ao’s Essays
on Law, China University of Political Science and Law Press, 2007.)
In our father’s time, land was shattered and devastated, and people
lived in griefs. As a man of letters, when he thought of his parents, families
and friends being displaced by the Japanese invasion, Chinese troops fight-
ing in a bloody war, his fellow countrymen struggling under Japan’s occu-
pation, whilst some government officials profiteering from our nation’s
calamity, he was gloomy like the fog surrounding the wartime capital
Chongqing (a mountain city known for its thick fog). On the other hand,
he was impressed by Mr. Ma Yinchu’s brilliant analysis of China’s wartime
economy and the insightful comments published by Xinhua Daily and Ta
Kung Pao. However grim the reality was, our father’s ideals and his faith
in justice and fairness never faded. All he needed was an opportunity.

III
Together with the peace-loving people all over the world, the Chinese
people have finally triumphed in the anti-fascist war through extremely
severe struggles and at very high cost. After the war, the international
community set up military tribunals in Nuremberg, Germany and Tokyo,
Japan, where those major responsible persons of Germany and Japan were
tried respectively. In February 1946, the GHQ appointed nine judges
(later revised to eleven) of the International Military Tribunal for the Far
East (the “Tokyo Trial”) on the nomination of the Allied Powers. As
 IN MEMORY OF OUR FATHER (FOREWORD) xvii

r­ ecommended by the people concerned, our father was appointed to the

solemn trial seat on behalf of China.
From March 1946 to the end of 1948, regarding the achievements and
life of our father as a judge of the Tokyo Trial, the anecdotes mostly circu-
lated include “a sword given by compatriots as a present”, “a dispute over
seating arrangements”, “insistence on the death penalty”, “making an oath
by the sea”, and so forth. In the second chapter of The International
Military Tribunal for the Far East (unfinished) enclosed in this book, our
father presented in greater detail the dispute over seating arrangements
prior to the trial and revealed its importance for the maintenance of national
interests and dignity. The clue to the heated debate on measurement of
penalty could be seen in The Tokyo Trial Correspondence, which was firstly
made known in The Tokyo Trial Manuscripts of Mei Ru’ao—“after a long
discussion, a heated argument … and the complex and odd process, it is
hard to explain all in just a few words. Besides, it is also improper for me to
make any disclosure here”. It is a great pity that our father failed to com-
plete the writing of The International Military Tribunal for the Far East
because of the “Cultural Revolution”. As a result, later generations will not
be able to know the details of the discussion on the measurement of pen-
alty, which were sworn confidential by the judges at that time.
The diaries of more than fifty days were also included in this book,
which started from our father’s setting out to Tokyo to the end of the first
few days of the court session. He had the habit of keeping a diary. In the
end of the diary, he wrote a line—“from (May 14, 1946), to see in another
notebook”, which other notebook vanished without a trace during the
“Cultural Revolution”. From the short remainder of his diary, we can also
be affected by his feelings then and there.
Having received the systematic legal training, he made a clear distinc-
tion between the function of the judges and that of the prosecutors under
the common law system. He was familiar with the judicial principles such
as presumed innocence, equality between the defense and the prosecution,
neutrality of the judges, benefit of doubt for the defendants, etc. Seeing
the Chinese prosecutor Hsiang Che-chun collecting evidence and drafting
the indictment day and night, he could not even give him a hand.
Moreover, he also had to avoid arousing any suspicion and explain to his
fellow countrymen the relationship between a judge and a prosecutor,
which made all sorts of feelings well up in his mind.
In fact, the Tokyo Trial was both a legal occasion and a political and
diplomatic occasion. Naturally, it cannot be equated with an ordinary
xviii IN MEMORY OF OUR FATHER (FOREWORD)

court. The interests of different countries varied as the world pattern

changed, which would definitely affect the Tokyo Trial. At the same time,
there were disputes such as the one between “substantive justice” and
“procedural justice”. Whether it was the problem of “bias of the judge” or
the argument on “abolition of death penalty”, the general principles laid
out in the textbook and some of the views in the academic discussions
should not be used as criteria for appraising the Tokyo Trial, a particular
one under special circumstances.
While working on the upholding of justice in Tokyo, our father never
stopped observing and reflecting on the Japanese society, neither did he
stop worrying about and blessing the destiny of his motherland. He was
keenly aware that the post-war Japanese economy was not as bad as it had
been propagated, that is, they might have “made a poor mouth”. In terms
of national mental outlook and health, Japanese people were stronger than
Chinese people. He wrote in his diary: “I wonder why the General
Headquarters of Douglas MacArthur was so considerate of Japanese peo-
ple for food panic, and why they made meticulous plans for them. Such a
defeated country should really be regarded as ‘God’s favoured one’. As
compared to my victorious country in great difficulty and misery, I cannot
but sigh for our inferiority”. (May 2, 1946) “However, we should be vigi-
lant while being lenient … What I am most concerned about is whether
his (MacArthur’s) policy is detrimental to the national interests or hinder-
ing the development of my country—this problem has been hovering in
my mind all day today.” (April 12, 1946)
Although our father received Western education, affection for his coun-
try and homeland as a traditional Chinese intellectual were deeply rooted in
his mind. “Those who are in foreign countries feel most painful to their own
country’s failure to live up to their expectations.” (April 9, 1946) “‘There is
no better way to stop evil speaking than self-cultivation’, China has to win
credit for its people.” (April 26, 1946) “All the judges sent by countries are
experienced and prestigious, so I have to work extremely conscientiously
and sincerely, never be sloppy.” (April 10, 1946) and “I shall be vigilant! I
shall be solemn! For the opportunity I can sit at the bench today to punish
these culprits was built on the flesh and blood of millions and millions of my
compatriots.” (May 3, 1946) Taking an overview of our father’s diary, you
can find that “to win credit for” and “to be solemn” are the recurring
words. In his telegram to the Minister of Foreign Affairs on 24 April 1948,
he wrote: “It is my duty to strive with all my might to win the victory of this
unprecedented international war of law and justice.” Our father’s sense of
 IN MEMORY OF OUR FATHER (FOREWORD) xix

mission and his vision of the overall situation stood vividly revealed on the
paper. Therefore, it is obvious to see that our father contributed heavily to
the more or less satisfactory results achieved in the Tokyo Trial.

