Shinto Nationalism - something nobody likes to talk about - brave warriors like Timothy McVeigh a ling sacrifice. Who are their teachers? To whom do they owe their allegiance - a higher Order say New World Order. Disarm America - well someday they will send in a team of geese loaded for bear, and we will not have a gun to shoot them down? Our Pentago is burning ....... Colin Powell was out of town, Bush was out of town, where was Clinton - in New York City - So McVeigh used a ton of fertilizer and airplanes used as munitions - in Holy Land sticks and stones considered munitions even in the bible - keyed to Master Plan for Murder - keyed to astrology? Libra - Scales of Justice. Is Russia smiling today - is Japan smiling for the Chinese were beginning to wipe them out as most favored nation?> Things just are not as they seem to be - did the ADL know the World Trade Center would be hit like they knew Oklahoma would be hit? Did they know the Pentagon too would be hit? Did the Japanese want us to see what it was like when big bomb dropped - and the Japanese sharpshooter somehow I cannot get this West Point man off my mind - did he study Shinto Nationalism too? Why is secret of Shinto so secret - look to Littleton for secret of Shinto and Nationalism for secret of destruction of our pride and joy - the World Trade Center a city of 50,000 people....one man wearing a scarf of American Flag tied around his head said he was late for work, and I am wondered - who got the hell out of town that day of Septembe while Divine Wind blew the hell out of the streets of Manhattan - all timed - Saba Old Man in Mountain with his drugged up killers who enter another room to paradise or Kamakaze like Egyptian Pilot and the planes used as a missile attack? Like McVeigh used a truck of fertilizer? What was this line F. Lee Bailey used in Pattie Hearst trial straight out of Isaiah - very cyptic stuff: "We have made a covenant with Death and with hell are we at agreement....and when the overfloring scourge shall pass throuh, it shall not come unto us, for we have made lies, our refuge and under falsehood, we have hid ourselves...." Isaiah 28.. "Woe, woe to Ariel" only we are the parallel city? Saba The Last Notes of the Kamikaze Pilots and the Japanese View of Death and Afterlife Introduction Growing up in Japan, deaths of the Kamikaze pilots who died crashing into American ships never formed a simple impression on me. There were two ideas conflicting against each other, which might happen to many Japanese children still today. A part of me was thrilled and chilled by the heroic, but somewhat fierce, acts of the young men in the time of national agitation. Another part of me denied such violent and brutal act, including the whole acts of war, thus, taking the idea of dying for the country and Emperor as inadmissible and even disgusting. Now I reached the same age as the young pilots who bravely chose to die, though some people argue that they were forced to do so, the interests in them grow stronger. What did they think of their death? What did they think of their lives? Their ties to this life, family, friends, love? Was the nation more important than these things? Or was that even a question? I have read a book in Japanese about World War II. The book was contesting the modern trend of denying the discussions of the Kamikaze attack and the other nationalistic aspects, or even the whole acts of World War II, because some believe that it was something too horrible to even look back. In there, there was a letter by a Kamikaze pilot writing to his newborn daughter. Unfortunately, I could not spot the same book and the letter during the process of writing this paper. Yet I remember that there was something beautiful about the letter that just washed away my negative toward the Kamikaze pilots, and I feel that reclaiming it as much as I can, and not the other as touching letters that I did find, should be the introduction to this paper on the deaths of Kamikaze Pilots. The letter was written by a young man in his early twentieth, not older than twenty-four years. In there, he called out to his daughter, speaking calmly and showing his parental love to the young life. His letter goes something like this: Yasuko, You slept in my arms very well. You had the very eyes of your mother and the hair of your aunt, I remember them clearly. I picked your name in hope of you becoming a peaceful woman (the character 'Yasu' has the meaning of peace in Japanese). It will be perplexed if you don't know in your future, so I am letting you know. The doll that you slept with, I fly with as an amulet. I die with you, so I am not afraid. You should not be either, as I will always be with you. If you wonder what I look like in your future, tell your mother so and ask to come to Yasukuni Shrine in Kudan. There, I will be. You should not be ashamed of not having a father, for I will always live in your heart. Remember that your father died in honor and for the country. You live long. Be good to your mother and aunt. Your father, Masashi (pseudonym) In this paper, I will discuss the deaths of Kamikaze pilots in terms of their views on death and afterlife. Doing so gives me the chance to look at general