Do not waste your life lightly

From the cockpit manual that accompanied Japanese kamikaze pilots on suicide missions. The manual, previously unpublished in English, appears in Kamikaze, by Albert Axell and Hideaki Kase, published in Britain in October 2002 by Longman.

The Mission of To-go Units

Transcend life and death. When you eliminate all thoughts about life and death, you will be able to totally disregard your earthly life. This will also enable you to concentrate your attention on eradicating the enemy with unwavering determination, meanwhile reinforcing your excellence in flight skills.

Exert the best in yourself. Strike an enemy vessel that is either moored or at sea. Sink the enemy and thus pave the road for our people's victory.

Principles You Should Know

Keep your health in the very best condition. If you are not in top physical condition, you will not be able to achieve an ideal hit by tai-atari (body-crashing). Just as you cannot fight well on an empty stomach, you cannot deftly manipulate the control stick if you are suffering from diarrhea, and you cannot exert calm judgment if you are tormented by fever.

Be always pure-hearted and cheerful. A loyal fighting man is a pure-hearted and filial son.

Attain a high level of spiritual training. In order to exert the highest possible capability, you must prepare your inner self. Some people say that spirit must come before skill, but they are wrong. Spirit and skill are one. The two elements must be mastered together. Spirit supports skill and skill supports spirit.

Aborting Your Mission and Returning to Base

In the event of poor weather conditions or other adverse circumstances, you may decide to return to base. Don't be discouraged. Do not waste your life lightly. You should not be possessed by petty emotions. Think how you can best defend the motherland. You should return to the base jovially and without remorse.

When turning back and landing at the base, discard the bomb at the area designated by the commanding officer. Fly in circles over the airfield. Observe conditions of the airstrip carefully. If you feel nervous, piss. Next, ascertain the direction of the wind and wind speed. Do you see any holes in the runway? Take three deep breaths.

The Attack

Upon sighting a target, remove the bomb's safety pin. Go full speed ahead toward the target. Dive! Surprise the enemy. Don't give the enemy time to counter your attack. Charge! Remember: the enemy may change course, so be prepared for evasive action. Be alert and avoid enemy fighters and flak fire.

Points to Remember When Making Your Last Dive

Crashing bodily into a target is not easy. It causes the enemy great damage. Therefore the enemy will exert every means to avoid a hit.

Suddenly, you may become confused. You are liable to make an error. But hold on to the unshakable conviction that you will sink the enemy ship.

Remember when diving into the enemy to shout at the top of your lungs: "Hissatsu!" ("Sink without fail!") At that moment, all the cherry blossoms at Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo will smile brightly at you.

Just Before the Crash

Your speed is at maximum. The plane tends to lift. But you can prevent this by pushing the elevator control forward to allow for the increase in speed. Do your best. Push forward with all your might.

You have lived for twenty years or more. You must exert your full might for the last time in your life. Exert supernatural strength.

At the very moment of impact: do your best. Every deity and the spirits of your dead comrades are watching you intently. Just before the collision it is essential that you do not shut your eyes for a moment so as not to miss the target. Many have crashed into the targets with wide-open eyes. They will tell you what fun they had.

You are now 30 meters from the target. You will sense that your speed has suddenly and abruptly increased. You feel that the speed has increased by a few thousand fold. It is like a long shot in a movie suddenly turning into a close-up, and the scene expands in your face.

The Moment of the Crash

You are two or three meters from the target. You can see clearly the muzzles of the enemy's guns. You feel that you are suddenly floating in the air. At that moment, you see your mother's face. She is not smiling or crying. It is her usual face.

All the happy memories. You won't precisely remember them; they are like a dream or a fantasy. You are relaxed and a smile creases your face. The sweet atmosphere of your boyhood days returns.

You view all that you experienced in your twenty-odd years of life in rapid succession. But these things are not very clear.

In any event, only delightful memories come back to you. You cannot see your own face, but because of a succession of pleasant memories flashing through your mind, you feel that you smiled at the last moment. You may nod then, or wonder what happened. You may even hear a final sound like the breaking of crystal. Then you are no more.

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