Item number: M91

Year: AD 1939

Material: Silver and Enamel

Size: 21.29 x 29.47 mm

Weight: 9.31 g

Manufactured by: Dalian and Fengtian (Shenyang), Mori Yoko Workshop

Provenance: Quan Jian Zhai 2022

This object is the silver elliptical “Manchukuo Development Labour Service Commemorative Badge” commissioned in AD 1939 (Kangde 6) and manufactured by Mori Yoko workshop, based in Dalian and Fengtian (now Shenyang). The obverse of the medal features a yellow enamel background with two wings decorated with sorghum, a significant agricultural product in pseudo-Manchukuo. In the centre, there is red inscription reading “滿洲建設勞動奉仕” (Manchukuo Development Labour Service). The term “奉仕” is borrowed from Japanese, meaning service or devotion.

The reverse side features a vertical pin and the stamp “康德六年 滿洲帝國 純銀” (Kangde 6th year Manchukuo Empire Pure Silver). This elliptical commemorative medal design was issued in Kangde 6th, 7th, and 8th years, with the 6th-year version being the most exquisite in design.

As described in the famous anti-Japanese war song “The Ballad of the Great Wall,” which mentions “The sorghum was rich and the soybeans fragrant, Gold was all over the land, with no disasters.,” Manchuria are situated in the fertile black soil region, making it an important agricultural region in China and even Asia. In AD 1931, Japan, coveting the Manchuria for a long time, used the “Mukden incident” as a pretext to quickly control the Manchuria with the stationed Kwantung Army. In AD 1934, the former Qing Dynasty’s abdicated emperor, Puyi, was installed with the reign title “Kangde,” establishing the puppet state of Manchukuo under strong Japanese control.

The establishment of Manchukuo prompted Japan to see it as a crucial solution to domestic rural issues. In the early 20th century, there were already scattered Japanese farmers encouraged by the government to settle in Manchuria. After the Mukden incident, the Japanese government considered the migration to Manchuria as a national policy. From AD 1939 onward, Japan officially promoted related policies.

In April 1940, the two organizations, “興亞學生勤勞報國隊”(The Revitalization of Asia Student Labor Volunteer Corps.) and “興亞青年勤勞報國隊,” (The Revitalization of Asia Youth Labor Volunteer Corps) coordinated through the Ministries of Home Affairs, Colonial Affairs, and Agriculture and Forestry, merged to form the “Manchukuo Development Labour Service Corps.” The plan was to annually send ten thousand people to settle in Manchukuo.

At the end of World War II, including the “Manchurian Construction Labor Service Corps,” there were approximately 1.66 million Japanese immigrants in Manchuria, with around 320,000 of them engaged in agriculture. In August 1945, when the Soviet Red Army launched the “August Storm” offensive in Manchuria, many dispersed agricultural immigrants were abandoned by the Kwantung Army, resulting in a significant number of casualties. Subsequently, some individuals became involved in the Chinese Civil War and remained in the People’s Republic of China under Communist rule, leading to the later issue of “remaining Japanese” in Sino-Japanese interactions.

物件編號: M91

年代: 公元 1939 年

材質: 銀, 琺瑯

尺寸: 21.29 x 29.47 mm

重量: 9.31 g

製造地: 大連和奉天(瀋陽), 森洋行

來源: 泉鑒齋 2022

此物件為公元1939年(康德6年)，委託總部在大連和奉天(今 瀋陽)的森洋行製作的銀質橢圓形「滿洲建設勞動奉仕紀念章」。徽章正面以黃色琺瑯為底色，兩翼以偽滿洲國的重要農產品高粱作為裝飾。中央則是紅字「滿洲建設勞動奉仕」，「奉仕」一詞借自日文，其意思為服務或效力。

背面則為一垂直別針和「康德六年 滿洲帝國 純銀」字樣。此種橢圓形設計的紀念章，先後於康德6年, 7年和8年發行，6年版的設計最為精緻。

如同著名抗戰歌曲《長城謠》描述的「高粱肥大豆香，遍地黃金少災殃」，東北三省坐落在富饒的黑土帶，使其成為中國乃至亞洲的重要農倉。公元1931年，覬覦東北許久的日本以「九一八事變」為藉口，以駐紮當地的關東軍迅速控制東北三省。公元1934年扶植前清廢帝溥儀以「康德」為年號，建立深受日本控制的滿洲國。

滿洲國的成立，促成日本將其視為解決國內農村問題的重要解方。二十世紀初期，早已有零星日本農民在政府鼓勵下進入滿洲。九一八事件後，日本政府將移民滿洲視為國策。公元1939年起，日本正式推動相關政策。公元1940年4月，「興亞學生勤勞報國隊」和「興亞青年勤勞報國隊」兩支組織，經過文書省、拓務省和農林省三者協調，共同合併為「滿洲建設勤勞奉仕隊」，計畫每年向滿洲移民一萬人。

第二次世界大戰結束之際，連同「滿洲建設勤勞奉仕隊」在內，在滿州的日本移民人數約有166萬人，農業移民就佔了32萬人左右。公元1945年8月，蘇聯紅軍向滿洲發動「八月風暴」攻勢時，許多分散各地的農業移民被關東軍拋棄遭受大量死傷。後續部分人更捲入國共內戰，滯留於中國共產黨統治的中國，形成日後中日互動的「殘留日本人」議題。