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Last Letters of Ensign Yasuhiko Isumi

Kaiten pilot Ensign Yasuhiko Isumi died at the age of 22 when submarine I-44, which carried four kaiten manned torpedoes, never returned to base. On April 3, 1945, submarine I-44 made a sortie from Ōtsushima Kaiten Base in Yamaguchi Prefecture with four kaiten pilots who were members of the Kaiten Special Attack Corps Tatara Unit. On April 14, Japan's 6th Fleet ordered submarine I-44 to proceed from Okinawa toward the Mariana Islands and attack any American warship encountered on the way. On April 21, the submarine was ordered to return to base but was not heard from after that. Isumi was from Kyōto Prefecture, attended Tōkyō University, and was a member of the 4th Class of Navy Branch Reserve Students (Heika Yobi Gakusei). He received a promotion to Lieutenant since his death was designated by special (suicide) attack.

He wrote the following final letter:

I will go forward in my own way until the end.

Relaxed, power above all.

Morning of sortie

Isumi also wrote the following last letter to his friend Akira Naitō:

Naitō,

I simply request that you go forward directly on your path.

As we talked about long ago, we do not have the physique of young men. I certainly will never forget the enjoyment of our time when we ran, threw, and jumped together.

That time remains for me now, and I go to battle with feelings perhaps even greater. I do not wish to die calmly. My desire is to be an akki rasetsu (man-eating demon in Buddhism) with gritted teeth and firm conviction.

Again I ask that you understand well my difficult situation and that you charge forward directly.

Night before sortie

Yasuhiko Isumi

He also wrote the following death poem in haiku form (17-syllable poem with lines of 5-7-5 syllables):

As I depart
My heart refreshed
Sky blue color


Letters and poem translated by Bill Gordon
June 2024

The letters and biographical information come from Mediasion (2006, 54-5, 94). The poem comes from Tokkōtai Senbotsusha (1999, 186).

Sources Cited

The Mediasion Co. 2006. Ningen gyorai kaiten (Kaiten human torpedo). Hiroshima: The Mediasion Co.

Tokkōtai Senbotsusha Irei Heiwa Kinen Kyōkai (Tokkōtai Commemoration Peace Memorial Association). 1999. Tokkōtai iei shū (Special Attack Corps death poem collection). Tōkyō: Tokkōtai Senbotsusha Irei Heiwa Kinen Kyōkai.