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Tome Torihama Monument
erected in 2007
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Tome Torihama Monument
Minamikyūshū City, Kagoshima Prefecture
Tome Torihama, who operated Tomiya Restaurant in the small town of Chiran
during WWII, often chatted with pilots who visited her restaurant from nearby
Chiran Army Air Base. She watched sadly from March to June 1945 as many young
men she knew personally took off from Chiran toward Okinawa on suicide missions.
Chiran has two monuments to remember Tome Torihama, one erected in 2007 and
the other in 1981.
On October 3, 2007, a monument dedicated to Tome Torihama was unveiled in a
ceremony attended by Shintarō Ishihara, the nationalist Tokyo Governor who
produced and wrote
the screenplay for the 2007 film entitled Ore wa kimi no tame ni
koso shini ni iku (I go to die for you) about Torihama and kamikaze pilots
from Chiran. The film is also known by its English title For Those We Love.
Taku Shinjō, the film's director, and Akihisa Torihama, grandson of Tome
Torihama and Director of the Hotaru Museum in Chiran, also attended the
unveiling ceremony.
The Tome Torihama Monument stands in front of the Chiran Peace Museum for
Kamikaze Pilots. The monument's top black section has the shape of an aircraft tail.
The plaque on the bottom front of the monument has the following inscription:
Young men of the Special Attack Corps, who lived to the fullest through
their short youth and gave their lives, called Tome Torihama "mother" and
loved her dearly. She as owner of Tomiya Restaurant was a Bodhisattva, who
appears in this world from time to time to give relief to others.
Shintarō Ishihara
A Bodhisattva is a Buddhist term for someone who is motivated by pure
kindness and love and who compassionately refrains from nirvana in order to
serve others.
The top front of the monument shows a photo of Tome Torihama standing
with six kamikaze pilots.
The back side of the Tome Torihama Monument has the following inscription:
Production Committee of film Ore wa kimi no tame ni
koso shini ni iku (I go to die for you)
Erected on September 10, 2007
Tome Torihama with kamikaze pilots
The photo below shows the tall monument erected in 1981 to honor
Tome Torihama. This monument also stands near the Chiran Peace Museum for
Kamikaze Pilots and to the right of the sidewalk that leads to the Chiran Special
Attack Peace Kannon Temple.
Tome Torihama Monument
erected in 1981
The plaque near the bottom of the monument erected in 1981 has the following inscription:
Accolade
Tokkō (Special Attack) Mother
Tome Torihama
Cherry blossoms who bloomed for us
So they could give their lives
Despite their deaths
They turned out to be admirable
Erected April 1981
Hayami Nuruki, Chiran Town Mayor
Donated by
Sangikyō Corporation
Sanwa Engineering Company, Ltd.
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