religious practices and traditions in Japan, especially of Shinto tradition. I will use the letters and diaries written by the pilots just before their departure to the mission, and examine how the general Japanese view on death of the time is illustrated in their last words to their family, loving ones or to themselves. These letters do not necessary present one single view of Kamikaze death; each young man had different opinions and explanations for their deaths. Yet, I argue that Shinto view, the kami way, which teaches the way to be Japanese, is clearly presented in all the letters. Another point that was common to all the pilots was that, despite the hard circumstances of the war period, they were having what we have discussed as the "Good Death." The War and Kamikaze Before looking at the letters of the pilots and examining the nature of Japanese death, I will go over the general information on the Kamikaze Special Attack Force. Warner and Warner (1982) narrates: At 10:49 A.M., when the kamikaze pilots had chosen their targets, Seki (the leader of the unit) indicated with a banking signal that it was time to go. He peeled off and headed down. Two minutes later general quarters blared out on the St. Lo [a U.S. escort carrier]. Lieutenant Commander Richard L. Centner, the St. Lo's air officer, saw a Zeke [Zero, the fighter plane most commonly used by the Japanese during the W.W. II and also for the Kamikaze attack] pull out of its dive about a thousand yards astern and then head for the carrier at an altitude of about a hundred feet, almost as if the pilot intended to make a routine landing on the flight deck. One twenty-millimeter and one twin forty-millimeter gun opened fire as the Zeke sped in, but with no effect against it. Calmly, deliberately, without taking evasive action, the pilot held his plane dead on course. At 10:52 A.M., one minute after the St. Lo had first seen him, the pilot dropped his bomb on the flight deck, rolled over, crashed, and exploded fifteen feet to the port side of the center line, near the No. 5 wire. The speed of its approach sent the remains of the plane spinning along the flight deck and over the bow. A terrific flash sprayed burning gasoline over the deck as the plane hit. Simultaneously, the bomb, which had penetrated the flight deck and come to rest in the hanger, exploded (106-107). Total of seven explosion occurred in the St. Lo, killing 114, wounding and burning more than 300, and sinking the ship, all a work of one aircraft. The passage describes the first successful Kamikaze attack in the Philippines sea, but the principal methodology stayed the same for the entire Kamikaze period starting from October of 1944 and lasting till the end of the war in August, 1945. "Kamikaze Tokubetsu Kogekitai (Kamikaze Special Attack Force) " is noted as the "'special attack forces of the wind of the gods', Tokkotai for short: special units usually called kamikaze by foreigners. Name for various navy and army corps which were formed for suicide attacks in the last ten months of the Pacific War. The first attack took place on 25 October 1944. In all, 2,198 pilots sacrificed themselves, thirty four American ships were sunk and 288 damaged" (Pinguet 1993: 326). Taylor and Ryan (1988) describe "Kamikaze" briefly but efficiently in the following statement: "The Kamikaze (or Divine Wind) pilots flew specially modified aircraft which were in effect flying bombs. The pilot guided his aircraft to its target, crashing into it at great speed" (102). Okumiya, Horikoshi, and Caidin (1956) suggest: During the great air battles of the Pacific War, many pilots while directly over enemy war ships or land installations were caught in situations in which wither they were seriously wounded or their aircraft became disabled. Under such conditions, not few pilots chose, while it was still possible to maneuver their airplanes, to meet their end in a final suicide dive against the enemy objective (326). Yet, they argue that the Kamikaze attack was an entirely different matter. They state that Kamikaze was an operation in which "the pilot, or the entire crew, of an attacking aircraft, eliminated even the remotest opportunity for survival once committed to the final dive against the enemy. Death was the companion of the Kamikaze pilot" (326). One example of this is that the fuel tanks of the Kamikaze planes were only half full, as they were not expected to make the return trip (Pinguet 1992: 229). What pulled the trigger to this unusual "secret weapon" that used life and death as the ultimate sacrifice to cause damage to the enemy? The antecedent of the later organized Kamikaze units took place in June 1944, as the island of Saipan was about to fall to the Americans. Losing the island meant for the mainland Japan to be within the range of B-29 bombers. To protect their motherland from being under fire, a squadron of seventeen pilots took off and attempted to crash the enemy ships by diving into them, although none of them reached their target (Pinguet 1992: 225). The higher commanders took the idea of these fierce soldiers and saw it as the few remaining hope for the now declining Japanese control of the Pacific. Vice-Admiral Takajiro Ohnishi is