"[ Radio Transmission ] [ Matsuno Ooish Funeral 2004 ]" "[ Chanting ]" "[ Kenichro Ooishi crying ]" "[ Kiyoko Saeki ] Grandpa [ Keiko Saeki ] Grandpa" "[ Kenichro crying ]" "[ Keiko ] I can't believe Grandpa cried like that." "[ Kentaro Saeki ] It was my first time too." "[ Kiyoko ] Grandpa... really loved Grandma" "Grandma must had a wonderful life, right?" "But.." "I heard Grandma experienced many difficulties during the war, first husband died as a Special attack pilot." " First husband?" " Yes" "Wait, wait.." "I've never heard about it." "[ Kiyoko ] kidding?" ""kidding"?" "My real father." "What?" "[ Cell ringing ]" "Yes..." "[ Keiko ] Why are you still in bed this late?" "Do you think you can pass bar exam this year?" "Eh?" "really?" "Oh, be quiet, what?" "About my Grandma's first husband, let's investigate together." "what?" "Remember we talked about it." "Mother was curious about him too." "I was not consulted." "You can do it alone for mom." "Why are you acting so silly?" "duah.." "Think about this, real Grandpa, we are related." "Aren't you interested?" "Sorry, but I don't have curiosity like you." "Next year, it would be 60th anniversary for the end of WW II." "If we gather all records, I may able to write a book." "Are you listening?" "I don't want to end up just an ordinary freelance writer." "So, help me." "I see, now I know your true intention, do as you like, I will hung up." "Wait, don't hung up.. wait" "I pay for your work..." "[ Cry of Cicadas ]" "[ The house of Ooishi ]" "Nothing has changed Grandpa, all these cases will not make any money." "In general, being a lawyer appear to be making a lot of money, but..." "Are you in the same line of work now?" "I thought so." "After 4 year of trying to pass bar exams, I have to re-think about it." "I may not have an aptitude for being a lawyer." "I guess I don't have strong ambition." "I though, I could be like you, Grandpa." "But.." "What are you doing?" "Kentaro" "I didn't expect you to show up and hearing your sad stories." "Right?" "You said, without Grandpa's approval, you didn't want to investigate." "Investigate? I see." "I don't like to investigate a person in secrecy." "Yes" "I want you to do it." "Yes..." "It is for both of you, also." "1918, Kyuzo Miyabe was born in Tokyo 1934, Joined the Navy" "1945, Death at the battle of The South-West Islands offing" "No, he did not have the will." "There is not much trace of his existence." "In 1941, got married with Grandma next year, my mother was born." "So the marriage lasted only 4 years during that time, he spent most of his time at battle front, then he died at the age of 26." "26 years old?" "Same age as you are now." "What?" "what is your problem?" "It is difficult to read this..." "We are about 60 years younger, there is this obvious generation gaps, we struggle to read their writings." "What is this?" "Using net, searched "Fellow soldier society" and I sent out letters;" ""Anybody knows about Kyuzo Miyabe"?" "Then I received replies, here they are." "Wow, so many!" "Yes" "[ Hasegawa coughing ]" "Well..." "Mr. Hasegawa, You knew about my Grandpa..." "[ Hasegawa ] Yes, I did." "We are trying to find out what kind of person he was." "[ kettle chattering ]" "He was a number one coward in the Navy." "What?" "His strongest desire was to live." "What do you mean by that?" "Exactly it is!" "He tried to survive, to live as long as he could." "As fighter pilots, we served with our lives for our country." "However, Kyuzo Miyabe, was not that kind of man." "Instead of winning, saving his own life was his only desire." "The day I lost my arm, he returned without scratches." "He received not even one bullet in his plane." "In that furious fight, it was impossible!" "He did not perform his duty." "He was evacuated at far distance." "Sorry to argue with you, but Grandpa died as a Special attack pilot, therefore, calling a person like that as a coward is..." "I just can't.." "I am sure he received his order and marched out crying." "[ announcer ] Currently, best popular menu is this What's happened?" "Mom, you haven't heard... anything about Mr. Miyabe" "No." "I questioned at one time" ""what was my father like?"" "then?" "Grandma was keep smiling and said nothing, maybe, it was not a happy marriage." "If, Mr. Miyabe was not a likable person, then?" "Was he?" "No, it is just "if", but after I conduct more investigations, some unpleasant stories may come out, it is just a speculation now." "Maybe, that was a reason, mom did not tell me anything about him." ""Disgrace to the empire navy" We mocked him." "He was hiding behind clouds." "When our vessel exploded and many died it was caused by his negligent guard duty." "Let's leave." "Well..." "Grandpa was..." "Mr. Miyabe was a coward, right?" "[ Kageura ] Where did you pick up such a story?" "Well... everybody is telling us, "He is a disgrace."" "You can leave now." "I have nothing to tell you." "Would you wait, please..." "I am telling