Onoda started working for a trading company in Hankou, China. He was in charge of purchasing food and oil. The first thing he needed to do was learn Chinese as soon as possible, otherwise he could not do anything. In addition to that, the company did not allow their Chinese staff to speak Japanese therefore he studied Chinese with his heart and soul. He did not mingle with other Japanese workers while in China, so his Chinese speaking skill had improved remarkably.
Sometimes, Onoda saw battles between Japan and China in front of him; he was a teenager and a trading merchant, so he did not have a direct relationship with that. But, he subconsciously had a feeling that he had to participate in the war in the near future. Thus, he tried to enjoy his youth while he could. He worked hard to make money and played hard until he went to war.
Onoda wore formal suit made in England, drove an American car, and often went to French concessions. There were social meeting places called dance halls. He met businessmen there and made personal networks, allowing his business to run smoothly. Onoda was haunted by the possibility of dying in the near future. He often went to the dance hall and lost himself in dancing the samba and Jitterbug all night. People said that Onoda studied the Chinese language in order to date Chinese ladies he met in the dance halls.
In his teenage years, he was a gambler so he played mah-jongg. He could not drink so much, but he smoked about 20 cigarettes a day, but at times, he would smoke 40 cigarettes whenever he gambled. He kept gambling and dancing through the night in order to burn himself out every day, so he needed a lot of money in order to do so, this caused Onoda to beg his brother for money every month.
On December 8, 1941, Japan attacked the United States. After that, Onoda and the people who went to the dance halls were labeled as bums. The military police made preventive arrests of the dance hall patrons, so he was not able to hang out much at night.
Hiroo Onoda turned 20 years old in 1942 which was two years after he started working in China. He applied for the military draft and successfully passed it while in China. He then resigned from the trading company and finally returned to Japan to enter the army. He was assigned to the Wakayama Guards; then got transferred to another infantry troop. Onoda was deployed to Nanchang, China, returning him to the land in which he spent his youth. His elder brother was there by chance and was surprised to see him again because he thought Onoda had probably begged for money to splurge on gambling and dancing like he did in Hankou.
The military training was Spartan-like and Onoda usually marched 6-8 kilometers carrying 30kg of equipment every hour. As a result of this, his body became strong. He also joined the official military while in China.
In 1944, Onoda passed the exam for military cadetship. Therefore, he returned to Japan and trained at the Army Academy which fostered military leaders. He was mostly taught how to charge at enemies consisting of 50 soldiers in order to kill as many as he could. It was a practice for a moral struggle. When Onoda made a mistake, his instructor Lt.Shigetomi immediately gave him a tremendous slap. He learned the needed fundamental attitude and mental education from his military instructor Lieutenant Shigetomi. This training supported the ups and downs of Onoda’s life.
Six months later, Onoda graduated from the academy and at 22 years old he was invited to enter another academy. The reasons were as follows 1. He could speak Chinese. 2. He could drive a car and 3. He could practice his hobby which was photography. Working in China at a young age had given him global experience which differentiated him from the other candidates.
The name of the Academy was “Nakano Army Academy Futamata branch”. The academy was located in Futamata, Shizuoka Prefecture. Even among the Armies, nobody knew the existence of this academy, it was an absolute secret and only top military members knew of its existence. However, a few decades after the end of World War II, it was discovered. In 1941, it was the entrance to become a secret soldier.
Next
Chapter 3. Super Secret School, Nakano Army Academy
