Japanese View from the IJN Musashi
This was originally published in “Sensō: The Japanese Remember the Pacific War”, edited by Frank Gibney. Story by: Satō Kiichi, from Yokosuka, Japan.
The Last of Battleship Musashi
“Third attack,” came the warning. The damage from the second attack had been terrible. Lying on the deck were several wounded men receiving emergency treatment. I was taking a brief break. My two subordinates were on their way to the infirmary. Just at that moment, a torpedo approached with a sinister hissing sound. Shouting “Go on up!” I rushed to the upper deck. I couldn’t see the two who had gone to the infirmary.
I had to get those two. I looked down the hatch. There was already close to a meter of water flooding the ship. The infirmary was left isolated. Neither my voice nor my concern could reach that far. Was it too late? My feeling of grief ran ahead of me. Then I recalled that the exhaust vent ran through the pharmacy. I frantically threw a rope from the deck down into the exhaust pipe. But there was no response. Still I continued to call out desperately.
I regained a bit of my composure. I was crouching in the safety zone under the main gun turret. The battle gained in ferocity. I wondered what had happened to my two men. To think that a single hatch would be the difference between life and death. We had spent our days together as crew members on the battleship Musashi. Looking back, I still agonize about their going to the infirmary.
After the fourth and fifth concentrated air attacks, the Musashi, once called unsinkable, finally sank into the Sibuyan Sea. Its bow tilted. Columns of water and flames spewed up into the sky. I heard voices of my comrades singing “Umi Yukaba” [“Across the Sea”]* and other war songs amid the waves. Even now I see clearly onto my eyelids the faces of my two subordinates. I hear my war buddies singing as their heads bob in the waves.
* “Across the Sea” was the anthem of the Japanese Navy. The verse went:
Across the sea, water-drenched corpses;
Across the mountains, grass-covered corpses.
We shall die by the side of our lord,
We shall not look back.
Two years ago….
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
William Abe – Appleton, WI; US Navy, WWII
Kenneth Bourke – AUS; RA Navy, WWII, HMAS Warramunga
Robert Futoran – Pompano, FL; US Navy, WWII, Lt., USS Black
Leslie Gibson – Dallas, TX; US Navy, WWII, PTO,, LST-1040
Kenneth Ketron – Elsmere, KY; US Navy, WWII & Korea
Dallas Milton – Venice, CA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Division
Robert Nelson Sr. – New London, CT; US Army, WWII, ETO
Frank Panzzie – East Meadow, NY; US Army, WWII
Teddy Sheean – Tasmania, AUS; RA Navy, WWII, HMAS Armidale, KIA
Lawrence Snowden – Charlottesville, VA; USMC, WWIII, Korea & Vietnam, LtGeneral (Ret.)
Click on images to enlarge.
Personal Note – My apologies for a late-in-the-day post and delayed viewing of your sites as I have been under the weather.
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Posted on March 6, 2017, in First-hand Accounts, WWII and tagged 1940's, History, Japan, Leyte, Military, Military History, Musashi, Navy, Pacific, Pacific War, WW2, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 88 Comments.
So sad, the loss of life on all sides. I don’t like how militaristic our new president is being, disregarding diplomacy and favoring weapon buildup. I don’t resent money funding the military, but I dislike unnecessarily engaging the military when other options might prevent loss of life and the traumatizing of people. You help us remember that every soldier lost is a lost human being with poetry and possibility. Not a number.
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I will not comment on the current political view, but you are so right about losing men. I keep waiting for someone to bring our men home instead of shipping them out for yet another tour of duty!
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You are so right to point out in your post that the ones suffering aren’t just on our side. As for the current political view, I don’t think people are really so far apart when you peel away the political, polarizing rhetoric.
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Your first hand accounts really get my imagination flowing gp, the story’s show just how horrific the moments are, not only that but they illustrate that either friend or foe, those images last for all time.
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I just glad I piqued your interest, Ian – thanks a lot for telling me!!
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A reminder that we are ALL flesh and blood, and mortal.
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Ah-ha, you saw the connection I was trying to make everyone see. Thanks.
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I am sorry you are not feeling well, GP. Get better soon!
