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Toshio Shimao & Kakeroma: Japan’s Island Fortress, 1941-1945

"The war had ended, with no exposure to battle. The suicide squadron's mission stood poised for an instant, its back turned, on the opposite edge of a chasm, then went away. While waiting for sailing orders, I had been oppressed by the fear of battle, but now, reinvigorated by the surrender, I was overeager and could not keep myself from becoming more fastidious and tenacious with the men… I could not say that I had fulfilled my duty until I had led the squadron safely to demobilization

Toshio Shimao, “This Time That Summer,” in The Sting of Death and Other Stories, trans. Kathryn Sparling (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1985), 46.

Shimao Toshio (1966).

Toshio Shimao (1917-1986) was a novelist most known for his novel The Sting of Death (1977), which was adapted into a 1990 film. His prolific works often illustrated his personal history with Amami. Many of these partly autobiographical stories touch on his time spent on Kakeromajima, where he was stationed during the closing days of the Pacific War. Here, I would like to connect his experiences as a naval officer with the incredible history preserved on Kakeroma to end our extended coverage of the island's history.

Born in Yokohama, Shimao would move to Kobe and later Nagasaki throughout his early life. His literary career began at a young age, printing poems and short stories as an elementary school. He continued to develop his writing talent all the way through his tenure at Kyushu University. After graduating in 1943, Shimao joined the Imperial Navy and entered officer training, specializing in torpedo boats.

1941: Early Installations and the Oshima Defense Unit

While Shimao was still in university, the Pacific War broke out in December 1941, with Japan now at war with the world's largest naval powers: the United States and United Kingdom.
At this stage, Amami was far removed from the fighting taking place as far as New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and the Indian Ocean. Still, the Japanese Navy invested in some defensive measures for the island; particularly against the threat of American submarines.

Kanekotezaki Guard Post (Ankyaba)

Built in 1941, this Navy facility shares its location with the Ankyaba battery built by the Army in the 1920s, which we covered in the previous article.
Overlooking the eastern mouth of the Oshima Strait, this base operated as the command center for the monitoring and defense of the entrance. Nearby defensive measures, including naval mines, could be operated remotely from here.

Looking southeast facing the Pacific Ocean from the peak

Even today, the station fulfills its original role: offering a clear view overlooking the beautiful Oshima Strait meeting the Pacific Ocean in the east.

View north from the very top of the station, at the edge of the Oshima Strait.

Oshima Defense Unit Headquarters (Seso)

Coinciding with the outbreak of war, the Oshima Defense Unit (Bobitai/防備隊) was formed, with its command headquarters still standing today only a short walk from the port of Seso. 'Boubitai' units were explicitly under naval jurisdiction, serving as ground forces to defend Navy facilities without having to rely on the Army for protection. This site would have been one of many local strongholds where officers would coordinate the defense of nearby installations.

From my limited research, this is the only Oshima Defense Unit installation marked as a 'headquarers' (本部) on Kakeroma. As such, this site likely would have been one of the major bases on the island, and played a major - or perhaps chief - role in coordinating its ground defense. This is especialy likely as the Army's presence on Kakeroma was much less significant than the Navy's.

The bunker's entrance

The remaining structure is a concrete bunker which originally functioned as the unit's command center.

The walkway leading to the installation.

In its day, the base's position offered a strategic location overlooking the shallow bay while benefiting from the protection that the Oshima Strait offered. Today, the site has been repurposed into a park conveniently close to town, and with a beautiful view of Kakeroma’s coastline.

Naval memorial standing alongside the remaining bunker.

A memorial now stands next to the original concrete bunker. During the war, this space was a full complex including barracks and storehouses.

The Situation in 1944-45

Kakeromajima under attack by American aircraft (May, 1945)

As the war approached its final years, the frontlines grew closer to the Japanese home islands. Amami Oshima, with its strategic location connecting Japan to Okinawa and other territories, saw a large increase in defensive investment from 1944. At the same time, Amami and the main Japanese islands became targets for extensive bombing raids; devastating most of Amami's towns and villages.

A map of locations under protection by the Oshima Defense Unit at the time of Japan's surrender in late August, 1945. (Setouchi Town Board of Education)

As the threat of invasion or blockade grew, the military stepped up its fortifications.
The map above shows all of the installations guarded by the Oshima Defense Unit at the war's end in 1945.

Index:
Green triangle: Shin'yo Battalion
Black X: Quick-firing gun nests
Blue square: Coastal guns
Red circle: Flak towers
Red line: Underwater hydrophone lines
Yellow Lines: Minefields
White circle: Other

Note that these only represent Naval facilities.

What are Shin'yo?

A captured Shin'yo boat (1945).

This desperate situation led to the creation of "Tokkotai" - Special Attack units. Many are familiar with the infamous Kamikaze attacks, in which pilots would deliberately fly into enemy ships in the final stages of the Pacific War. Yet these were only one of many examples: Japan also produced specially-made submarines and other equipment as an invasion of the Home Islands seemed more and more likely.

A captured Shin'yo being used for a test run after the war (1946?).

Almost all of these vessels were deployed along Japan's coastline, waiting for an expected invasion of the mainland. However, some were deployed and saw combat in other areas, such as Okinawa, and the Philippines.