you to get out!" "You think about it." "If Miyabe was a coward, then why did he choose to become a Special attack pilot?" "Stop it..." "Hey, from a first old man we met, everybody is chanting that he was "a coward, timid, and clinging to life"" "also, he was called "disgrace"" "then, by agreeing with what they tell us, we got scolded." "We are going for one more interview now, Why are you complaining?" "All right..." "I will go with you for one more time." "shoot..." "I inherited the blood of coward." "[ Izaki ] A coward..." "I am sure, your Grandpa was called that way." "But, he could not avoid that." "To make the matter worse, a section commander was such an excellent fighter pilot." "An excellent pilot?" "He was the best among the best." "If a guy like him fighting with us, everybody expected him to take a lead and shot down enemies from right to left." "We expected that to happen." "But, a section commander leader was cool..." "When dog fight starts, pretty soon he would fly away to distance and became a spectator." "He hated to be in the middle of dirty dog fights, therefore, there were many slanders." "I see." "Do you know anything about Zero fighter plane?" "Ah... no, I don't." "Zero fighter plane was such a great fighting airplane." "It had very small turning radius and fast, heavily armed, also, it covered unbelievable flying distance." "Most common single seater plane could fly a few hundred miles but Zero plane could easily fly about 2000 miles." "When this Zero fighter and our section commander combined there were no one who could stand against them." "But then, if everybody was saying that he was a coward that was understandable." " 1941 battle ship "Akagi" " "[ a petty officer ] Number 66 landing gear checked, hook checked" "Ready to land" "Number 66 landing" "It is coming... coming... come, come, come" "[ petty officers laughing ]" "Landing exercise on the ship is quite different than landing on the ground." "During rough weather, it becomes like riding a wild horse." "[ a petty officer ] Number 68 landing gear checked, hook checked, ready to land" "Number 68 landing" "[ petty officers laughing ]" "[ a petty officer ] Touch down [ everyone ] Wow!" "Splendid landing!" "[ crew member ] Who is he?" "He must be from district 12 squadron." "[ Izaki ] Sir, have you been assigned to other aircraft carrier before?" "[ Kyozo Miyabe ] No, today is my first landing on the ship," "I was able to land safely by following other pilot's demonstration." "Kyuzo Miyabe first class officer, I'm looking forward to work with you, sir." "Izaki first class" "hey!" "Don't get too impressed with Miyabe's flight skill, you will be disappointed later." "He is a number one coward in the Navy." "His motto is "life is important"" "[ Voice of Izaki ] After that, we went through intense trainings." "There were no Saturday and Sunday off." "Without doubt, I thought the skill level of our flight crews was the best in the world." "We had the best air planes in the world and we were the best fighter crews and even among us, I believed our section commander's skill surpassed everybody." "And soon, we encountered a battle which would test our skills." "It was the beginning of WW II, the attack of Pearl harbor." " December 8th, 1941 " "Ready for departure." "[ shouting ] [ everybody ] Banzai!" "Banzai!" "Banzai!" "[ flight crew ] then from there... passing Barber's point, then seeing Ford island... the proud attacking force of the Imperial Navy raided, and dropped many torpedoes one after the other against calmly anchored battleships. [ flight crew ] then, look at Arizona, there was a huge explosion!" "This huge black smoke was bellowing up, it was just like an active volcano!" "Miyabe Chief Petty Officer" "[ Miyabe ] Izaki" "Why do I sense your disappointment?" "Aren't you satisfied?" "There was no aircraft carrier." "Without destroying aircraft carrier, I believe today's mission was failure." "Also, we lost 29 of our airplanes" "Today..." "I watched one guarding aircraft smashed into the water." "In the blink of eyes, three lives were gone." "I am afraid." "I do not wish to die." "What did you say!" "[ voice of Izaki ] That moment, hearing "I do not wish to die"," "I remember, I felt this furious disgust against his words." "Then his concern about this attack, which we did not destroy any aircraft carries, it manifested horribly next year, and we had to confront it." "It was the Battle of Midway." " June 5th, 1942 " "Let's push!" "[ crew ] We haven't found any aircraft carrier, yet." "Are they afraid and hiding from us?" "Look at that..." "We have no need for torpedoes." "Our leaders determined there is no aircraft carrier near us." "[ PA buzzing ]" "[ Over PA ] In coming enemies" "Change land bombs to torpedoes immediately." "[ Ide ] We've just finished changing them!" "[ Komori ] They demand whatever they like!" "[ Kamihara ] You've heard it!" "Change back to torpedoes!" "Immediately!" "[ Crews ] Yes, sir!" "We