Healing Old Wounds
Acts of reconciliation take place due to a collective desire to heal the emotional and moral wounds caused by the conflict. Even decades later, the memories of destruction, loss, and trauma weigh heavily on both individuals and nations.
Reconciliation often begins with a recognition of shared suffering and the need to move beyond the divisions created by the war. Veterans, who were once fierce adversaries, frequently play a central role in these efforts.
As they age, many come to view their former enemies not with hatred but with empathy, understanding that both sides were following orders, often at great personal cost.
...breaking down the animosity that lingers...
These acts of reconciliation manifest in various ways, including official apologies, joint commemorations, veteran meetings, and educational programs.
Memorials and anniversaries offer platforms for individuals to confront their past and express remorse, forgiveness, or solidarity. Such events foster dialogue and understanding, breaking down the animosity that lingers from wartime propaganda and nationalistic fervour.
Reconciliation is not only a personal or moral act but also a political one.
By building bridges between former enemies, nations seek to ensure that future generations are informed by a legacy of peace and mutual respect, rather than hatred or unresolved grievances, thus preventing the repetition of past conflicts.
A Range of Emotions
The way people remember the Second World War in Japan is fragmented and varied, a phenomenon historian Michael Lucken explores in his book The Japanese and the War: Expectation, Perception, and the Shaping of Memory.
According to Lucken, Japanese memories of the war can be classified into several distinct categories.
Some individuals expressed frustration and resentment toward Japan’s military leaders, feeling betrayed by the decisions made during the war.
Others accepted responsibility for the actions and atrocities committed by Japan, while some felt regret, believing they had been swept away by the tides of wartime nationalism.
...whose oral history reflects the complexity of wartime memories...
These categories, however, are not rigid; the memories of many individuals contain elements of all three.
A notable example is Takeshi Maeda, a former pilot in the Imperial Japanese Navy, whose oral history reflects the complexity of wartime memories.
Maeda’s personal recollections show how the processes of remembering and forgetting are intertwined, shaping his perceptions of the war and his own role in it.
Early Life and the Road to the Military
Takeshi Maeda was born in 1921 in Fukui Prefecture, a rural region west of Tokyo on the main island of Honshū.
Like many young men of his generation, Maeda's early ambitions did not involve the military.
He hoped to become an architect, following in the footsteps of his father. In 1938, Maeda applied to the Tokyo School of the Arts and was accepted.
...recruiters were aggressively pushing young men into service...
However, when he went to collect his diploma, he was intercepted by military officers. At the time,
Japan was deeply embroiled in a war with China, and military recruiters were aggressively pushing young men into service.
A lieutenant commander reprimanded Maeda, asking how he could consider pursuing a career in the arts while the nation was at war.
Under pressure, Maeda abandoned his plans for art school and enrolled in a military academy instead.
...thrust into this new reality...
From the beginning, Maeda’s memories of the war were marked by a sense of coercion. He recalled feeling trapped, as if military service was an unavoidable path.
Yet, once he was thrust into this new reality, he decided to embrace it, choosing to train as a pilot.
After passing the necessary exams and physical tests, Maeda began flight school in September 1938. The training was intense and accelerated due to wartime needs.
...deprived him and his fellow cadets of critical knowledge...
The Japanese military, desperate for pilots, implemented a fast-track program that condensed what would have been a three-year course into just a year and a half.
This rushed training frustrated Maeda, who believed it deprived him and his fellow cadets of critical knowledge in advanced math and physics—subjects that would have been useful for a pilot.
Despite these challenges, Maeda excelled in his studies, eventually earning a spot aboard the aircraft carrier Kaga.
The Attack on Pearl Harbor
On the 7th December 1941, Maeda found himself in the cockpit of a Nakajima B5N2, a bomber assigned to attack Pearl Harbor.
Aboard the Kaga, Maeda was part of the first wave of the Japanese strike force that launched the infamous surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet stationed in Hawaii.
He vividly recalled the tension of that day.
The skies over Pearl Harbor were eerily quiet, and Maeda could hear Glen Miller’s “Sunrise Serenade” being broadcast over the radio, a reminder that the Americans were unaware of the impending assault.
...struck the West Virginia with devastating accuracy...
Maeda flew a Nakajima bomber armed with a specially designed torpedo, adapted for the shallow waters of Pearl Harbor.
In the minutes leading up to the attack, Maeda and his fellow pilots received a flare signal from the squadron commander, Mitsuo Fuchida, which marked the beginning of the strike.
Maeda's target was the USS West Virginia, a battleship moored in the harbor. Flying in tight formation, Maeda released his torpedo, which struck the West Virginia with devastating accuracy.
The battleship was hit by a series of torpedoes and eventually sank to the harbour floor.
...the doomed planes veered right into a barrage...
Maeda’s involvement in the attack on Pearl Harbor was brief but significant. His memories of that day are filled with a mix of pride and anxiety.
He remembered the exhilaration of successfully completing the mission, but he was also shaken by how quickly the Americans responded.
His plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire as he banked left to retreat to the safety of the open ocean.
Not all of his comrades were as fortunate. Five of the twelve planes from the Kaga were shot down, a loss Maeda attributed to poor planning.
Instead of turning left toward the ocean, the doomed planes veered right into a barrage of enemy fire from smaller ships in the harbor.
...a haunting encounter later in the war...
The attack on Pearl Harbor had far-reaching consequences, both for the war and for Maeda personally.
In the years that followed, he flew combat missions in several major battles across the Pacific.
Yet, Pearl Harbor would remain a central event in his memory, not just for its historical significance, but because of a haunting encounter later in the war.
