36
Coup d’Etat
I had been assessing the damage in Hiroshima for three days after the atomic bomb was dropped. As I mentioned, on August 9th, I received the news of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki and was ordered to fly immediately from Iwakuni Base to Omura Base. I went by car from the base to Nagasaki. The next day, August 10th, I was busy the whole day engaged in damage assessment. We had a general idea of the extent of damages, and I returned to Omura Base that same day. However, I immediately flew onward to Oita Base. Headquarters of Carrier Division 5 had already been moved there from Kaya Base in preparation for the anticipated battle on the mainland.
Rear Admiral Toshiyuki Yokoi, a very decent fellow, was Carrier Division 5’s Chief of Staff, and I knew him well. He was my instructor of military strategy when I was a senior student at the Yokosuka Aviation Training Squadron. When I saw him, he looked at me and said, “Commander Fuchida, I can’t stomach the Soviet Union. They are like looters at a place that’s burning down. What’s your opinion? Once war is declared against the Soviets, we can attack Vladivostok and shake them up. Our air power is useless against the US, but we still have enough air power left to upset the Soviets.”
I agreed. I myself could not tolerate the Soviets’ meanness. If we were going to attack them, I wanted to take command of the air attack squadron. I promptly telephoned Combined Fleet Headquarters in Hiyoshidai to talk to Yano.
“Admiral, I am calling from Oita Base. I am talking to Admiral Yokoi here, and his idea is to attack Vladivostok as soon as we declare war against the Soviet Union. May we proceed with this operation?”
Then, Yano told me in a very grave tone of voice, “Commander, you must cease all operations and return to General Headquarters.”
As it was an order from the Chief of Staff, I flew to Atsugi Base without delay and arrived at General Navy Headquarters at night on August 11th. As soon as I entered the staff room, Captain Mineo Yamaoka saw me and raised both hands, looking at my eyes but not saying a word. I understood the situation. “Surrender…” I was thinking with regret. But it was clear to me that we had no other choice left. I was on the Staff of the Supreme Command Center for all of the Navy’s operations, and I was also the Group Commander in charge of aviation operations. I was very aware that Japan was no longer able to match the onslaught of US air power, and continuing the war was out of the question. Besides, I had just witnessed the disastrous situation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki with my own eyes. I returned to my desk without saying a word.
The desk next to mine was assigned to an Army staff officer, who had been dispatched to General Navy Headquarters. Until recently, the liaison officer was Lieutenant Colonel Ryuzo Sejima, and I got along well with him. In July, he was assigned to the Staff of the Kwantung Army with a special brief to accompany former Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe. His replacement, a Major Yoshida, was quite an aggressive person, but I did not know him so well because he had been assigned only recently.
Yoshida talked to me. “Commander Fuchida, to tell you the truth, we are planning a coup d’état in the Army. The idea is to establish a new Cabinet with Minister of the Army Anami as Prime Minister—to continue to fight this war. We want the Navy to follow our lead.”
Then, I thought, “Why continue to fight at this late stage?” I could not help but think about the Army Air Force’s woeful contribution during those painful days of our decisive air battles with the US. Therefore, I responded in a clear manner, “We cannot accept.”
Yoshida stared at me with a look that said, “Damn coward,” squared his shoulders and left General Navy Headquarters. He never returned.
General Korechika Anami, who held both the positions of Minister of War and member of the Supreme War Council, was well aware of the planned coup d’état to establish a military cabinet from his sources at the Ministry of War and middle-ranking officers at Staff Headquarters. There were two conferences in the presence of the Emperor, and at the second, it was decided to accept unconditional surrender. Following this, Anami convened a meeting of the top five leaders of the Army to finalize their plans.