have no time to spare." "If there is aircraft carrier near us, then we need to take off right away." "[ Izaki ] but, with land bombs we can't sink aircraft carrier." "Even we can't, we need to make our first move." "But, we want to sink it, that's our goal." "Then why we changed torpedoes to land bombs." "If destroying aircraft carrier were our prime goal, we should have waited with torpedoes ready for the first sighting of aircraft carrier." "Under present condition, if we get attacked, we have no defense." "[ PA buzzing ]" "[ Over PA ] Air defense crew members, report to flight deck immediately!" "[ mechanic ] Good luck" "Take off!" "[ Watcher ] Hit!" "Coming down! All right!" "Starboard! O.K.!" "Good!" "Good!" "Enemies over head!" "Coming down with nose dive! [ Watcher ] Evacuate!" "Evacuate!" "It was a decoy! [ Voice of Izaki ] That was the battle of Midway I saw." "We lost our landing ship and forced to land on the sea." "We were rescued by Cutter of the destroyer." "[ Izaki's daughter ] Father, I think you should stop for now..." "Please, your health is important..." "No, I have more story to tell." "In the summer of 1942, after temporarily returned to Japan, we were re-assigned to Rabaul, in Papua New Guinea." "At Rabaul, there were many top fighter crews of the Imperial Navy." "It was famous Rabaul flying corps." "Pretty soon, Mr. Miyabe became a section commander." "and another man called "Koyama" and I assigned as 2nd and 3rd team member." "[ Koyama ] Izaki" "Are you satisfied with our section commander?" "He is flying inverted constantly." "Yes, he is being cautious, because the belly of airplane is blind spot." "But, I think he is doing it too much, everybody is laughing about that." "We have an order to obey his commands." "There is nothing we can do!" "Then when air combats starts, why does he take off immediately?" "I want to fight with Americans! He is also very picky about condition of his plane." "When he notices even slight engine problem, he makes a big deal about it..." "When engine is in high revolution, its vibration becomes uneven." "Would you take apart and re-check it again, please?" "Yes" "I heard even mechanics are annoyed by him. [ Izaki ] Wow..." "A section commander, are you doing this exercise every day?" "Yes" "Even the day when you went out for sortie?" "Yes" "Why do you have to do it?" "My wife visited a photo studio, then she mailed this picture for me." "My wife and daughter." ""Too hard, give up already" When I feel that way, I take out this picture." "It does not make any difference if I die in this war." "But, it would make huge changes for the life of my wife and daughter." "Therefore, for me to live and returning home is so precious and important." "Is your life so important?" "His words, "I want to live and return home."" "it was an outrageous idea during that time." "If you've never lived through that period, you may not able to understand this feeling, but..." "That means..." "Grandpa," "regarding Grandma and mother," "he loved them." "Yes" "We don't use the word "love", but, a section commander said" ""for my wife and daughter, I want to live and return home"." "He said it so clearly." "For our generation, it was same as saying "I love you."" "He was not a coward." "Then soon, the battle became uglier and made us much harder to survive." "The most furious battle ground in WW II was the battle over territory of Guadalcanal Island and Solomon sea area." "By these battles, The Japanese Navy lost most of its highly experienced crews who were considered as precious gems of solders." "[ Predecessor crew ] Return to command post immediately!" "The air raid to Rabbi has been canceled, We have a new target for today!" "[ Commander ] Cowardly, the U.S. and Britain forces waited until our new airport became operational." "Right after its completion, they made an attack and killed minimum construction workers there." "and took over the airport." "Therefore, we will conduct immediate raid to enemy landing force at Guadalcanal airport." "This is a battle of revenge." "Over!" "[ Predecessor crew ] Salute!" "At ease!" "[ Predecessor crew ] Get ready!" "[ All ] Yes, sir" "[ Miyabe ] ...distance to Shortland is 310 miles 620 miles... 