IV
At the time when the work of the Tokyo Trial came to an end, the regime
of China was in the process of being changed. Our father refused to
assume the position of “State Councilor and Minister of Justice”, and
refused to go to Taiwan for a living. Passing through Hong Kong, he
arrived in Beijing to serve as an adviser to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of the People’s Republic of China, with a commission document signed by
Zhou Enlai, premier and then foreign minister of PRC.
At the beginning of returning to the mainland, our father lived in peace
with liberal wages and benefits, and was highly esteemed in professional
work. On the one hand, he was very joyful, humming Beijing opera in the
spacious courtyard and sketching cartoons on the frosting windows. He
taught his daughter singing nursery rhymes in his hometown dialect, and
bought toy swords for his son. On the other hand, he could not help but
be nervous, as it was unavoidable to face political campaigns one after
another as well as to report one’s ideology, transform the world view and
learn Russian. Luckily though, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was a bit
different from other government organs or institutions after all. The “local
climate” there was still somewhat pleasant as it was directly led by Zhou
Enlai, Chen Yi and other senior leaders, with most colleagues having
higher moral qualities. Even against the backdrop of the faculty adjust-
ment with sociology and political science being abolished and the “overall
Soviet-Unionization” of law, the senior experts of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs were still able to carry out researches on certain issues in interna-
tional law and international politics, and could give consideration to aca-
demic theories while serving the immediate need of reality. By the time
when the “Cultural Revolution” approached, Zhou Gengsheng, Liu
Zerong and other seniors had published academic treaties, with our father’s
International Military Tribunal For The Far East completed in half, and
New Concept of War Crimes, On Tani Hisao, Matsui Iwane and the
Nanking Massacre and some other papers issued. Despite the unfair treat-
ment in the anti-rightist movement from 1957 to 1958, our father stayed
patriotic as always, making serious and conscientious self-­examination, and
in the meantime having research works coming out constantly.
xx IN MEMORY OF OUR FATHER (FOREWORD)

However, when the “Cultural Revolution” suddenly broke out, the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs could not be spared and the relatively pleasant
“local climate” no longer existed. Our father was labeled as “reactionary
academic authority” so that the materials accumulated for writing his book
was all confiscated, including notes, cards, clippings, and diaries, never to
know their whereabouts afterwards. The writing of International Military
Tribunal for the Far East was impossible to continue. In addition, apart
from labor reform under surveillance, he had to spend a lot of time and
energy in writing those “investigation materials” and “self-criticizing
reports”. His health deteriorated sharply as the shock of the news came in
continuous crowds—one old friend committed suicide, another former
colleague was beaten to death, and so forth. Sadly, he did not make it to
see the end of the “Cultural Revolution”, but passed away on April 23,
1973, at the age of only 68.
Like many intellectuals who take responsibilities for society at large, our
father had not stopped thinking and struggling despite his own awkward
position in the last years of his life. For some who took the name of “revo-
lutionary rebellion” to hurt the public interest and exerted dirty tricks to
damage the national reputation, such as setting fire to the British Office of
the Chargé d’Affaires and seizing powers of the ministry authority, he
resolutely submitted a written statement to a higher authority regardless
of his personal safety, and suggested inhibiting, investigating and not
trusting those whose greedy desire for power expanded endlessly. In
response to the charges such as “reactionary academic authority”, “oppos-
ing Sino-Japanese friendship”, “beautifying US-Japanese reactionaries”
and “hoping for restoration of the old regime”, he cautiously defended
himself by saying “I am nothing but a broken outdated little dictionary”,
“I have no special skills, not even a decent work written…”, “As is known
to all, I was the most earnest one to reveal the ambitious collusion of the
US and Japan to resurrect militarism” and “I was a principal offender
wanted by the Kuomintang government. To tell a joke, should the resto-
ration of the old regime take place, I am afraid that I would be killed by
them earlier than you young comrades!”
Today, of all our father’s remarks full of significance, the one most fre-
quently quoted was from the paper On Tani Hisao, Matsui Iwane and the
Nanking Massacre: “I am not a revanchist. Neither do I intend to ascribe
the debt of blood owed to us by the Japanese imperialists to the Japanese
people. I believe, however, that to forget the suffering of the past is to be
vulnerable to tragedy in the future.” But who can think of it that it was
 IN MEMORY OF OUR FATHER (FOREWORD) xxi

that sentence “to forget the suffering of the past is to be vulnerable to

tragedy in the future” that had incurred the accusation of “slandering our
party’s forgetfulness”. In fact, a few years before that, some of his argu-
ments that resulted in unfair treatment were equally thought-provoking:
“Some problems shall be ascribed to the system rather than to certain
people. For instance, Liu Qingshan grafted dozens of billions (old denom-
ination), which would have been impossible even in the KMT days. So we
should initiate reform on the institutional level.” “We are facing serious
problems of craving greatness and success, keeping subjectivism and doing
things beyond our means in order to be impressive (in economic construc-
tion).” “It is dogmatism to worship and fawn on the Soviet Union as deity
and to follow the words of the Soviet experts as a golden rule.”
As an ancient poem describes, “The sound lingers when the vermilion
string is flicked, as it comes from a lonely heart in the past.”
Our beloved father has left us for forty years. While the things he left
behind still look fresh, the trees on his graveyard have already grown tall.
What we are gratified is that the rule of law in our motherland has begun
to take shape, and the in-depth study of the Tokyo Trial has been carried
out step by step. We are in the hope that the great regret at our father’s
suspended writing and lost information could be made up by our young
talents’ concerted efforts today. If so, what a blessing it would be both for
our late father and the country!

Mei
September 2013 Xiaokan

 Mei Xiao’ao
 Editor’s Note

This is an unfinished manuscript, written between 1962 and 1965. In

Mei’s plan, there were seven chapters. However, the Cultural Revolution
disrupted his writing and Mr. Mei was purged; all of his manuscripts were
confiscated. Until the year of 1973 when he passed away, only four chap-
ters that were completed during those three years were found. In 1988,
China’s Law Press published the chapters for the first time; nearly three
decades later, its new edition was published. Till then, the value of this
manuscript was unrecognized. Unfortunately, Mei’s synopsis, un-­
transcribed writings and references were missing in history, which have
become an irreparable loss and regret. Ni Zhengyu and Wang Tieya, two
prominent figures in law who enthusiastically supported Mei’s publica-
tions, had already died when the manuscript was published. In memory of
their dedicated support, their prefaces are also appended in this book.
With due respect to Mei, the Chinese translations of English names that
may differ with current translations were not revised.

