- what your study about kamikaze is about? 

　- Why did you choose this subject?

　 The first, almost of these cases should be called as "an attack with ready to die", there are left the possibility to survive for return. Even if the possibility is extremely small, anyway the possibility exists. 

　 Kamikaze is "an attack with death", there are nothing possibility to survive, only the perfect death exists. As you know, air-plane for Kamikaze had only one way oil, never oil for return, and the bomb is fixed to body of air-plane, so impossible to drop.

　The second, in autumn 1944 to in summer at 1945 of the termination of the war, the Japanese military organized such "an attack with death" as if usual weapons. At least, every weeks, and very often everyday, Kamikaze squad made a sortie. Many types of Kamikaze weapons had appeared, human-bombs, human-torpedo, Kamikaze-boat, etc.  

　The third, it is my opinion, and pointed my thesis in 1994.
We never forget that the Kamikaze is way of attacking. 

　 To say exactly, Kamikaze is not to kill themselves, but to kill enemy to kill themselves.

　It is not only the way of suicide, but also way of killing. The Japanese must recognize this point, and be over recognition to understand it as heroic tragedy.

　Because many American Navy Seamen had been died by Kamikaze attack. In the new century, we Japanese take the past war from the stand not only within their country, but also from both side, the war is over, it means no-side.

　- How long did it take to be concluded?

　This is the study about the mind and thinking of the man who had died.
The most efficient way is to answer the dead man, so the day of "to be concluded" will never come. They all had gone. Only key is the small number of ex-pilot who came the day of Japan defeated before a sortie. But for to be concluded, they are too small as compare with the number of gone a sortie.
 
 

　- Did you interview some ex-pilots that had been prepared to be kamikaze?

　 Under the war era, the death is not unfamiliar matter among the young, and the people. After Manchuria Affair (the Japan invasion war against northern-east of China) at 1931, the Japanese people continued to face war. To say exactly, these 15 years included the short time for suspension of hostilities, but for the common people's impression, almost of time is under war.

　So in those days, death by war is not rare, and mass media made numerous propaganda of heroic death in the battle. These circumstances made an effect to change the attitudes to the death and life.

　 One side, the people denied the death by war because of long-continued war, other side, they could not escape from the circumstances that someday death by war came to them.

　 In the last stage of the war, almost of the Japanese imagine the termination of war as only victory otherwise fighting to the last man. Surprisingly, they had nor ideas to surrender, they were educated never to be a prisoner of war, if seem to be so, do suicide.

　So when the possibility of victory had gone, only choices which they could take is how to die, it means to be killed by enemy, or to battle against enemy to the death. They believed the American intend to annihilate the Japan, in fact, the American indiscriminate bombing was understood as showing American annihilating war policy by the people.

　 This is the background of the young decision to be Kamikaze pilots.

　And it was rule in the base that the common member must refrain talking to the member of Kamikaze pilots.

　 The reason is Kamikaze Pilots got so nerves, the military directive need to make them concentrate for determination for sortie. So before the face of sortie, Kamikaze Pilots was under solitude.

　 I heard some of them, resisted to order. And next types of story were often heard, wrote. Some pilots got angry at night before next morning of sortie, and saying "I killed my higher officer" with drawing Japanese sword. His comrade stopped him. By the way, next morning, he got on his airplane silently, and had gone with a momentary smile to his comrades. Many comrades looked back this smile of moment, and said he was looked as God.
 
 

　- Was any religion explanation to kill themselves for their country?
 

　- The samurais used to kill themselves in honor of their Lord. The kamikazes used to kill themselves in honor of the Emperor. Is there any historical connection between these two types of suicide?

　- Did the Emperor and the Lord someone seen as God and Law?

