“If the enemy chooses to attack the mainland a combined force of 100 million Tokko, special attack soldiers, will obliterate them. They will, with absolute certainty, defend this imperial land.” National Resistance Manual, as published in the Chubu Nihon newspaper…
Sasebo’s Shimanose Art Center opened its latest exhibition, “Waltz on the Western Edge,” on Oct. 31, 2025. As a coastal city, the ocean has always been vital to Sasebo’s livelihood and its place on Kyushu’s western edge has put it…
I like to visit Sasebo’s former naval cemetery at Highasi Park from time to time, looking at ship memorials and enjoying the changing seasons there. It’s Japan’s largest naval cemetery and since the first burials in 1892, it’s kept alive…
This is my first “editorial” style of article in awhile. While I did research these topics, I feel it’s a bit too casual to be called a proper article. This is especially true when I talk about Golden Week and…
The suicidal kamikazes were the Japanese empire’s last ditch effort to slow advancing Allied forces. Viewed as tragic heroes today, most of them sortied out from Kyushu and many of the former kamikaze bases have sprouted memorial hall museums and…
The current unpleasantness, through no fault of my healthy and vaccinated self, had us locked down again so all travel plans were canceled for a spell. On the upside a graphic novel I’ve waited months for has come out so…
A uniquely Japanese item from World War II was the imon-bukuro (慰問袋), or comfort bag. Similar to modern day care packages, they were hand-assembled packages of comfort items for the troops sent by their supportive home front from the youngest…
In Nakagusuku village there’s a rather ordinary forested hill that’s been known by many names. The old Okinawans of Nakagusuku Village called it “Kishimaki-no-taki,” a sacred site of prayer. To the Imperial Japanese Army it was “161.8 Kouchi Jinchi,” a…
This article was originally written for a college class, but the uncommon subject matter is one I think my readers would find interesting so I am presenting it here with minor changes. To learn more about Emmons I recommend reaching…
Sorry I’ve been so quiet lately, it’s been a busy few months. Back in May I began preparations for a series of school presentations I gave through June called Teenage Life in Wartime Japan. I’ll be writing about that soon,…