Museum provides English translation of letters left by kamikaze pilots

Thursday 31st July, 01:19 PM JST

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

11 Comments

nandakandamanda at 03:49 PM JST - 31st July

Excellent! I shall look forward to reading those on my upcoming visit to Kagoshima. Thank you, Chiran Peace Museum.
Beelzebub at 03:55 PM JST - 31st July

Here's an insightful excerpt from "The Nobility of Failure: Tragic Heroes in the History of Japan" by Ivan Morris, which I think really clarifies the cause and effect of the kamikaze strategy.

> Far from accomplishing its objective the Special Attack strategy may well have contributed to one of the greatest catastrophes that ever befell… the Japanese people, namely the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the first (and only) nuclear bombs ever used in warfare….Suicide attacks, instead of overawing the Americas as had been confidently expected, produced indignation and rage all out of proportion to their practical importance…. Furthermore the ferocity of kamikaze tactics seemed a logical culmination of Japan's wartime "fanaticism" and no doubt served to warn the Americans of the immense casualties they could expect if they proceeded with their plans to invade the home islands in the autumn of 1945.
nandakandamanda at 03:59 PM JST - 31st July

Makes a lot of sense, Beelzebub. I hope we can all learn a lesson from this.
USNinJapan2 at 04:29 PM JST - 31st July

Our family's driver when I was growing up was a Kamikaze pilot, one of the few who lived. He took off from Kagoshima with his group of barely-trained teenager pilots in stripped-down flying bombs and headed for the US fleet but had to turn back halfway there due to engine trouble. His plane didn't have any navigational equipment and he hadn't really been taught how to land but he managed to find an airfield and did the best he could to save the plane. As luck would have it Japan surrendered before they could get his plane airworthy again and he could join the next wave of kamikazes. Needless to say, having chosen to sacrifice himself, this close call gave him a renewed appreciation for life.
helloklitty at 10:29 PM JST - 31st July

This is one of my favorite passages:

(soldier talking about his sword) "With this I'll chop those guys down until not one of them remains!"

Gosh, what a shame he never returned.
imagawa at 11:02 PM JST - 31st July

Some years ago I read one such letter written by a pilot to the daughter he knew he would never see. Despite what he was about to do & why, it was one of the most beautiful writings I have ever read.

That war is long over, leave your father's or grandfather's bitterness where it belongs, with them or in the past.
usaexpat at 11:44 PM JST - 31st July

I would be very interested in this museum, I'm glad they are offering English translations.
OssanULTRA at 12:01 AM JST - 1st August

"Suicide attacks, instead of overawing the Americas as had been confidently expected, produced indignation and rage all out of proportion to their practical importance"

While the above is undoubtedly true, I've heard from actual naval veterans that under that rage was a real fear of facing an enemy that didn't care at all for his own life. Without doubt the Kamikaze attacks probably influenced our casualty estimates for Operation Downfall.
lipscombe at 12:10 AM JST - 1st August

poor misguided fools
Cap587 at 12:34 AM JST - 1st August

I remember going to the Edo museum in Tokyo a few weeks ago with some friends who were visiting from the states and everything had english translations, albeit a little skimpy compared to the Japanese...

But everything had some english translations except a part in the WW2 section: it was an exhibit about how the Japanese tried to send small pox to the United States in balloons during the war. It was very interesting exhibit and it was a good thing I read Japanese so I could explain to my friends... it was only this display that didn't have english translations and I couldn't help but feel this was intentional. Everything else in the WW2 section was meant to make the Japanese look victimized, but this part that explained a little maliciousness on the side of the Japanese was conveniently lacking english translation.

I asked one of the staff why this was, but they were of no help. Go figure.
thepro at 01:20 AM JST - 1st August

I'd be interested in reading these. But, yes, often in museums over here the English translations are really short and don't contain the detail of the Japanese descriptions, which is disappointing.