Shinshū Fumetsu Special Attack Squadron Monument
Setagaya City, Tōkyō Prefecture
After the Emperor's announcement of the war's end, ten Japanese Army pilots
in the Shinshū Fumetsu Special Attack Squadron based in Manchuria made
a suicide attack on a group of Soviet tanks. Shinshū Fumetsu
means "immortal divine land" and refers to Japan.
The Shinshū Fumetsu Special Attack Squadron Monument, erected in 1967, stands
on the grounds of Setagaya
Kannon Temple, the location of two Tokkō (Special Attack) Peace Kannon [1]
statues and the Tenzan Unit Monument.
The monument has the
following inscription that briefly describes the history of the Shinshū Fumetsu
Special Attack Squadron:
On August 15, 1945, the end of World War II was realized as a result of
Japan's defeat. However, after the war's end with Japan
defeated and far from the country's mountains and rivers, at 2 p.m. on August
19, ten young officers who
belonged to the Manchurian Detachment Unit 16675 under the command of Second
Lieutenant Imada became departed spirits in defense of their country as they
recognized that living was in vain. If they lived, they would have died.
Moreover, they did not want to hand over to the Soviet Army their aircraft,
which were valuable weapons. Second Lieutenant Tanifuji put his new wife, who he
had just married, into his plane. They took off from Dahushan
Airfield toward a group of Soviet tanks stationed near Chifeng that Warrant
Officer Ninomiya had scouted out the previous day. Everyone crashed into the
aforementioned tanks, killing themselves. Therefore, considering the nobility of
their spirit of self-sacrifice, we erect this monument here to honor their
heroic feat, and we pray that the spirits of these war dead may rest in peace
forever.
Army First Lieutenant Tatsuo Imada, Hiroshima
First Lieutenant Iyoji Baba, Yamagata
First Lieutenant Teruo Iwasa, Hokkaidō
First Lieutenant Iwao Ōkura, Hokkaidō
First Lieutenant Tetsuo Tanifuji, Aomori
First Lieutenant Kōji Kitajima, Tōkyō
First Lieutenant Shinji Miyagawa, Tōkyō
First Lieutenant Toshikazu Hino, Hyōgo
First Lieutenant Itsuo Hatano, Hiroshima
Second Lieutenant Kiyoshi Ninomiya, Shizuoka
May 1967
Erected by Shinshū Fumetsu Special Attack Squadron Memorial Association
The listing of names above shows the men's ranks after their deaths, when they
received a one rank promotion. The Japanese military typically granted
a promotion of two ranks for men who died in a special attack (tokkō), but this
operation was not an official tokkō mission since it took place after the
Emperor's announcement of the war's end.
The Shinshū Fumetsu Special Attack Squadron used Type 2 Advanced Trainers and
Type 98 Direct Co-operation Planes to make their attack on the Soviet tanks
[2].
Notes
1. A Kannon is the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy.
2. Osuo 2005, 177.
Source Cited
Osuo, Kazuhiko. 2005. Tokubetsu kōgekitai no kiroku (rikugun hen)
(Record of special attack corps (Army)). Tōkyō: Kōjinsha.
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