Facing Death: Last Writings of Japanese Special Attack Corps Members
Translated and compiled
by Bill Gordon
Big Sun Press, 2024, Volume 1 - 419 pages, Volume 2 - 421 pages
Book review at Travel for Aircraft (December 5, 2024)
Available on Amazon worldwide -
US,
UK,
Japan, Australia
This two-volume work contains writings of over 400 Japanese men, most in
their late teens and early twenties, who died during the final ten months of
World War II in what non-Japanese people call suicide or kamikaze attacks. The
letters, diary entries, and poems were written after assignment to the Special
Attack Corps, which had the mission to carry out sure-death attacks to sink
Allied ships. Many writings include typical militaristic and patriotic
expressions popular during the war, but the selected writings also provide
insights into the men’s thinking, emotions, and concerns as they confronted
impending death. Most writings appear in English in print for the first time.
Bill Gordon translated and compiled the writings in Facing Death. Most
writings were translated for his Wesleyan University MPhil in Liberal Arts
thesis entitled
Last Writings
of Japan's Special Attack Corps Members. He created the Kamikaze
Images website in 2004 for his Wesleyan University MA in Liberal Studies
final project. He also holds an MA in Advanced Japanese Studies from the
University of Sheffield.
The writings in Facing Death were written by men in the Japanese Army or Navy
who died in special attacks as recognized by the Tokkōtai Senbotsusha Irei Heiwa
Kinen Kyōkai (Tokkōtai Commemoration Peace Memorial Association) in Tokubetsu
kōgekitai (Special Attack Corps) published in 1990. The two volumes of
Facing Death have writings of 414 Special Attack Corps members, including
215 in the Navy Kamikaze Air Corps, 171 in the Army Air Corps, 27 in the Navy
Kaiten Corps, and 1 in the Navy Shin'yō Corps.
Special Attack Corps members wrote last letters, diaries, poems, and other
types of writings. The writings of Army Second Lieutenant Akira Okayasu
illustrate the variety and number of writings of some men after assignment to
the Special Attack Corps. In the last week of his life, he wrote six separate
short letters to family members, seventeen poems, diary entries, and other
writings. Poems by Special Attack Corps members could be written separately or
as part of a letter or diary. Poems have been identified in this book by
indentation greater than a regular paragraph. Most poems are in tanka
form (31-syllable poem with a syllable pattern of 5-7-5-7-7), and some are in
haiku form (17-syllable poem with a syllable pattern of 5-7-5) or another
form.
Since the average age of Special Attack Corps members who died was about 21,
most men were single and addressed their last letters to their parents. For the
few men who were married, this book contains last letters to their wives and
children including those not yet born if their wives were pregnant.
Last writings by a Special Attack Corps member could be written any time
between the date of assignment to a special attack unit and the date of the
final sortie. Men assigned to a special attack unit often had to wait several
weeks before the final sortie to make a special attack. For example, a special
attack squadron typically was organized at an air base where it was stationed
for several weeks for training and other preparations. The squadron then
advanced to a forward air base to be ready for the order to make a special
attack. Squadron members could be at the forward base for several days, and the
exact date of a special attack mission often was not known until a day or less
before it occurred. There were frequent delays of planned sorties due to
weather, enemy fleet movements, and aircraft operational problems.
Whatever the background and individual thinking of Japan's Special Attack
Corps members who would soon die in attacks on the enemy, their final writings
show that they were united in their resolve to succeed in their missions and in
their firm belief that their deaths would be valuable for the country's defense.
This consistency in belief displays not only their patriotism but also the
effectiveness of the indoctrination and controls imposed by the Japanese state
and military. Even though last writings of Special Attack Corps members reflect
enthusiastic agreement for the military's special attack strategy and the
state’s emperor-focused militaristic ideology, the government and military
channeled and restricted their written thoughts and feelings through
indoctrination, propaganda, and controls.
Men in the military had their writings subject to censorship by a superior
with certain militarily sensitive information being deleted. Although some last
letters and diaries written by Special Attack Corps members escaped censorship,
military officers probably censored most last writings. These last writings at
times may not have reflected the men's innermost feelings but rather were
written more for comfort of family members and to meet expectations. Regardless
of private opinions and feelings on matters such as family circumstances,
imminent deaths, and other concerns, these men's core convictions such as
resolve to complete successfully their missions, regret for lack of filial piety
shown to parents, and belief that their deaths would be beneficial for the
country remained consistent among them.
Each entry provides an introductory paragraph with biographical information
about the Special Attack Corps member. This includes date of death in battle,
sortie base, rank prior to death, age, home prefecture, name of special attack
squadron, aircraft type if an aerial special attack, university name if
university student or graduate, and training class.
The front section of each volume has brief parts with Historical Background,
Introduction to Last Writings, and Translation Points. The back section of each
volume includes a four-page bibliography and the sources for the last writings
and biographical information. There also are indexes by special attack unit,
special attack sortie base, and home prefecture.
Other than Facing Death: Last Writings of Japanese Special Attack Corps
Members, there are few published letters, diary entries, and poems by
Special Attack Corps members that have been translated to English. These
translations are spread out among many different sources such as books, museums,
websites, and journal articles. For example, the last chapter of
The Divine Wind
(1958) by Captain Rikihei Inoguchi and Commander Tadashi Nakajima presents last
writings by seven men after assignment to the Kamikaze Corps. Another two books that
contain several writings of Special Attack Corps members are
Listen to the
Voices from the Sea and The Sun Goes Down, which are both English
translations of the Japanese book Kike Wadatsumi no Koe (first published
in 1949). Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney's 2006 book entitled
Kamikaze
Diaries, despite the title, contains only a few English translations of
writings by Special Attack Corps pilots. In 2008, the Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze
Pilots published a book entitled The Mind
of the Kamikaze with final writings of more than 20 Army Special
Attack Corps
pilots, but these translations often sound awkward and contain some
misspellings, grammatical errors, and inconsistencies due to translations by a
non-native English speaker.
Source Cited
Tokkōtai Senbotsusha Irei
Heiwa Kinen Kyōkai (Tokkōtai Commemoration Peace Memorial Association). 1990.
Tokubetsu Kōgekitai (Special Attack Corps). Tōkyō: Tokkōtai Senbotsusha
Irei Heiwa Kinen Kyōkai.
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