given the "credit" for the birth of Kamikaze. He was in command of the Japanese navy forces that desperately needed to keep the islands of the Philippines. With the increasing American attacks and definite shortage of battle planes as well as ships, Ohnishi made the decision to organize the "Special Attack Force" units in hope of bringing back the Japanese superiority in the air and on the water, the project Ohnishi was assigned to as a trusted commander by both navy and army (Hoyt 1983: 18). Ohnishi is quoted: There are only two sorts of airmen in the world, the winners and the losers. And even though Japan is suffering from a serious shortage of trained pilots, there is a remedy for this. If a pilot, facing a ship or a plane, exhausts all his resources, then he still has one left, the plane as a part of himself, a superb weapon. And what greater glory can there be for a warrior than to give his life for Emperor and country? (Hoyt 1983: 19). Taylor and Ryan (1988) suggest that "the adoption of such tactics was in the context of the realization by the Japanese High Command of almost inevitable defeat," while "the individual pilots who undertook such missions were far from defeatist" (103). The opinions on the Japanese defeat among the Japanese leaders might not have been as simple and unified as Taylor and Ryan suggest, so as in the case of the hopes of the soldiers for the victory. Yet there was a clear general belief in some kind of divine savior in cases of national crisis, such as the typhoons that said to have hit the Mongolian troops and destroyed them as they were invading Japan with far greater number in the thirteenth century. The Japanese called these typhoons "Kamikaze", kami the word for "the innumerable gods, spirits, powers and energies which govern various aspects of the natural world and the social order" (Pinguet 1992: 326) and "kaze" the wind. The "Special Attack Force" units were named after this divine figure as the savior of the desperate situation of national crisis, which Japan was in at the time of the birth of the suicide attack units. Inoguchi and Nagajima (1967) suggest the following as the background reason for the birth of Kamikaze forces. They argue that two significant differences about the W.W.II from other wars that Japan fought were: one, that it was an all-out war; and two that the navy, and especially the naval air force, played the key role to it. When comparing to the Americans, the air force strength of the Japanese were, except for the initial period of the war, far behind them in terms of numbers and technology. The only thing the Japanese could rely on was the number and quality of the people, especially the quality based on the spiritual and mental power. They believe, and I agree, that, as the war approached to the end, these spiritual aspects gave birth to the Kamikaze Special Attack Force and created the atmosphere for the hundred million Japanese to expect to face the death at any time (252). The recruitment of the pilots was strictly voluntary. Pinguet (1993) suggests that "[t]here was no shortage of volunteers, in fact there was a waiting list" (227). A commander who was in charge of the recruitment, in answering the questions posed by the American military professionals interested in the Kamikaze attack, states that almost everybody desired to go on the mission, including some that wrote his request in blood or woke the officers up during the night frequently to remind them to select them. Sometimes, the officials looked at the family and personal situation and made the suggestion based on it. Under these conditions, they turned down this one young man because he was the only child of the family, only to see his mother begging to the officers to select him (Inoguchi and Nakajima 1967: 244). Letters of the Pilots and Japanese Views on Death. "What, then, were the thoughts and feelings of the suicide pilots themselves as they volunteered, waited their turn, and went out on their missions?" Inoguchi, Nakajima and Pineau (1959) pose the question. Fortunately, there was a man, Ichiro Ohmi, who made a nationwide trip to visit the home of kamikaze pilots after the war. At their family homes, he was presented mementoes and letters of the pilots. The following letters are all then provided by Ohmi to Inoguchi and Nakajima. I will examine and analyze these letters, providing the basic principals of the Japanese religious traditions that are strongly tied to the social life. Inoguchi and Nakajima (1967) suggest that the minds of the pilots, judging from the last letters, are hardly controlled by the abnormal mentality of the war field. Summarizing their argument is the following. There can be seen the appearance of the extraordinary calm and peaceful spirits in the minds of the Kamikaze pilots. Insensible spirits such as impetuous forces of circumstances or momentary vigor cannot be the same spirit that made a sortie for not only once, but twice and three times, desiring for the enemy ships and finally diving into them when they find the target. The Kamikaze pilots by no means took death lightly; they expected something more than the death itself out of the mission only to be completed by death (228-229). Here, I