Their names literally meaning 'sea quake,' these small boats used the same principles as Kamikaze air attacks. Loaded with explosives, they were to use stealth and speed to locate and deliberately collide with an enemy ship, destroying both in the process. For the sole operator inside, a successful operation meant certain death.

Junior Lieutenant Shimao, in naval officer dress (Late summer, 1944).

It was one of these units which Shimao, now commissioned as a Junior Lieutenant, was ordered to command. In November 1944, he was assigned to lead the 18th Shin'yo Battalion, one of two operating on Kakeromajima.

18th Shin'yo Battalion (Nomiura)

A replica Shin'yo boat held in one of the original tunnels.

"In those days there were troops stationed in the neighboring village of Shohaate. For that reason, there was something unsettled in the air in Toe's village, and people trembled with the presentiment that the world war would soon cast its shadow in the vicinity of Kagerojima... There were a hundred eighty-one soldiers... and the young lieutenant junior grade who commanded them was just as useless as a lamp in broad daylight." (Shimao, "The Farthest Edge of the Islands," 12.)

Here, Shimao commanded the 182 men of the 18th Battalion. From November 1944, they waited in anticipation of an attack order which, when given, would mean a one-way trip for him and his men. After seven months, news arrived that Okinawa, a mere 300 kilometres away, had fallen to American forces in June, 1945. With its capture, nothing stood between the Amami Islands and Allied forces. If they were to move north towards Kyushu and the other main islands, Shimao and his men would be among the first ordered to attack.

It was at this time Shimao met his wife, Miho: a Catholic, who was working as an elementary school teaching in a nearby village. Kathryn Sparling, who translated a number of his stories, notes that "The intensity of their romance was predicated on the exoticism and extraordinary circumstances of his imminent self-immolation. She had pledged not to survive him." (Sparling, “Introduction,” 3.)

Another replica Shin'yo, and a nearby information plate.

"Had we taken off on schedule the night before last, the damages would hardly have been limited to the bow of that one boat: all fifty boats, to gether with their crew, one man per boat, would have disappeared from the face of the earth" (Shimao, “This Time That Summer,” 34.)

Months later, on August 13th, the 18th Battalion was ordered to standby for sailing orders. As soon as they were given, the men were to leave the bay and strike. But as they waited, the Japanese government made the decision to surrender. A mere two days after the standby order was given, the Emperor's surrender broadcast signalled the end of Pacific War on August 15th, 1945.
Ultimately, none of the Amami Islands would be invaded by the time of Japan's surrender. In fact, the hypothetical plans for an invasion of Japan excluded them; they were to be bypassed in favour of islands closer to Kyushu. Even still, Shimao and his men would have almost certainly been ordered on a one-way mission had the war continued.

Today, all that remains of the 18th Battalion are the concrete tunnels which housed their Shin'yo boats, now inhabited by replicas. The remaining site has been converted into park space, including a pleasant view of the bay as you walk by the numerous tunnel remnants.

Like the Defense Unit site in Seso, the open park space pictured here would have once been the site of barracks and other buildings related to the 18th. Today it houses a literary memorial celebrating Shimao's writing career.

A small grave for Shimao, his wife Miho, and their daughter, Maya, marked by a stone monument, can be found in a serene clearing just behind it.

Postwar Literature and Kakeroma Today

Following the demobilization of his unit, Shimao would leave the island and move several times in the following years. First to Kobe, where he and Miho would marry, and then later to Tokyo. In 1955, they moved back to Amami: not to Kakeromajima, but rather Amami Oshima's main city of Naze. It was here where Shimao would write much of his accalimed work, including 1977's The Sting of Death.

During these years, he engaged not only in the literary world, but also contributed to researching Amami and Ryukyuan history, working with the local museum and his developing own theories on Amami's historiography. Both of these pursuits have led to an appreciation of his legacy on Amami, long after his passing in 1986.

He was often described as a "writer's writer," which could be taken positively or negatively. Several of his short stories were translated during his lifetime, and can now be read by English readers as well. They are excellent reading material for anyone interested in the Amami Islands.

Overlooking the hamlet of Nishiamuro

As much as 95% of Kakeroma’s area is composed of rugged hills and mountains covered by thick subtropical forests. What we’ve covered in this series is only a small fraction of what remains on the island. The town of Setouchi has done incredible fieldwork in identifying and documenting the dozens of confirmed relics located both here and on the Amami Oshima mainland. Their Japanese-language report 瀬戸内町内の遺跡２ (Archaeological Sites in Setouchi Town, Second Edition) was an incredible reference in compiling the island’s history, and is a great place to start for anyone wanting to learn more on the subject.

Bibliography

Shimao, Toshio. “The Farthest Edge of the Islands.” In The Sting of Death and Other Stories. Translated by Kathryn Sparling. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1985.

Shimao, Toshio. “This Time That Summer.” In The Sting of Death and Other Stories. Translated by Kathryn Sparling. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1985.

Sparling, Kathryn. “Introduction.” In The Sting of Death and Other Stories, by Toshio Shimao. Translated by Kathryn Sparling. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1985.