In March 1945 it was a normal thing to be a kamikaze pilot

Remembering Japan’s kamikaze pilots

canada goose coats on sale Japan hopes to immortalise its kamikaze pilots a squad of young men who crashed their aircraft into Allied ships in World War Two by seeking Unesco World Heritage status for a collection of their letters. Rupert Wingfield canada goose outlet winnipeg address Hayes meets the former pilot who built the canada goose outlet store new york collection, in honour of canada goose outlet store montreal his fallen comrades. canada goose coats on sale

Canada Goose sale “Kamikaze” it is a word that has become synonymous with all that is crazy, fanatical and canada goose outlet london uk self destructive. I remember as a young schoolboy in Britain learning about the kamikaze pilots. To me, what they had done was inexplicable. For long afterwards, canada goose outlet us it coloured my view of Japan, and it left me with a canada goose outlet parka nagging question: how did it happen? What caused thousands of ordinary young Japanese men to volunteer to kill themselves? Canada Goose sale

canada goose I had long dreamed of asking a kamikaze canada goose jacket outlet store pilot that question. And so it was that last week I found myself ringing the bell of a comfortable looking house outside the city of Nagoya in central Japan. Moments later, striding out to meet me came a small, energetic and very neatly dressed old man, a wide smile on his face. canada goose

buy canada goose jacket cheap Tadamasa Itatsu is a spritely 89 year old with twinkling eyes and a firm handshake. He cancelled his tennis game because I canada goose outlet official was coming, he tells goose outlet canada me. buy canada goose jacket cheap

Canada Goose Outlet In March 1945 Itatsu San was a 19 year old pilot. Hundreds of American and British battleships and aircraft carriers were sailing towards Okinawa. He was asked by his commander to volunteer for one of Japan’s canada goose outlet kokemuksia infamous “special attack” squadrons. Canada Goose Outlet

canada goose “If Okinawa was invaded, then the American planes would be able to use it as a base to attack the main islands of Japan.” He tells me: “So we young people had to prevent that. In March 1945 it was a normal thing to be a kamikaze pilot. All of us who were asked to volunteer did so.” canada goose

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canada goose Media captionWatch Rupert Wingfield Hayes’ Newsnight film in full canada goose

canada goose clearance The inside of Itatsu San’s home is a shrine to his fallen comrades, the walls covered in grainy photos of young men in flying suits. Over and over as we talk, canada goose outlet seattle he comes back to the same canada goose jacket outlet toronto point these young men were not fanatics, they believed their actions could save their country canada goose outlet orlando from disaster. canada goose clearance

canada goose “Common sense says you only have one life,” he says, “so why would you want to give it away? Why would you be happy to do that? But at that time everyone I knew, they all wanted to volunteer. We needed to be warriors to stop the invasion from coming. Our minds were set. We had no doubt about it.” canada goose

canada goose black friday sale Itatsu San did not die. As he flew south towards his target, his engine failed and he was forced to canada goose premium outlet ditch in the sea. He returned to his unit, but the war canada goose factory outlet toronto location ended before he could try again. canada goose black friday sale

Canada Goose online For most of the 28 years that Shoichi Yokoi, a lance corporal in the Japanese Army of world War II, was canada goose outlet houston hiding in the jungles of Guam, he firmly believed his former comrades would one day return for him. Canada Goose online

canada goose black friday sale What Japanese canada goose outlet buffalo history lessons leave out canada goose black friday sale

canada goose black friday sale From a series Canada Goose Outlet of long cardboard tubes Itatsu San pulls thin pieces of paper covered in black calligraphy. He carefully unfurls one on the canada goose outlet locations in toronto table and begins to read. canada goose black friday sale

Canada Goose Jackets “Dear mother, my one regret is I could not do more for you before I die. buy canada goose uk But to die as a fighter for the emperor is an honour. Please do not feel sad.” Canada Goose Jackets

canadian goose jacket A lot of the letters are in this vein. They appear to confirm the view that a whole generation of Japanese men had been brainwashed in to self abnegation and blind obedience to the Emperor. canadian goose jacket

buy canada goose jacket cheap But there are others, which show a minority of kamikaze pilots had not swallowed the propaganda, and even some that appear to reject Japan’s cause. buy canada goose jacket cheap

Canada Goose Parka One of the most extraordinary is by a young canada goose outlet montreal lieutenant, Ryoji Uehara. Canada Goose Parka

Canada Goose online “Tomorrow, one who believes in democracy will leave this world,” he wrote. “He may look lonely but his heart is filled with satisfaction. Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany have been defeated. I thought at the time it was really bad luck to survive. I really wanted to die with themTadamasa Itatsu Canada Goose online

canada goose Itatsu San clearly thinks they should. He describes them as a “treasure to be passed down to future generations”. But even today with the benefit of 70 years’ hindsight, Itatsu San remains astonishingly unreflective about what happened to him and his comrades. canada goose

canada goose coats “I never look back with regret,” he says, “The people who died did so willingly. I thought at the time it was really bad luck to survive. I really wanted to die with them. Instead, I have to concentrate my canada goose outlet store toronto efforts to maintain their memory.” canada goose coats

Canada Goose Parka Japan has immense canada goose outlet hong kong problems with its memory of the war. Prominent politicians and media figures still frequently espouse absurd revisionist versions of history that Japan never started the war, that the Nanjing Massacre never happened, that tens of https://www.topcanadagoose.ca thousands of comfort women “volunteered” to become sex slaves for the Japanese military. Canada Goose Parka

Canada Goose Outlet The massive bombing of Japanese cities at the end of the war, and in particular the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, has allowed the construction of a narrative of victimhood. Japan is the only country to have suffered an atomic attack. The firebombing of Tokyo, in one night, killed at least 100,000 civilians. But when talking about these horrors, what is often forgotten or omitted is how it all began. Canada Goose Outlet

canadian goose jacket Likewise, the desire to canada goose outlet mall remember canada goose outlet belgium the terrible sacrifice made by the young kamikaze pilots is understandable. The BBC is canada goose uk not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking canadian goose jacket.

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