xxiii
 Contents

1 The Establishment of the International Military Tribunal

for the Far East and Its Jurisdiction  1
1.1 An International Trial of the Major War Crimes: An
Innovative Act After World War II  1
1.2 Lessons Learned from the Failure of the International Trials
After World War I  2
1.3 Preparatory Work During World War II  4
1.4 Process of Establishing Two Tribunals  6
1.5 Jurisdictions of Two Tribunals 10
1.6 Class-A War Criminals and International Tribunal 36

2 Charter and Organization of the International Military

Tribunal for the Far East 39
2.1 Introduction to the Charter of the International Military
Tribunal for the Far East 39
2.2 The Place of the Tribunal and Its Arrangements 45
2.3 Members of Tribunal: Judges and President 53
2.4 International Prosecution Section 77
2.5 Defendants’ Defense: Japanese and American Counsels 87
2.6 Administrative and Personnel Arrangements 99

3 Arrest and Prosecution of Japanese Major War Criminals119

3.1 Four Arrest Warrants of Major War Criminals from the
General Headquarters119

xxv
xxvi Contents

3.2 Preparatory Investigation and Prosecution of the War

Criminals by the International Prosecution Section138
3.3 Selection of, and Bibliographic Guide to, 28 Defendant
Criminals150
3.4 China, United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union
Indictments of Major Japanese War Criminals185
3.5 Characteristics and Defects of the Indictment207

4 Trial Proceedings of the International Military Tribunal

for the Far East217
4.1 Basic Provisions on Trial Proceedings in the Tokyo Charter217
4.2 Procedures for the Presentation and Adoption of Exhibits220
4.3 Procedure of Witness Appearing and Testifying in Court232
4.4 An Affidavit from a Witness Who Was Not Appearing in
Court and the Defendant’s Confession255
4.5 Criticism of Court Proceedings264
 About the Author

Mei Ju-ao   Mr. Mei Ju-ao was born in Jiangxi, Nanchang in 1904. He
graduated from Tsinghua School (predecessor of Tsinghua University) in
1924 and then travelled to the United States to study at Stanford
University and University of Chicago Law School, where he received his
J.D. degree. After returning to China in 1929, Mei Ju-ao became a pro-
fessor at Shanxi University, Nankai University, Wuhan University, Fudan
University, the Central Political School, teaching courses including polit-
ical science, civil law, criminal law, introduction to the common law and
international law. From 1934 onwards, he served as a member of the
Legislative Council of the KMT Government and had acted as acting
chairman of its Foreign Affairs Committee. After the victory of the War
of Resistance against Japan, he was assigned by the government, in 1946,
to be the judge of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East
representing China. During his nearly three years of trial work, he made
great efforts to safeguard the national dignity and international justice,
and contributed to the achievement of a just and fair trial. At the end of
1948, the KMT Government appointed him as Councilor of the Executive
Council and Minister of Justice, but he refused to assume office and fled
to Hong Kong. He arrived in Beijing under the arrangement of the CPC
representatives in early December 1949. From 1950 onwards, he served
as adviser to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ­representative to the National
People’s Congress and member of its Bills Committee, member of the
Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, member of the
World Peace Council, Executive Director of the Chinese People’s

xxvii
xxviii ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Institute of Foreign Affairs, and Director of the Chinese Society of

Political Science and Law. Mei Ju-ao suffered injustice in the “Anti-
Rightists Movement” and the “Cultural Revolution”. He passed away in
Beijing in 1973.
 List of Figures

Fig. 2.1 Layout of the Tribunal 49

Fig. 2.2 Map of the seat arrangements for the hall of trial, International
Military Tribunal for the Far East 52
Fig. 2.3 Judges of International Military Tribunal for the Far East 55
Fig. 2.4 Prosecutors of International Military Tribunal for the Far East 83
Fig. 3.1 Class-A war criminals 157
Fig. 4.1 Prosecution and defense parties 221
Fig. 4.2 Puyi’s testimony 257

xxix
 CHAPTER 1

The Establishment of the International

Military Tribunal for the Far East and Its
Jurisdiction

1.1   An International Trial of the Major War

Crimes: An Innovative Act After World War II
World War II ended with the fiasco of the Axis Powers. Germany surren-
dered on May 8 and Japan on September 2 in the year 1945.
Following Germany’s and Japan’s surrender, the Allied Powers estab-
lished two international tribunals in Nuremberg, Germany, and Tokyo,
Japan, separately known as the International Military Tribunal, Nuremberg,
and International Military Tribunal for the Far East, Tokyo. The two
courts were often abbreviated as Nuremberg (International) Tribunal and
Tokyo (International) Tribunal.
Despite the slight difference in the organization of the two tribunals
(see Chap. 2), they shared missions and purposes (i.e. to arrest, investigate,
prosecute, interrogate, and make judgments upon some of the leaders of
the Axis Powers as the primary or major war criminals).1 Those primary or
major war criminals were sometimes called “Class-A war criminals”, refer-
ring to the people of Nazi Germany and the fascist Japanese government

1
Article 1 of the Charter of Nuremberg International Military Court: “In pursuance of…,
there shall be established an International Military Tribunal for the just and prompt trial and
punishment of the major war criminals of the European Axis.” Article 1 of the Charter of
International Military Tribunal for the Far East: “The International Military Tribunal for
the Far East is hereby established for the just and prompt trial and punishment of the major
war criminals in the Far East.”

© Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press 2018 1

M. Ju-ao, The Tokyo Trial and War Crimes in Asia,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7404-2_1
2 M. JU-AO

who planned, prepared, launched, or executed the wars of aggression with

the highest or primary responsibility. They are central for the countries to
formulate and implement the policies of wars of aggression.
It was an extraordinary event in the international community after
World War II that the major or Class-A war criminals were interrogated
and sanctioned by officially organized international courts in accordance
with proper legal procedures. It was also a pioneering act in the history of
mankind. Prior to that, the leaders of a defeated country, even if they were
the culprits of the wars of aggression, were generally beyond the long arms
of law and had never been subject to court trials or legal sanctions.
Historically, it is not uncommon for a head of a state or a government
to be killed or imprisoned at the hands of the enemy during a war. The
most famous and recent example was Napoleon I who was defeated and
then exiled by the United Kingdom, Russia, Austria, and other nations
with lifelong imprisonment on the island of St. Helena. But his exile was
not a decision adjudicated by any international tribunal or domestic court.
It was indeed a creative initiative after World War II that the law was
applied to sanction the leaders of the defeated countries.

