was a Japanese military interpreter during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He worked for the

Kempeitai The , also known as Kempeitai, was the military police arm of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1881 to 1945 that also served as a secret police force. In addition, in Japanese-occupied territories, the Kenpeitai arrested or killed those suspecte ...

(military secret police) at the construction of the

Burma Railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...

in Thailand, and spent most of his later life as an activist for post-war reconciliation and against Japanese militarism. He made over a hundred visits to Thailand, and from the 1970s, arranged several meetings between former Allied prisoners of wars and their Japanese captors, in efforts to promote peace and understanding. In 1993, he met and reconciled with British former POW

Eric Lomax Eric Sutherland Lomax (30 May 1919 – 8 October 2012) was a British Army officer who was sent to a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in 1942. He is most notable for his book, '' The Railway Man'', about his experiences before, during, and after Wor ...

—in whose torture sessions Nagase had been involved—an encounter retold in Lomax's 1995 autobiography '' The Railway Man''.

Early life and military service

Nagase was born in 1918 in

Kurashiki, Okayama is a historic city located in western Okayama Prefecture, Japan, sitting on the Takahashi River, on the coast of the Inland Sea. As of March 31, 2017, the city has an estimated population of 483,576 and a population density of 1,400 persons per ...

, Japan and learned English at an American Methodist college in Tokyo. He joined the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, and became an interpreter for the Kempeitai at the construction of the Burma Railway, known for its brutal conditions leading to the deaths of over 12,000 Allied prisoners of war and 90,000 Asian labourers or '' romusha''. Nagase was involved in the interrogation and torture of many Allied POWs. Following Japan's surrender, Nagase spent seven weeks working for the Allied War Graves Commission as a volunteer, helping recover bodies for proper burial. After returning to Japan, he founded an English-language school in Kurashiki.

After the war

Nagase was first introduced to the British public in the documentary made by ex-POW John Coast about the realities of life on the Thai-Burma Railway, which was first broadcast in the UK on BBC2 on 15 March 1969. It was repeated on BBC1 on 4 August 1969 and again on

Boxing Day Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...

1974. The documentary was an early colour broadcast and part of the series ''One Pair of Eyes''. ''Return to the River Kwai'' featured interviews with Nagase and two other Japanese soldiers who had worked with the prisoners on the railway. Nagase acted as both interpreter for the two other soldiers and interviewee. A transcript of the documentary and Nagase's responses to Coast's questions about the treatment of the POWs and some of the Japanese accused of war crimes after the war (plus some of Nagase's responses that did not make it into the final edit of the documentary) can be found in the new 2014 edition of Coast's book ''Railroad of Death'' originally published in 1946. Nagase was also noted for his reconciliation with former

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer

, whom he interrogated and tortured at a Japanese

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...

in 1942. Lomax then went on to discuss his reconciliation and eventual friendship with Nagase in his autobiography, '' The Railway Man''. The book chronicled his experience before, during, and after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It won the 1996

NCR Book Award The NCR Book Award for Non-Fiction, established in 1987 and sponsored by NCR Corporation, was for a time the UK's major award for non-fiction. Closing in 1997 after a period of decline and scandal, it is best remembered as the forerunner of the Sam ...

and the

J. R. Ackerley Prize for Autobiography PEN Ackerley Prize (or, J. R. Ackerley Prize for Autobiography) is awarded annually by English PEN for a literary autobiography of excellence, written by an author of British nationality and published during the preceding year. The winner receive ...

. Nagase also wrote a book on his own experiences during and after the war entitled ''Crosses and Tigers'', and financed a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represen ...

at the bridge to atone for his actions during the war. The reconciliation between the two men was filmed as a documentary ''Enemy, My Friend?'' (1995), directed by Mike Finlason. After the end of the Second World War, Takashi Nagase became a devout

Buddhist priest A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics ("nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist ...

and tried to atone for the

Japanese army The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...

's treatment of prisoners of war. He made more than 100 missions of atonement to the River Kwai in Thailand. He died in 2011 in Kurashiki.

In television and films

Nagase is portrayed by

Randall Duk Kim Randall Duk Kim (born September 24, 1943) is an American stage, film, and television actor. Life Kim was born and raised in Hawaii. He is married to actress and fellow American Players Theatre co-founder, Anne Occhiogrosso. Career Theat ...

in the 1996 BBC TV film ''Prisoners in Time'', based on the story of Eric Lomax, who is played by

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...

, with

Rowena Cooper Rosemary Rowena Cooper (born 1935) is a British actress. She began her career in 1956, joining the Radio Drama Company by winning the Carlton Hobbs Bursary. In 1959 she joined the Dundee Repertory Theatre Company and went on to have an extensi ...

as his wife, Patti. In the 2001 film ''

To End All Wars ''To End All Wars'' is a 2001 war film starring Robert Carlyle, Kiefer Sutherland and Sakae Kimura and was directed by David L. Cunningham. The film is based on '' Through the Valley of the Kwai'', an autobiography of Scottish captain Ernest G ...

'', based on the autobiography of

Ernest Gordon Ernest Gordon (31 May 1916 – 16 January 2002) was the former Presbyterian dean of the chapel at Princeton University. A native of Greenock, Scotland, and the son of James Gordon and Sarah R MacMillan, as an officer in the Argyll and Sutherla ...

, Nagase is portrayed by Yugo Saso, with

Ciarán McMenamin Ciarán McMenamin (born 1 October 1975) is a Northern Irish actor and author. Early life McMenamin was born in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, where he attended St Michael's College. He earned his B.A. from the Royal Scottis ...

as Gordon. In the 2013 film '' The Railway Man'', based on Lomax's autobiography, Nagase is portrayed by

Tanroh Ishida is a Japanese actor based in London, UK. Career Ishida was trained from the age of three in traditional Japanese ''Noh'' and ''Kyogen'' theater by his father and his father's master.

and

Hiroyuki Sanada is a Japanese actor and martial artist. He is best known to international audiences for his roles as Genbu in ''Ninja in the Dragon's Den'' (1982), Ryuji Takayama in ''Ring'' (1998), Seibei Iguchi in ''The Twilight Samurai'' (2002), Ujio in ''T ...

, with

Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He was identified in the mid-1980s with the " Brit Pack" of rising young British actors, undertaking a challenging series of roles, including leading roles in '' A M ...

and

Jeremy Irvine Jeremy William Fredric Smith (born 18 June 1990), known professionally as Jeremy Irvine, is an English actor who made his film debut in the epic war film ''War Horse'' (2011). In 2012, he portrayed Philip "Pip" Pirrip in the film adaptation of ...

as Lomax and

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

as Patti.

References

External links

Prisoner of War Learns To Forgive, Reconciles With His Interrogator
Christian Science Monitor, 9 August 1995 * http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?at_code=282034 * https://web.archive.org/web/20070630145400/http://www.pauladams.org/Stories/ErnestGordon.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Nagase, Takashi 1918 births 2011 deaths Imperial Japanese Army officers People from Kurashiki Imperial Japanese Army personnel of World War II Japanese Buddhist clergy 20th-century Buddhists 21st-century Buddhists