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35, in 1941, lecturer KIU medical college, Anatomy Section; 1943 assistant professor Anatomy Section until surrender. Absent through illness from January to March 1942, January to March 1944, November 1945 to February 1946, July 1946 to present. Discharged from University staff August 1946. Now at home, TB of kidneys and bladder. Tanaka's immediate superior was Dr. Ishizawa; Hirako was head of the Anatomy Section; directly under him was Ishisawa, then Tanaka. Assistant of Hirako was Kaneo Kida; Also with Hirako were post graduates Shiro Goshima and Kan Ryu. Tanaka and post graduate Reiichiro Makino worked under Ishisawa. Only Hirako, Ishizawa and Tanaka taught classes. 1000-1100, on about 20 April 1945, Tanaka was standing outside his office door when Hirako came from his office toward the operating room, stopped, said, "Professor Ishiyama, at the request of the army, is going to perform an operation on a Prisoner taken from a B-29 plane. If he performs this operation at the Surgical Clinic Operating Room, many people will see it and that would not be appropriate; so he has asked permission to use the Autopsy Training Room for the operation. Since he has asked, I gave him permission to use the room. Ishiyama first was promised the use of the Pathology Dissecting Room, but since this room is too small he gave that room up and decided to use the Autopsy training room. Please see that you don't talk to the people outside about this. The operation will take place at about 1400." Tanaka then told Makino about the operations, who said he would go for educational benefit, to which Tanaka agreed. 1100-1200 Tanaka told Ishizawa about it, who said, "Is that so?", did not appear to be surprised. 1200-1300 Hirako came in to Tanaka's room, told him that he had heard from the Surgical Clinic that the operation would not take place that day. Tanaka believes he informed Makino. About 23-23 April, 1430, Tanaka heard several people walk past the door of his office going toward the Autopsy Training Room. Tanaka went out, noticed that some nurses were carrying operating instruments, about 3 nurses and 3 doctors from Surgical Section. 10-20 minutes later, Tanaka went to Autopsy Training Room. Present there were Ishiyama, Komori, Hirao, Mori, and about 5 doctors from probably the Surgical Section, the head nurse, 3 regular nurses, and Makino. Hirao said, "It is almost time for them to come so let's go out in back and meet them." Hirao, Mori, Makino, and Tanaka and about 5 doctors went out in back to meet the Prisoners when they arrived. Soon after a truck arrived, stopped where they were, and about 8 soldiers and 1 blindfolded Prisoner got off. The Prisoner appeared to be healthy, walked without the assistance of soldiers. His khaki colored shirt was torn at his shoulder in the rear and stained with blood; it appeared that he had been injured in some way. One of the doctors from Surgery Section led the soldiers and the Prisoner to the side entrance of the Anatomy Building and into the room used by the students to change clothes when going to Autopsy Training classes, the room had tatami (mats) on the floor. Tanaka went to his office, remained 40 minutes and returned to the autopsy room. The operation was then in progress. At far right corner of the room from hall entrance were 3 dissecting tables, 2 end to end. The Prisoner on his back was lying on far table. The 3rd table was placed horizontally at far right hand corner of the table upon which the Prisoner lay. Ishiyama was performing the operation. Directly across from him was Komori. Hirao was on Ishiyama's left, Mori on Komori's right. 2 nurses were standing before a dissecting table on which were placed instruments on Hirao's left. Opposite these nurses and at the corner farthest from Prisoner was the head nurse (Tsutsui?). The Prisoner's left arm was outstretched on the dissecting table, which was placed horizontally beside Ishiyama, and a doctor, probably from the Surgical Section was recording the blood pressure (Senba?). Another person sitting at the end of the table, also from Surgery Section, was giving anesthetic to the Prisoner. Behind this man stood a staff Lt. Col. About 3 Surgery Section doctors, Makino, and Tanaka maintained no stationary position. Ishiyama then ordered sea water, using a German term, be injected. 2 Surgery Section doctors started to inject a colorless fluid from the irrigator into the Prisoner's left arm. The doctor recording the pulse spoke to Ishiyama in a small voice on finishing. Ishiyama then turned to the Lt. Col., said, "What was just injected into the patient's arm is sea water properly diluted. Since Ringer Solution is difficult to get at this time, we used this as a substitute solution, and it is effective." Tanaka remained only 20 minutes. The head nurse (Tsutsui?) merely stood quietly, watched the operation. Tanaka then went to visit his wife in the maternity ward, this being prior to the birth of his child on 26 April 1945. Since these operations took place on either Tuesday or Friday, this operation was either 20 or 24 April. The Prisoner did not appear to be seriously ill. Tanaka believes he would be 80% correct to say that this was a practice or experimental operation. After visiting his wife, Tanaka returned to his office, at about 1730 heard the Surgery Section doctors walking past his office door, and Tanaka went to the Autopsy Dissecting Room. No one was in the room; the Prisoner was lying just as he was when he was being operated on. His chest was bared; he was without shoes. Tanaka knew that he had died. 3-4 days later, either on 24 or 27 April 1945 Tanaka heard some people walk past the front of his office, talking loudly, and Tanaka gathered that there would be another operation. Tanaka went to the Autopsy Training Room about 1600. 