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Miyakonojō Hayate Shinbu Special Attack Corps Monument
Miyakonojō City, Miyazaki Prefecture

Starting in April 1945 during the Battle of Okinawa, special (suicide) attack pilots made sorties in Type 4 Hayate fighters from the east and west airfields of Miyakonojō Army Air Base. Between April 6 and July 1, 79 pilots in the Shinbu Corps [1] flew Hayate fighters on special attacks. Nearly all of these pilots were from 18 to 23 years old.

Miyakonojō City erected the Hayate Shinbu Special Attack Corps Monument in November 1977 in Miyakojima Park. The park also has six other monuments and a building built in 1938 at the Army Base to house the ashes of the war dead.

A plaque with the following inscription gives the origin of the Hayate Shinbu Special Attack Corps Monument:

In April 1945, the offensive and defensive battle for Okinawa, which determined the fate of Japan, became especially grim and savage. Special attack planes with bombs and fuel for one way took off one after another day and night from Army and Navy air bases in southern Kyūshū.

At that time an East Airfield and a West Airfield were located on the outskirts of the city. In April 1945, Type 4 Hayate fighters serving as special attack planes took off from this base for the first time to southern skies toward targets near Okinawa. After that time until July 1, 17 sorties took place. Believing in success in war and victory for the country, young Special Attack Corps members, about 20 years old still with faces of boys, died for our country in far-off southern seas.

With the passing of 32 years since the end of the war, no reminders remain of those days as the entire base has changed in appearance. Approaching the 33rd anniversary of their deaths, an opportunity arose for bereaved families of corps members to erect a monument in remembrance of them. This year in June a support committee was formed with the mayor serving as chairman. Fortunately, considerable contributions were collected from near and far. Filled with hopes for eternal peace, we here remember together the spirits of both Special Attack Corps members and other men related to the base who gave their lives for our country.

A stone tablet directly to the left of the main monument has inscribed the names, ages, Shinbu squadron numbers, and sortie dates of the 79 Hayate pilots who died.

	Exhibit on Hayate Shinbu Special Attack Corps (Miyakonojō Historical Museum)

A small stone monument erected in 1993 on the right side of the beginning of the walkway up to the main monument has the following inscription:

In order to forever acclaim the distinguished deeds of the Miyakonojō Hayate Shinbu Corps members and the eagles connected to this base who gave their lives for our country, the Army Academy 57th Class Association erects here a pair of stone lanterns and a monument to their spirits.

April 6, 1993
Army Academy 57th Class Association

Miyakonojō Historical Museum is located in Shiroyama Park about a half kilometer south of the monument. This museum has an exhibit related to the Hayate Shinbu Special Attack Corps, but most of the museum displays relate to the Shimazu clan, which ruled the city until the late 19th century.

The monument and museum are both about a 15-minute walk from Nishi Miyakonojō Station.

The following last letters and diary entries were written by Special Attack Corps members who took off from Miyakonojō Air Base and died in special attacks:

• Last Letters of Second Lieutenant Yasurō Ezoe to His Parents and Siblings
• Last Letter of Corporal Tsuneaki Fujiyama to His Parents
• Last Letters of Corporal Hitoshi Hamada to His Parents
• Last Letter of Second Lieutenant Shiori Harada
• Last Letters of Corporal Saburō Hasegawa to His Mother
• Last Letter of Second Lieutenant Genrō Hayashi to Brothers, Sisters, and Former Teacher
• Last Letter of Second Lieutenant Hiroshi Hayashi to His Father
• Last Letter of Corporal Kan'ichi Horimoto to His Parents
• Last Letters of Corporal Shun'ichi Kagawa to His Family
• Last Letter of Corporal Takeo Kakehashi to His Parents
• Last Letter of Corporal Kazuki Kamitsu to His Parents
• Last Letters of Second Lieutenant Hiroshi Konda to His Parents
• Last Letter of Sergeant Hidetoshi Kuniyoshi to His Mother
• Last Letters of Second Lieutenant Toshio Kuramoto to His Wife and Other Family Members
• Last Diary Entries of Second Lieutenant Katsuhiko Miyao
• Last Writings of Second Lieutenant Fukujirō Nagashima
• Last Writings of Corporal Akihiko Nagasoe
• Last Letter of Corporal Toshio Nagata to His Parents
• Last Letter of Second Lieutenant Matao Nara to His Parents
• Last Letter of Second Lieutenant Tadao Nishimiya
• Last Letter of Corporal Sukeo Nitta to His Parents and Older Sister
• Last Letter of Corporal Sakae Ogawa to His Parents and Others
• Last Letter of Second Lieutenant Isamu Okamoto to His Parents
• Last Letters of Corporal Fujio Okiyama to His Parents
• Last Letters of Second Lieutenant Ryōichi Ōtake to His Family
• Last Letter of Corporal Hajime Shimizu to His Parents
• Last Letters of Corporal Megumu Takano to His Parents
• Last Letter of Second Lieutenant Takashi Takayanagi to His Mother
• Last Letter of Corporal Osamu Tanaka to His Father
• Last Letters of Second Lieutenant Kantarō Tomoe to His Parents and Younger Brothers
• Last Letter of Corporal Fusao Ukegawa to His Parents
• Last Letters of Corporal Teruo Usami to His Mother
• Last Letter of Second Lieutenant Junjirō Wakasugi to His Mother
• Last Letter of Corporal Takayuki Yamamoto
• Last Letter of Corporal Takayuki Yamashita to His Mother
• Last Letter of Corporal Nariaki Yoshimizu to His Parents

Related Web Pages

• Miyakonojō East Airfield Monument
• Miyakonojō West Airfield Monument
• Yoko's Hopes and Losses by Yuko Shirako - story of kamikaze pilot in 60th Shinbu Special Attack Squadron who took off from Miyakonojō East Airfield on May 4, 1945

Note

1. The 1st Shinbu Squadron with 10 pilots carried out the first special (suicide) attack from Miyakonojō on April 6, 1945. The 180th Shinbu Squadron with 2 pilots made the last attack from Miyakonojō on July 1, 1945. The other Shinbu Squadrons that made attacks from Miyakonojō are the following (number of pilots in parentheses): 26th (4), 27th (6), 57th (11), 58th (11), 59th (9), 60th (10), 61st (11), and 179th (5). Other Shinbu Squadrons made sorties from other Army air bases in southern Kyūshū such as Chiran and Bansei.