“As a former tokkō pilot, if you could leave behind a single, vital message to be passed on to future generations of Japanese, what would it be?”
Without a second’s hesitation, Fukagawa-san transformed from kindly grandfather to grizzled old soldier.
“I’d say ‘Your forefathers crashed planes into ships for their country’,” he growled. “’Never forget that’.”
On the Shinkansen ride home from our interview, I cannot help but wonder if Fukagawa-san appreciates just how eloquent that simple answer is, and in how many myriad ways its message can – and should – be interpreted.
Shizuoka University
September 2004
Acknowledgments (from the original 2005 edition)
First and foremost, I would like to thank, from the bottom my heart, the “witnesses to history” who gave hundreds of hours of their precious time to make the dream of Blossoms in the Wind a reality: Toshio Yoshitake, Tokurō Takei, Akinori Asano, Hideo Suzuki, Tokuji Naitō, Iwao Fukagawa, Reiko Akabane, Shōko Nagasaki, Kayoko Mori, Fusako Mori, Mutsuko Miyake, Yuri Kuwashiro, Naoko Motoki (*pseudonym), Dr. Fumitake Hiroshima, Toshiharu Konada, Harumi Kawasaki, and Hisao Horiyama. My gratitude toward these individuals also extends to their respective families, who put up with two and a half years of incessant phone calls, written queries, and, all too frequently, unannounced visits on my part.
I would also like to thank American veterans Evan “Holly” Crawforth of the USS St. Lo, Charles Stanford of the USS Mannert L. Abele, and Raymond “Hap” Halloran of B-29 V-Square 27 Rover Boys Express for their willingness to share memories of painful events, that I might do justice to their own bravery and to the brave actions of their shipmates and/or flying mates no longer with us to relate another side of the “kamikaze story.”
If a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, I think it just as often begins with one person一a guide or pathfinder. And if the research and fieldwork that went into the writing of this book can be likened to such a journey, then I must credit Mr. Tatsuji Imori for making sure I did not start off with bad directions. After making my acquaintance in the often murky ether of the Internet, and then wisely and carefully ascertaining that my credentials were in order and my intentions honorable, Imori-san introduced me to the Tokkōtai Senbotsusha Irei Heiwa Kinen Kyōkai (Special Attack Forces Memorial Association). From that fateful introduction, “open sesame” was uttered, the gates opened, and precious treasure of theretofore privileged knowledge spilled forth.
Coming so soon in the wake of the September 11，2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, when talking heads on American TV screens were likening Al-Qaeda's civilian-targeting terrorism to the Pearl Harbor raid and kamikaze attacks of the Second World War (comparisons that deeply wounded not only thousands of Japanese war veterans and their families, but millions of citizens of a nation at the top of America’s rapidly shrinking list of steadfast friends), the officers and members of the memorial association would have been entirely within their rights to refuse the probing of an American busybody into their affairs. But they did not. Instead, the association welcomed me completely and without any reservation, ushering me to a privileged vantage point from which I could observe not only the inner workings of their organization, but research the most intimate details of its members personal lives aswell. Special thanks in this regard is due to Sadaharu Mogami，Motomasa Kimura, and Hiroshi Kurihara of the memorial association's front office.
There are too many other memorial association members deserving of thanks to mention everyone here by name, so let me suffice by expressing my gratitude collectively (and I fear woefully inadequately). I will never forget the kindness, understanding, and cooperation that everyone in the association has given me from the beginning to end of this long, tiring, but ultimately rewarding project. You made this book possible.
No mention of the memorial association can be made in the context of personal gratitude without also expressing thanks to Abbot Kenshō Ōta of Setagaya Kan’non and his family for their kind hospitality during my regular intrusions at monthly memorial services at the temple. Allowing me to use the temple rectory as a frequent interview venue is also greatly appreciated.