will try to find out what that 'something more than death' was for the pilots by looking at their specific letters. The first letter here is written by Teruo Yamaguchi, who was twenty-three years old at the time of his Kamikaze mission. He was raised in Goto Island in Kyushu, southern Japan, and graduated from Kokugakuin University in Tokyo, which was affiliated with the Shinto tradition. He died in the mission around the Okinawa region. Dear Father: � � As death approaches, my only regret is that I have never been able to do anything good for you in my life. � � I was selected quite unexpectedly to be a special attack pilot and will be leaving for Okinawa today. Once the order was given for my one-way mission it became my sincere wish to achieve success in fulfilling this duty. Even so, I cannot help feeling a strong attachment to this beautiful land of Japan. Is that a weakness of my part? On learning that my time had come I closed my eyes and saw visions of your face, mother's grandmother's and the faces of my close friends. It was bracing and heartening to realize that each of you wants me to be brave. I will do that! I will! � � My life in the service has not been filled with sweet memories. It is a life of resignation and self-denial, certainly not comfortable. As a raison d'�tre for service life, I can see only that it gives me a chance to die for my country. If this seems bitter it probably is because I had experienced the sweetness of life before joining the service. � � The other day I received Lieutenant Otsubo's philosophy on life and death which you so kindly sent. It seems to me that while he appears to have hit on some truth, he was concerned mostly with superficial thoughts on the service. It is of no avail to express it now, but in my 23 years of life, I have worked out my own philosophy. � � It leaves a bad taste in my mouth when I think of the deceits being played on innocent citizens by some of our wily politicians. But I am willing to take orders from the high command, and even from the politicians, because I believe in the polity of Japan. � � The Japanese way of life is indeed beautiful, and I am proud of it, as I am of Japanese history and mythology which reflect the purity of our ancestors and their believe in the past�whether or not those beliefs are true. That way of life is the product of all the best things which our ancestors have handed down to us. And the living embodiment of all wonderful things out of our past is the Imperial Family which, too, is the crystallization of the splendour and beauty of Japan and its people. It is an honour to be able to give my life in defence [sic] of these beautiful and lofty things. � � Okinawa is much a part of Japan as Goto Island. An inner voice keeps saying that I must smite the foe who violates our homeland. My grave will be the sea around Okinawa, and I will see my mother and grandmother again. I have neither regret nor fear about death. I only pray for the happiness of you and all my fellow countrymen. � � My greatest regret is this life is the failure to call you 'chichiue' (revered father). I regret not having given any demonstration of the respect which I have always had for you. During my final plunge, though you will not hear it, you may be sure that I will be saying 'chichiue' to you and thinking of all you have done for me. � � I have not asked you to come to see me at the base because I know that you are comfortable at Amakusa. It is a good place to live. The mountains north of the base remind me of Sugiyama and Magarisaka on Goto Island, and I have often thought of the days when you took Akira and me on picnics to Matsuyama near the powder magazine. I also recall riding with you to the crematorium at Magarisaka as a youngster, without clearly understanding then that mother had died. � � I leave everything to you. Please take good care of my sisters. � � One setback in its history does not mean the destruction of a nation. I pray that you will live long. I am confident that a new Japan will emerge. Our people must not be rash in their desire for death. � � Fondest regards. � � � � Just before departure, � � � � Teruo Without regard for life or name, a samurai will defend his homeland. (Inoguchi, Nakajima and Pineau 1959: 181-183) The italicized parts are what seems to be important regarding the view of death in Japan. The first part starting with "The Japanese way of life is indeed �" clearly shows the Shinto belief of the Japanese nation and nature. Shinto is described by Pinguet (1993) as "the Way of Gods, a native Japanese religion based on various local nature cults, over which is superimposed a divine genealogy of the imperial dynasty which made it possible to create a religion of national unity and the state, as was done from Meiji [late nineteenth century] onwards" (340). The word Shinto is composed of two ideographs: shin/kami and to/michi. Kami is said to be the object of worship in Shinto. It is a term for "an honorific for noble, sacred spirits, which implies a sense of adoration for their virtues and authority" (Ono 1962: 6). According to Ono (1962), "all beings have such spirits [as kami], so in a sense all beings can be called kami or be regarded as