Who became kamikazee

the pilots only had the

ability to fly, not to fight. Although what happens to the pilot himself in doing the suicide

attack is by no means anywhere near beauty, to die in such a way, for the Emperor,

and for the country, was (at the time), honorable.

One thing that was decided upon by the General Staff was that the Kamikaze attacks

were to be made only if it was in the will of the pilot himself. It was too much of a task

to be "commanded."[16]

The first organized suicide attack was made on October 21, 1944 by a squadron

called the Shinpu Tokubetsu Kogekitai.[17] Tokubetsu Kogekitai was the name

generally used in the Japanese Imperial Navy and Army. The public had known them

as the Tokkotai, the abbreviated form. Tokkotai referred to all the organized suicide

attacks. Shinpu is what is better known as Kamikaze.[18] The captain of the first

attack was to be Captain Yukio Seki.[19]

How was Captain Seki talked into such a task? According to the subcommander of the

First Air Fleet, Tamai, who brought the issue up to Captain Seki, the Captain had in a

short time replied "I understand. Please let me do it."[20] According to another source,

the reply that Captain Seki gave was, "Please let me think about it one night. I will

accept the offer tomorrow morning."[21]

The document which seems to have the most credibility is the book, The Divine Wind

by Captain Rikihei Inoguchi and Commander Tadashi Nakajima. According to this

account a graduate of the Naval Academy, Naoshi Kanno, was originally nominated as

the leader of this mission. However, he was away from Mabalacat on a mission to

mainland Japan. Therefore, to take Kanno's place Captain Seki was chosen, and was

called to Commander Tamai's room at midnight. After hearing of the mission, it

appears, Seki remained silent for a while, then replied, "You must let me do it."[22]

The reason this is the most credible document is because it had been written by

Captain Rikihei Inoguchi, who was actually there with Tamai and Seki, and named the

first unit, Shinpu. It is doubtful that there was a flaw in his memory since the book was

published in 1959, only 14 years after the war.

In any case, Captain Seki agreed to lead the first Kamikaze attack, and, on October

25, 1944 during the battle off Samos, made one of the first attacks, on the American

aircraft carrier Saint Lo.[23] Twenty-six fighter planes were prepared, of which half

were to escort and the other half to make the suicide mission. That half was divided

into the Shikishima, Yamato, Asahi and Yamazakura.[24]

Part Three

The youngest of the Kamikaze pilots of the Imperial Army was 17 years old,[25] and

the oldest, 35.[26] Most of them were in their late teens, or early twenties. As the

battle in Okinawa [April to June 1945] worsened, the average age of the pilots got

younger. Some had only completed the equivalent of an elementary school and middle

school combined. Some had been to college. There was a tendency for them not to be

first sons. The eldest sons usually took over the family business. Most were therefore

the younger sons who did not need to worry about the family business.

Most of those who had come from college came in what is called the Gakuto

Shutsujin. This was when the college students' exemption from being drafted into the

military was lifted, and the graduation of the seniors was shifted from April 1944 to

September 1943.[27]

Many of these students were from prestigious colleges such as Tokyo, Kyoto, Keio,

and Waseda Universities. These students from college tended to have more liberal

ideas, not having been educated in military schools, and also were more aware of the

world outside of Japan.

Where were the pilots trained? All the pilots involved in the "Okinawa Tokko" had

been trained in/as one of the following: The Youth Pilot Training School, Candidates for

Second Lieutenant, The Imperial Army Air Corps Academy, Pilot Trainee, Flight

Officer Candidates, Special Flight Officer Probationary Cadet, Pilot Training Schools,

or Special Flight Officer Candidate.[28]

Part Four

Since the Kamikaze attacks were to be made only if the pilots had volunteered, and

could not be "commanded," there were two methods to collect volunteers. One was for

all pilots in general, and another was for the Special Flight Officer Probationary Cadet

(College graduates) only. The former was an application form, and the latter was a

survey. The survey asked: "Do you desire earnestly/wish/do not wish/to be involved in

the Kamikaze attacks?" They had to circle one of the three choices, or leave the paper

blank. The important fact is that the pilots were required to sign their names.[29] When

the military had the absolute power, and the whole atmosphere of Japan expected men

to die for the country, there was great psychological pressure to circle "earnestly

desire" or "wish." The Army selected those who had circled "earnestly desire." The

reason that the Special Flight Officer Probationary Cadet had to answer such a survey

rather than send the applications at their own will was probably because the military

had known that the students who had come from college had a wider vision, and would

not easily apply for such a mission. For the regular application, the Army was confident

that there would be many young pilots who would apply. They were correct. Every

student of the 15th term of the Youth Pilot Training School had applied. Because there

were so many volunteers, the military had decided to let the ones with better grades go

first.[30]

There are several factors which made so many young pilots volunteer for such a

mission. Extreme patriotism must have been one factor for sure. Added to that, there

was the reverence for the Emperor, a god. Some say that it was generally believed that

if one died for the emperor, and was praised in Yasukuni Shrine, they would become

happy forever.[31]

The effect of the brainwashing that the military had done to the students is surprising.

The pilots felt it was "obvious" that they were to take part in the Kamikaze attacks.

Most pilots mention in letters that they were happy, and proud of being given such an

honorable mission. It is true also that they believed that if they took part in the mission,

it might improve the war situation for Japan.[32]

What the military education was like was described in a diary kept by Corporal Yukio

Araki, from the time he had entered the Youth Pilot Training School, until the night

before his original date of departure for Okinawa.

Since anything written was checked by one of the military staff, nothing that would

upset the military or contradict the ideas of the Japanese government could be written.

However, more importantly, because of the lack of privacy, personal emotions could

not be written. Therefore, in Corporal Araki's diary, very rarely can anything "personal"

be found. The first several days in the Training school, he simply lists the subjects that

were studied that day, and what was done for physical training. Later on he mentions

what was done for training, the events that took place, and other things he had done.

However, most of what he wrote was about the "warning" he received.[33] The

following are some of the "warnings" he had received:

There is an attitude problem when listening to the officers.[34]

Some students seem to smile or laugh during training, and others are being

lazy...In general there seems to be a lack of spirit.[35]

Straighten yourself. It reveals your spirit.[36]

The education emphasized the mind, spirit and attitude. Neatness and cleanliness were

also frequently mentioned. Usually, a hard slap in the face accompanied these warnings.

The way the 15-year- old boy responded to the warning was: "I must try harder."[37]

One of the listed subjects in the diary was a course called "Spiritual Moral Lecture,"

nearly every other day. What exactly was taught in the course is not mentioned.

However it seemed that in some of these courses