Today in History: Marcos in Abra, 1943
A Japanese translator notes his "putting a great amount of feeling into it"
Hiroshi Horikoshi was an Imperial Japanese Army interpreter; a civilian employee with a rank equivalent to first lieutenant, attached to the 65 Bde HQ at Baguio, and on detached service as interpreter in Northern Luzon. This Japanese translator’s diary gives us a glimpse into Japanese efforts to win “hearts and minds” in the Philippines, a year into their occupation of the country. The entry for March 13, 1943 features a cameo by Mariano Marcos, es-assemblyman (and father of future president Ferdinand E. Marcos):
When I got up and looked around, I saw around 1,000 residents assembled at the state government office square preparing for radio calisthenics. Last night, it was decided that the propaganda squad, by a town-headman’s order would put on a KAMISHIBAI and lectures here (the seat of the ABRA provincial government office). 1,200 or 1,300 people assembled at BANGUED and Mr. MARCOS performed a KAMISHIBAI putting a great amount of feeling into it.