23 miles more... total 1150 miles" "Impossible!" "I can't make an effective attack so far away!" "[ Predecessor crew ] Miyabe, What did you say now?" "Why, do you say such a thing always?" "You deserve teaching!" "You degrade our morale!" "Do not say a word again! [ Izaki ] A section commander, why did you say such a thing?" "Is a section commander familiar with Guadalcanal island?" "[ Miyabe ] No, I don't, but I know 1150 miles is." "It would take us about 3.5 hours to get there, it is also 3.5 hours of constant looking out from enemy attack." "Roughly calculating the fuel requirement for return, we only have about 10 minutes of battle time." "I have a pretty good idea of what kind of battle scene would play out." "[ Voice of Izaki ] 5 hours later..." "It played out exactly what a section commander said." "What's wrong?" "Going back for fighting!" "Is he going back and blow himself up?" "No!" "Stop!" "[ Koyama ] a section commander... We made it!" "Shit! I will request rescue team immediately, do you best to stay alive!" "Koyama!" "Hang in there!" "[ The seaplane crew ] At crush site, there was no sign of master sergeant Koyama, but..." "What happened?" "Around at landing area... there were many sharks circling around..." "[ Izaki ] A section commander!" "Why didn't you allow him to go back and blow himself up?" "Koyama would had been much happier, by attacking the enemy and blowing himself up victoriously than eaten by sharks." "At that moment, there was more chance for survival." "Did you really believe that?" "I don't know, but blowing himself up is the guaranteed death." "We can die anytime, but we must do our best to survive." "I am afraid that" "I will not survive this war." "If I get hit, please let me die with honor." "Izaki, Why don't you understand?" "Don't you have family?" "Is there someone who would mourn your death if you die?" "Answer me Izaki!" "My father and mother are living in the country side." "Anyone else?" "My younger brother" "If you die, don't they mourn?" "Yes, they do..." "Then, don't die!" "No matter what hardship you may go through, you must try to survive." "[ voice of Izaki ] Before or after, that was the only time I was scolded by Miyabe section commander." "Therefore, his words struck in the dept of my heart." "Then later, his words resurfaced again after I left Rabaul..." "In 1944 at the Battle of the Philippine Sea, enemy Grumman was waiting us expectantly, and my fuel tank was hit by bullets." "I thought that was the end..." "One moment, I thought I could run into enemy plane." "Then..." "Izaki, why don't you understand!" "His voice echoed inside my head." "Next moment, I plunged my plane nose first and tried my escape." "I lost fuel quickly." "I landed on the water." "I swam for 9 hours fearing for shake attack whole time." "There were so many times, I thought about giving up." "But his words were keep repeating inside my head," "No matter what hardship you may go through, you must try to survive" "I was standing by the edge of my death, and understood the true meaning of his words." "And because of him, I am here." "Without him, my daughter would not exist in this world." "Now, with clear conviction, I can say" "a section commander who choose to live in his way during that war was the most strongest person." "He was the strongest, that is why he could insist living in his own way." "He was never a coward." "But though unfortunately," "Grandpa did not have a chance to meet with Grandma and mother, am I right?" "Yes, he did, right after Pearl Harbor, the battle ship "Akagi" docked at Yokosuka harbor, and he did." "Really?" "I recall a section commander was telling that he went back home to see them." " House of Miyabe - [ Matuno ] Dear!" "What's wrong?" "You surprised me." "You should have informed me if you were coming home." "I see..." "I am sorry." "It was a covert operation for docking at Yokosuka harbor." "How is Kiyoko doing? You must be Kiyoko, my daughter. Kiyo-chan, Kiyo-chan Can you see your father?" "She is so tiny..." "Kiyoko" "Dear, how is the temperature of bath?" "Matsuno!" "Hurry!" "Matsuno!" "What's matter?" "Oh!" "Ah... well..." "She made a mess in the bath tub." "I can foresee this child will not get upset easily." "She must felt really comfortable being with you." "yes, it must be, Kiyo-chan" "Do you like taking a bath with your father?" "Ready," "I will head out." "Please... be safe" "Matsuno." "No matter what happens" "I will be back," "even if I lose my arm, even without my leg, I will be back" "even if I die" "I will be back if reincarnation is possible," "I will be back to you and Kiyoko." "It is our promise." "[ Izaki ] I am at the last stage of my cancer." "Oh, no?" "6 months ago, my doctor told me that I had only 3 months to live." "But some reason, even 6 months later" "I am still alive." "Why is my life extended this far, now, I understand." "I had to tell you this story." "I had to tell you about a section commander, this must be the reason." "A section commander, your grand-son is here." "A section commander," "can you see him?" "I..." "I want to find out more about him." "Yes." "More and more, I want to know." "Yes." "...until I return to my wife and child" "I can not die." "Yes, those words are enough, yes" "I am so... just hearing those words... And just once, they had a chance to be re-united." "Then, why? Why did Grandpa choose to be a Special attack pilot?" "[ Secretary ] at 10 am..." "Chairman Takeda!" "I would like to talk with you." "[ Secretary ] It is you again!" "I informed you that he has no time." "I am gathering information about Kyuzo Miyabe!" "[ Secretary ] Please excuse yourself" "[ Takeda ] Kyuzo Miyabe" "Yes, please