　To kill themselves for Self-sacrifice for Lord, or expression of Loyalty is not rare story, such a kind of case can be seen many countries. The Problem is why in Japan connection has occurred strongly.
　
　 The answer is difficult for understands, the Japanese could nor persuade themselves only by the story of their living days, they needed classical, historical, traditional story to persuade themselves, and then they understood themselves that the Japanese had such a nationality, character by birth, it was so from long time ago.

　 Do you understand ?.

　It is not that Kamikaze appeared because of the connection, but that Kamikaze needed the connection with the past. Only to do so, they can pretend to persuade themselves. Unless so, they could not kill themselves.
　（Although conviction was not completed, it needed to glorify. To understand as the notion of truth, good, beauty was required. Probably, it was difficult to find out such notion in the time when they lived.）

　As for "no"　

　 As I mentioned, Kamikaze is attack to kill enemy by killing themselves. But the case of "samurai" killing themselves - typically case is "hara-kiri"(to cut belly by himself) - dose not include element of attacking. It is not an attack, but an expression way of his will.
 

　- Can you say that the death of the kamikazes was an altruistic suicide?

　 Problem is what they could die for ?

　For the Emperor?, for his family?, for the state?, for his lovers?.....

　Anyway they died for something, whether it is wrong or not, unless died for himself, Kamikaze is altruistic perfectly.
 

From my case of interviews, the man who thinks "he would do the same thing today" is very unusual. （rather than, it has never met） Usually, they rejected to do again, （Sometime, they refused even to recollect it.） and refused to make their sons to do the same thing that they had done. （The more war becomes the last stage, and the more the situation got worse, a slight difference of a position brought about the bigger gap between peoples. The people become to receive such gap as unequally, and it caused diversification.）

　- Nowadays, how the new generations in Japan face the heroism of kamikaze?

　- What changed in these 55 years?

　- Is the Emperor still faced as a God?

　- People around the world (especially Americans) at that time used to say: Japanese pilots (or Japanese people) are crazy to kill themselves. What explanation can you give to the world to explain the suicide of them, I mean the kamikazes attitude?
 

　Fifty five years ago, We Japanese fought against the Western modern civilization. （Although such recognition makes a mistake in justifying invasion, it is infallible that the Japanese of those days understood their history of those days as such.） That was the war around the legitimacy of civilizations. To legitimate the Japanese invasion of Asia, to expand her colony, is the one of issues of this problem of civilization. We Japanese tried to build new and more brilliant civilization than the Western one. In those days, the Japanese pursued "modernization without westernization" or "Japanization of modernization"

　 The Japanese understood the contrast between the Japan and the modern Western as the contrast between non-material culture and material civilization. And they found in their non-material culture the truth, good, beauty which can be proud against the Western civilization, and the West did not have.

　And the Japanese consider the Emperor and Emperor system as symbol of such truth, good, beauty. The way of challenging against the Western civilization is to sophisticate the compose of the Japanese spirits and the Western technology. Under the desperate of this civilization war （namely, at the last stage of war）, Kamikaze was the most tragic sophistication between the Japan and the West.

　 In kamikaze, "the Japanese spirits" is embodied by pilot himself, and air-plane is "the Western technology". By this combination, the Japan found the last hope for victory. The Imperial Japan tried to find hope which was perfectly no-hope attacking for individual pilots. The Japanese tried to get victory militarily and mentally.

　Nowadays, Kamikaze become the story of the past day by day.
The young know about the name simply as the fact. They feel it tragedy as same as heroic self-sacrifice. Still more, it is not recognized widely that it was an attack, and that there is completely different meaning between "an attack with ready to die” and "an attack by death".

　Fundamentally different point from the past is that the people never think the Emperor and the Emperor system as the symbol of the Japanese truth, good, beauty against the Western civilization. Today, the Japan may be the most Westernized society among the Rest ^* of the world. There are no person who want to modernize without westernization.

　We Japanese finished the battle for civilization, taking over half of century. I can not conclude whether results is good or not.

　 However, if I can send words to died many Kamikaze pilots, I say so following,