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original author: takahashi toshiharu

translator: vader

illustration: the führer’s guard

conscription

i was working at the nishinomiya police station in hyōgo prefecture when i received the draft order, and this was my fourth enlistment. it was february 6, 1944 (translator's note: 1944, almost a year before the battle of iwo jima).

i had been enlisted three times before, and only returned after a life-or-death experience in september 1991. was it god who called me back again this time? i thought to myself but didn't say it out loud. going to the battlefield and killing the enemy is the duty and honor of a soldier. i reported it directly to the police chief.

after the police station sent me off, i returned home. i said hello to my neighbors, told my wife and children that i would definitely come back alive and not to worry, and then i took the train from nishinomiya station to zentsuji. i didn't have time to meet my mother and brothers in tosa, and i enlisted directly. it was february 9, showa 19.

enlistment

this is my fourth time in the army, and it feels like coming home. most of the people who were called up were familiar faces. "hey, you're here again" "oh, please"... the battlefields i've been to three times appeared in front of me again. although it was only february, i was issued summer bedding and clothes, and i knew i would go to the south immediately.

i was assigned to the 2753rd unit of the eastern independent engineer corps. the leader was captain ryohei raishiro, and there were two lieutenants, two second lieutenants, one warrant officer, and one chief accountant. there were also 278 non-commissioned officers and soldiers in the small unit. i was a sergeant, so i served as a non-commissioned officer.

soon i was appointed as a non-commissioned officer on duty, busy with preparing meals, exercises, and family meetings. i was extremely busy. the visit was only 30 minutes long and i was not allowed to go out.

there were so many people visiting the visitor room that there was no way to say anything trivial. many people regarded this as their final farewell, especially those soldiers with families, and many of their family members came to visit.

my visitors

i also had family members visiting me. my wife and two children came from nishinomiya to visit. it was a time when train tickets were almost impossible to buy, but they still managed to come to zentsuji. they saved their rice rations and made rice balls for me. i was wearing a corpsman's uniform.

i let katsuyuki sit on the tatami, holding chieko, and the three of us ate rice balls together. we couldn't say anything, it was like we were saying goodbye to a dead person. just by looking at each other's expressions, we understood each other's feelings. the thirty-minute visit time was soon up.

katsuyuki stood there wearing the suits i wore when i was young, back when there were no children's clothes. chieko, carefree, smiled on her mother's back.

how does katsuyuki feel about his father going to the war? what does he think when he sees his father who may die?

i watched her slender figure walk toward the entrance of the military camp, and my wife turned back and smiled. tears welled up in my eyes as i saw her off.

i am a soldier of the empire, a sergeant in the army, i cannot cry. i cried in my heart but forced a smile as i said goodbye to my wife.

however, i didn't know at that time that my wife died of illness before i could come back.

i am not a suspicious person, but i did have some realization at that moment. i believed that this was god's arrangement for the final farewell between me and my wife.

after i met my wife, my mother and brother came to visit me from tosa. i was very happy. after i joined the army in nishinomiya, i didn't have time to go back to tosa to meet my mother. i missed her very much, but now i can finally meet her.

it would be too sad if i went to the battlefield without meeting my mother and the others. finally, i came. i said goodbye to my mother and brother. the 30-minute visit time was over.

my old mother and brother walked out of the military camp gate together. it was a painful separation. i was crying in my heart but forcing myself to smile. imperial soldiers were not allowed to cry at any time, so i could only wipe my tears secretly.

i had never said goodbye to my family like this in the three previous times i joined the army. this time, my wife, mother, and brother all came, and i felt something was wrong. am i going to die in the war this time? is god arranging this kind of farewell? i thought so. i had a premonition when i said goodbye to my wife. this premonition was surprisingly accurate, but i didn't know it at the time.

going out

on february 22, 1949, we were woken up early in the morning. it was cold in zentsuji temple. we were finally leaving, and this time no one was seeing us off. it was the age when no one would see us off to war. (translator's note: this probably refers to the scenes of the imperial army being sent off to war by people beating gongs and drums and waving plaster flags in the streets? it was tragic enough that the war had reached this point.)

