The Christian Suicide Bomber

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.martinrothonline.com/Christians&War/Christian_suicide_bomber.htm

What does a devout Christian do when his country’s authorities force him to become a suicide bomber?

If you’re World War II kamikaze pilot Ichizo Hayashi you write a final letter to your mother stating that “for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” and you vow to “be sure to sink an enemy vessel.” Then you fly off on your deadly mission with your Bible and hymn book.

Hayashi’s tale is recounted in a remarkable book, Kamikaze Diaries by Professor Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

It tells the stories of seven young men who were compelled to become kamikaze pilots – essentially airborne suicide bombers, flying into Allied warships (the Wikipedia entry on kamikaze is here) – by the Japanese military. Most of the seven had been students at elite universities, and they kept diaries, which form the basis of the book.

It’s an invaluable study. It makes clear that high levels of coercion were used to compel the students to “volunteer” for their assignments. And it shows that these were no grinning fanatics – the image that many in the West have of the kamikaze pilots. (An image I vaguely held myself, despite having lived in Japan. It’s not a topic that the Japanese discuss much with Westerners.)

[LARED]

1. Interesting story

Although in my mind coerced suicide seems slightly oxymoronic.

[pnorman]

2. I hadn't read that story yet,

but the "coercion" was no doubt exploiting the very strong sense of "shame" of disgracing their elders (emperor, fathers, elder brothers, etc.). This is Confucianism, but that wasn't considered to be contrary to doctrine by the Japanese Christian community. In the 30s and extending through the war, the "special Police" had a very high success rate of "turning" otherwise strongly committed political prisoners (mainly Communists), using such techniques. And little if any violence was used on them.

pnorman