potential kami. However, because the term is an honorific, it is not customary to apply it to ordinary individuals or beings" (6-7). There are objects or phenomena that are designated as kami from ancient times, such as "the qualities of growth, fertility, and production; natural phenomena, such as wind and thunder; natural objects, such as the sun, mountains, rivers, trees and rocks; some animals; and ancestral spirits" including the "spirits of the Imperial ancestors, the ancestors of noble families, and in a sense all ancestral spirits . . . ; the guardian spirits of the land, occupations, and skills; the spirits of national heroes, men of outstanding deeds or virtues, and those who have contributed to civilization, culture, and human welfare; those who have died for the state or the community; and the pitiable dead" (7). To/michi is translated as "way." So, Shinto means the way of kami, thus implying the belief in all these spirituality of kami. As Ono (1962) suggests, "[u]nlike Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam, Shinto has neither a founder . . . nor does it have sacred scriptures" (3). Rather: In its personal aspects 'Shinto' implies faith in the kami, usages practiced in accordance with the mind of the kami, and spiritual life attained through the worship of and in communion with the kami. To those who worship kami, 'Shinto' is a collective noun denoting all faiths. It is an all-inclusive term embracing the various faiths which are comprehended in the kami-idea. . . . In its general aspects Shinto is more than a religious faith. It is an amalgam of attitudes, ideas, and ways of doing things that through two millenniums and more have become an integral part of the way of the Japanese people. Thus, Shinto is both a personal faith in the kami and a communal way of life according to the mind of the kami, which emerged in the course of the centuries as various ethnic and cultural influences, both indigenous and foreign, were fused, and the country attained unity under the Imperial Family. This is what Teruo Yamaguchi means by stating that "[t]he Japanese way of life is indeed beautiful, and I am proud of it, as I am of Japanese history and mythology . . . " Then, how does the universe and individual work? First of all, their general view of the world is that it is "progressing from the confusion of contradictions to a state of harmony and unity. Just as organic life develops, so in society good order is evolving as the result of mutual aid and cooperation. Shinto believes that this world gives promise of an unlimited development of life-power" (Ono 1962: 102). The nature of human being is that they are inherently good. One "owes his life, which is sacred, to the kami and to his ancestors" (103). One "is dependent for his continued existence on both nature and society", is a social being (103). Thus, one "also owes much to his present family, his community, and the nation" (103). One's life is "full of blessings and so he must accept his obligations to society and contribute to the vital development of all things entrusted to him" (103). Worshiping kami in Shinto "makes the interest of the community and public welfare paramount" (104). Thus, there is no place for egotism in Shinto. "Egotism runs counter to the spirit of worship" (104). That "does not mean that the rights of the individual and the family are ignored. On the contrary, against the background of religious rites, the nature of the individual and the authority of the family are fully supported by society" (104). In this universe that one owes love and care to the society, one "is born with a purpose, a mission in life" (104). Teruo Yamaguchi clearly expresses this view of his responsibility as a Japanese to protect the country, seeing it as the mission given to his life, and the Kamikaze attack as the great opportunity for this mission to be completed. In Shinto belief, death itself is regarded as evil or curse contrary to the life as good. Yet, in terms of spiritually one does not die, that "the dead continued to live as spirits (reikon)" (Ono 1962: 109). Thus, there are "a great many shrines devoted to commemoration of the departed spirits of historical person", who is believed to be living as spirits and have power to influence the daily life of the Japanese people (109). One interesting example of this belief in the dead people's spirits is the ancestor worship. Teruo Yamaguchi showed the general Japanese view on the dead ancestors in the statement "My grave will be the sea around Okinawa, and I will see my mother and grandmother again." Evidently from the later part of the letter, his mother and grandmother had been dead, and he declared that he would join them. This view shows some significant feature of the Japanese religious traditions, not just Shinto. The importance of ancestors in Japan has been mentioned briefly in above paragraphs. One owes his existence in a way fully on ancestors as Teruo Yamaguchi states: "the way of life is the product of all the best things which our ancestors have handed down to us." As Earhart (1996) suggests, that as the dead's spirits "lose their individual identity they merge with the ancestral kami of the family" (97). Teruo will