take care of it." "All right," "I canceled all my morning appointments." "eh?" "ah..." "I am very sorry." "You have his resemblance." "[ voice of Takeda ] I remember about Instructor very well." "First time I met Mr. Miyabe, he was an instructor for Naval reserve officers." "In 1945, the condition of War turned worse." "Many students who were exempted from military service got drafted by the decree of "Departure of students for the war front."" "We were well fed kids with brains, had an aptitude for learning new things quickly." "It was their best interest to train us as pilots immediately." "then, to become Navy flying corps crews." "We received rigorous training." "But, we received no air combat training." "Why so?" "What do you think about that?" "From the beginning, we received trainings only to become Special attack pilots." "At first, we did not suspect that we were getting training for only special attack." "Then, right after finished flight training, before getting an assignment to the war front," "We received an application for volunteering for special attack." "The shock of holding this application in our own hands was beyond our imaginations." "But after contemplating 3 days, most of us decided to accept this application and signed it." "About half of 4400 who died as Special Attack Pilots were just like me who were drafted under "Departure of students for the war front."" "Yes, sir!" "[ Miyabe ] Pay attention for cross wind when you are taking off and landing." "[ All ] Yes, sir!" "[ Miyabe ] Finish, Over!" "[ Cadets ] Salute!" "Dismissed!" "Start! [ Takeda ] Miyabe instructor" "I shall receive "Pass" grade today right?" "No Pass" "Why?" "I managed quite well today's plunging training." "Yes, you executed it splendidly, I was surprised." "Then, why?" "May I have the reason?" "No pass" "[ Takeda ] No pass." "No pass." "No pass" "When is he going to give me passing grade?" "That man..." "[ Ito ] If we keep idling like this, we would never go to the war front." "[ Teranishi ] I heard..." "That man was running away at war front, and he was no use always..." "Is it the main reason why he was re-assigned here then?" "It is annoying story." "[ Yamada ] Speaking of a rumor..." "He refused to participate in a special attack in Philippines." "well, well..., more worms are coming out." "[ Ito ] Which tells me, Miyabe, he must be a coward, and on top of that, he is reluctant to give us passing grade." "[ Kagawa ] He is afraid we become better pilots that he is." "Are you sure about his refusal for a special attack?" "I am not sure, but being such a coward, I can believe that." "[ Kasai ] Number 38, approach" "[ Kasai ] Number 51, approach" "That is "Ito"" "Here he comes." "What the..." "[ All ] Ito!" "Ito!" "[ Major ] The dead cadet's spirit was not in tune with our spirits." "How dare, he managed to destroy our valuable plane, even before exchanging one bullet with enemies, a guy who he takes his own life is not allow to be a soldier, He is a dis-loyalist." "[ Miyabe ] Major," "I do not agree with you, Sir." "Major Ito was a good and honorable man." "He is not a man to be dishonored." "You!" "Major Ito was a honorable man." "[ Major ] You are just a special duty officer, watch your mouth! I've heard about your rumors." "I hear you don't give them passing grade." "You don't want to send them for Special Attack?" "Am I right?" "We are facing this danger of losing our country." "It is unbelievable!" "You are disgrace!" "Stand up!" "Stand up! Stand up! [ Cadets ] Miyabe instructor!" "Miyabe instructor" "Are you all right?" "Yes, but it is sure painful." "Enemy approaching, the right front!" "Scatter!" "Shit! Are you all right!" "You are safe, they didn't get you." "What a foolish thing you have done!" "Miyabe instructor, Japan needs a person like you." "You must survive, Please do not die." "No!" "You are the one who should survive." "You must survive and perform great contributions to this country." "We must stay vigilant." "[ Voice of Takeda ] I really understood the heart of this man." "Then afterward, I was re-assign to Tomitaka base in Kyushu." "I did not have any more opportunity to meet him again." "When I heard the news of his death," "I could not hardly bear it..." "He was the person who should have lived." "Do you have any idea why my Grandpa signed up for a special attack sortie?" "I do not know." "This agony for signing up for a special attack can be only understood by those who departed for sortie." "Between a persons like me who just stayed as a cadet and those who never returned by joining special attack, there exists this wide gap we can never comprehend." "But still..." "I clearly remember the emotion of sending off my friends for sorties." "This emotion is even if I tried to forget, I can not force it out of myself." "[ Takeda ] And you, what do you do?" "[ Kentaro ] preparing for bar exam... well, no... just doing nothing much..." "I am a bit ashamed of myself." "Don't