we took the train from zentsuji to takamatsu. there was a connecting boat on the pier in takamatsu, and we waited for a long time, where we were shivering from the cold and our teeth were chattering.

it was too cold to wear summer uniforms in winter. finally the ship came and everyone boarded. it took about an hour to reach uno. we took the train from uno and arrived in osaka at night.

the families of soldiers who were on duty in osaka were allowed to visit them. however, the soldiers were not allowed to get off the train, and the visitors were not allowed to get on the train. military discipline was very strict.

private tanigawa

next to me was private first class masakawa tanigawa from kochi prefecture, who had been with me since the chinese battlefield. he later died on iwo jima, but i didn't know it at the time.

after i narrowly escaped death and recovered, i met his widow while working at the shimizu police station and told her about private tanigawa's death in battle. his wife had been waiting for her husband to return, and after hearing the details of her husband's death in battle, she remarried.

mount fuji

the train left osaka and headed east. i saw mount fuji at dawn. it was the early morning of february 23, 1949. i wondered if i could see mount fuji again as the train kept going east.

then the train arrived at shinagawa station in tokyo and we were told to get off. i will never forget this station.

this is the station where i came to pick up the remains of my brother who died in the war a few years ago. later, my father died of illness in the dormitory after getting off the train at this station when he went to beijing, and my brother also picked up his remains at this station.

now i got off here again, and because i was getting off here to go to the battlefield, i had a bad feeling. we marched past the hospital where my father died of illness, and soon arrived at a temple, where we spent the night. we played cards with the girl's family in the temple and did not go out. we rested for three days.

set off

on february 26, 1949, the order to set out suddenly came. we marched to shibaura in tokyo port. a large transport ship was docked next to the pier, and the infantry troops boarded the ship one after another. this was a large transport ship called shibadonomaru that was specially built to go to southeast asia. we engineers also boarded it. i don't know how many thousands of people were crammed in the cabin like fish cans and couldn't move.

at this time, the japanese army was losing ground, and ships heading south were often attacked by torpedoes. few ships could reach their destination successfully. this was a period when we would only be buried in the belly of the fish.

the ship started, and i was on the deck looking at the sea. it was covered with dark clouds, as if a storm was about to break out. i had a bad feeling. maybe this was a journey of no return. was i going to die?

the ship sailed southward under the watchful eyes of the mountains of izu, and sailed to the left of hachijo island. it was unknown where it was going, and in order to prevent attacks from enemy submarines, the transport ship took a zigzag route, and japanese planes also flew in the air to guard against attacks.

in order to prevent being sunk by a torpedo, we trained to escape using a life raft and had no chance for entertainment or rest.

showa 19.3.4

after a long voyage, we finally arrived at a warm southern island with tall coconut trees swaying. this is chichijima island in the ogasawara islands of japan, the first island i have seen since i was born.

the ship docked at futami port. there were many transport ships as big as ours half-sunken in the port, with many huge holes in the sides, abdomen and rear, all of which were war wounds caused by torpedoes. we finally arrived safely.

we marched to a village called ogiura on the east side of the island. although it was only march, it was already hot in the middle of summer. we borrowed a civilian house to use as a military camp. we lived with the musashino troops in tokyo because we were both engineering troops.

chichijima

there are many pandanus trees (translator's note: scientific name pandanus boninensis, a species unique to the ogasawara islands), coconut trees, banana trees, pine trees, fir trees and other miscellaneous trees growing luxuriantly on the mountains here.

pandanus

there are many local islanders living here. there are many reinforcements from the army and navy, and even many comfort women from japan. it is a peaceful island. as the enemy is approaching, our army is also increasing in strength. we are building positions, digging tunnels, building bridges, and opening roads every day to prepare for the enemy's landing. the enemy has not yet arrived.