become an ancestor as he finishes his mission of the life and join in his precedents. Another interesting Shinto feature is the enshrinement of the dead sprit, which was also mentioned briefly above. The departed spirits of historical persons enshrined includes Michizane Sugawara to the Tenmangu shrines, Ieyasu Tokugawa to the Toshogu shrines, General Maresuke Nogi of Russo-Japanese War fame the Nogi Shrine, Sontoku Ninomiya, the economist and moral teacher to the Ninomiya Shrine, and the veneration and consolation of those who made the supreme sacrifice for their country to Yasukuni Shrine and many local shrines. Another last letter by a Kamikaze pilot shows this point of enshrinement clearly. The following was written by Isao Matsuo from Nagasaki, who was twenty-three years old at the time. He was one of the pilots died in the earlier stage of the Kamikaze attacks in the Philippines. Dear Parents: Please congratulate me. I have been given a splendid opportunity to die. This is my last day. The destiny of our homeland hinges on the decisive battle in the seas to the south where I shall fall like a blossom from a radiant cherry tree. I shall be a shield for His Majesty [the emperor] and die cleanly along with my squadron leader and other friends. I wish that I could be born seven times, each time to smite the enemy. How I appreciate this chance to die like a man! I am grateful from the depths of my heart to the parents who have reared me with their constant prayers and tender love. And I am grateful as well to my squadron leader and superior officers who have looked after me as if I were their own son and given me such careful training. Thank you, my parents, for the twenty-three years during which you have cared for me and inspired me. I hope that my present deed will in some small way repay what you have done for me. Think well of me and know that your Isao died for our country. This is my last wish, and there is nothing else that I desire. I shall return in spirit and look forward to your visit at the Yasukuni Shrine. Please take good care of yourselves. How glorious is the Special Attack Corps' Giretsu Unit [Isao Matsuo's unit] whose Suisei bombers will attack the enemy. Our goal is to dive against the aircraft carriers of the enemy. Movie cameramen have been here to take our pictures. It is possible that you may see us in newsreels at the theatre. We are sixteen warriors manning the bombers. May our death be as sudden and clean as the shattering of crystal. Written at Manila on the eve of our sortie. Isao Soaring into the sky of the southern seas, it is our glorious mission to die as the shields of His Majesty. Cherry blossoms glisten as they open and fall. (Inoguchi, Nakajima and Pineau 1959: 183-184). What, and where, is this Yasukuni Shrine that Isao Matsuo will be waiting for his parents? Pinguet (1993) notes that it is a "sanctuary founded in Tokyo in 1869 by the Emperor Meiji for the repose of the souls of Japanese soldiers killed in battle. There are over 2,400,000 names inscribed on the tablets in the temple" (348). It is a shrine dedicated to the spirits of the heroic dead who have given their lives for the country (Inoguchi, Nakajima and Pineau 1959: 86). As Warner and Warner (1982) suggests, "[a]part from the Grand Shrines of Ise, where Amaterasu-Omikami, the Sun Goddess [?], founder of the nation, is enshrined, Yasukuni, the Patriots' Shrine, or Shrine of the Righteous Souls, was the most sacred to many people in Japan" (39). The enshrined dead were worshipped as the guardian deities of the country, especially of the military affairs (40; also Holtom 1943: 49). The wars Japan take part in as a nation are all holy wars, because they are all conducted in the name of the Emperor, the living god, to preserve and progress toward the universal harmony and peace (Warner and Warner 1982: 39-40; Holtom 1943: 54). Thus, deaths in these battles were privilege, and the dead would join the ranks at the Yasukuni Shrine (Warner and Warner 1982: 40). I found an interesting episode on this. It is an informal conversation between a Commander and the pilots of Kamikaze units: The line of conversation changed at this point when another man asked, 'Is there discrimination according to rank at Yasukuni Shrine?' 'There is no discrimination in Yasukuni Shrine,' I [the Commander] replied. 'Precedence is determined entirely by time of arrival.' 'I will outrank you then, Commander, because you will have to send out many more pilots before you can go yourself.' 'Say, what shall we do with the Commander when he reports at Yasukuni?' said another. 'Let's make him the mess sergeant!' This was greeted with roars of approving laughter. 'Can't you do better by me than that?' I pleaded. 