Kamikaze Diaries: Reflections of Japanese Student Soldiers, by Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney, offers a look into the circumstances behind several of the Japanese Kamikaze pilots during WWII.
Ichizo Hayashi, a devout Christian, also happened to be one of these pilots, and flew his final mission with the Bible and Søren Kierkegaard’s "The Sickness Unto Death" in his cockpit.
An excerpt from his diary states:
How fortunate I am that I believe in God, whom my mother believes in. My mind is at ease when I think that God takes care of everything. God would not make my mother or myself sad. I am sure God will bestow happiness upon us. Even [though] I will die I dream of our lives together…I know my country is beautiful…My earnest hope is that our country will overcome this crisis and prosper. I can’t bear the thought of our nation being stampeded by the dirty enemy. I must avenge [it] with my own life.
I haven’t read this book yet, but it is certainly one I plan an picking up…once class is over of course!
Some further background - and my source for this post - can be found at: http://www.martinrothonline.com/