1.2   Lessons Learned from the Failure

of the International Trials After World War I

At the end of World War I, the Central powers had intended to deliver the
German heads and senior officials of state to international trials. However,
that intention was a wishful thinking, finally becoming a joke in history.
When World War I was at an end, “to hang the Kaiser” was prevalent
among the Central and the Allied Powers. Since the War was unprece-
dented in its magnitude and the pain and loss that it caused to people, the
people of those countries were filled with a deep hatred for Kaiser Wilhelm
II and the leaders of the German regime who began the War, desiring
severe and swift punishment for them.
During the Paris Conference held in 1919, a serious discussion occurred
about punishing the Kaiser and the major war criminals according to law,
as indicated in four articles of Chap. 7 (Articles 227–230) of the Treaty of
Versailles.
Article 227 clearly recommended that “a special tribunal will be consti-
tuted to try the accused … with a view to vindicating the solemn
­obligations of international undertakings and the validity of international
 THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL… 3

morality”. And Article 228 stipulated that “the German Government rec-
ognizes the right of the Allied and Associated Powers to bring before mili-
tary tribunals persons” under the Kaiser.
According to the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, the Conference
appointed an international commission of inquiry to “be engaged in
researching the individual’s responsibilities who started the War, listing
their names and draft the charter for organizing the court”. The commis-
sion did as it was instructed.
The Central and the Allied Powers would have made progress on the
trial of German major war criminals, but the effort eventually turned in
vain and ended up in bankruptcy, the reasons of which can be attributed
to the following:

(1) The victory of the October Revolution in Russia. The victory

stunned the proletariat ruling class of the Central and the Allied
Powers, whose attention was subsequently diverted to surrounding
Russia and dealing with the Soviet regime; to implement the provi-
sions on punishing the German war criminals in the Treaty of
Versailles was not their concern any more.
(2) The frictions between the Central powers, especially between the
United Kingdom and France. After World War I, France seemed to
be able to exert a grip over the European continent, which was
against the balance of power on the continent, a traditional foreign
policy long held by the United Kingdom. Therefore, to protect
Germany while curbing France had become a basic principle of
British foreign policy.
(3) The German government refused to cooperate with the idea of
extraditing the war criminals to international trials.

As a result, the provisions on punishing the Kaiser and other major war
criminals in the Treaty of Versailles existed without any actual implementa-
tion. The organizing of an international court stipulated in the Treaty
failed, and the Allied Powers, reluctant to proceed and for their own con-
venience, entrusted the trial to the German government.
The German government did not begin the trial in Leipzig until May
of 1921, two and a half years after the War ended, presided by its Supreme
Court which had no respect for the trial. The insincerity and absurdity of
that trial was without parallel in history.
4 M. JU-AO

According to the Treaty of Versailles, the Allied Powers proposed a list

of 896 major war criminals to the German government for arrest and pros-
ecution. The German government refused and cut the number down to
45, the trial of whom were merely phrased as an “experiment trial”.
However, only 12 of them were actually tried, and only 6 were sentenced
by the Court. Surprisingly, the sentences for the criminals were not severe,
ranging from six months to four years in prison. Two of the six sentenced
war criminals escaped from prison. It was believed that the Court deliber-
ately let the prisoners escape.
The only achievement of the Leipzig Trials was the punishment of
merely four minor war criminals. When Karl Stenger, an infamous and
murderous German general, was found not guilty by the Court, the spec-
tators cheered and offered tribute to him as a “national hero”. Kaiser
Wilhelm II, who must bear the greatest responsibility for the War, fled to
the Netherlands before the end of World War I. However, the Netherlands
refused to extradite him, claiming that such an act would contradict with
its constitution and historical traditions, thereby letting him live at large
without any proper legal sanctions.
That is the reason why the Leipzig Trials were called a farce in history;
and the above-mentioned is all that was achieved from the world’s first
trial of major war criminals after World War I.2
From this simple narrative we can conclude that before World War
II, the conception and attempt to punish the war makers and instiga-
tors in the international community had emerged. The Leipzig Trials
were a fiasco and the provisions on punishing war makers in the Treaty
of Versailles were merely a scrap of paper; even so, the idea of making
them accountable for their acts began to unfold. The failure of the trials
also taught some lessons regarding punishment of war criminals, which
were conducive to the smooth trials of major war criminals of World
War II.

1.3   Preparatory Work During World War II

The Allied Powers (at the time called “United Nations”, referring to the
countries that were engaged in fighting with the Axis Powers, not the
organization established in New York after World War II) had issued some

2
For details about the Leipzig Trials, see Mullins, Leipzig Trials (1921).
 THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL… 5

declarations and made preparations regarding the punishment of war

criminals after the War ended:

(1) On January 13, 1942, Belgium, Czech, Greece, the Netherlands,

Poland, Yugoslavia, Luxemburg, Norway, and France issued a joint
declaration, affirming that to punish the war criminals was one of
their major objectives.
(2) In October 1943, the United Nations Commission for the
Investigation of War Crimes was founded in London. Apart from
the above nine countries, China, the United States, and the United
Kingdom also joined the commission.
(3) On November 1, 1943, the Soviet Union, the United States, and
the United Kingdom jointly issued a Statement on Atrocities when
the Moscow Conference concluded. In addition to re-affirming
that war criminals shall be punished, they also claimed that all the
war criminals that committed atrocities “will be sent back to the
countries in which their abominable deeds were done in order that
they may be judged and punished according to the laws of these
liberated countries and of free governments which will be erected
therein”. The Statement also declared that it “is without prejudice
to the case of German criminals whose offenses have no particular
geographical localization and who will be punished by joint deci-
sion of the government of the Allies”, stating that the leaders and
the war instigators of the Axis Powers should be tried by an inter-
national tribunal jointly presided over by the Allied Powers.

In addition to the joint efforts dedicated by the above-mentioned gov-

ernments, the leaders of the Allied Powers also made stern statements on
the post-war punishment of war criminals, the most prominent of which
were:

(1) On July 30, 1943, President Roosevelt issued a statement warning

neutral nations against asylum for war criminals;
(2) On November 6, 1943, Marshall Stalin required “all the fascist
criminals responsible for the present war and the sufferings of the
people shall bear stern punishment”.3

3
For the statements, diplomatic correspondence and declarations, see S. Glueck, War
Criminals: Their Prosecution and Punishment, Appendix B, pp. 109–113.
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of El terror de 1824
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
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Title: El terror de 1824

Author: Benito Pérez Galdós

Release date: October 12, 2023 [eBook #71861]

Language: Spanish

Original publication: Madrid: Obras de Pérez Galdós, 1904

Credits: Ramón Pajares Box. (This file was produced from images
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Nota de transcripción

Los errores de imprenta han sido corregidos.

