After Japan's surrender in 1945, more than 4,000 Japanese children were left behind in China and raised by Chinese foster parents, earning them the name Japanese 'war orphans'. Tomoji Ohara, one such orphan, was adopted by a Chinese woman at age three or four and did not return to Japan until his forties. He has said that the orphans were not lonely in China, but truly isolated in Japan.
Tomoji Ohara, known as Cong Peng to his Chinese foster parents, spent his life adrift between two homelands. As a Japanese war orphan, he was adopted by a Chinese woman at the age of three or four and did not return to Japan until he was in his forties. Due to language barriers and estranged family ties, Ohara was never able to integrate into Japanese society.
He reflected, "We orphans were actually not lonely in China. Conversely, in Japan, we truly became isolated." This sentiment highlights the challenges these children faced in navigating their dual identities and cultural displacements.
This summer, leaning on his cane, Ohara made a final farewell to his deceased foster parents. The gesture underscores his enduring gratitude toward the Chinese family that raised him. Despite years in Japan, his heart remains oriented toward China, illustrating personal bonds that transcend blood and borders.
The stories of these war orphans, numbering over 4,000, serve as poignant reminders of war's lasting scars on the innocent, while pointing to paths of reconciliation between China and Japan.