LETTERS
“We have put an effort into joining forces, but in the end our efforts will not tie up with reality. You must live every single minute in this real world, a world in which I will no longer exist. You must live on in high spirits. I too will do up until my last moment. I will die with a smile on my face."
"I attack in four hours, I shall be shining among the clouds, drifting and tumbling forever. This is my last letter. Your loving son."
"Dear Mother and Father---thank you for bringing me up to be a true man. I died smiling so please smile. Do not cry for me."
"I am really grateful for my two decades of life in this beautiful island country. When I fly in the sky, I'm in the purest of minds. I'm genuinely pleased to have the chance to attack the enemy. On this great morning, as I worship His Highness, I shout 'banzai' for the eternity of the Emperor, I will now set off."
“I am pleased to have the honour of having been chosen as a member of a Special Attack Force that is on its way into battle, but I cannot help crying when I think of you, Mum. When I reflect on the hopes you had for my future ... I feel so sad that I am going to die without doing anything to bring you joy.”
"Although I have tried many times to call you 'Mother.' I have have never been able to do so." Please forgive your timid son. You must have felt sad and rejected. Now I want to call to you loudly and clearly "mother, mother, mother.'"
"I want you to respect your mother and be like her, always honest and kind. I hope you will be a good wife. I won't see you again in this life, so when you want to see me, you should come to Yasukina Shrine. If pray hard enough, I will be there beside you, and share your happiness as my own. Never say you have no father. I will always be with you, by you side. Your loving Daddy."