I would also like to thank the administrations of Yasukuni Shrine and of the Kaikōsha for their cooperation and hospitality，allowing me access to their records and to use their facilities without charge，often as an interview venue, and, on more occasions than I would like to admit, without my making a prior appointment. Your patience and uncomplaining indulgence are greatly appreciated. Hontō ni osewa ni narimashita.
On the subject of institutional thanks, I must also extend my gratitude to the members of the Zero Fighter Pilots' Association, and to the Jinrai Memorial Association. To Asano-san, especially, thanks for alwayskeeping me in the loop.
I would also like to thank the following individuals here in Japan for their help and assistance in this project: Murray Sayle of The Atlantic Monthly, who regaled me with his esoteric Japan knowledge and constructive criticism during long phone conversations in the early stages of my project and advised me to start out my narrative "with a bang"; Akira Hamano of the Wakase Association for providing me with material on IJA "special attack boats"; Mutsurō Soga for material on the Banda and Fugaku special attack bomber units; IJN fighter aces Kaname Harada and Isamu Miyazaki for sharing war stories with me—I will someday, with great pride, tell my grandchildren about how I once spent an unforgettable few hours talking and drinking with you; Dr. Walter Edwards of Tenri University, for explaining the intricacies of Japanese anthropology and its influence on modern national identity; my colleagues at the Faculty of Informatics at Shizuoka University, for serving as a sounding board for countless hours' worth of my unconventional (and probably often insulting) ideas and theories about Japanese language, culture, and history, and for giving countless tips, pointers, and corrections on the finer points of same, with special thanks to Professors Masahiko Amemiya, Shōji Arakawa, Masamichi Asama, Takeo Isarida, Jun Nishihara, Yasunori Okada, Hiroyuki Tokuyama，Junki Yaegashi and Masatoshi Yano; Yamaguchi-san and Oike-san of our faculty's administrative staff, for showing me where to cross my Ts and dot my Is on all the paperwork I have had to file over the last three years; Mike Boyce for constructive comments and a young man's fresh perspective on an old story; and Asao Shirai，for a telephone directory-sized stack of tokko reference material.
On the other side of the Big Pond, I would like to thank: Mike Mair, official historian of the USS Mississineiva Veterans' Association, who was kind enough to share with me his encyclopedic knowledge of the Kaiten raid at Ulithi, and to read and critique my section on the topic; my parents, George and Louise Sheftall, for love, guidance, and constructive criticism through a long haul; two dear and loyal old comrades in arms, Lieutenant Colonel Bo Friesen and Marty Roach，for encouragement,
proofreading, and still making me laugh my ass off on a regular basis after all these years (to wit, Bo, I'm still laughing about your The Fly routine you did from the barracks window when I was walking tours on North Area); Colonel Ralph Wetterhahn USAF (Ret.), for expert advice一both as an aviator and a professional writer – and alerting me to vestiges of Plebe English 101 still lurking in my prose; Abram Hall, for reminding me when I first came up with the idea for this book that we have a mutual friend in the publishing business, Stuyvesant High School classmate and fellow Frank McCourt disciple Doug Grad; the production staff at Penguin Group (USA) and NAL Caliber for doing a dynamite job of putting this book together; and last but not least, to Doug Grad himself, loyal fan of my artistic madness since the mid-1970s，as well as my long-suffering and infinitely patient editor at Penguin, in a baritone, syrupy Tupelo drawl,I give an extra special “Thanyuh…Thanyuhveruhmuch…”
In closing, I would like to give a very, very special thanks to my wife, Keiko, a true daughter of samurai, who dealt with all of my snit fits, freakouts, and meltdowns during this project with her usual b
eauty and grace under fire (while raising two toddlers, no less), and who helped me to believe in myself and push on when the end seemed nowhere in sight. I clocked way too much AWOL time parenting-wise while I was bent over the computer or off running around the Japanese archipelago working on this book. I hope that you and the boys can forgive me for that—for not always being there to help change the diapers and dry the tears when you needed me. For providing the environment and inspiration I needed to realize my vision you have my eternal gratitude, and as always, the three of you have Dada’s undying love – forever.
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