La ortografía del texto original ha sido modernizada de acuerdo con las normas
publicadas en 2010 por la Real Academia Española.
Las rayas intrapárrafos han sido espaciadas según los modernos usos
ortotipográficos.
Las notas a pie de página han sido renumeradas y colocadas al final del párrafo en
que se las llama.
 EPISODIOS NACIONALES

EL TERROR DE 1824
 Es propiedad. Queda hecho el depósito
que marca la ley. Serán furtivos los
ejemplares que no lleven el sello del autor
 B. PÉREZ GALDÓS
EPISODIOS NACIONALES
SEGUNDA SERIE

EL TERROR DE 1824

32.000

MA DRID
O B RAS DE P É RE Z G AL DÓ S
132, Hortaleza
1904
EST. TIP. DE LA VIUDA E HIJOS DE TELLO
IMPRESOR DE CÁMARA DE S. M.
C. de San Francisco, 4.
 EL TERROR DE 1824

En la tarde del 2 de octubre de 1823 un anciano bajaba con paso

tan precipitado como inseguro por las afueras de la Puerta de Toledo
en dirección al puente del mismo nombre. Llovía menudamente, sin
cesar, según la usanza del hermoso cielo cuando se enturbia, y la
ronda podía competir en lodos con su vecino Manzanares, el cual
hinchándose como la madera cuando se moja, extendía su saliva
fangosa por gran parte del cauce que le permiten los inviernos. E
anciano transeúnte marchaba con pie resuelto, sin que le causara
estorbo la lluvia, con el pantalón recogido hasta la pantorrilla
chapoteando sin embarazo en el lodo con las destrozadas botas. Iba
estrechamente forrado, como tizona en vaina, en añoso gabán oscuro
cuyo borde y solapa se sujetaba con alfileres allí donde no había
botones, y con los agarrotados dedos en la parte del pecho, como la
más necesitada de defensa contra la humedad y el frío. Hundía la
barba y media cara en el alzacuello, tieso como una pared
cubriéndose con él las orejas y el ala posterior del sombrero, que
destilaba agua como cabeza de tritón en fuente de Reales Sitios. No
llevaba paraguas ni bastón. Mirando sin cesar al suelo, daba unos
suspiros que competían con las ráfagas de aire. ¡Infelicísimo varón
¡Cuán claramente pregonaban su desdichada suerte el roto vestido
las horadadas botas, el casquete húmedo, la aterida cabeza, y aque
continuo suspirar casi al compás de los pasos! Parecía un
desesperado que iba derecho a descargar sobre el río el fardo de una
vida harto enojosa para llevarla más tiempo. No obstante, pasó por e
puente sin mirar al agua, y no se detuvo hasta el parador situado en la
divisoria de los caminos de Toledo y Andalucía.
 Bajo el cobertizo destinado a los alcabaleros y gente del fisco
había hasta dos docenas de hombres de tropa, entre ellos algunos
oficiales de línea y voluntarios realistas de nuevo cuño en tales días
Los paradores cercanos albergaban una fuerza considerable, cuya
misión era guardar aquella principalísima entrada de la corte, ignorante
aún de los sucesos que en el último confín de la Península habían
cambiado el gobierno de constitucional dudoso en absoluto verídico y
puro, poniendo fin entre bombas certeras y falaces manifiestos a los
tres llamados años. En aquel cuerpo de guardia eran examinados los
pasaportes, vigilando con exquisito esmero las entradas y las salidas
mayormente estas últimas, a fin de que no escurriesen el bulto los
sospechosos ni se pusieran en cobro los revolucionarios, cuya última
cuenta se ajustaría pronto en el tremendo Josafat del despotismo.
Acercose el vejete al grupo de oficiales, y reconociendo
prontamente al que sin duda buscaba, que era joven, adusto y
morenote, bastante adelantado en su marcial carrera como
proclamaban las insignias, díjole con mucho respeto:
—Aquí estoy otra vez, señor coronel Garrote. ¿Tiene vuecencia
alguna buena noticia para mí?
—Ni buena ni mala, señor... ¿cómo se llama usted? —repuso e
militar.
—Patricio Sarmiento, para servir a vuecencia y la compañía
Patricio Sarmiento, el mismo que viste y calza, si esto se puede deci
de mi traje y de mis botas. Patricio Sarmiento, el...
—Pase usted adentro —díjole bruscamente el militar, tomándole po
un brazo y llevándole bajo el cobertizo—. Está usted como una sopa.
Un rumor, del cual podía dudarse si era de burla o de lástima, y
quizás provenía de las dos cosas juntamente, acogió la entrada de
infeliz preceptor en la compañía de los militares.
—Sí, señor Garrote —añadió Sarmiento—; soy, como decía, e
hombre más desgraciado de todo el globo terráqueo. Ese cielo que
nos moja no llora más que lloro en estos días, desde que me han
anunciado como probable, como casi cierta, la muerte de mi querido
hijo Lucas, de mi niño adorado, de aquel que era manso cordero en e
hogar paterno y león indómito en los combates... ¡Ah, señores
¡Ustedes no saben lo que es tener un hijo único, y perderlo en una
escaramuza de Andalucía, por descuidos de un general, o po
intrepidez imprudente de un oficialete!... ¿Pero hay esperanzas
todavía de que tan horrible noticia resulte incierta? ¿Se ha sabido
algo? Por Dios, señor Garrote, ¿ha sabido vuecencia si mi idolatrado
unigénito vive aún, o si feneció en esas tremendas batallas?... ¿Hay
algún parte que lo mencione?..., porque Lucas no podía morir como
