The Japanese Red Cross Society and its activities in providing assistance to Russian prisoners of war in 1904—1905

The article focuses on the study of the activities of the Japanese Red Cross Society (JRCS) during the Russo-Japanese War (1904—1905) in organizing and directly providing medical and humanitarian aid to wounded and sick Russian prisoners of war and internees. It was found that, since Japan’s accession to the International Red Cross Movement in 1886, humanitarian activities within this organization were based on Western values and practices of that time, involving both full-time employees and volunteers. The authors display the overall volume and scale of rescue operations carried out by the Japanese Red Cross, both in the theater of military operations and in the rear during the war with Russia. Striving to match the ideals of Western humanism and emphasizing its neutral status, the JRCS tried to enhance the international status of Japan as a “civilized” country, not just by adhering to the already established international principles of warfare, but creating new humanitarian practices during military operations. Using the example of wellknown historical events of the Russo-Japanese War, using materials of Japanese origin, the authors reconstruct the complete picture of the society's activities, focusing on the accumulation of forces and resources, conduct of rescue and humanitarian operations, organization of evacuation, sanitary, medical, and everyday support work. It also seems possible to presents the work of ordinary members of the society and volunteers to carry out qualified nursing care, solve economic issues, and arrange the daily life of the sick and wounded Russian soldiers in Japanese captivity. The article provides assessment of this activity by people who received direct assistance from the Japanese side. The authors draw a conclusion that, during the studied period, the JRCS, while actually being a part of the Japanese armed forces, played a significant role in implementing the new humanitarian policy of the Japanese leadership. The JRCS was also the organizer of nursing in Japan according to American and European models. However, Western humanities scholars continued to view Japan as a “secondtier” country in need of mentoring from “Western teachers.”

1. Fedorova T.V. (2016). Rossiiskie voennoplennye v Yaponii v period russko-yaponskoi voiny 1904—1905 gg. [Russian Prisoners of War in Japan During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904—1905]. Kul'tura. Nauka. Obrazovaniye [Culture. Science. Education], 2, 104—114. (In Russian).

2. Gushchin A.V. (2007). Put' na Vostok: otpravka russkikh plennykh v Yaponiyu v 1904—1905 godakh [The Path to the East: Sending Russian Prisoners to Japan in 1904— 1905]. Istoricheskii yezhegodnik [Historical Yearbook], 35—44. (In Russian). Koloskova, E.E. (2005). V plenu [In Captivity]. Rodina, 10, 135—142 (In Russian).

3. Obzor deyatel'nosti tsentral'nogo spravochnogo byuro o voyennoplennykh vo vremya Russko+yaponskoi voiny. (1907). [Review of the Activities of the Central Information Bureau on Prisoners of War During the Russo-Japanese War]. Saint Petersburg. (In Russian).

4. Yakobzon, L.Ya. (1904). Narodnoe zdravie i meditsina v Yaponii [Public Health and Medicine in Japan]. In Yaponiya i ee obitateli [Japan and Its Inhabitants]. Saint Petersburg. (In Russian).

5. Zdravomyslov, Y.A., (1914). Polgoda v Pekine i nedelya v Tokio [Six Months in Beijing and a Week in Tokyo]. In Trudy pervogo s'ezda vrachei Priamurskogo kraya 23— 24 avgusta 1913 g. v g. Khabarovske [Proceedings of the 1st Congress of Physicians of the Amur Territory on August 23—24, 1913, in Khabarovsk]. Khabarovsk. (In Russian).

6. Ariga, Nagao. (1911). Nichiro rikusen kokusai hôron [International Law Theory on the Russo-Japanese Land War]. Tokyo: Kaikôsha. P. 404. (In Japаnese).

7. Hiraiwa, Takahiko. (2004). Nagoya to Matsuyama no shûyôjo hikaku [Comparison of the Camps in Nagoya and Matsuyama]. In Matsuyama no kioku — Nichiro sensô 100+nen to Roshia+hei horyo [Matsuyama Memories: 100 Years of the Russo-Japanese War and Russian POWs] (pp. 76—77). Matsuyama: Matsuyama daigaku. (In Japаnese).

8. Hotta, Shin'ichirô. (2004). Nichiro sensô no Roshiagun horyo to Aichiken — Nagoya o chûshin ni [Russian Prisoners of the Russo-Japanese War and Aichi Prefecture, With a Focus on Nagoya]. Aichiken+shi kenkyû [Aichi Prefecture History Research], 8, March 2004, 1—15. (In Japаnese).

9. Meiji sanjû nana hachi+nen sen'eki furyo toriatsukai tenmatsu. (1907). [Treatment Details of POWs During the 1904—1905 (Meiji 37—38) War]. Rikugun daijin kanbô [Army Minister's Office], Tokyo: Yuhikaku. Pp. 13—14, 21—22 (Table 2), 23—24, 26, 28, 30 (Table 5), 117—119, 130 (Table 20, Table 21), 171—177. (In Japаnese).

10. Nichiro sensô Sekijûji: Kinen hôten. (1906). [The Red Cross During the Russo-Japanese War: Memorial Treasure Book]. Tokyo: Chuaisha. P. 131—132, 196. (In Japаnese).

11. Nihon Sekijûjisha+shikô. (1911). [The History of the Japanese Red Cross Society]. Tokyo: Japanese Red Cross Society. Pp. 686—687,1339, 1342, 1344, 1344—1345, 1346—1347, 1347—1348, 1352, 1361—1362, 1363, 1364, 1366, 1386—1392, 1413, 1415—1417, 1420—1428, 1450, 1451—1454, 1452—1453, 1454, 1454—1455, 1457, 1459—1460, 1460—1465, 1466—1474, 1478, 1547. (In Japаnese).

12. Nishikawa, Yukiko. (2005). Japan’s Changing Role in Humanitarian Crisis. (In English). Ookuma, Hideji. (2011). Nichiro sensô no uragawa “Daini no kaikoku”: Nippon rettô ni jôriku shita Roshia+gun horyo nana mannin [Behind the Scenes of the Russo-Japanese War: “The Second Opening of Japan”: 70,000 Russian Prisoners of War Landed on the Japanese Archipelago]. Tokyo: Sairyusha. P. 166. (In Japаnese).

13. Tachikawa, Kyôichi, Shuku, Haruhiko. (2008). Kenkyû nôto. Seifu oyobi gun to ICRC-nado to no kankei: Nisshin sensô kara Taiheiyô sensô made [Research Notes. Japanese Political and Military Authorities and the International Committee of the Red Cross: Since the Sino-Japanese War to Pacific War (WW2)]. Bôei kenkyûjo kiyô [Bulletin of the National Institute for Defense Studies], Vol. 11, No. 1, November. Tokyo. Pp. 102, 104, 105, 108, 109—110 (In Japаnese).

14. Retrieved May 15, 2025, from https://dl.ndl.go.jp/pid/1282596

15. Towle P. (2003). Japanese Prisoners of War. (In English). White T., Linthicum R. (1904). The War Between Japan and Russia: The Complete Story of the Desperate Struggle Between Two Great Nations. Chicago Chronicle. (In English).