Kamikaze

Asahi sat across the table from his wife Hana. She was so vibrantly happy, and how she glowed in the knowledge that they were expecting their first child after being together for five years. She was barely showing at just two months in, everything was going very well.

Hana had simultaneously prayed for manifestation of fruitfulness in both Shinto and in Buddhism, worshiping ancestors and spirits at her domestic altars and at public shrines. She had followed the Syncretic combinations of both practices, known generally as shinbutsu-shūgō, in hopes of getting her prayers answered.

How could this have happened. He was in the prime of his life, he loved his wife beyond his own life, she was the light of his existence. How could they ask him to do this? His mind thought back to the conversation earlier today. A group of twelve men had been selected, were told that they had an important task ahead of them. Oh how excited he had been. Maybe this assignment meant more money. With a child on the way he could surely use the pay raise.

Why was his country, Japan, constantly at war with someone or the other. When would there be peace. Men had no choice but to fight in a war not of their making. Asahi was not a coward, but he wanted his child to grow up in a peaceful world.

Kamikaze....Kamikaze. 'Divine wind'. The words still played over and over in his head. How could they ask him to take his life and leave his family alone, unable to fend for themselves. They had no relatives or friends who were not in the same position as they were. Every single person he knew could barely help themselves, who would take care of Hana and the baby when he was gone. The military promised to help, but for how long. What if they lost the war?

Kamikaze pilots were members of the Japanese military who carried out suicide attacks against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II. The pilots were trained to fly their planes directly into enemy ships, and their missions were almost always one-way. It was considered an honor to be chosen for such a mission, and those who volunteered were often promised that their families would be taken care of after their deaths. However, there is no evidence that men who disobeyed kamikaze orders were punished or executed. But Asahi had heard rumors, things were not as they seemed.

The tradition of death instead of defeat, capture, and shame was deeply entrenched in Japanese military culture; one of the primary values in the samurai life and the Bushido code was loyalty and honor until death. In addition to kamikazes, the Japanese military also used or made plans for non-aerial Japanese Special Attack Units, including those involving Kairyu (submarines), Kaiten human torpedoes, Shinyo speedboats, and Fukuryu divers.

Still Asahi had no wish to be deemed a coward, mentally he was prepared to die. He was a soldier after all, but his priorities had changed drastically.

He remembered the words of the General as he spoke to them, encouraging them to be suicide pilots for their country:

"You have all been specially selected due to your bravery and service in the face of adversity. You have all proven yourselves to be fearless and patriotic, and your country thanks you. Know that your sacrifice will not be in vain. This is the only way to win this war. We would rather die than be captured by our enemies. know that your nobility of spirit will keep the homeland from ruin, even in defeat".

General Tai had been convincing. The men who had been mostly proud to be selected, were now as disgruntled as Asahi was, but they had been left with no choice.

Asahi was always wary of anyone who said that any pilots really truly, or actually freely volunteered for this mission...

He refocused his attention on Hana who was still speaking, her excitement dwindling just a bit, realizing that something was bothering Asahi.

"What is wrong my love"? She asked, concern showing in the crease of her forehead.

Asahi took a deep breath. He was not going to abandon his family, there had to be another way out of this dilemma. He smiled reassuringly at Hana.

"Nothing is wrong Hana dear. I am just so very happy. Come, let us plan for our new baby". He lied. What could he do that would not bring dishonor to him and his entire family. Asahi had to make a plan quite soon. Tomorrow his training would begin.

Training

When you eliminate all thoughts about life and death, you will be able to totally disregard your earthly life. This will also enable you to concentrate your attention on eradicating the enemy with unwavering determination, meanwhile reinforcing your excellence in flight skills.

— Excerpt from a kamikaze pilots' manual.

Such lies, Asahi thought to himself. He had seen what actually happened when they thought no one was looking.

During training the men were struck on the face so hard and frequently that their faces were no longer recognizable". Hit so hard that they could no longer see and fell on the floor. The minute they got up, they were hit again by a club, in this way they were trained not to confess." This brutal "training" was justified by the idea that it would instill a "soldier's fighting spirit", but daily beatings and corporal punishment eliminated patriotism among many pilots.

It's all a lie that the pilots left filled with braveness and joy, crying, "Long live the emperor!" They were sheep at a slaughterhouse. Everybody was looking down and tottering. Some were unable to stand up and were carried and pushed into their aircraft by maintenance soldiers.

Pilots were given a manual that detailed how they were supposed to think, prepare, and attack. From this manual, pilots were told to "attain a high level of spiritual training", and to "keep their health in the very best condition". These instructions, among others, were meant to make pilots mentally ready to die.

The tokkōtai pilot's manual also explained how a pilot may turn back if he could not locate a target, and that a pilot "should not waste his life lightly". One pilot, a graduate from Waseda University, who continually came back to base was shot after his ninth return.

The pilots were involuntarily sent to their deaths, under threat of firing squads.

A week before the end of training, Asahi told Hana the true story of what he was expected to do. To his surprise she just smiled.

"I knew this day would come". She said simply.

"What do you mean"? Asahi asked, bewildered.

"I have made a plan for this. I will go and stay with my cousin in the village of Tomaki. You know, the house far in the hillside where hardly anyone knows. You will happily do as the generals ask. You will take the plane, fly as they ask. Then you will crash into the sea, while jumping clear and swim away under water, crash as near to land as you can. You will wear two sets of clothes to work. In a bag you will place one set for dry clothes after leaving the water. You can figure out how to keep it dry. Make your way to Tomaki, you find me. We stay for one month then go far away to start a new life".

Asahi stood for a long time just staring open mouthed at Hana. Hana waited for her words to sink into his brain. What a perfectly ridiculous suggestion, his right brain was thinking. His left brain played with the simplistic sounds of the words in his head. This, as impossible as it sounded, could actually work. With a few tweaks here and there, it probably was the worst idea, but the best plan so far. No one would believe such a crazy idea would ever be a seed of a plan of any sane person. Considering the danger, the fact that they both would be shot if discovered. It actually was a simple and brilliant plan. This could work if his feat of daring brough luck from the ancestors, and he did not die trying to crash the plane. The planes usually were not pumped with enough fuel for a long return trip anyway.

That was exactly what they did. Asahi trained with so much enthusiasm that his spirit was used to encourage the other men. He was not very popular, why was he seeming to have suddenly become so eager to die? He wished he could have told them.

The plan worked. I am now thirty two years old and my parents live in the small village of Atachi, not far from Tomaki. It was assumed that my father died in the sea. His name is included in the list of heroes who died for the cause. Secretly, he had rescued more than a hundred kamikaze pilots who were left stranded or injured after trying to crash their planes. Hana helped in treating their wounds and feeding them. They all hid in a house nearby until they could get far away.

After the war, Asahi worked tirelessly under a different name, making sure that all the men who were injured got the best of care. They were the real heroes he said every day.

My father was a hero to me. He stayed alive so that I would too. No one had the right to send someone else to die, while they cowered under the banner of leadership. If a soldier died doing what he signed up for, that made him a hero. Not being beaten half to death for a cause concocted by their cowardly superiors.

Signed.

Anonymous.

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Author's note:

Such a plan was probably highly impossible, as well as not at all plausible at the time. I just wish some of those poor men had a choice. Wars, wherever they are fought, should not be a solution to any problems.. Yet it continues, with no end in sight. Still making us cave dwelling people no matter how modern we consider ourselves.

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