五族之墓と義父
２日の日曜日、久し振りに家族で高野山へ墓参に出かけた。高野山には妻の父、新谷増雄が眠る墓がある。
２０坪はあろうかと思われる大きな墓地で、五族之墓奉賛会が建立したものである。
義父はこの奉賛会の事務局を長年務め、墓の建立に並々ならぬ努力をしていた。そして、「俺が死んだら必ず五族の墓に入れろ」
というのが義父の遺言であった。
五族とは、日本、朝鮮、満州、蒙古、漢民族の五族であり、五族協和の王道楽土を創らんとの理想に燃えた満州国英霊の墓である。従って、
そこには満州国皇帝愛新覚羅溥儀及び弟、溥傑の名前も見ることができる。
義父、新谷増雄は、陸士５６期で陸軍経理学校卒の軍人であった。所属は満州国軍であったが終戦でシベリアに抑留され、
極寒の地で３年を過ごし帰国。以後民間企業に勤め、子会社の社長等を歴任し６０歳で定年を迎え、後は悠々自適の隠居生活を送っていたが、
７８歳で病床に臥し間もなく他界した。
私が結婚したのは義父が６０歳の定年を迎えた年で、現役の時を知らないが、
とにかく博識で軍人らしく自分也の思想を確りと持った背筋のピンとした人であった。余り多くは語らなかったが肝心な時の一言には重みがあり、
多くの事を学ばせて頂いた。正直、この人を義父に持たなかったら私の人生も少し違ったものになっていたかも・・、そんな事を思わせる位に、
私の思い方考え方に影響を与えた人であった。
私がこの調査の仕事に疑問を持ちナイーブになっていた時に、一言、「松谷君、泥棒が警察官になってはいかんだろう・・？」。また、
義父が定年して間もない時に、「お父さん、もう少し会社に残る道があったのでは」と聞いたことがある、すると、
「歳を取ったら後輩に道を譲るのが仕事だ」と一言。そして実際その通り、定年後はボランテイア的な事以外は一切しなかった。また、
愚痴や暗い話は一切しない人であった。例えば、シベリア抑留当事の話でも軍隊の話でも、面白おかしくは話しても、”辛かった”
の一言を聞いた事がない。そんな義父の墓参りを、妻と子供で久し振りにすることができ、何となく肩の荷が少し軽くなった気がしている。
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| ５つの戦病死者供養塔（高野山奥の院） | 満州・五族の墓 | 五族の墓の後ろには、五族の英霊芳名壁がある。 |
On Sunday the 2nd, I went to Koya for the first time in a long time with my family to visit the grave of Mt. In Koyasan, there is a grave where his wife’s father, Masuo Shintani, is buried.
It is a large cemetery, which must have been about 20 pyeong, and was built by the Association for the Graves of the Five Families.
My father-in-law served for many years in the office of this consecration, and he made extraordinary efforts to erect the tomb. And, “When I die, make sure you put me in the grave of the Five Clans.
This was the will of my father-in-law.
The five tribes are Japan, Korea, Manchuria, Mongolia, and the Han Chinese, and this is the tomb of the Manchurian spirit who burned with the ideal of creating a royal and peaceful land of harmony between the five tribes. Therefore, the
The names of the Manchu emperor Aixin Jueluo Puyi and his brother Puyjie can also be seen there.
His father-in-law, Masuo Shintani, was an army officer in the 56th year of his military service and a graduate of the Army Accounting School. He served in the Manchukuo Army, but was interned in Siberia at the end of the war.
He returned home after three years in extreme cold weather. After that, he worked for a private company, served as president of a subsidiary, and retired at the age of 60.
He was 78 years old and passed away shortly after his death in his bed.
I got married the year my father-in-law reached the retirement age of 60, and I don’t know when he was in active service.
In any case, he was an erudite, military man with a strong backbone and a firm belief in his own ideas. He didn’t say too much, but when it came down to it, there was weight to his words.
I’ve learned a lot of things. Honestly, my life might have been a little different if I didn’t have this person as my father-in-law…………………………………….
He was a person who influenced the way I think and think.
When I was questioning the work of this investigation and becoming naïve, one word came to mind, “Matsutani-kun, shouldn’t a thief be a police officer…? . Also.
When my father-in-law had just retired, he once asked me, “Dad, maybe there was a way to stay with the company a little longer.
One word: “It’s my job to give way to my juniors when I get older. And that’s actually true, I didn’t do anything but volunteer stuff after I retired. Also.
He was a person who never complained or talked in a dark way. For example, whether it’s the story of my time in Siberia or the military, I can tell it in a funny way, but “it was hard.”
I’ve never heard a single word about it. My wife and children were able to visit my father-in-law’s grave for the first time in a long time, and I feel a little lighter on my shoulders somehow.