The five who met were the Minister of War, General Anami Korechika, Chief of Staff, General Yoshijiro Umezu, Inspector-General of Military Training, General Kenzo Doibara, Commander of the First General Army, General Hajime Sugiyama and Commander of the 2nd General Army, General Shunroku Hatake. General Hatake, based in Hiroshima, was summoned to Tokyo by the Emperor. The Commander of the Army Air Force, General Masakazu Kawabe, was not present, but he was to be advised of the meeting later. What the Army’s top five leaders decided was that at a special meeting involving the presence of the Emperor, they would form their new Cabinet and continue to fight the war.
Accordingly, a joint ministerial meeting between the Ministry of War and Staff Headquarters was convened, but it was communicated that it was the will of the Emperor to surrender. And the notification was issued to the entire Army in the joint names of both the Ministry of War and Staff Headquarters. Thus, somehow, the coup d’état planned by the ringleaders to establish a military Cabinet was thwarted.8
At Navy General Headquarters, Minister of the Navy Mitsumasa Yonai announced the decision in the afternoon on August 14, 1945 at 1630. Following this, the Chiefs of Staff of each division were assembled and informed about the decision to surrender in order to make it thoroughly understood throughout the entire Navy.
PART FIVE
UNDER THE NAME OF OCCUPATION
Standing While Giving Testimony at Tokyo Court (© Kyodo News)
37
Paving the Way for a Grand Peace for All the Generations to Come
Advance notices went out that there would be a broadcast of grave importance at noon time on August 15th, so people were close to their radios throughout Japan, on the road, at home or on the job.
At General Navy Headquarters in Hiyoshidai, a loudspeaker was set up in the backyard. Commander-in-Chief Ozawa, his staff and other officials waited for the broadcast in a gloomy atmosphere. I later learned that there were completely opposite rumors in town regarding the broadcast: one was a guess that the Emperor was going to encourage people to exert more effort in pursuing the war objective; the other, as everyone at General Navy Headquarters already knew, was that the decision had been made to surrender.
At the time announced, some rushing noise, zaa, zaa, came over the radio. We thought we heard what was the announcer’s voice, followed by the national anthem, Kimigayo [His Majesty’s Reign]. Then, the Head of the Information Bureau, Hiroshi Shimomura, announced that the Jewel Voice [of the Emperor] would now be broadcast. We corrected our posture to attention and listened with our heads down. The Emperor’s voice was heard intermittently. It was rather hard to distinguish as the voice was rather thin like a woman’s voice, with a high tone and unfamiliar forms of speech. Still, I listened attentively in order not to miss a single word.
For the past 25 years, I had maintained myself as an officer of the Imperial Military Forces, meaning, of course, the Emperor’s Military Forces. My inadequate work as an officer resulted in His Majesty being forced to make such a heart-rending broadcast. I felt truly sorry.
I was totally absorbed listening to His Majesty’s Jewel Voice Broadcast, and I thought that the wording of the Imperial Edict was impeccably thought out, suggesting some degree of participation by His Majesty. His Majesty’s voice was more energized in the latter part of the broadcast, especially when he said:
“However, it is according to the dictates of time and fate that we have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the unendurable and suffering what is unsufferable.”
These noble words, “to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come,” struck my heart most of all. I was moved to tears.
In my 25 years of military life, it became my second nature to follow Shosho Hikkin—when an Imperial Edict is given, do not fail to scrupulously obey the words. What I determined at that t
ime was to dedicate the remainder of my life to the cause of paving the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come. I remember thinking, “I will stake my entire life for this single purpose.”
Ever since that day, I have thought day and night about what I can do to make this come true.
38
Dispatch of Surrender
Mission to Manila
On the night of August 14, 1945, when information of Japan’s acceptance of surrender arrived at his headquarters in Manila, General MacArthur sent instructions to Imperial Headquarters to dispatch a delegation with the authority to approve the terms of implementation of the provisions of surrender, especially related to cease-fire procedures. His instructions also required that the delegation fly in a Japanese plane from Tokyo to Iejima Base on Okinawa, then transfer to a US Army plane for the flight from Iejima Base to Manila. The Japanese plane was to be painted all white with green cross marks on both sides of the fuselage and both sides of the wings.
