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Isao Uchiyama (at right), member of the
12th Kō Class of Navy's Yokaren (Preparatory Flight Training Program), reads
names of classmates who died as part of 908 Kamikaze Special Attack Corps
members who took off from Kanoya
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Monuments
Japan has many monuments dedicated to special attack force members who
died in suicide attacks during World War II. The locations of many former
Navy and Army air bases have monuments with names inscribed of men who died
after taking off from these bases. Kyūshū, the southernmost main island of
Japan, has the most monuments, since this was the location of many of the
kamikaze bases where pilots made sorties toward American ships near
Okinawa. However, many other places in Japan also have special
attack force monuments, especially near former air bases where the pilots
trained.
This section of the web site provides information on
monuments erected in memory of special attack force members. A Japanese web
site, Junkoku no ishibumi (War Memorials),
has extensive information and many photos on special attack force
monuments. Also, the 1990 book
Tokubetsu Kōgekitai (Special Attack Corps) by the Tokkōtai Senbotsusha Irei
Heiwa Kinen Kyoukai (Tokkōtai Commemoration Peace Memorial Association) has a
large section with photos about special attack force monuments throughout
Japan.
Many monuments are located near museums that have exhibits about
special attack forces. In this web site section, additional historical
information has been provided about two large former kamikaze sortie bases,
Kushira
and Miyazaki, that have monuments but no
museums at the locations. Some locations, such as Chiran and Kanoya, have
several monuments in the same area. Also, some museums have monuments
located inside their buildings, so information on these has been included in
the Museums
section. Annual memorial services are held at several of the monuments in this
web site section. Since no remains exist of airmen who made kamikaze attacks,
bereaved families had no opportunity to erect a typical memorial that would
contain the ashes of the dead. Therefore, many family members and war comrades
attend these memorial services as a tangible way to remember publicly the men
who died. Most monuments probably have very few visitors at other times of the
year, except where the monuments are located next to museums such as the Chiran
Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots. Although individual monuments have unique features, most can be put into
five different categories. Examples are listed below for each category.
- Stone tablet: Himeji,
Kikaijima, Kōchi, Miyazaki,
and Ōita
- Human image: kamikaze pilot at Chiran,
Haramachi,
Izumi,
Kokubu, and Yasukuni
Jinja Yūshūkan; Shin'yō pilot at Yasu
- Stone tablet with bas relief image: Bansei,
Ibusuki,
Kagoshima, and Kokubu
- Buddhist Kannon (Goddess of Mercy): Chiran,
Kodama,
Kuroshima, and Saijō (formerly Komatsu)
- Tower: Kushira, Kanoya,
and
Mito
The Philippines also have several monuments related to kamikaze pilots
including Kamikaze Pilot Statue
(Mabalacat),
Mabalacat West Airfield Monument, Cebu Kannon Statue,
and
Ohnishi Shrine.
Some monuments have replicas or models of special attack weapons such as
kaiten (Hirao, Ōga,
and Tokuyama) or ōka (Kashima).
The following monuments have individual web pages. The Lists web page categorizes the monuments in
this section in various ways, such as location by prefecture, year erected, and
best monuments.
Statue of Tomisaku Katsumata, who died in
kamikaze attack on On October 26, 1944
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