The Return of the West Virginia
In 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa, Maeda participated in night raids against U.S. naval forces. One night, as flares illuminated the ships below, Maeda spotted the USS West Virginia. He was stunned.
How could the ship he had helped sink at Pearl Harbor still be in service? As Maeda later discovered, the shallow waters of Pearl Harbor had allowed the Americans to salvage and repair several of the damaged battleships, including the West Virginia.
This revelation left a profound impression on him. It highlighted the resilience of the U.S. forces and underscored the futility of Japan’s initial victories in the war.
...sacrifice experienced pilots in suicide missions...
By this point in the conflict, Japan’s situation had deteriorated dramatically. Maeda, now a seasoned pilot with 3,800 hours of combat experience, was ordered to join the Kamikaze Special Attack Force, a decision he found incomprehensible.
He could not understand why his commanders would sacrifice experienced pilots in suicide missions.
It was during this period that Maeda began to question the competence and motives of Japan’s military leadership.
His Kamikaze mission was scheduled for the 16th August 1945, but Japan’s surrender on the 14th August, following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, spared him from having to carry out the mission.
...despite their horrific impact...
This near-death experience profoundly shaped Maeda’s postwar outlook.
He came to believe that the use of atomic weapons, despite their horrific impact, had ultimately saved more lives than they had taken.
He saw the bombings as a grim but decisive end to a war that had already claimed millions of lives.
For Maeda, the surrender marked a turning point, not only in Japan’s history but in his personal journey of reckoning with the war.
Postwar Reflections and Reconciliation
In the years following Japan’s defeat, Maeda, like many veterans, grappled with the meaning of the war and his role in it.
His initial feelings of frustration with military leadership evolved into a broader critique of Japan’s wartime strategy.
One of his chief complaints was the lack of strategic foresight in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Reflecting on the operation, Maeda expressed frustration that the Japanese had only targeted military assets, such as planes and warships, while ignoring crucial infrastructure like fuel tanks and docks.
...deeper systemic issues...
Had these been targeted, Maeda believed, the U.S. fleet would have been crippled for much longer, potentially altering the course of the war.
However, even as he critiqued Japan’s tactical failures, Maeda came to accept that these missteps likely did not change the ultimate outcome of the war, which he believed was lost due to deeper systemic issues within Japan’s military leadership.
...the failures of military leadership...
Maeda’s process of remembering and reassessing the war is emblematic of a broader trend among Japanese veterans. Many struggled to reconcile their personal experiences with the collective memory of defeat.
As historian Yoshikuni Igarashi points out, the process of forgetting was just as important as remembering for these veterans.
In the years after the war, memories were often reshaped to fit a narrative that could be more easily integrated into postwar Japanese society.
For Maeda, this meant constructing a narrative that focused on the failures of military leadership while also allowing for personal atonement and reconciliation.
...Pearl Harbor - never again...
One of the most significant aspects of Maeda’s postwar life was his involvement in reconciliation efforts with American veterans.
In 1991, he made headlines in the United States when he delivered a speech at the Symposium for the U.S. Pearl Harbor Association in Hawaii, concluding with the words “Pearl Harbor - never again.”
That same year, Maeda led a delegation of Japanese veterans to the 50th-anniversary commemoration of the attack and participated in the opening of the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum.
These events marked the culmination of over a decade of work by Maeda to foster understanding and friendship between Japanese and American veterans.
...close personal relationships with former enemies...
Maeda’s reconciliation efforts were not limited to public speeches and commemorations.
He also developed close personal relationships with former enemies, including several veterans of the USS West Virginia.
One such friendship was with Richard Fiske, a Marine bugler who had served aboard the West Virginia during the Pearl Harbor attack.
The two men met through their shared involvement in reconciliation initiatives and became close friends, visiting each other regularly until Fiske’s death in 2004.
During one visit, Maeda presented Fiske with a medal from the Japanese government, recognizing his contributions to fostering peace and understanding between the two nations.
The Complexity of Memory and History
Maeda’s journey from a young pilot coerced into military service to a proponent of peace and reconciliation highlights the complex ways in which individuals remember and reinterpret their past.
His reflections on the war, particularly his criticisms of Japan’s military strategy and his involvement in reconciliation efforts, show how personal memory can evolve over time, influenced by new experiences and broader societal changes.
...a dynamic process shaped by cultural desires and anxieties...
Historian Yoshikuni Igarashi’s analysis of memory is particularly relevant to understanding Maeda’s story.
According to Igarashi, memory is not a static record of the past but a dynamic process shaped by cultural desires and anxieties.
Maeda’s evolving memories of the war reflect his efforts to make sense of Japan’s defeat and his own role in a conflict that had caused immense suffering on both sides.
His oral history demonstrates how memory can be both a personal and collective process, influenced by the need to reconcile the past with the present.
...move beyond the traumas of war...
For Maeda, the process of remembering was deeply intertwined with the act of forgetting.
By participating in reconciliation efforts and forming friendships with former enemies, Maeda found a way to move beyond the traumas of war.
His story is a testament to the power of memory to heal, even in the aftermath of one of the most devastating conflicts in human history.
Conclusion
Maeda’s oral history offers a window into the complexities of Japanese wartime memory.
His experiences as a pilot, his reflections on Japan’s military failures, and his postwar efforts at reconciliation illustrate the fragmented nature of Japan’s memories of the Second World War.
Maeda’s journey from soldier to advocate for peace highlights the ongoing process of remembering and forgetting that continues to shape how individuals and nations come to terms with their past.
Through his story, we gain a deeper understanding of the ways in which memory, history, and identity are inextricably linked.