cualquiera, no: había de morir ruidosa y gloriosísimamente, de una
manera tal, que dé gusto y juego a los historiadores... ¿Ha sabido algo
vuecencia de ayer acá?
—Nada —repuso Garrote fríamente.
—Ha seis días que vengo todas las tardes, y siempre me dice
vuecencia lo mismo —murmuró Sarmiento con angustia—. ¡Nada!
—Desde el primer día manifesté a usted qué nada podía saber.
—Pero a todas horas entran heridos, soldados dispersos, paisanos
correos que vienen de las Andalucías. ¿Se ha olvidado usted de
preguntar?
—No me he olvidado —indicó el coronel con semblante y tono más
compasivos—; pero nadie, absolutamente nadie, tiene noticia de
miliciano Lucas Sarmiento.
—¡Todo sea por Dios! —exclamó el preceptor mirando al cielo—
¡Qué agonía! Unos me dicen que sucumbió, otros que está herido
gravemente... ¿Han entrado hoy muchos milicianos prisioneros?
—Algunos.
—¿No venía Pujitos?
—¿Y quién es Pujitos?
—¡Oh! Vuecencia no conoce a nuestra gente.
—Soy forastero en Madrid.
—¡Oh! Pasaron aquellos tiempos de gloria —exclamó don Patricio
con lágrimas en los ojos, y declamando con cierto énfasis que no
cuadraba mal a su hueca voz y alta figura—. ¡Todo ha caído, todo es
desolación, muerte y ruinas! Aquellos adalides de la libertad, que
arrancaron a la madre España de las garras del despotismo; aquellos
fieros leones matritenses, que con solo un resoplido de su augusta
cólera desbarataron a la Guardia real, ¿qué se hicieron? ¿Qué se hizo
de la elocuencia que relampagueaba tronando en los cafés, con luz y
estruendo sorprendentes? ¿Qué se hizo de aquellas ideas de
emancipación que inundaban de gozo nuestras corazones? Todo cayó
todo se desvaneció en tinieblas, como lumbre extinguida por la
corriente de las aguas. La oleada de fango frailesco ha venido
arrasándolo todo. ¿Quién la detendrá volviéndola a su inmundo
cauce? ¡Estamos perdidos! La patria muere ahogada en lodaza
repugnante y fétido. Los que vimos sus días gloriosos, cuando al son
de patrióticos himnos eran consagradas públicamente las ideas de
libertad y nos hacíamos todos libres, todos igualmente soberanos, los
recordamos como un sueño placentero que no volverá. Despertamos
en la abyección, y el peso y el rechinar de nuestras cadenas nos
indican que vivimos aún. Las iracundas patas del déspota nos
pisotean, y los frailes nos...
—Basta —gritó una formidable voz interrumpiendo bruscamente a
infeliz dómine—. Para sainete basta ya, señor Sarmiento. Si abusa
usted de la benignidad con que se le toleran sus peroratas en atención
al estado de su cabeza, nos veremos obligados a retirarle las licencias
Esto no se puede resistir. Si los desocupados de Madrid le consienten
a usted que vaya de esquina en esquina y de grupo en grupo
divirtiéndoles con sus necedades y reuniendo tras de sí a los chicos
yo no permito que con pretexto de locura o idiotismo se insulte a
orden político que felizmente nos rige...
—¡Ah, señor Garrote, señor Garrote! —dijo Sarmiento moviendo
tristemente la cabeza y sacudiendo menudas gotas de agua sobre los
circunstantes—. Vuecencia me tapa la boca, que es el único desahogo
de mi alma abrasada... Callaré; pero deme vuecencia nuevas de m
hijo, aunque sean nuevas de su muerte.
Garrote encogió los hombros y ofreció una silla al pobre hombre
que, despreciando el asiento, juzgó más eficaz contra la humedad y e
fresco pasearse de un rincón a otro del cobertizo, dando fuertes
patadas y girando rápidamente, como veleta, al dar las vueltas. Los
demás militares y paisanos armados no ocultaban su regocijo ante la
grotesca figura y ditirámbico estilo del anciano, y cada cual imaginaba
un tema de burla con que zaherirle, mortificándole también en su
persona. Este le decía que Su Majestad pensaba nombrarle ministro
de Estado y llavero del reino; aquel que un ejército de carbonarios
venía por la frontera derecho a restablecer la Constitución; uno le
ponía una banqueta delante para que al pasar tropezase y cayese
otro le disparaba con cerbatana un garbanzo haciendo blanco en e
cogote o la nariz. Pero Sarmiento, atento a cosas más graves que
aquel juego importuno, hijo de un sentimiento grosero y vil, no hacía
caso de nada, y solo contestaba con monosílabos, o llevándose la
mano a la parte dolorida.
 Había pasado más de un cuarto de hora en este indigno ejercicio
cuando de la venta salió un hombre pequeño, doblado, de mezquina
arquitectura, semejante a la de esos edificios bajos y sólidos que no
tienen por objeto la gallarda expresión de un ideal, sino simplemente
servir para cualquier objeto terrestre y positivo. Siendo posible la
comparación de las personas con las obras de arquitectura, y
habiendo quien se asemeja a una torre gótica, a un palacio señorial, a
un minarete árabe, puede decirse de aquel hombre que parecía una
cárcel. Con su musculatura de cal y canto se avenía maravillosamente
una como falta de luces, rasgo misterioso o inexplicable de su
semblante, que a pesar de tener cuanto corresponde al humano
frontispicio, parecía una fachada sin ventanas. Y no eran pequeños