(translator's note: chichijima is famous as the "gourmet island". us president george h.w. bush almost became sashimi on the table. after the war, the us military did not forget the several "gourmets" here...)

airstrike

the peace soon ended. one day, the u.s. military launched a large-scale air raid, and the dream of peace was shattered. the island became a battlefield. the streets of omura became a sea of ​​fire. the ships in the harbor were either sunk, burned or bombed.

the carefree life after the enemy planes left was gone. we entered the wartime state and had to build positions every day. i was a sergeant, so i was acting as a non-commissioned officer to perform internal work and sit in the office to handle various important matters. i was very busy.

suffering from huge waves

every day, one person from each unit had to go to the army headquarters to receive orders. the engineers sent me there, and this job required a non-commissioned officer, and i happened to be a non-commissioned officer. the only way to get to the headquarters in omura, where we lived, was by boat or by land, so i had to take the boat every day.

there were big waves today, but it was too late to go over there from land, so i could only ask someone to take a small boat over there. i asked the boat driver if he was okay, and he said there was a risk of the boat capsizing and we would all be feeding the sharks together. but there was no other way but to go by boat.

the waves rushed into the boat and soaked everything. finally, we crossed the sea and arrived at the headquarters. the non-commissioned officers of each team came and wrote down the orders of the leader and returned to the team. the mission was completed safely. after that, i changed to leaving early and going overland. i didn't want to take the boat anymore. it was too dangerous. i would go overland.

perriho island

the american troops who captured peleliu island went on to capture saipan and tinian island. chichi island where we were located received bad news. the local garrison was killed. we stood in silence facing the south and everyone cried. there were many japanese on saipan, and everyone from women and children to soldiers had to accept the same fate. (for the story of peleliu island, please refer to: the purgatory island that made the "flower of the us marine corps" bleed into a river - the peleliu island war record of the 53rd independent mixed brigade of the japanese army)

men were conscripted into the army and died fighting, while women and children committed suicide by jumping into the sea. this was a choice of self-destruction in order to avoid having their bodies defiled by the enemy.

it is said that the us military was stunned when they saw women and children jumping into the sea. the black hair of the dead was floating on the sea. it was really horrible.

war is so cruel. can women in the mainland do this? the women of guam, saipan and tinian island really interpret what is called yamato nadeshiko and girl flower!

(translator's note: this is the original statement of the author as a japanese soldier brainwashed by militarism. please pay attention to distinguish. the last paragraph should correspond to his impotent rage when he saw japanese women flirting with american soldiers after being captured and returned to japan. later in the text, he scolded these women for being unworthy of being called "yamato nadeshiko" - a synonym for traditional japanese virtuous women. the girl hana ominaeshi seems to be a synonym for praising the beauty of traditional japanese women)

southward order

chichijima, where we were, was attacked by air, so iwo jima was also in danger. everyone knew that iwo jima, where there was an airport, was in danger. iwo jima would become the focus of the pacific war.

the troops from the mainland came to reinforce us one after another, and we on chichi island could not be left behind. the order to move south came, and although i thought it was better to stay on chichi island than on iwo jima, it was definitely not allowed. i could only pretend to accept it with pleasure.

leaving chichijima

on june 30, 1939, we put on our military uniforms and set out at night. we boarded a landing ship at ogiura port and left chichijima, where we were used to living, and headed for iwo jima, a point of no return.

we set out at night because we would be discovered by the enemy during the day. the ship we took left futami port behind and headed south. when i set out from my hometown, i promised my wife that i would come back alive, but now i have a feeling that it is impossible for me to survive.

the night sky was clear and the ship was sailing at full speed. i didn't know when a japanese plane and destroyer escorted us, and we took a zigzag route to avoid enemy submarines. i prayed that we would reach iwo jima safely. if we were torpedoed, i would be doomed as i couldn't swim.

private first class fujimura seiichi and i walked and chatted on the deck. it is normal for people to miss their brothers, sisters and wives while looking at the sea. soon, an island in the south came into view. it was iwo jima, emerging like a painting on the calm sea.

on july 1, 1949, the transport ship arrived at the southern coast of iwo jima and the soldiers landed. we transported the supplies ashore. if there was an air raid at this time, we would be wiped out, but fortunately, this did not happen.

i was taken care of by the musashino troops who lived with me on chichijima. they invited me into the air raid shelter and had dinner with them, although we only met once. we finally arrived at the battlefield.

(the following is a video record of the japanese army on iwo jima)