worry." "Why?" "You are the blood line of Miyabe Instructor." "Someday, You would accomplish splendid work." "For your Grandfather, you must do you best work." "Yes" "I have never imagined this day would come, the day which I would be telling to my instructor's grandson, how he must live his life." "[ Kentaro ] ...such as making an emergency lancing on the island or... there were many other choices..." "Why did you choose to be a Special attack pilot, Kyuzo-san Hello" "[ Yamashita ] Hey Kentaro You are late, Where are you? [ Yamashita ] then, it's like a school excursion." "[ Hasegawa ] then, what?" "How about Saipan?" "[ Yamashita ] Why are you being so stingy?" "If we are going out with girl, then it must be Hawaii." "[ Sudo ] Hawaii is excellent!" "yeah Let's go..." "Let's go to Hawaii." "yeah." "[ Yamashita ] Wow!" "What?" "Is today for wearing suite day?" "[ Yamashita ] idiot..." "Girls are coming you are not dressed properly for this occasion..." "Sure?" "We were just discussing which resort is best to take them." "This is going to be a team play, so don't let us stalled." "Resort?" "[ Hasegawa ] Saipan or Okinawa [ all three ] or Hawaii!" "[ girls ] Thank you for waiting!" "[ Sudo ] Good evening, here Please have a seat, here" "..It's been a long time.. ...nice to meet you.." "[ Yamashita ] Special attack corps?" "Yeah" "It is such an old subject." "[ Hasegawa ] I mean, can you afford to waste your time for that?" "Oh, well." "Kentaro has his own reason." "Also, about Suicide attack, that is not so far back story anyway." "Suicide attack?" "wait, no..." "What are you talking about?" "Let me make myself clear, Suicide attack and Special attack is totally different." "It is same, indeed, they were brainwashed." "No, totally wrong, Aircraft carrier is the only target for Special Attack." "Aircraft carrier is a murder weapon." "There is huge difference from suicide bombing which kills civilians and innocence." "We can not follow this conversation..." "Can you?" "I am not discussing differences," "I am talking about mentality; giving up their lives for their belief." "That is the core of this conversation." "From the foreigner's point of view, they don't see the difference between two, they call them as fanatic patriots." "No, listen yeah, yeah, yeah" "I've had a chance of reading wills of Special Attack pilots." "They were proud to sacrifice their lives for the country." "I think, it was one form of heroism, that was ..." "Wait, wait, I am sorry to disagree with you, but you have no understanding." "I understand, quite well" "Hey, since you failed bar exam so many times, you may have lost your mind, you are not sure who you are any more and trying to find your identity, by avoiding face your true self." "Listen, I say one more time!" "it is not same!" "[ Yamashita ] what's wrong?" "[ Sudo ] Why are you so serious?" "We really don't care whether special attack was considered as suicide bombing or not." "Do we really?" "[ Hasegawa ] yeah, We are here to enjoy this evening." "O.K., let's start over." "Sorry, but I will leave." "a party pooper... [ Kageura ] That sward knows the taste of blood..." "Mr. Kageura." "Do you know what time is now?" "No." "About my grand father," "I would like to hear from you." "You matured a bit." "You told me, your grandfather was a coward." "I though, I have nothing to tell you about your grandfather." "So indeed, have you found more about him?" "Yes but, I can not find the answer, why...?" "Why Miyabe choose to become a Spacial Attack Pilot?" "Yes." "I know he tried to survive but, at the end he detached himself from his hope." "I..." "I hated him... [ voice of Kageura ] I loved air combat." "I felt I was alive in the sky." "It was my world." "If I were shot down by enemy, I had no regret dying." "When the battle became furious, my blood boiled." "I wanted to live like famous great swordsmen." "But, even under these battle conditions, there was a man who always returned unharmed." "He clearly avoided battles but his flying skill was superb." "I could not accept the existence of this person." "[ Kageura ] Miyabe sergeant-major, I have a request" "[ Miyabe ] What would it be?" "I would like you to demonstrate air combat with me." "I don't see any need for that." "Mr. Kageura, you already have an excellent fighting skill." "Miyabe sergeant-major, I heard your air combat skill is the best." "I would like to see it." "I decline!" "Is it not worth for showing?" "You think you will not lose?" "I see, now you decided to show me what you got." "Miyabe sergeant-major, Got you!" "What... why? Fire" "Fire!" "I..." "I fired at you..." "Shoot me down, Fire!