Japanese peace advocates recall lessons from ‘kamikaze’

MABALACAT, Pampanga — Japanese peace advocates are arriving here this weekend to recall the lessons from World War II, specifically from the "kamikaze," the corps of Japanese suicide-bombing pilots who, from 1944 to 1945, launched a total of 2,940 attacks that sank 26 US ships.

The kamikaze was born in this town, on Oct. 20, 1944 when Japanese Admiral Takijiro Ohnishi founded it with 23 volunteers from the 201st Air Group of the First Air Fleet of the Imperial Nippon Naval Air Force under Commander Asaichi Tamai.

"It is significant for people to think about the history and consider the importance of peace by visiting (the birthplace of kamikaze), such as the statue of Kannon (Buddhist symbol for peace) at Clark and the kamikaze peace memorial park in Mabalacat. This is not necessarily so much in praise of the kamikaze as to underscore the importance of peace through presentation of historical facts," said Kunihiko Miyatani of the Tajimajin Project which has been actively involved in the development of local historical sites.

Mabalacat Mayor Marino Morales, Japanese Diet member Torao Tokuda and Brig. Gen. Charles Hotchkiss, chief of the 600th Air Base Wing, will lead on Saturday the "World Peace Campaign" held here annually to mark the kamikaze’s birth.

The tragedies triggered by the suicide attacks used to be viewed with some embarrassment by the Japanese after the end of World War II, but a growing number of Japanese and Filipinos here have surfaced to commemorate the kamikaze for its lessons.

Mabalacat tourism officer Guy Hilbero, one of those who have been active in the establishment of memorials here and at Clark, cited historical records showing that Lt. Yukio Seki, head of the Shikishima Unit of the four-unit Shimpu special attack corps formed by Ohnishi, was probably "the world’s first official human bomb."

Seki smashed the plane he was piloting against the US carrier St. Lo which sank 20 minutes after impact.

Historical records indicate that the kamikaze pilots were 17 to 35 years old, although majority of them were either in their teens or in their 20s, part of the generation that revered the Japanese code of conduct called "Bushido" which viewed suicide and the death of young people as "beautiful."

At the time the kamikaze teams were formed, the Americans were already making much headway against the Japanese Imperial Forces in Asia.

When Seki was first asked to consider volunteering for the suicide attack, he, after a brief silence, was reported to have replied: "You must let me do it." This was according to a document written in 1958 by Captain Rikihei Inoguchi, who was reportedly present when Seki made the statement.

"We are not condoning suicide, but our young folk these days have a lot of lessons to learn," Hilbero said.

He noted that many of the kamikaze volunteers were from prestigious schools such as the Tokyo, Kyoto, Keio and Waseda universities. They were reportedly more liberal in their views than students from other Japanese schools and were also more aware of the world outside of Japan.

Hilbero noted that before their suicide attacks, the young Japanese pilots were allowed to write their last notes to their families. Corporal Masato Hisanaga, 20, of the 72nd Shinbu Squadron, thanked his parents for his life, reported to them how he had been doing, and informed them about the kindness of the people he had been meeting.

Nineteen-year-old Corporal Shinji Ozeki wrote a will to his mother, saying, "As a man I will courageously go. Now, I have no special nostalgic sentiments. However, I will go regretting that although being born a man, I have not had filial piety. To give this young self for the protection of the imperial nation, I believe is piety. I hope that you will forgive my sin of being undutiful and that you will live in happiness."

Second Lieutenant Uehara believed that he would go to heaven to meet his deceased brother and his girlfriend who had died a few years before.

On the other hand, Second Lieutenant Toshio Anazawa, who was engaged to be married, asked his fiancée not to live in the past but "have courage" and "create a new future."