'Well then, perhaps mess officer,' the last speaker conceded, and they all roared again. (Inoguchi, Nakajima and Pineau 1959: 86). Clearly, general Japanese population believed in the idea that the spirits of the dead in the war will go to Yasukuni Shrine, where they will continue to fight by being the guardians of the living soldiers (Warner and Warner 1983: 40). That is why Isao Matsuo seems to be so proud of the fact that he is dying for the country. One point that we must be careful regarding Yasukuni Shrine and the deaths of Kamikaze pilots, however, is that the idea of enshrinement to Yasukuni and becoming divine beings itself was not the motivational factor for the pilots to dive into the enemy ships. This was an idea brought up by many Westerners interested in the psychology of the pilots. For them, the suicide attack was some kind of abnormal act, and it was worth studying. They doubted that there was some form of compulsion during the recruitment process, or considered the possibility of the mind-controlling education. And one of the questions posed by them was that of the enshrinement to Yasukuni as the prize for becoming Kamikaze pilots. The American questioner asked, 'didn't the pilots volunteered to be enshrined to Yasukuni?' The answerer, former navy officer replied, 'to be enshrined to Yasukuni, one needs not to volunteer to be in the Kamikaze unit. Soldiers, regardless of their rankings or the place of their battlefield, will be enshrined after their death, and there was never such occasion as any of them even thought about the enshrinement' (Inoguchi and Nakajima 1967: 244-45; also Inoguchi, Nakajima and Pineau 1959: 178-79). Indeed, it was rather the belief that diving into the enemy ships with a bomb was the only way to protect the nation that lead the young men to volunteer, and enshrinement to Yasukuni was a mere consequence. Another point in Isao Matsuo's last letter that the general Japanese ideas on death is expressed is the part "I wish that I could be born seven times, each time to smite the enemy." Reincarnation is not a Shinto view, so the Buddhist tradition seems to be influencing his wish. As Becker (1993) states, "[f]undamental to Buddhist thoughts is the idea that life continues after death, most commonly expressed in the idea of rebirth in other human or animal bodies" (2). Buddhism arrived in Japan in the sixth century, and was soon syncretized with the native Shinto belief and enrooted unto the Japanese lives (Kitagawa 1987: 206-207). Here we do not have the space to discuss in detail the Buddhist belief of death, but Isao Matsuo's last letter clearly suggests the intervened Japanese traditions. The belief in rebirth, mixed with the idea of life mission, encouraged Isao Matsuo to want to be born to this life seven more times, each time to die in the fight against the enemy as that, he believes, is his mission and purpose of life. Another religious tradition found in the last letters of the Kamikaze pilots is Christianity. Although Christianity, probably because of its lack of ability to adapt to and accept the native Shinto and Buddhist tradition, was institutionally banned by the ruler class soon after its first arrival in the sixteenth century. Yet there remained some underground Christian traditions among the common people, especially in Kyushu, southern Japan, where many Kamikaze pilots had their home (Brown 1955: 42-46). After the opening of the country in 1868, banns on Christianity was lifted as the state encouraged the Western ideas to be spread in the country, although facing some oppositions by the Shinto nationalist (119-120). The last letter of Ichizo Hayashi of Fukuoka, northern Kyushu, who was raised in the Christian faith, clearly shows the Christian view, yet Shinto traditions that we have examined seems to be influencing his ideas greatly. Dearest Mother: I trust that you are in good health. I am a member of the Shichisei Unit of the Special Attack Corps. Half of our unit flew to Okinawa today to dive against enemy ships. The rest of us will sortie in two or three days. It may be that our attack will be made on 8 April, the birthday of Buddha. ������.. Please do not grieve for me, mother. It will be glorious to die in action. I am grateful to be able to die in a battle to determine the destiny of our country. ������.. On our last sortie we will be given a package of bean curd and rice [Shinto ritual for luck]. It is reassuring to depart with such good luncheon fare. I think I'll also take along the charm and the dried bonito from Mr. Tateishi. The bonito will help me rise from the ocean, mother, and swim back to you. At our next meeting we shall have many things to talk about which are difficult to discuss in writing. But then we have lived together so congenially that many things may now be left unsaid. 'I am living in a dream which will transport me from the earth tomorrow.' ������.. We live in the spirit of Jesus Christ, and we die in that spirit. This thought stays with me. It is gratifying to live in this world, but living has a spirit of futility about it now. It is time to die. I do not seek reasons for dying. My only search is for an enemy target against which to dive. ������.. There is nothing more for me to say, however, by way of farewell. I will precede you now, mother, in the approach to Heaven. Please pray for my admittance. I should regret being barred from the Heaven to which you will surely be admitted. Pray for me, mother. Farewell, Ichizo His belief in the duty to protect the nation is clearly a Shinto view. So is the idea that he will come back to see his mother, which can be explained as an extension of ancestor worship. Yet he possesses the Christian