Gunkichi Tanaka, a captain in the Imperial Japanese Army, became famous for his role in the Nanjing Massacre, where he personally beheaded more than 300 Chinese prisoners of war and civilians with his sword during the brutal occupation of the Chinese capital in 1937-1938. Born in 1905 in Tokyo, Tanaka’s military career culminated in war crimes that exemplified the savagery of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Tried by the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal after World War II, he was executed on January 28, 1948, along with other perpetrators. This analysis, for history enthusiasts, examines Tanaka’s background, the context of the Nanjing atrocities, and the path to his conviction and execution, reflecting on the human cost of imperial aggression while honoring the memory of the victims.

Early Life and Military Training

Gunkichi Tanaka was born on March 19, 1905, in Tokyo, Japan, during a period of rapid industrialization and militarization. As the Empire of Japan sought resources to boost its economy, Tanaka followed a military path, attending preparatory schools before graduating from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, the premier officer training institution. The academy’s curriculum combined university-level education with traditional martial arts, horsemanship, and tactical skills. After two years of youth training at Asaka in Saitama, cadets underwent eight months of assignment in an infantry regiment to master weaponry and leadership, followed by advanced studies at Sagamihara in Kanagawa. Graduates served as officer apprentices and earned commissions as second lieutenants after the probationary period.

Tanaka’s upbringing instilled a rigid sense of discipline and loyalty to the emperor, aligning with Japan’s expansionist ambitions. In the 1930s, as tensions with China increased, Tanaka rose through the ranks, embodying the militaristic spirit that drove Japan into conflict.

The Road to Nanjing: Japanese Expansion in China

Japan’s aggression against China predated World War II, beginning with the invasion of Manchuria on September 18, 1931, to secure its mineral and coal reserves for industry. This “Manchurian Incident” led to the puppet state of Manchukuo. Sporadic clashes followed, but a full-scale war erupted with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on July 7, 1937, which triggered the Second Sino-Japanese War, a prelude to the Pacific Theater of World War II.

Japanese forces advanced rapidly and captured Beijing and Shanghai. In December 1937, they invaded Nanjing, then the capital of China. In the ensuing six-week Nanjing Massacre, Japanese troops committed mass murder, rape, and looting, claiming the lives of between 200,000 and 300,000 civilians and unarmed soldiers. Tanaka, who served in the 6th Division under Lieutenant General Hisao Tani, took an active part. Historical accounts describe him beheading more than 300 victims with his sword, contributing to the “hundred-man killing contest” mythologized in wartime propaganda but rooted in real atrocities.

Tanaka’s unit, part of the assault on the western suburbs of Nanjing, exemplified the systematic brutality ordered by the high command, although individual sadism amplified the horror.

The Nanjing Atrocities and Tanaka’s Role
The fall of Nanjing on December 13, 1937, unleashed unbridled violence. Japanese soldiers stabbed, beheaded, and machine-gunned civilians; women and girls suffered mass rape; children were bayoneted or drowned. Tanaka’s documented actions included personal executions, slashing victims with his “friend’s sword,” Sukehiro, as he boasted in wartime reports. He was tried alongside Lieutenants Toshiaki Mukai and Tsuyoshi Noda, famous for their “competition” to kill 100 people with swords, resetting at 150 after exceeding the target.

Tanaka’s killings, verified by survivor testimony and Japanese records, were part of a broader campaign in which the 6th Division alone was responsible for thousands of deaths. The scale of the massacre (estimated at 300,000 by Chinese courts) remains a matter of debate, but Tanaka’s more than 300 executions are indisputable and symbolize the dehumanization of war.

Trial and Execution: Justice After the Surrender

Japan’s surrender on September 2, 1945, ended the war, but there was still a reckoning to follow. The Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal, established in 1946 under Chiang Kai-shek, prosecuted Imperial Japanese Army officers for Sino-Japanese war crimes. Tanaka, Mukai, Noda, and others, including Tani, were extradited to Nanjing.

The tribunal, one of ten Nationalist trials, centered on Nanjing. Evidence included Japanese wartime newspapers glorifying the “contest” and survivor accounts. Tanaka was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity for unlawfully killing prisoners of war and civilians. On December 4, 1947, the verdict convicted the defendants as accomplices in the massacre.

Tanaka, Mukai, and Noda were sentenced to death. On January 28, 1948, at the Yuhuatai execution site in the Nanjing Mountains, they smoked their last cigarettes before being shot in the back of the head. Forty-two-year-old Tanaka met his end without remorse, and his execution was a measure of justice for the victims of Nanjing. Tanaka was hanged on April 26, 1947.

Legacy of Responsibility
Tanaka’s execution highlighted the role of courts in addressing Asian theater crimes, complementing Nuremberg. While some perpetrators evaded justice (Prince Asaka due to his immunity), Tanaka’s case exposed the savagery of the Imperial Army. Japanese postwar denialism persisted, but international recognition, through the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall (1985), preserves the truth.

Tanaka’s story underscores the dehumanizing effects of war, with his academic training turning into atrocity. For historians, it provokes reflection on the role of propaganda in the glorification of violence.

Gunkichi Tanaka’s journey from Tokyo cadet to Nanjing executioner and his 1948 firing squad epitomizes the brutality of the Second Sino-Japanese War. His 300 beheadings contributed to a massacre that marked China, but his trial generated a partial reckoning. For history buffs, Tanaka’s legacy warns of the dangers of militarism, urging us to remember the 300,000 victims of Nanjing and to be vigilant against denialism.