The stories from both sides show how much we are all the same, no matter which “side” we are on, or what chaos our world leaders have thrown us into. I feel sorrow for Satō Kiichi, not being able to save his men. I am sure this vision does still haunt him.
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That was how I felt when I read this letter.
[I’m much improved health-wise, thank you for the well-wishes!]
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Thank you for posting another view of the war from the Japanese perspective. I noticed that the Japanese had thought Musashi to be unsinkable. … hmmm… It’s interesting how these “unsinkable” ships always DO!
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It sure took a tone of explosives to get her to go down though! Sister ship to the Yamato – she had to be built well!
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To much work.Coming back tomorrow.
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Sorry you’ve been under the weather. Sure hope you’re feeling better. There seems to be a lot going around just about everywhere these days. So, just take care of yourself and get well!
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Will do Linda. It’s not like me to get sick, so I find it rather inconvenient, to say the least. 🙂
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I hear ya. I don’t do sickness well at all! 😉
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Human too?? We were taught otherwise.
Alas.
I’m still getting over my cold(?). The meds I took seemed to contain sedatives and I’m drowsy and not thinking clearly at times. Wonder if/when I’ll return to normal?
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And I feel as though me and the rest of the world are in slow-motion. [and I’m not even taking anything] This has got to be some sort of virus.
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A very touching story, a thoroughly human story and account of the last moments of a battleship and her crew! Wasn’t the Titanic also considered unsinkable!?
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Yes, it was. But since no training or drills were held, nothing worked properly and it was ill equipped to save the passengers and crew.
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Sharing both sides adds great emotions to your posts. We are all humans sharing the same planet and must learn to respect and live with one another. Your posts add important reminders of the experiences both sides went through. The object is to LEARN to avoid such human devastation in the future.
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Wouldn’t that be nice – if people could LEARN. I’m afraid it only seems to be getting worse with these endless wars we ignore.
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“I wondered what had happened to my two men. To think that a single hatch would be the difference between life and death.” That is powerful.
Hope you feel better soon!
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Thank you for the well-wishes and the comment! I completely agree. The way he wrote that letter, I felt I could see it all as it happened.
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Just want to add my voice to those who thank you for bringing us the Japanese view of the war.
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Thank you for your opinion! It’s good to know that you wish to see the war from all sides.
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Reblogged this on Ancien Hippie.
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Thank you, Penny. So similar to the stories of our own men.
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Thanks for great blog. Yes very similar story
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I’m so sorry to hear you’ve not been well. I do hope things are improving. Rest always is good. On the other hand, if laughter is the best medicine, you took care of any ailment I might have with that “Every Sailor a Deckhand” cartoon. I laughed aloud at that one, remembering the days when my response would have been the same as the sailor’s.
The article was interesting, too, although that naval anthem was a little grim. I much prefer our “Naval Hymn.”
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I sure am resting, Linda. Don’t know the last time I spent so much time in bed!!
Happy I gave you a laugh with that cartoon, frankly I still don’t understand some of the language!! haha [and I do agree about the anthem].
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Interesting post from the other side. I liked it. Sorry to hear you are not well, my friend. Hope you feel better soon!
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I’m very glad you found the post interesting, Cindy. I not only want people to see the story from the other side, but how similar the pain.
I’m doing my best to get better, I’m not accustom to feeling like this, that’s for sure!
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Rest.
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Goodness me, GP, you have nothing to apologise for. Get well soon.
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Thanks for understanding, Derrick, you are a good friend.
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After a whole month of the ‘Winter Virus’ in February, I am well-aware how debilitating it can be to feel ill for a long time.I will add my get well wishes to those of the others, and hope that you are fighting fit again very soon.
The account of this sinking was sad to read. It could have come from any side in the war, I suppose, but at least the destruction of the Japanese ships saved many allied lives that could have been lost by their actions.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thank you for the get well!! If you had this, I sure don’t know how you were able to be so humorous for a whole month!!
I was glad you saw how the sinking of the Musashi could very well have been a story from one of our men. People talk about war so haphazardly sometimes, but effects everyone.
