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Nagoya Kamikaze Special Attack Corps Kusanagi Unit Monument
Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture 

The Nagoya Naval Air Group was established in 1942 as a training air group for Type 99 Carrier Dive Bombers (Allied code name of Val). Training ceased in February 1945 when orders came to form kamikaze squadrons.

This monument erected in April 1967 gives the following history on a stone tablet to the right of the main monument:

The Nagoya Naval Air Group was formed here on April 1, 1942, and it was disbanded on September 2, 1945. In the spring of 1945, the Kamikaze Special Attack Corps Kusanagi Unit was formed here. On April 5 and 12, all 20 Type 99 Carrier Dive Bombers advanced to Kokubu Air Base in Kagoshima Prefecture and participated in Kikusui Operations No. 1, 2, and 4. During April, 56 men in 28 aircraft died in battle when they did not return from attacks on American ships anchored on the west side of Okinawa.

At a time when the land of Okinawa where they sleep has seen the day of the homeland's recovery, we Navy veterans who live in Toyota City with the cooperation of volunteers erect this monument to tell future generations forever of the loyalty of the Kusanagi Unit.

Following are the number of Type 99 Carrier Dive Bombers by sortie date of the three Kusanagi Squadrons (Osuo 2005, 226):

1st Squadron - April 6, 1945 - 13 planes
2nd Squadron - April 12, 1945 - 2 planes
3rd Squadron - April 28, 1945 - 13 planes

The back of the stone tablet to the right of the main monument has inscribed 58 names, a different number than the 56 stated on the front. The names of Ensign Yutaka Abe and Flight Petty Officer 1st Class Ken Ōhashi seem to have been added at a later time. There are 28 names in total, the equivalent of 14 Type 99 Carrier Dive Bombers, for the 3rd Kusanagi Squadron listed on the back of the stone tablet. Other sources (Hara 2004, 211-2; Osuo 2005, 226; Tokkōtai Senbotsusha 1990, 192-3) list 26 names and do not include Abe and Ōhashi, although Tokkōtai Senbotsusha states 14 aircraft in the 3rd Kusanagi Squadron made a sortie on April 28, 1945.

The following last letters and diary entries were written by Kamikaze Special Attack Corps members from Himeji Naval Air Group who died in special attacks:

• Last Letter of Flight Petty Officer 2nd Class Kiichi Hasegawa to His Parents
• Last Letter from Flight Petty Officer 2nd Class Nobutaka Inoue to His Parents
• Last Letter of Ensign Cadet Shigeru Kano to His Family
• Last Letter of Flight Petty Officer 2nd Class Seitarō Kashiwamura to His Parents
• Last Letter of Ensign Shigeru Masaki to His Parents
• Last Letters of Ensign Cadet Sakae Miyauchi to His Parents and Younger Sisters
• Last Letter of Lieutenant Junior Grade Hiroshi Nagao to His Parents
• Last Diary Entries of Ensign Cadet Akio Ōtsuka
• Last Letter of Flight Petty Officer 2nd Class Hajime Sayama to His Parents
• Last Letter of Ensign Masaaki Tokitō to His Parents

Sources Cited

Hara, Katsuhiro. 2004. Shinsō kamikaze tokkō: Hisshi hitchū no 300 nichi (Kamikaze special attack facts: 300 days of certain-death, sure-hit attacks). Tōkyō: KK Bestsellers.

Osuo, Kazuhiko. 2005. Tokubetsu kōgekitai no kiroku (kaigun hen) (Record of special attack corps (Navy)). Tōkyō: Kōjinsha.

Tokkōtai Senbotsusha Irei Heiwa Kinen Kyōkai (Tokkōtai Commemoration Peace Memorial Association). 1990. Tokubetsu Kōgekitai (Special Attack Corps). Tōkyō: Tokkōtai Senbotsusha Irei Heiwa Kinen Kyōkai.