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "Kill me!" "Fire!" "I do not want to make an excuse," "I've done what I should have never done." "Why my bullets missed its target?" "He pretended that he was flying straight line but he was slightly drifting to the side." "My shots which was aimed at direct front, would drift off to his side, he calculated that." "He placed me on the edge of death." "From that day on, I clinged to my life." "I vowed not to die until I would shoot Miyabe down." "I was determined." "The war situation turned worse more and more." "In 1944, at the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Japanese army gathered all their fighting power, but we tasted an overwhelming defeat." "Saipan was the absolute defense line, but we lost it." "The enemy encroached to Philippines, then Okinawa" "The Japanese military was cornered, and they choose this last insane defense," "Special Attack!" "When I heard about the decision of Special attack, I felt a chill go down my spine." "It was a realization this war has finally reached to its madness." "If there was slim chance of escaping the death, then we were willing to fight and accepted our deaths." "But Special attack was absolute death." "To succeed equaled death." "That was not a strategy!" "I thought, "if we reached to the point of planning such strategy, then we will lose this war"" "After that, I received my transfer order." "I was separated from Miyabe." "I was assigned at Kanoya base in Kyushu." "My new assignment was to guard and protect Special attack corps," "I escorted them and delivered them to enemy ship in one piece." "then again," "I met him." "but he was not same Miyabe as I have known." " 1945 Kanoya base " "[ Cadet ] Miyabe instructor!" "[ Cadet ] Hello!" "Teranishi, Yamada, Kagawa" "[ Teranishi ] Are you well now?" "[ Yamada ] Your baby face is gone, right? Dear mother... That is" "Special attack." "Today, my students left for Special attack." "Horrible sight." "I have watched it everyday." "Could you tell me?" "What else can they do under their predicament?" "Nowadays, the performance of enemy planes are surpassing Zero fighter planes, the anti-aircraft fire power are increasing day by day." "Even today," "most of Zero fighter planes could not reach the enemy ship." "No one," "should not face their death like that." "For post-war Japan," "they should stay alive," "but" "I could not offer any help." "Under that circumstance" "there was nothing you could do." "It's not that simple!" "How many?" "Do you know how many died?" "To protect zero fighter planes is the duty of guarding aircraft." "If we must, we act as shields and protect them, that is our duty." "I know that... but, I run away." "I left them to die." "I am alive because of their sacrifices, because, they choose to die, I stay living" "What should I do?" "What..." "What should I do" "What should I do..." "Grandpa, he accepted Special Attack, do you think that is the reason?" "I don't know." "That day, Miyabe acted like his one foot was already stepped into other side, every pores of his body were permeating his torments." "It appeared he was not a man at this side of world." "By those days, even experienced pilots like me was asked to volunteer for Special Attack." "But, I've never volunteered." "I thought dying under these insane tactics is waste of my life." "Then, one day in the member list for a Special Attack sortie," "I saw Miyabe's name." "What does it mean!" "Why Miyabe Second lieutenant was going for Special attack?" "Why did you volunteer?" "[ Officer ] You!" "Do you have any objection to the decision made by leaders?" "Please tell them, veteran pilots like me," ""don't let me die in vain by Special attack"" "You've seen Special Attack." "Please tell them, most planes could not reach enemy ship, they died in vain!" "It's all right, Kageura" "It's over." "[ voice of Kageura ] at that moment, I swore," "I will protect him no matter what would happen." "I will not allow enemy bullets to touch him." "I will shoot all down who attack Miyabe." "If I run out of my bullets, I will run into them." "but, then" "I lost him again." "That day of sortie, about 100 miles before reaching enemy ship, we encounter enemy defense force." "At that moment, my engine started to act up." "I saw Miyabe was drifting off from battle zone." "I followed Miyabe." "I tried to follow all the way but I could not catch up." "Then, suddenly I lost Miyabe from my sight." "There was one odd incident happened that day." "The day of Special attack, Miyabe did not take his normal Type 52 Zero plane, but he took off with type 21, older model" "Just before their departure, he asked to exchange airplane with other pilot." "Why?" "I don't know the reason." "Miyabe was persistent riding type 21, maybe he wanted to go with his favorite plane since Pearl Harbor time and with this story, there is one additional ending, which is not laughable." "The type 52 Zero plane which Miyabe was suppose to ride, had also developed engine trouble." "It did not make the journey to enemy territory." "There is a record that this plane made emergency landing at Kikaishima Island." "Then..." "The pilot who was in that plane survived?" "Yes" "Soon we lost Okinawa." "After that, we stopped Special