view of Heaven after death with a judgment, which also we do not have space to discuss in detail. Shinto is a unique religion in the sense that it allows individuals to totally claim to different traditions yet influence their basic belief and the view of the world. As discussed earlier, to be Japanese is to live in the way of kami, Shinto. Conclusion In this paper, I looked at the nature of Kamikaze attacks briefly as an introduction, then examined the last letters written by the Kamikaze pilots sent to their parents and family. In these letters, the various religious traditions were viewed, as we saw the case of Buddhism and Christianity. Yet, the principal tradition beneath these ideas seen in the letters of the pilots are that of Shinto. As Ono (1962) states: [f]rom time immemorial the Japanese people have believed in and worshipped kami as an expression of their native racial faith which arose in the mystic days of remote antiquity. To be sure, foreign influences are evident. This kami-faith cannot be fully understood without some reference to them. Yet it is as indigenous as the people that brought the Japanese nation into existence and ushered in its new civilization; and like that civilization, the kami-faith has progressively developed throughout the centuries and still continues to do so in modern times (1). True that the letters' strong nationalist tone might come from the state institutionalized and nationalized Shinto of the war period (78-79). Yet I believe that states or institutions cannot control individual religious beliefs so easily. As Ichizo Hayashi kept his faith in Christianity, the pilots each had their own traditional views of life and death that were not the puppets of the state and military as some might argue. Shinto in this sense was more than a religion; it was something that connected all the Japanese together, created the sense of sharing and community, thus strengthening the bond between the members of the nation, regardless of their face religious traditions. It was something that created Benedict Anderson's 'imagined community.' The Kamikaze pilots must have not been so happy as they make it sound like in their letters. They must have had their fears, their anxiety for leaving this life, leaving the family and loved ones. Indeed there are parts in the letter presented here that they show their attachment to this life. Yet, they went on their mission calmly and bravely. There could be found no evidence any young pilots going insane after realizing their death coming up in the matter of days and weeks. They simply accepted the nature of the war, and died in hope of their loved ones life in this world to be better as much as the belief in the afterlife being as satisfactory. They indeed had their 'Good Death.' I would like to end this paper with the last note of Admiral Ohnishi, the father of the Kamikaze Special Attack Force. I wish to express my deep appreciation to the souls of the brave special attackers. They fought and died valiantly with faith in our ultimate victory. In death I wish to atone for my part I the failure to achieve that victory and I apologize to the souls of these dead fliers and their bereaved families. I wish the young people of Japan to find a moral in my death. To be reckless is only to aid the enemy. You must abide by the spirit of the Emperor's decision (to surrender) with utmost perseverance. Do not forget your rightful pride in being Japanese. You are the treasure of the nation. With all the fervour of spirit of the special attackers, strive for the welfare of Japan and for peace throughout the world. (Inoguchi, Nakajima, and Pineau 1959: 162) Bibliography Becker, Carl B. 1993 Breaking the Circle: Death and the Afterlife in Buddhism. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press. Brown, Delmer M. 1955 Nationalism in Japan: An Introductory historical Analysis. New York: Russell & Russell Earhart, H. Byron 1996 Religions of Japan: Many Traditions Within One Sacred Way. Prospect Heights: Waveland Press, Inc. Holtom, D.C. 1943 Modern Japan and Shinto Nationalism: A Study of Present-Day Trends in Japanese Religions. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Hoyt, Edwin P. 1983 The Kamikazes. New York: Arbor House. Inoguchi, Rikihei and Tadashi Nakajima 1967 Taiheiyou Senki: Kamikaze Tokubetsu Kougekitai. Tokyo: Kawade Shobou. Inoguchi, Rikihei, Tadashi Nakajima, and Roger Pineau 1959 The Divine Wind: Japan's Kamikaze Force in World War II. Westport: Greenwood Press. Kitagawa, Joseph M. 1987 On Understanding Japanese Religion. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Okumiya, Masatake, Jiro Horikoshi, an Martin Caidin 1956 Zero! New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc. Ono, Sokyo 1962 Shinto: the Kami Way. Rutland: Charles E. Tuttle Company. Pinguet, Maurice 1993 Voluntary Death in Japan. Cambridge: Polity Press. Taylor, Maxwell, and Helen Ryan. 1988 "Fanaticism, Political Suicide and Terrorism." in Terrorism vol. 11 n. 2, p91-111. Warner, Denis, and Peggy Warner 1982 The Sacred Warriors: Japan's Suicide Legions. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company. . . . . . . . . .
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