sus ojos ciertamente, ni dejaban de ver con claridad cuanto enfrente
tenían; pero ello es que mirándole no se podía menos de decir: «¡Qué
cara tan oscura!».
Su fisonomía no expresaba cosa alguna, como no fuera una calma
torva, una especie de acecho pacienzudo. Y a pesar de esto no era
feo, ni sus correctas facciones habrían formado mal conjunto s
estuvieran de otra manera combinadas. Tales o cuales cejas, boca o
narices más o menos distantes de la perfección, pueden ser de
agradable visualidad o de horrible aspecto, según cual sea la
misteriosa conexión que forma con ellas una cara. La de aquel hombre
que allí se apareció era ferozmente antipática. Siempre que vemos po
primera vez a una persona, tratamos, sin darnos cuenta de nuestra
investigación, de escudriñar su espíritu y conocer por el mirar, por la
actitud, por la palabra, lo que piensa y desea. Rara vez dejamos de
enriquecer nuestro archivo psicológico con una averiguación preciosa
Pero enfrente de aquel sótano humano el observador se aturdía
diciendo: «Está tan lóbrego que no veo nada».
Vestía de paisano con cierto esmero, y todas cuantas armas
portátiles se conocen llevábalas él sobre sí, lo cual indicaba que era
voluntario realista. Fusil sostenido a la espalda con tirante, sable
machete, bayoneta, pistolas en el cinto, hacían de él una armería en
toda regla. Calzaba botas marciales con espuelas, a pesar de no se
de a caballo; mas este accesorio solían adoptarlo cariñosamente todos
los militares improvisados de uno y otro bando. Chupaba un cigarrillo
y a ratos se pasaba la mano por la cara, afeitada como la de un fraile
pero su habitual resabio nervioso (estos resabios son muy comunes en
el organismo humano) consistía en estar casi siempre moviendo las
mandíbulas como si rumiara o mascullase alguna cosa. Su nombre de
pila era Francisco Romo.
Don Patricio, luego que le vio, llegose a él y le dijo:
—¡Ah, señor Romo! ¡Cuánto me alegro de verlo! Aquí estoy po
sexta vez buscando noticias de mi hijo.
—¿Qué sabemos nosotros de tu hijo ni del hijo del Zancarrón?
Papá Sarmiento, tú estás en Babia... No tardarás mucho en ir a
Nuncio de Toledo... Ven acá, estafermo —al decir esto le tomaba po
un brazo y le llevaba al interior de la venta que servía de cuerpo de
guardia—, ven acá y sirve de algo.
—¿En qué puedo servir al señor Romo? Diga lo que quiera con ta
que no me pida nada de que resulte un bien al absolutismo.
—Es cosa mía —dijo Romo hablando en voz baja y retirándose con
Sarmiento a un rincón donde no pudieran ser oídos—. Tú, aunque
loco, eres hombre capaz de llevar un recado y ser discreto.
—Un recado... ¿a quién?
—A Elenita, la hija de don Benigno Cordero, que vive en tu misma
casa, ¿eh? Me parece que no te vendrán mal tres o cuatro reales..
Este saco de huesos está pidiendo carne. ¿Cuántas horas hace que
no has comido?
—Ya he perdido la cuenta —repuso el preceptor con afligidísimo
semblante, mientras un lagrimón como garbanzo corría por su mejilla.
—Pues bien, carcamal: aquí tienes una peseta. Es para ti si llevas a
la señorita doña Elena...
—¿Qué?
—Esta carta —dijo Romo mostrando una esquela doblada en pico.
—¡Una carta amorosa! —exclamó Sarmiento ruborizándose—
Señor Romo de mis pecados, ¿por quién me toma usted?
El tono de dignidad ofendida con que hablara Sarmiento, irritó de ta
modo al voluntario realista que, empujando brutalmente al anciano, le
vituperó de este modo:
—¡Dromedario! ¿Qué tienes que decir?... Sí, una carta amorosa. ¿Y
qué?
—Que usted es un simple si me toma por alcahuete —dijo don
Patricio con severo acento—. Guarde usted su peseta, y yo me
guardaré mi gana de comer. ¡Por vida de la chilindraina! No faltan
almas caritativas que hagan limosnas sin humillarnos...
 Inflamado en vivísima cólera el voluntario, y sin hallar otras razones
para expresarla que un furibundo terno, descargó sobre el pobre
maestro aburrido uno de esos pescozones de catapulta que abaten de
un golpe las más poderosas naturalezas, y dejándole tendido en tierra
magullados y acardenalados el hocico y la frente, salió del cuerpo de
guardia.
A don Patricio le levantaron casi exánime, y su destartalado cuerpo
se fue estirando poco a poco en la postura vertical, restallándole las
coyunturas como clavijas mohosas. Se pasó la mano por la cara, y
dando un gran suspiro y elevando al cielo los ojos llorosos, exclamó
así con dolorido acento:
—¡Indigno abuso de la fuerza bruta, y de la impunidad que protege
a estos capigorrones!... Si otros fueran los tiempos, otras serían las
nueces... Pero los yunques se han vuelto martillos, y los martillos de
ayer son yunques ahora. ¡Rechilindrona! ¡Malditos sean los instantes
que he vivido después que murió aquella preciosa libertad!...
Y sucediendo la rabia al dolor, se aporreó la cabeza y se mordió los
puños. Habíanle abandonado los que antes le prestaran socorro
porque fuera se sentía gran ruido y salieron todos corriendo al camino
Don Patricio, coronándose dignamente con su sombrero, al cual se
empeñó en devolver su primitiva forma, salió también arrastrado por la
curiosidad.
 II

