The Kamikaze pilot who survived because Japan's Emperor surrendered just as he was about to take off on suicide mission 

  • Hishashi Tezuka was trained by Japanese military to be a Kamikaze pilot
  • Was ordered to take a mission which would have resulted in his death 
  • Just before starting the mission, Japan announced its surrender in the war
  • He was saved from flying the plane but rarely spoke about his experiences 

By Jennifer Newton for MailOnline

Published: 09:42 EST, 18 June 2015 | Updated: 11:46 EST, 18 June 2015

A Kamikaze pilot has spoken of the moment he was saved from a suicide mission after Japan surrendered in the Second World War just before he took off.

Hishashi Tezuka was on a train headed to take off on his mission in September 1945 and was aware he wouldn't return.

But before he had a chance to reach his final destination, Emperor Hirohiti announced Japan's surrender in a radio broadcast.

Hishashi Tezuka, a kamikaze pilot, who survived because the war ended. He is pictured holding up a picture of himself as a young man 

Hishashi Tezuka, a kamikaze pilot, who survived because the war ended. He is pictured holding up a picture of himself as a young man 

Mr Tezuka, is just one of a handful of Kamikaze pilots who survived the war despite being trained to act as a suicide bomber.

Mr Tezuka trained to fly planes and and joined to be a kamikaze, who were ordered to fly to certain death.

Pictures of a young Mr Tezuka, showed him wearing a helmet and a trademark white silk scarf at his neck.

He said: 'That's to keep warm. It gets really cold up there.'

Mr Tezuka, is just one of a handful of Kamikaze pilots who survived the war despite being trained to act as a suicide bomber

Mr Tezuka, is just one of a handful of Kamikaze pilots who survived the war despite being trained to act as a suicide bomber

First-born sons weren't selected to become Kamikaze pilots, due to Japan's tradition of protecting family heirs.

As he had older brothers and sister he was selected and was given a five-day leave of absence to visit his parents, although he didn't tell them he had been tapped to become a suicide bomber.

He then headed off on his mission aged 23 knowing that the flight would be his final act, saying 'You go and it's over.'

However, before he could take off Japan surrendered to the U.S. He added: 'I had been all set to die. My mind went absolutely blank.'

Despite his love of flying, he was was unable to stomach flying a commercial jet and did not want to join the military, so started an import consultant business.

But he recalls: 'Flying was so breathtaking you could almost forget about the war.

'Do you know what a rainbow looks like when you're flying? It's a perfect circle. 

In his later life, he often visited American farmers but never told them he had been a kamikaze.

Yoshiomi Yanai, 93, survived because he could not locate his target - a rare error for a kamikaze operation.

He said: 'I feel so bad for all the others who died,' bemoaning the fate of comrades who died so young, never having really experienced life.

Pictures of a young Mr Tezuka, showed him wearing a helmet and a trademark white silk scarf at his neck

Pictures of a young Mr Tezuka, showed him wearing a helmet and a trademark white silk scarf at his neck

Japan surrendered just before his suicide mission was due to take off, saving him from a certain death 

Japan surrendered just before his suicide mission was due to take off, saving him from a certain death 

Mr Yanai still keeps what he had intended to be his last message to his parents. It's an album that he keeps carefully wrapped in a traditional furoshiki cloth. 

He plastered the pages with photos of him laughing with colleagues and other happy moments and got a pilot friend to add ink drawings. 

The job of overseeing and training Ohka pilots, and ultimately sending them to certain death, fell to Fujio Hayashi, then 22.

Mr Hayashi believes Ohka might never have happened if there had been no volunteers when the concept was first suggested.

Yoshiomi Yanai, who survived despite being a kamikaze pilot. He missed his target a rare error for a kamikaze operation

Yoshiomi Yanai, who survived despite being a kamikaze pilot. He missed his target a rare error for a kamikaze operation

Mr Yanai still keeps what he had intended to be his last message to his parents. It's an album that he keeps carefully wrapped in a traditional furoshiki cloth

Mr Yanai still keeps what he had intended to be his last message to his parents. It's an album that he keeps carefully wrapped in a traditional furoshiki cloth

But he was one of the first two volunteers for Ohka and dozens followed.

But he could never stop blaming himself, wondering whether his early backing helped bring it about.

Over the decades, Mr Hayashi was tormented by guilt for having sent dozens of young men to their deaths 'with my pencil,' as he put it, referring to how he had written the names for Ohka assignments each day.

After the war, he joined the military, called the Self-Defense Forces, and attended memorials for the dead pilots.

He consoled families and told everyone how gentle the men had been. They smiled right up to their deaths, he said, because they didn't want anyone to mourn or worry.

But he said: 'Every day, 365 days a year, whenever I remember those who died, tears start coming. I have to run into the bathroom and weep.

'While I'm there weeping, I feel they're vibrantly alive within my heart, just the way they were long ago.'

An Okha airrcraft, which was a Japanese suicide bomber plane. They were packed with bombs and powered by tiny rockets, built to blow up 

An Okha airrcraft, which was a Japanese suicide bomber plane. They were packed with bombs and powered by tiny rockets, built to blow up 

Mr Hayashi hardly talked about his kamikaze days to his children and they remember him as a dad who loved classical music, took them to amusement parks and loved cats so much he adopted strays.

'I think of the many men I killed with my pencil, and I apologize for having killed them in vain,' he said.

He often said he wanted his ashes to be scattered into the sea near the southern islands of Okinawa, where his men had died.

Until then, he said, his war would never be over.

He died of pancreatic cancer at age 93 on June 4 and his family plans to honor his request.

 

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