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Heroic Kamikaze Special
Attack Corps (1983 cover)
(originally published as
Ah, Kamikaze Special
Attack Corps in 1970)
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Last Letter of Flight Petty Officer 2nd Class Tatsuzō Arisue to His Parents
At 1120 on March 21, 1945, Flight Petty Officer 2nd Class Tatsuzō Arisue took off
from Kanoya Air Base as radio telegraph operator in a Navy Type 1 Attack Bomber (Allied code
name of Betty) carrying an ōka rocket-powered glider bomb. He was a
member in the Jinrai Butai (Thunder Gods Corps) 1st Ōka Squadron. He died in a special (suicide) attack southeast of Kyūshū at the
age of 18. From 1420 to 1445, a group of about 50 American Grumman fighters
intercepted the 18 Betty bombers that had taken off from Kanoya and shot all of
them down before any ōka glider bomb could be released. He was from Hyōgo
Prefecture and was a member of the 18th Otsu Class of the Navy's Yokaren
(Preparatory Flight Training Program).
He wrote the following last letter with a death poem at the end:
Dear Father and Mother,
Please excuse me for the sloppy writing. It has been decided that shortly
I will depart for the battle front for a fortunate attack. Even though my
time was a short 18 years, like regular persons there were both various
hardships and happy things.
I caused many worries for you, and the day for me to fall honorably has
come. Petty Officer Koike of Onogawa (Harukiya) also went and fell. I also
will follow after him and intend to attack the enemy position. I was
together with him until Toyohashi [1]. Einosuke
of Uenoyama also fell.
Since I cannot write at length, this will be it. Farewell. Be strong.
I believe that the Empire surely will prosper forever.
Divine thunder [2]
Cherry blossoms are falling
Remaining blossoms also will fall
From Tatsuzō
Letter translated by Bill Gordon
April 2018
The letter on this page comes from Kitagawa
(1970, 79-80). The biographical information in the first paragraph comes from Bungeishunjū
(2005, 568-9), Kitagawa
(1970, 79-80), and Osuo (2005, 184).
Notes
1. Toyohashi in Aichi Prefecture was the location
of a Japanese naval air base.
2. The Japanese word for "divine thunder" is
jinrai, which refers to Arisue's unit, Jinrai Butai (Thunder Gods Corps).
Sources Cited
Bungeishunjū, ed. 2005. Ningen bakudan to yobarete: Shōgen -
ōka tokkō (They were called human bombs: Testimony - ōka special attacks).
Tōkyō: Bungeishunjū.
Kitagawa, Mamoru, ed. 1970. Ā kamikaze tokkōtai: Kaerazaru seishun no isho
shū (Ah, Kamikaze Special Attack Corps:
Collected last letters of youth that would not return). Tōkyō: Nihon Bungeisha.
Osuo, Kazuhiko. 2005. Tokubetsu kōgekitai no kiroku (kaigun
hen) (Record of special attack corps (Navy)). Tōkyō: Kōjinsha.
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