The surrender mission, which would receive the cease-fire document, totaled 10 delegates—the chief delegate, Deputy Chief of Staff of Imperial Headquarters, Lieutenant General Koshiro Kawabe; Major General Amano, Colonel Yamamoto, Lieutenant Colonel Matsuda, Lieutenant Colonel Minami and Lieutenant Colonel Takakura of Army Staff Headquarters; and Rear Admiral Yokoyama, Captain Omae, Captain Yoshida and Commander Terai of the Navy General Staff.
In addition, there was a request from Imperial Headquarters to General Navy Headquarters regarding the preparation and dispatch of the white plane with green crosses. Because it fell under my jurisdiction, I called up the Head of Aviation of the Yokosuka Air Squadron, Captain Hiroshi Kogure, and made the following request: “Our delegation of 10 members will be dispatched to MacArthur’s Headquarters in Manila from Imperial Headquarters to receive cease-fire instructions. For their flight, can you prepare one of your Type 1 land-based attack aircraft? It must be painted all white, with a green cross on both sides of the fuselage as well as the wings.”
However, the initial response from Kogure was not so favorable. “As a matter of fact, we have dissenters here who insist on fighting to the end. We might cause an incident if we prepare a plane for the surrender mission.”
However, since we were on close terms from our days as classmates, I managed to get his approval, even if I had to use some threats to force him to accept. At that time, Rear Admiral Chiaki Matsuda, an intelligent person, was the Commander of the Yokosuka Air Squadron. Since he was an instructor of military strategy when I was a student at the Naval Academy, I maintained a friendly relationship with him. His career background was gunnery, but he had a fairly good understanding of aviation as well.
At noon on August 15th, Matsuda assembled all his members of the Yokosuka Air Squadron to listen to the Emperor’s Jewel Voice Broadcast, ending the war. Immediately after the broadcast, he said to all of them, “As you have just heard, surrender is the will of His Majesty. Now that things have come to this, we must humbly follow the noble consideration of His Majesty and engage ourselves in the disposition of the termination of the war in an orderly manner. If you still want to continue to fight until death, do it after beheading me as your Commander.”
It was an admirable and complete grasp of command. Therefore, preparation of the white plane with green crosses went smoothly and without any trouble.
The Type 1 land-based attacker, now painted to symbolize peace, took off from Kisarazu Base at 0700, August 19th. Around that time, we heard disquieting news about the Atsugi Air Squadron’s pledge to fight until death. They were going to deploy a patrol line of fighters to the south of Izu Peninsula and shoot down the mission plane as soon as they spotted it.
Since Commander Yoshimori Terai was one of the delegates and an aviation expert, he took control in the pilot’s seat. After taking off from Kisarazu Base, he flew the plane dead south for more than 100 nautical miles before turning towards Okinawa. They landed at Iejima Base on the west of the main island of Okinawa at 1300. There, they transferred to a transport aircraft, a Douglas C054 Skymaster, sent by the US Army, and headed for Manila. At 1800, the plane landed at Nicholas Airfield in the suburbs of Manila.
There, they were received by Chief of Intelligence and Deputy Chief of Staff of MacArthur Headquarters, Charles A. Willoughby. They were driven in jeeps and escorted by MPs to MacArthur Headquarters located in Manila’s City Hall.
As their jeeps entered Manila, there was a large crowd of Manila citizens on both sides of the road, all staring at the delegates with eyes full of hatred. Children picked up stones and threw them at the jeeps. And their jeers, welling up from deep-seated anger, were “Bakayaro. Zamamiro!” [“You idiots. Serves you right!”] in Japanese. It was the collective voice of those who experienced the calamity of war first-hand and wanted vengeance, and they wanted the arriving Japanese delegates to know.
