* After I read a book titled as "The Last Scene of Imperial Japanese Navy's Warship Yamato" writtn by Mr. Mitsuru Yoshida, I was so excited that I could not sleep all night. So I re-read some part of book and wished to know more about the foolish actions of Imperial Navy. I took out a book titled as The Navy Chief of Staffs" written by Mr. Minoru Toyoda (published by Kodansha ISBN4-06-203155-8) and other books from the book shelves in midnight.
I summarized all of them as follows:
Once when Admiral Osamu Nagano, Imperial Navy Chief of Staff, was granted an audience with the Emperor, he reported him mainly about the Navy Air Force Operations. But when the Emperor asked him how the Naval fleets were operating, he could not answer him clearly. Navy Captain Shigenori Shin, a staff of Imperial Navy Joint Forces (48th graduate of Naval Academy, Top of 172 graduates, Honor graduate of Naval Institute, assigned to First section of First Division, Naval Chief of staffs in 1939...) presented a plan of special attack operation by the remaining Japanese fleets. He developed the plan in order to restore the honor of Naval Fleets. While Admiral Ryunosuke Kusaka, chief of staff of Imperial Navy Joint Forces, was out to watch the overseas operations, lieutenant Shin proceeded with his plan so that Admiral Kusaka was obliged to approve it afterward. He was really a most talented staff but he seemed to become insane. Once he submitted a plan to the chief that if he was given the authority to command 3,000 men and 20 naval ships, he would recover their defeat all at once. In this way, their foolish attack was executed by all means. The last scene of glorious Imperial Japanese Navy was really a tragic. Mr. Shin survived through the end of war. But in September 15, 1945, his plane made an emergency landing on the sea of Tsugaru Straight on his way back from war end dealings in Hokkaido. Five persons were rescued by a U.S. destroyer which was sailing nearby. But one person, Mr, Shin, was missing. There was a rumor that he wished to sink together with the plane and never tried to exit from it.
The first defeat of Japanese navy was the failure of attack operation against Wake Island. This operation was triggered by the first air raid against Tokyo, the Imperial Capital. A few U.S. army bombers lead by Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle attacked the main island of Japan on April 18, 1942. The planes took off from USS Whonet, an aircraft carrier on the western Pacific Ocean. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the commander of Imperial Japanese Joint Forces at that time, said I must apologize the Emperor for the raid of enemy bombers over the Imperial Capital. And he promoted the attack against the Wake Island in order not to have another raid, The above said hypothesis may be the most probable.
| * A mini class meeting was held at Umenohana restaurant in Harumi Triton Square from one o'clock in afternoon. Mr. Yoshikazu Ushida, a classmate, recently moved to a new apartment house along Sumida river from Higashikurume, a suburb of Tokyo. The party was arranged by Mr. Shinji Uwano to welcome him to the center of Tokyo. Everybody enjoyed the foods served at this restaurant. |
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The inhabitants along Sumida river called themselves country persons. But Mr. Ushida began to enjoy the convenience of city life. He can easily go to Ginza for shopping or taking foods at any time. The today's attendants were Messrs. Uwano, Hideo Kitagawa, Ushida, Hiroshi Iino and me, a total of five. All of us were in high spirits. I seemed to be the weakest among them. As I did not recover from the abnormal excitement of last night, I took a few cups of sake today. So that I needed a help from my colleagues for standing up or sitting down,
Mr. Uwano gave me a bottle of Yogurt, which Professor Yamori of Kyoto University brought back from Georgia eight years ago. Its vital power is very strong so that it can change raw milk to yogurt within several hours at normal temperature. Those who eat this will be able to live a long life just like Georgian.