Era que venían por el camino de Andalucía varias carretas

precedidas y seguidas de gente de armas a pie y a caballo, y aunque
no se veían sino confusos bultos a lo lejos, oíase un son a manera de
quejido, el cual, si al principió pareció lamentaciones de seres
humanos, luego se comprendió provenía del eje de un carro que
chillaba por falta de unto. Aquel áspero lamento, unido a la algazara
que hizo de súbito la mucha gente salida de los paradores y ventas
formaba lúgubre concierto, más lúgubre aún a causa de la tristeza de
la noche. Cuando los carros estuvieron cerca, una voz acatarrada y
becerril gritó: «¡Vivan las caenas! ¡Viva el rey absoluto y muera la
nación!». Respondiole un bramido infernal, como si a una rompieran a
gritar todas las cóleras del averno, y al mismo tiempo la luz de las
hachas, prontamente encendidas, permitió ver las terribles figuras que
formaban procesión tan espantosa. Don Patricio, quizás el único
espectador enemigo de semejante espectáculo, sintió los escalofríos
del terror y una angustia mortal que le retuvo inmóvil y casi sin
respiración por algún tiempo.
Los que custodiaban el convoy y los paisanos que le seguían po
entusiasmo absolutista, estaban manchados de fango hasta los ojos
Algunos traían pañizuelo en la cabeza, otros sombrero ancho; muchos
con el desgreñado cabello al aire, roncos, mojados de pies a cabeza
frenéticos, tocados de una borrachera singular que no se sabe si era
de vino o de venganza, brincaban sobre los baches, agitando un girón
con letras, una bota escuálida o un guitarrillo sin cuerdas. Era una
horrenda mezcla de bacanal, entierro y marcha de triunfo. Oíanse
bandurrias desacordes, carcajadas, panderetazos, votos, ternos
kirieleisones, vivas y mueras, todo mezclado con el lenguaje carreteril
con patadas de animales (no todos cuadrúpedos) y con el cascabeleo
de las colleras. Cuando la caravana se detuvo ante el cuerpo de
guardia, aumentó el ruido. La tropa formó al punto, y una nueva
aclamación al rey neto alborotó los caseríos. Salieron mujeres a las
ventanas, candil en mano, y la multitud se precipitó sobre los carros.
Eran estos galeras comunes con cobertizo de cañas y cama hecha
de pellejos y sacos vacíos. En el delantero venían tres hombres, dos
de ellos armados, sanos y alegres, el tercero enfermo y herido
reclinado doloridamente sobre el camastrón, con grillos en los pies y
una larga cadena que, prendida en la cintura y en una de las muñecas
se enroscaba junto al cuerpo como una culebra. Tenía vendada la
cabeza con un lienzo teñido de sangre, y era su rostro amarillo como
vela de entierro. Le temblaban las carnes, a pesar de disfrutar de
abrigo de una manta, y sus ojos extraviados, así como su anhelante
respiración, anunciaban un estado febril y congojoso. Cuando e
coronel Garrote se acercó al carro, y alzando la linterna que en la
mano traía, miró con vivísima curiosidad al preso, este dijo a media
voz:
—¿Estamos ya en Madrid?
Sin hacer caso de la pregunta, Garrote, cuyo semblante expresaba
el goce de una gran curiosidad satisfecha, dijo:
—¿Conque es usted...?
Uno de los hombres armados que custodiaban al preso en el carro
añadió:
—El héroe de las Cabezas.
Y junto al carro sonó este grito de horrible mofa:
—¡Viva Riego!
Garrote se empeñó en apartar a la gente que rodeaba el carro
apiñándose para ver mejor al preso e insultarle más de cerca.
Un hombre alargó el brazo negro, y tocando con su puño cerrado e
cuello del enfermo, gritó:
—¡Ladrón, ahora las pagarás!
El desgraciado general se recostó en su lecho de sacos, y callaba
aunque harto claramente imploraban compasión sus ojos.
—Fuera de aquí. Señores, a un lado —dijo Garrote, aclarando con
suavidad el grupo de curiosos—. Ya tendrán tiempo de verle a sus
anchas...
—Dicen que la horca será la más alta que se ha visto en Madrid —
indicó uno.
 —Y que se venderán los asientos en la plaza, como en la de toros.
—Pero déjennoslo ver..., por amor de Dios. Si no nos lo comemos
señor coronel —gruñó una dama del parador cercano.
—¡Si no puede con su alma...! ¿Y ese hombre ha revuelto medio
mundo? Que me lo vengan a decir...
—¡Qué facha! ¿Y dicen que este es Riego?... ¡Qué bobería!... S
parece un sacristán que se ha caído de la torre cuando estaba tocando
a muerto...
—Este es tan Riego como yo.
—Os digo que es el mismo. Le vi yo en el teatro cantando el himno.
—El mismo es. Tiene el mismo parecido del retrato que paseaban
por Platerías.
Hasta aquí las mortificaciones fueron de palabra. Pero un grupo de
hombres que habían salido al encuentro de los carros, una gavilla
mitad armada, mitad desnuda, desarrapada, borracha, tan llena de
rabia y cieno que parecía creación espantosa del lodo de los caminos
de la hez de las tinajas y de la nauseabunda atmósfera de los
presidios, un pedazo de populacho, de esos que desgarrándose se
separan del cuerpo de la nación soberana para correr solo
manchando y envileciendo cuanto toca, empezó a gritar con el gruñido
de la cobardía que se finge valiente fiando en la impunidad:
—¡Que nos lo den; que nos entreguen a ese pillo, y nosotros le
ajustaremos la cuenta!
—Señores —dijo Garrote con energía—, atrás; atrás todo el mundo
El preso va a entrar en Madrid.
—Nosotros le llevaremos.
—Atrás todo el mundo.
Y los pocos soldados que allí había, auxiliados con tibieza por los
voluntarios realistas, apartaban a la gente.
Unos corrieron a curiosear en los carros que venían detrás, y otros
se metieron en la venta, donde sonaban seguidillas, castañuelas
desaforados gritos y chillidos. Un cuero de vino, roto por los golpes y
patadas que recibiera, dejaba salir el rojo líquido, y el suelo de la venta
parecía inundado de sangre. Algunos carreteros sedientos se habían
arrojado al suelo y bebían en el arroyo tinto; los que llegaron más tarde
apuraban lo que había en los huecos del empedrado, y los chicos
lamían las piedras fuera de la venta, a riesgo de ser atropellados po
las mulas desenganchadas que iban de la calle a la cuadra, o del tiro
al abrevadero. Poco después veíanse hombres que parecían
degollados con vida, carniceros o verdugos que se hubieran bañado
en la sangre de sus víctimas. El vino, mezclado al barro y tiñendo las
ropas que ya no tenían color, acababa de dar al cuadro en cada una
de sus figuras un tono crudo de matadero, horriblemente repulsivo a la
vista.
Y a la luz de las hachas de viento y de las linternas, las caras
aumentaban en ferocidad, dibujándose más claramente en ellas la risa
entre carnavalesca y fúnebre que formaba el sentido, digámoslo así
de tan extraño cuadro. Como no había cesado de llover, el piso
inundado era como un turbio espejo de lodo y basura, en cuyo crista
se reflejaban los hombres rojos, las rojas teas, las bayonetas bruñidas
las ruedas cubiertas de tierra, los carros, las flacas mulas, las
haraposas mujeres, el ir y venir, la oscilación de las linternas y hasta e
barullo, los relinchos de brutos y hombres, la embriaguez inmunda, y
por último, aquella atmósfera encendida, espesa, suciamente
brumosa, formada por los alientos de la venganza, de la rusticidad y
de la miseria.
En el segundo carro estaban presos también y heridos los
compañeros de Riego, a saber: el capitán don Mariano Bayo, e
teniente coronel piamontés Virginio Vicenti y el inglés Jorge Matías
Don Patricio Sarmiento, que no se atrevió a acercarse al primer carro
se detuvo breve rato junto al segundo, pasó indiferente por el tercero
donde solo venían sacos y un guerrillero con su mujer, y se dirigió a
cuarto, llamado por una voz débil que claramente dijo:
—Señor don Patricio de mi alma... ¡Bendito sea Dios que me
permite verle!
—¡Pujitos!... ¡Pujitos mío!... —exclamó Sarmiento extendiendo sus
brazos dentro del carro—. ¿Eres tú?... Sí, tú mismo... Dime, ¿estás
herido? Por lo visto, también vienes preso.
—Sí señor —repuso el maestro de obra prima—; herido y preso
estoy... Diga usted, ¿nos ahorcarán?
—¿Pues eso quién lo duda?
—¡Infeliz de mí!... Vea usted los lodos en que han venido a para
aquellos polvos. Bien me lo decía mi mujer... Señor don Patricio, al que
está como yo medio muerto de un bayonetazo en la barriga, deberían
dejarle en manos de Dios para que se lo llevase cuando a su Divina
Majestad le diese la gana, ¿no es verdad?