“This war was begun while we farmers knew nothing about it,” one irate rural man exclaimed, “and ended in defeat while we believed we were winning. There is no need to do repentance for something we weren’t in on. Repentance is necessary for those who betrayed and deceived the people.” Another member of the hundred million was even terser. “If collective repentance of the hundred million means those in charge of the war are now trying to distribute responsibility among the people,” he wrote to a newspaper, “then it’s sneaky.”