2 dissecting tables were placed end to end lengthwise in the room. The Prisoner was lying on his back on the far, table, feet to hall entrance. Ishiyama was on the Prisoner's left side. To Ishiyama's left was Torisu, to his left 2-3 nurses before a table with instruments. Across from the nurses and a little way away from the table stood the head nurse. Komori was across from Ishiyama. The staff Lt. Col. was just behind the head of the Prisoner. There were 3 other doctors wearing doctors cloaks. Makino and Tanaka both went to the dissecting room to look on a few minutes. As Tanaka entered he heard Komori say loudly, "Kocher," a German word for the instrument used to stop the bleeding of large blood vessels. A nurse, seemingly excited, handed it to him. Ishiyama had his finger on the spot from which the blood was flowing, and blood was squirting out from around his finger, said to Komori, "Here it is," and Komori applied the "kocher." When the situation was brought under control, Ishiyama said to the Lt. Col, "As you can plainly see, a great deal of blood is lost during a liver operation. This makes the operation very difficult, but it is not at all an impossible operation." The Lt. Col. nodded. Ishiyama was trying to remove part of the Prisoner's liver. They were having a great deal of trouble because each time they would cut a little in the liver a new flow of blood would start. Ishiyama and Komori then attempted to stop the flow. Torisu was still passing instruments to Komori and Ishiyama; the head nurse (Tsutsui?) was looking on. After about 10 minutes, Tanaka began to feel bad, with so much blood flowing-- a gory sight, so he rather hurriedly left. Tanaka believes that it was at this operation that he saw near the closed hallway door of the room where the operation was being conducted 2-3 wooden caskets for the bodies of the Prisoners. He knew by this that there was no intentions on the part of those operating that the Prisoners should live. Tanaka heard from Hirao in September 1945 that 3 Prisoners were operated on this time. Sometime after 20 May and before June the 3rd series took place. About noon a young man's voice from Ishiyama Surgery Clinic called him to tell him that there was to be another operation from 1400 in the Autopsy Training Room. However, Tanaka returned home before 1400, heard in September 1945 from Hirao that there were 2 operations that time. During the first few days of June there was a 4th series. Between 1400-1430 Tanaka was walking from the library back to his office, saw about 5 from the Surgery Section. 2 of the 5 were nurses, carrying operating instruments. About 1630 Tanaka went to the Autopsy Training Room, noted 2 dissecting tables end to end at the far right of the room from the hallway door. On the nearer table were operating instruments, with 2-3 nurses; on the farther table was the Prisoner with his head at the other end of the table. The Prisoner was completely covered with a sheet except for his head. A crowd of people were all leaning over the Prisoner's head looking at the operation, and Tanaka could not tell who they were. Tanaka on inquiry learned it was a brain operation, but since there was no place to get a good view, Tanaka returned to his office. Tanaka believes that there were 2 caskets in the operating room when he was there. Tanaka left his office at 1700, returned at 1800, did not go to the autopsy training room. 2 days after this operation, Tanaka went to the autopsy training room, noticed a wooden casket about 2 yeards from the hallway doorway. The lid of the casket was slightly open, and Tanaka could see a body in the casket, with Khaki pants, thereby knowing it was the body of the Prisoner. In September 1945 Hirao came to Tanaka's office, said 8 Prisoner had been operated on, 1 the 1st time, 3 the 2nd, 2 the 3rd, and 2 the 4th. In March or April 1946 Ishizawa called Tanaka to his office regarding the operations, his wife having heard about them from somebody in a street car, and he had heard that some persons claimed that he had a part. Tanaka was surprised that the operations were held in the autopsy training room; he thought that they were held in the Pathology Section dissecting room. Ishizawa asked what kind of operations, Tanaka answered that he saw, lung, liver and brain operations. Ishizawa then asked him if he or Makino helped; Tanaka replied that they just looked on, upon which Ishizawa said that that was alright. Ishizawa then stated that Ishiyama and his junior doctors were telling many people about these operations, and because of this the rumors have spread. Ishizawa said many times that he was not involved in this affair, stressed it so much it was almost funny to Tanaka. In about Feb. 1946, or perhaps prior, there was a "reform movement" started by the younger lecturers, doctors and some students of the Surgery Clinic to rid the school of undesirable professors. Some persons believed that this was related to the affair. Chairman of movement; Shiko Takeya of Mental Disease Department. Vice chairman; Special Course Professor Nakoi Toida of Physiology Department. 17-18 July 1945 Tanaka was called to SCAP Legal Section, went to the University 22 July 1946, told Ishizawa about his experiences at Legal Section. Yoshisada Nakajima then came in and Tanaka told him. Nakajima said at that time, "Before Komori came and asked Ishiyama to permit him to perform the operations at the University he had asked permission at many hospitals, including the Sada Hospital. Being refused at these places, Komori finally requested the use of the University facilities from Ishiyama." Tanaka was hospitalized 6 August 1946, and one day Nakajima visited him, asked him to originate an appeal to the effect that the younger doctors of the Surgery Clinic had been forced by Ishiyama to participate in the operations and were guiltless. In November 1946 Ishizawa came and told Tanaka he had refused to sign the appeal which had been written because it spoke ill of the deceased Ishiyama. In August or September 1946 Kaneo Kida had visited Tanaka and had told him of his visit with Hirako at Sugamo. Hirako told him that there was an audiophone in the interview room, so he could not speak of the operations; Hirako did say that he heard when he came to Sugamo that there was a party of those who were involved in the operations back in the spring of 1945, but hadn't attended.
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