That night, lodging was provided to the delegates at US officers’ quarters. On the following day, August 20th, the meeting to discuss the cease-fire was held at MacArthur Headquarters. The delegates knew that there was no intention to discuss the cease-fire; they were there to listen to what the Americans had to say. What the Japanese side did was provide information when asked or ask questions for clarification. The meeting was chaired by Chief of Staff, Major General Richard K. Sutherland, and he gave the following preliminary explanation:
Planned Schedule for Advancement into Japan
The Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers will preside over the surrender ceremony of Japan on the US Fleet in Tokyo Bay on August 28th. Prior to that event, entry into Japan will be conducted according to the following schedule.
On August 23rd, the advance troop arrives by air at Atsugi Air Field. In the meantime, the US Navy advance troop enters Tokyo Bay.
On August 25th, the main force of the US Navy enters Tokyo Bay.
On August 26th, Supreme Commander MacArthur lands at Atsugi. Navy and Marine Corps land at Yokosuka. Parachute and Navy troops immediately occupy specified districts that need to be secured before the signing of the surrender treaty.
On August 28th, signing of surrender treaty of Japan in Tokyo Bay.
The chief delegate, Lieutenant General Kawabe, said that the Japanese side was ready to exert its utmost efforts to comply with the Allied Forces policies, but the proposed schedule was impossible to meet in view of the current situation in Japan. He requested that they be given at least an additional 10 days to prepare for a peaceful advancement to avoid unforeseen conflicts or friction. However, Chief of Staff Sutherland frowned on the request, finally approving a two-day delay in the entire schedule.
In addition, Attaché Terai tried to persuade the Americans to change MacArthur’s landing to another airfield as the mood at Atsugi posed a risk. On this point, the US side responded that they did not necessarily insist on Atsugi Base, as long as there was an appropriate base for landing a large plane that was to the south of Tokyo, to the west of Tokyo Bay and in the proximity of Tokyo and Yokohama. However, Kisarazu Base and Katori Base in Chiba Prefecture did not meet these conditions, so there was no choice other than to decide reluctantly on Atsugi Base after all.
The meeting was concluded on the morning of August 21st. The defeated military’s delegates took off from Nicholas Airfield at 1300 and arrived at Iejima Base at 1745. There, they changed to the white airplane with green crosses and took off at 1840 towards Kisarazu Base. Due to bad weather, however, the plane crash-landed near the mouth of the Tenryu River. Luckily, no one was hurt, and all the delegates somehow managed to make it to Imperial Headquarters by 1400, August 22nd, after taking a train on the Tokaido Line.
At General Navy Headquarters, I had been worrying about the safety of the white aircraft, and I was relieved at the news of their safe return. I promptly went to General Staff Headquarters and heard Commander Terai’s report. I was taken aback with a jolt when he said that the mission had received concerted jeers from the citizens of Manila, “Bakayaro! Zamamiro!” They wer
e exactly the same words that came out of Lieutenant Matsuzaki’s mouth when he saw the USS Arizona explode and start to sink in Pearl Harbor on that day when war broke out. “Bakayaro. Zamamiro.”
It was only two words, but they came back four years later from Manila citizens demanding a thousand times more in interest. Indeed, the hatred behind “Bakayaro. Zamamiro” has been the source of tragedy in numerous human conflicts. Unless this hatred should be eliminated from the human condition, there is no hope of paving the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come.
In any case, when I heard that Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces MacArthur was going to land at Atsugi Base on August 28th, I was at a loss about what to do. We still had to settle the issue of those dissidents who said they would fight to the death.
39
Mutiny at Atsugi Base
Captain Yasuna Kozono was the Commander of the 302nd Naval Air Corps. He was a passionate man’s man from Kagoshima, and we called him by his nickname, “An-chan.” The 302nd, based at Atsugi, was a fighter squadron mainly in charge of air cover for Yokosuka Naval Port. It was under the command of Vice Admiral Michitaro Totsuka.
Captain Kozono was in the 51st class of the Naval Academy, while I was in the 52nd class. When I was a second-year student, we belonged to the Ninth Squad, sleeping next to each other in the same room. Therefore, we were particularly close.
For That One Day: The Memoirs of Mitsuo Fuchida, Commander of the Attack on Pearl Harbor Page 20