Historical Background
Gareth’s travels in the Far East
and in particular his visit to Japan must be seen in the context of the social
mores and the political history of the 1930s. The intrigues of the Japanese and their Emperor Hirohito are difficult
to comprehend at the beginning of the 21st century. Our culture at that time was so
different. The East has its fascination
and it is not surprising that Gareth was captivated by it. It stimulated
his enquiring mind to ask so many questions and I feel that his tremendous zeal
and enthusiasm carried him away. He came from a Welsh Non-Conformist
family and from his father came to believe that all men were good. To
quote the letter of condolence to Major Edgar Jones from Mr R Barrett of the The
Critic in Hong Kong:
There is no doubt that Gareth was in deep waters, for the swirl of Far
Eastern politics is more ruthless and treacherous than anything conceivable in
the West, more a mixture of petty interests of money and ‘face’ with the
enormous clash of national interests. They knew what he had discovered in Russia and they knew what he had
found out in the East.
According to the eminent historian,
David Bergamini, behind the
Emperor Hirohito’s pretence of virtue and innocence was a devious man. From the early 1920s when he was Crown
Prince, he wished not only to rid Asia of the Western influence: “Asia for the Asiatics”, but was also
contriving to build a Japanese Empire. Gareth was not to know, or suspect at the time, of the intrigues, the ruthless
assassination of those who deviated from the path or opposed the plan of
expansion, nor of the orchestration of incidents in China with a view to
eventual domination and colonisation of that country. The Japanese history of the period runs red with a cruelty.
Gareth was thoroughly informed about the
news of the time, but most probably unaware of the merciless side of the
Japanese Government. Though he asked
penetrating questions, he must have been unaware of their sensitive nature when
directed towards a government that had something to hide. Those ministers, or ex-ministers, he
interviewed do not seem to be as culpable as some were, but they were
responsible to their Emperor.