Suicide Strategies of the Imperial Japanese Military

"For 2,600 years since it was founded, our Empire has never known a defeat. This record alone is enough to produce a conviction in our ability to crush any enemy no matter how strong."

-Prime Minister Tojo Hideki, Radio address, December 8, 1941

Nationalism beat throughout Japan with a fevered pitch prior to the attacks on Pearl Harbor. Every soldier understands the potential for death, although the Japanese adopted tactics which would virtually guarantee this outcome. Historical accounts of WWII emphasis a soldier’s loyalty to the Emperor through this willingness, this eagerness for death. Prior to War War II, no nation has ever resorted to a suicide strategy as a means of conducting warfare. No nation has embraced this strategy with such vigor as the Japanese, in the closing stages of WWII. History is undoubtedly chocked full of tales of individual heroism on the battlefield. In every war, men are forced to pay the ultimate sacrifice in defense of that which is important. But no other time in history, has a suicide strategy been utilized with such depth and persistence, as in Japan during the early 1940s.

The suicide strategy of the Japanese during WWII utilized several different tactics in an effort to fend off the Allied juggernaut. On January 3, 1941 General Hideki Tojo, soon to be prime minister, published an official code of ethics that was distributed to each soldier. An excerpt reads, "Do not think of death as you use up every ounce of your strength to fulfill your duties. Make it your joy to use every last bit of your physical and spiritual strength in what you do. Do not fear to die for the cause of everlasting justice. Do not stay alive in dishonor. Do not die in such a way as to leave a bad name behind you (Naito, 20)!"

The Kamikaze

"The country's salvation depends on the appearance of the soldiers of the gods. Nothing but the sacrifice of our young men's lives to stab at the enemy carriers can annihilate the enemy fleet and put us on the road to victory (Hoyt, 32)." This entry came from a top army general's journal, dated 1944, and chronicles the growing acceptance of kamikaze tactics among the military elite in Japan.

The Kamikaze attack was the most widely used suicide tactic. Although records of kamikaze-like attacks exist from as early as the Russo-Japanese War, these were desperate, voluntary maneuvers on the part of the pilot. The end of WWII was the first time the pilots were "ordered to crash themselves into the enemy (Ohnuki, 158)."

The most notable battle involving kamikaze tactics was the battle for Okinawa, named Operation Ten Go, meaning "Holy War." This operation largely consisted of massed Kamikaze suicide plane attacks. Between April and July, 1945, over 110,000 Japanese died (Hanson).

By the end of World War II, the Japanese naval air service had sacrificed 2,525 kamikaze pilots and the army air force had given 1,387. According to an official Japanese announcement, the missions sank 81 ships and damaged 195 and according to a Japanese tally, suicide attacks accounted for up to 80 percent of US losses in the final phase of the war in the Pacific. But in reality only 34 ships were sunk and 288 were damaged. The military effect of kamikaze tactics was significant but not overwhelming. Even so, the psychological effect on Allied soldiers, sailors, and airmen was profound (Wikipedia.com).

Other tactics

The use of "Banzai charges" by infantrymen was another suicide tactic employed by the Japanese during WWII. The pictures below were taken after a banzai charge during the Battle of Guadalcanal.

Japanese soldiers would appear from the jungle, and through the wall of American small arms fire, would charge towards certain death. As they ran, they screamed, "Banzai" part of a phrase meaning “ten thousand years to the Emperor (Hanson).”

Another suicide tactic of the Imperial Army was to have a soldier laden with explosives position himself between the tracks of Allied tanks. By strapping land mines and other charges to their bodies, these soldiers would serve as a make shift anti-tank weapon, with records of use on both Okinawa and New Guinea (Hoyt, 16).

Why were suicide tactics so pervasive in the latter stages of World War II? What events culminated in 1945 that allowed such a seemingly futile tactic to be relied upon to turn the tide of the war? To answer these questions, the unique history of Japan must be understood.

In particular, roughly 800 years of samurai dominance, which began in the Late Heian Era and ended with the dissolution of the samurai class in 1876, following the Meiji Restoration, when power shifted to the merchant class. Secondly, the constitution adopted by the original Meiji oligarchs divided the Emperor's cabinet into military and civilian ministries. This allowed the military high command to act without repercussion. Thirdly, successful campaigns in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894, as well as Russo-Japanese War of 1904, brought calls for imperial expansion and dominance in East Asia.

The samurai's power and influence grew during the Heian Era, resulting in the birth of the samurai class in the middle of the 11th century. A samurai was retained by a local landowner, called daimyo. The daimyo was responsible for training and housing the samurai. The samurai was initially responsible for protecting his lord, and patterned his life according to the bushido, meaning the way of the warrior. This warrior's code set standards of conduct for the samurai, and later served as a foundation for nationalistic views of honor and loyalty towards the emperor. Rectitude, valor, benevolence, respect, honesty, honor, and loyalty are the seven virtues outlined in the bushido.

Much has been said about the unwavering loyalty that the samurai had for his daimyo. The samurai lived a life of obligation to his lord. This bond was so strong, the samurai was to end his life should his lord die. Even in death, a samurai must act with honor. This relationship between the samurai/daimyo also extended to the soldier/emperor.

photograph of samurai.c 1860

Yasukuni Jinja

The national shrine of Japan was constructed shortly after the Meiji restoration of 1869. The purpose of the shrine was to provide a final resting place for those whom had died in service to the Emperor. Today, a total of 2,466,000 souls are enshrined at Yasukuni Jinja. During the time of its initial construction, the government was concerned with the need to pacify the souls of the dead. This obligation stems from the belief that the dead must be properly cared for, else misfortune may visit the living (Ohnuki, 82).

At the time of construction, the new Meiji government was still clashing with the forces of the old shogunate. The Yusukuni Jinja served the state as a means to distinguish these fighters to the rest of society- the government wanted to glorify those that fought for the state.

Throughout the rise and fall of the Japanese war machine, the young men acted selflessly when called into the service of their nation. Kamikaze attacks, banzai charges, and other suicide tactics showed the dedication and resolve that each soldier had for his country. When death finally closed in, these men found solace in the honor they would bring to their families. Today, people from around the world come to Japan to see the Yasukuni Jinja, where the young men who sacrificed for their country now rest. Although history will forever recount their ultimate failure, the lives that were lost, on both sides, must not be forgotten.

Sources:

Text:

Hanson, Victor. Dying to Kill. National Review Online. January 18, 2002.

Hoyt, Edwin. The Kamikazes. Arbor House. New York, 1983

Naito, Hatsuho. Thunder Gods: The Kamikaze Pilots Tell Their Story. Kodansha International, New York, 1989.

Ohnuki-Tierney, Emiko. Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms, and Nationalisms. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2002.

Images:

kamikaze1. http://www.rotten.com/death.kamikaze/kamikaze.jpg

kamikaze2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamikaze

kamikaze3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamikaze

banzai1. http://www.interet-general.info/ IMG/guadalcanal7.jpg

banzai2.http://www.ibiblio.org/.../ img/USMC-M-Saipan-p230.jpg

samurai. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai

Yusukuni Jinja. http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~dz3y-tyd/jinjya/yasukuni/yasukuni.html

Author: pzeedyk, 2005