Mizaru kikazaru iwazaru [Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil].

Accession Number RC05079
Collection number Leaflets Collection (Far Eastern Liaison Office Leaflets) J96
Collection type Published Collection
Record type Item
Item count 1
Measurement Overall: 16.5 x 18.5 cm
Object type Leaflet
Maker Far Eastern Liaison Office
Date made 5 August 1943
Conflict Second World War, 1939-1945
Copying Provisions Copyright expired. Copying permitted subject to physical condition. Permission for reproduction not required.
Description

A propaganda leaflet produced by the Far Eastern Liaison Office (FELO) during the Second World War. This leaflet is written in Japanese and was distributed to Melanesia and Netherlands East Indies. An English translation of the text is attached. The message cynically compares Japanese people to the famous carving by Hidari Jingorô depicting the not-seeing, not-hearing and not-talking monkeys. It is stressed that the military clique in Japan has prevented Japanese people from knowing the truth of the war and tried to make them like the three monkeys who cannot see, hear or speak. The message urges them not to submit any longer to this humiliation.