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Japanese book Ima tokkoutai no shi o
kangaeru (Thinking now about death of special attack force members) by
Atsushi Shirai (2002)
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Japanese Books
During the American occupation of Japan between 1945 and 1952, censors rarely
allowed publication of books related to Japan's special attack forces and other
subjects considered to be militaristic propaganda. For example, Yoshida Mitsuru's
account of the Yamato's suicide mission in April 1945, Requiem
for Battleship Yamato, did not get published in full until the end of
the occupation after being suppressed in 1946 and 1948 by censors (Dower 1999,
415-6). Since the end of the American occupation and continuing until today,
many Japanese books have been published about the kamikaze corps and other
special attack forces.
The books cover a wide variety of subjects, including numerous personal
narratives of special attack force members who survived the war. Also, many Japanese books with writings of
special attack corps members have been published. Many books cover the
experiences of just the Japanese Navy or Army, since they had distinct
operations and traditions. Chiran Air Base and the kamikaze pilots who sortied
from there are topics of several popular books published since the 1980s. The
Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots and three popular movies from 1993 to
2001 about Chiran Air Base kamikaze pilots have generated great interest in this
air base used by the Army for sorties of kamikaze pilots during the Battle of
Okinawa.
One of the best Japanese reference books on all types of special attack corps
is Tokubetsu Kougekitai (Special Attack Corps) by the Tokkotai Senbotsusha Irei
Heiwa Kinen Kyoukai (Tokkotai Commemoration Peace Memorial Association). This
395-page book published in 1990 has three main sections: (1) general history of each type of
special attack corps, (2) names, units, and dates of death for all who died in
Navy and Army special attack corps, and (3) photos and information about
monuments and museums throughout the country.
All ages in Japan read manga (comics), and
several manga include stories about special attack forces that carried out
suicide attacks near the end of the war.
Several children's books, some for
elementary school students, cover the topic of special attack corps.
Below are links to completed reviews of other Japanese books:
- Aihoshi, Hana no toki
wa kanashimi no toki (Flower season, a sad season)
- Akabane and Ishii, Hotaru kaeru (The firefly returns)
- Asahi Shimbun Seibu Honsha, Sora no kanata ni (To distant skies)
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Den, Tokkoutai datta boku ga ima wakamono
ni tsutaetai koto (What I as a former Special Attack Corps member would
like to say to today's young people)
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Dizon, Firipin shounen ga mita
kamikaze: osanai kokoro ni kizamareta yasashii nihonjintachi (Kamikaze
seen by Philippine youth: Kind Japanese individuals engraved in my young heart)
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56th Shinyo Squadron Member
Volunteers, Reiko Kimura, and Enosuke Kamida, Kaigun suijou tokkoutai:
Shinyou (Navy surface special attack corps: Shinyo)
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Gotoh, Tokkou senshi no ishi ni furete
(Experiencing the last wishes of the special attack warriors)
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Hayashi, Kuroshio no
natsu: Saigou no shinyou tokkou (Kuroshio summer: Last shinyo special
attack)
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Hiroi, Hotaru ni natta tokkouhei: Miyakawa
Saburo monogatari (Kamikaze pilot who turned into firefly: Story of Saburo
Miyakawa)
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Horikoshi, Inochi narikeri: Tokkou yotabi
seikan no ki (Even such is life: Account of returning alive four times
from special attacks)
- Jinno, Azusa tokubetsu kougekitai (Azusa special attack
unit)
- Kachi, Senkan mizuuri ni totsunyuu shita
reisen (Zero fighter that crashed into battleship Missouri)
- Kataoka, Ai shite yamazu (Unending
love)
- Kikuchi, Shiragiku rensou (Shiragiku
Associations)
- Kosaka, Tokkoutaiin no inochi no koe ga kikoeru
(Hearing the voices of lives of special attack corps members)
- Kudo, Tokkou e no rekuiemu (The Requiem for Kamikaze)
- Kuniyoshi, Shounen to Ishigakijima tokkou
kichi (A Boy and Ishigakijima Special Attack Base)
- Medoruma, Fuon (The Crying Wind)
- Minaminippon Living Shinbunsha, Zerosen
ni kaketa otoko (Man who soared in Zero fighter)
- Mori, Gekkou no Natsu (Summer of the Moonlight Sonata)
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Mori, Yuki wa juunanasai tokkou de shinda
(Yuki died at 17 in a kamikaze attack)
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Nakata, Tokkoubana
(Tokko Flowers)
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Nakata, "Tokkoubana" tte shitteru? (Do
you know about "tokko flowers"?)
- Nikaido, Umi no bohyou: Suijou tokkou
"shinyoutei" no kiroku (Grave markers at sea: Record of
sea-based special attack shinyo boats)
- Sato, Tokkou no machi: Chiran
(Special attack corps town: Chiran)
- Shirakawa, Sara no hana: "Tokkou" Okinawa no
umi ni chiru, Nakajima Hidehiko no kiroku (Sal flower: Dying in
special attack in Sea of Okinawa, record of Hidehiko Nakajima)
- Takeyama, Hotaru (Firefly)
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Usami, Ningen gyorai kaiten: Chinkon su
tokkou jidai (Kaiten human torpedo: Time of singing requiems for special
attacks)
- Yasujima, Tokkou hyouryuu (Special
attack drift)
- Yokoyama, Deguchi no nai umi (Sea without exit)
Sources Cited
Dower, John W. 1999. Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World
War II. New York: W.W. Norton.
Tokkotai Senbotsusha Irei
Heiwa Kinen Kyoukai (Tokkotai Commemoration Peace Memorial Association). 1990.
Tokubetsu Kougekitai (Special Attack Corps). Tokyo: Tokkotai Senbotsusha
Irei Heiwa Kinen Kyoukai.
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