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Not sure I had the same thing exactly. The doctor just called it the ‘Winter Virus’. I felt pretty ill, but of course I am trying to stay positive! 🙂
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I remember you were ill. I’m keeping my fingers crossed here that it’s a 48-hour bug of some sort, I’m trying to be positive too!
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Hope you are on the mend.
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I’m trying, Lloyd. I’m not used to feeling like this.
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get well soon, mate
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Thank you, Edward. I’m trying to keep up, don’t know just how well though.
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Get well soon, GP. We can wait for your posts. Take it easy.
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Thank you, Don. I greatly appreciate that!!
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WOW… on the video! Feel better, my friend. We’ll see you on the other side. 😀
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The video kinda gave me an eerie feeling. Seeing the past just lying there.
Thanks for the well-wishes, Mrs P.
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It’s interesting to be learning more about the Japanese perspective.
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Thank you for giving me your opinion, Sheryl. It’s always good to know I’m finding interesting posts for my friends.
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I have always been interested in hearing about the war from the perspective of the German Japanese or Italians
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Glad to hear that. I believe it gives us more of a true perspective of the events.
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Get well soon my friend!
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Thank you. It’s good to know people are pulling for me.
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Of course GP! WP community cares😊 just as you care for us. Hope you feel better and post soon.
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The stories these men had to tell…it gives me the shivers.
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Yes, some of them sure do. So sad.
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I just can’t imagine the emotions they felt. To be singing as their lives are sinking.
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They had been raised in an entirely different culture; one we would find difficult to comprehend.
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I believe you are right.
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Get well soon!
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Thank you, Adam, I’m trying.
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I hope you’re feeling much better. Please take care of yourself.
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Thank you, David. I’m just not used to this!!
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It’s always intriguing to read accounts from the Japanese side – it’s an aspect of WW2 that isn’t often seen in English. I think half the problem is the difficulty of translation. I recall seeing one, from a floatplane pilot, in New Zealand’s National Archives – the pilot had flown over Wellington after launching from a submarine in Cook Strait, and after the war our government was interested in finding his account. It was duly translated, but I’m sure that a lot of the best accounts and memoirs never were.
Hope you’re feeling better soon!
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Glad to hear that New Zealand had an interest as well. No one can get the whole story with looking at all sides.
Thanks for the well-wishes, Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
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Hope you feel better soon, GP.
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Thank you so much. I didn’t know so many would be concerned. I just wanted to give my apologies! It’s great have friends.
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I know. And we should be leaving you alone so you can actualy get better, but we just want you to know…
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Thanks again, Randy. I do appreciate it!
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It seems you’ve been ill. Hope you are feeling better soon. And thanks for again posting something from the Japanese POV. Very sad to think of him grieving for his two crewmates.
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Those men grieved just as ours did. So sad. Sure wish the politicians went to war instead of our sons and daughters.
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It’s always been that way. Old men send young people to die in wars.
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Ultimately, it comes down to human beings and human stories. Maybe if we could read these in advance, we’d find a way to avoid war.
I hope you’re feeling better soon.
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Very true, Dan. I keep hoping for that wish myself.
I’ll be okay, thanks for the concern. I just wanted to explain my absence on everyone’s site.
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I was beginning to wonder 🙂
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Soldier on, and get better quick!
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Will do, Bruce, thanks!!
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Take care and hope you’re better soon! As always this is a fascinating post – but your full recover comes first!
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I appreciate your well wishes, Annika, and glad you found the post interesting.
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Maybe the flu, GP! Watch out for high fever that doesn’t come down with meds. And you are not feeling better in a week. May have to see the doc! Good thoughts! 🎶 Christine
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Thanks for the info, Christine. I’ll heed your warning!
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Hope you feel better GP. Rest is the best medicine.
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Thanks a lot, John – and rest is all I have the energy for.
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Ha ha ha. That is a good thing then.
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Feel better soon
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Thank you, I’m back under the covers to try and fix it.
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Been through a bout of heavy flu two weeks ago..not sure whats your issue, but keep take care. Never fun.
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I hate going to the doctor and WebMD gives you every deadly disease you may have – so I’ll just say I’m dizzy (not that unusual, haha) and have a stomach virus or ate something wrong.
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