My Mother Gave Me Cyanide: Surviving the Soviet Invasion of Manchuria

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On August 9, 1945, Hiromi Sakiyama's mother pressed a small amulet pouch into her hands. Inside was cyanide. "In case you need it," her mother said. Its meaning was chillingly clear — Soviet troops were invading Manchuria.

Sakiyama, now 95, was born and raised in Manchuria. The northeastern region of China had been occupied by Japan in 1931. Japan then established the state of Manchukuo, which lasted until the country's defeat in 1945.

Today she lives in Kochi City. For the past three decades, she has dedicated herself to recounting her wartime experiences through lectures and talks. She speaks about student mobilization, the terror of the Soviet invasion, and the perilous repatriation to Japan. At the core of her message lies a conviction: "Peace is not something that is handed to us."

Facing the Memories

Sakiyama began sharing her story in her late 60s, roughly half a century after leaving Manchuria. After marrying, raising children, and caring for her elderly mother in her father's hometown of Kochi, she increasingly asked herself, "What really happened in Manchuria?" Retirement finally gave her the time to reflect on the past.

Whenever she learned of documents or materials related to Manchuria, she made a point of traveling to see them in person. She also interviewed other returnees, gathering firsthand accounts. Today, she continues to give lectures throughout Japan, keeping the memories and lessons of that time alive.

*Hiromi Sakiyama as a student at Shikishima Girls' High School (left) and today (right).*

Life in Manchuria

Sakiyama was born in Fushun, Manchuria, in present-day Liaoning Province, China. Her father worked for the South Manchurian Railway. When he took a new post with the political organization Concordia Association of Manchukuo, the family moved to Hsinking, now Changchun, the capital of Manchukuo. As she grew older, she entered Shikishima Girls' High School. In her third year, she experienced student mobilization.

Her assigned work was known as "balloon making." Day after day, she glued together sheets of Japanese paper and carried out meticulous inspections. It was grueling work for a teenage girl. She recalls, "We couldn't even tell our parents. We were under a gag order."

Only after returning to Japan did she learn the truth. The balloons they had been making were actually balloon bombs, about five meters in diameter. They had been planned by the Kwantung Army, the Japanese military stationed in Manchukuo. Believing that she may be the only surviving person who can speak from direct experience, she always shares this story in her lectures.

The Soviet Invasion

One date remains etched in her memory: May 30, 1945, when Japanese Imperial Headquarters ordered the Kwantung Army and other forces to prepare for war against the Soviet Union. From that point on, the Kwantung Army readied for a war of attrition and abandoned three-quarters of Manchuria.

"We weren't told a thing. We were discarded — abandoned. And yet, settlers were still being sent there until July 30," Sakiyama recalls.

On August 9, Soviet troops invaded Manchuria. People fled desperately from settler villages, robbed of all their possessions and left almost naked.

Sakiyama's home was ransacked. It was then that her mother handed her the amulet containing cyanide. Fearing sexual violence from the invading soldiers, she even cut off her hair and shaved her head. "All the other girls did the same," she says.

Escaping Manchuria

It was not until a year after Japan's surrender that Sakiyama and her family finally returned to Japan, having barely survived the ordeal. They arrived in Hakata, Fukuoka, aboard an American ship. When land came into view, she threw the cyanide into the sea, thinking, "I'll never need this again."

For her, September 10, 1946 — the day she first set foot on Japanese soil — truly marked the end of the war.

Sakiyama now shares her experiences together with her second daughter. About two years ago, she returned to the land of her youth in former Manchuria. She searched for the Chinese family who had once been close to hers, but their whereabouts remain unknown.

Still, the bustle of the city revived old memories. "Since I was born and raised in Manchuria, it is my hometown," she reflected. "Peace is not something that is handed to us. It must be built through constant effort. This is why I continue to tell my story."