To rejoin the story from the filming trip to Japan, we finished our second interview with Mr. Nishiguchi on March 16 in the village of Suka, near Matsuzaka in the Mie Prefecture. On March 17 we went to Matsuzaka Castle to film some B-roll. Matsuzaka Castle was built in 1588. A fire destroyed much of the palace in 1877 and the rest of the buildings (except for a rice warehouse) were demolished in 1881. The castle walls have been maintained and the site is now a public park.
When we were there, the day was overcast and chilly. Sadly, we were in Japan too early in the spring to see the cherry trees in bloom, but a type of plum tree did have blossoms that were very pretty. I stopped to take a few photos as we were leaving, and Takayuki, Tim and Zach headed back down to the van from the castle grounds. Then I took a wrong turn on one of the paths and ended up down at the bottom on the wrong side of the castle, so they had to come find me. (D’oh!)
In Matsuzaka, we went to a shipping office and sent some of the camera and lighting gear back to Tokyo. This removed some of the load for us, especially for Tim, as we traveled further south for the next filming location. Then we drove to Nagoya in the Aichi Prefecture, dropped off the rental van and stayed at a hotel near the train station.
The next morning, we boarded a Shinkansen, one of the famous Bullet Trains of Japan. On this high speed rail, the trains can reach 199 miles per hour (320 km/hour). It’s a very fast and comfortable means of travel throughout Japan. We took the first train to Shin-Osaka and then changed trains for the trip to Kagoshima on the Island of Kyushu. You might recognize the name of Kyushu as the location of air bases that were targeted by planes from carriers in Task Force 58 in March of 1945. It’s also the origin of the planes that attacked the Franklin.
After arriving in Kagoshima City in the Kagoshima Prefecture, we picked up another rental van and went to Kagoshima Castle, i.e. Tsurumaru Castle. It was built in 1601 during the early Edo period. Destroyed by a fire in 1874, all that remains are the castles walls and moat that are maintained as a public park.
There is a beautiful view of Kagoshima City from the top of the castle walls. From this vantage, you can see east across Kagoshima Bay and the impressive view of Sakurajima, “Cherry Blossom Island,” which is an active volcano. It throws up ash and rocks at times, and the bus stops at its base are protected by small concrete shelters. Sakurajima used to stand alone in the bay, but now on its west side (not visible in the photo) there is a road and land neck the connects the island to Kyushu. You can also get to the island from Kagoshima by ferry.
At the castle grounds, people were strolling or sitting, enjoying the views and the weather. It was so idyllic. Takayuki told us that in 1941, this area was used for practice by the Japanese Naval forces in preparation for the attack on Pearl Harbor. Admiral Yamamoto of the Imperial Japanese Navy chose Kagoshima because of its geological similarities to Pearl Harbor. During practice, the planes would fly over the castle grounds, drop down to roar over the city, and barrel across the bay toward a target harbor set up at the base of Sakurajima. The planes would release their practice ordinance and peel upward hard to the right or left to avoid the volcano. Takayuki said, “It went on for weeks.”
After filming from the Kagoshima Castle (and this time I didn’t get lost), we went to the Kokubu Special Attack Base Monument. The memorial sits across the street from an active base that was formerly known as Kokubu No. 1 Air Base. You can read more about the monument here:
To quote the website,
The Japanese Navy used Kokubu, Kanoya, and Kushira in Kagoshima Prefecture as its main Kamikaze Special Attack Corps sortie bases during the Battle of Okinawa in the spring of 1945. The area of Kokubu actually had two airfields, referred to as Kokubu No. 1 Air Base and Kokubu No. 2 Air Base. The planes used in special (suicide) attacks from Kokubu included Zero fighters, Type 99 (Val) dive bombers, and Suisei (Judy) dive bombers.
The Kokubu Special Attack Base Monument, erected in 1964, honors the young men who died in special attacks after departing Kokubu. This monument, located at the former Kokubu No. 1 Air Base, honors those who died in special attacks from both bases in Kokubu. The monument stands on a low mound in a small park across the street from the Kokubu Base of the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force.
Takayuki had already scouted this area and received permission from his contact at the base to film the monument and parts of the base. Below you can see Takayuki explaining the different aspects of the monument and Tim filming the location.
On the back of the monument is a bronze plaque that lists the names of 367 men who died during special attacks that originated from either of the two Kokubu bases. Takayuki pointed out to Tim, Zach and myself that Mr. Ueda’s cousin Mototaru and Mr. Nishiguchi’s uncle Hayao (mentioned in my previous updates) are named on the plaque. They both were in the squadron that took off from the base across the street on the morning of March 19, 1945 to attack the U.S. task force fleet, never to return. I was struck by the similarities between this plaque and the memorial plaques we had seen in the U.S. that listed the names of all the men who died while serving on the USS Franklin. I could not help but be struck by the hollowness of war in that moment.
Takayuki had also secured permission from his contact at the base to film the monument and the base from the upper level stairway balcony of a nearby apartment building. He received permission from the apartment management while we were filming the monument.
From the vantage of the upper floor of the apartment building, we also filmed both the monument and the military base, the Kokubu Base of the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force. We had permission to only film areas shown in the photos. We were not allowed to film (or photograph) areas to the left of what you can see below.
I took a moment to think about this base as it was 79 years prior, Kokubu No. 1 Air Base, with planes taking off to attack the U.S. fleet that was just off the coast. I also wondered whether the base was bombed and strafed by U.S. planes, or even by planes from the Franklin.
After filming, we went to the guard house just inside the base gate across the street, which you can see in the photos. The guards called Takayuki’s contact at the base, an upper level officer, who met with us in a small waiting room in the guard house. We gave him some gifts I had brought from the U.S. and thanked him for permission to film there. He asked questions about the documentary, when it might be released and whether it will be screened in Japan. I appreciated meeting him – he was very personable, and his questions gave me thoughts about entering the documentary to a film festival in Japan after it’s finished. Time will tell whether I can accomplish this.