attack till the end of war." "That means," "If Grandpa did not ask to exchange his plane, he may be alive today." "I don't know!" "But that is highly possible." "Then, Grandpa... handed out the last opportunity for survival by chance?" "That is... with Grandpa..." "I wanted to meet and talk..." "That time... the day of Special attack, climbing into type 21 Zero plane," "his eye were not like the eyes for facing his death." "It was like finally going back home that kind of solace eyes..." "Do you want to know who was the other pilot who survived?" "If he is still alive, I would like to meet him." "I would like to hear his story." "Naming list" "Thank you very much." "You don't need to thank me." "I have nothing more to tell you." "Let my assistant take you home." "Oh... no, thank you, my sister can pick me up." "All right then." "Thank you." "I like young men." "[ Keiko ] Gee..." "What is he doing?" "Hey, you!" "You are drenched!" "Why are you standing in the rain?" "What's matter?" "It was Grandpa." "What?" "It was our Grandpa, a person who was riding type 52 Zero plane was our Grandpa." "Wait?" "What are you trying to tell me?" "[ Cry of the cicada ]" "[ Kenichoro ] Someday" "I thought I need to tell both of you." "Matsuno said, our children don't need to know." "but, I had my intention to talk." "Now, the time has come." "inside..." "I met Mr. Miyabe at Tsukuba Flying corps." "When he was chased by enemy plane, you were the one who saved Kyuzo Miyabe" "by running you plane into enemy plane at the risk of loosing your own life." "He defended and preserved the honor of Cadet Ito who died in training." "Since then no matter what might happen, even sacrificing my own life," "I decided to protect him." " 1945 Navy hospital " "Under these circumstance, I can only offer this." "My wife did alteration." "[ Ooishi ] I can not accept such a variable thing." "It is all right," "I want you to accept it." "Kiyoko, scribe "pure" and "child"" "Kiyoko-san is a beautiful lady." "oh... no, no..." "My wife is Matsuno." "Kiyoko is my baby." "ah..." "She was born right after Pearl Harbor." "I don't want to die for my child." "Mr. Ooishi, when this war end, what will you do?" "Well... can't think of anything?" "Yes!" "What is it?" "Yes... well..." "Please tell me." "Well..." "what is it?" "If I survive" "I want to do the work to help others." "There were times I thought that would be nice." "I wish such a day would come." "Miyabe instructor!" "[ Cadets ] Wow!" "Teranishi, Yamada, Kagawa" "[ Teranishi ] Are you all right now?" "[ Yamada ] Your baby face is gone, right? Miyabe instructor?" "Mr. Ooishi" "Are you well now?" "Yes, thank you for looking after for me." "Good news" "no... maybe not" "Believe in gods immortality and live in the eternal justice!" "Wish your success!" "[ squad leader ] Let's move!" "Yes, sir! [ commander ] Tomorrow, at the dawn followings will perform Special attack sortie at Okinawa battle." "Over" "Salute!" "At ease!" " Kenichro Ooishi " "Ooishi" "I am all right," "Teranishi and Yamada did it already." "I am ready." "but look..." " kyuzo Miyabe " "[ Kageura ] What are you doing!" "[ Miyabe ] It appears pleasing..." "It must be soothing. [ Ooishi ] It is strange," "water is cold, weeds are dancing with wind" "until now, I did not pay any attention but now, to all of them, I have this yearning." "I've never though about my family and future of Japan seriously until now." "I've never though about what would happen to them after my death." "Even after my death, I wish this country will go on, and children who are here now, and even those who will born after will continue to live." "How are they reminiscent about this war?" "My mind meander about those thoughts." "By that time, what kind of transformations did" "Japan go through?" "[ Commander ] Each of you, believe in your own courage." "Wish for your success." "Ooishi second lieutenant, I have one request." "Could we exchange our planes?" "Mr. Miyabe, you have newer type 52 plane." "Why do you wish to ride this older type 21 to perform your sortie?" "Type 21 is the first Zero fighter plane I have flown." "I would prefer to accomplish my sortie with this plane." "but..." "Would you allow me to grant my last wish?" "[ All ] Miyabe instructor! Shit!" "shit! No, I will not" "Mr. Miyabe!" "Mr. Miyabe!" "Mr. Miyabe did not return and now, I am here." "That was" "Grandpa's fate..." "No, it is not!" "I wanted to tell what had happen to him, immediately after the war, I went looking for his wife Matsuno." "But," "the area of Yokohama where Miyabe-san was living was burnt to the ground by air raid." "No neighbors knew Matsuno's whereabout." "One day, I received a call from a friend working at the Ministry of Health and Welfare." "I found her whereabout, but already 2 years have passed since the end of war." "Matsuno was living at barracks in Osaka, by herself, she was try to raise Kiyoko." "I gathered she endured hardships." "I will be back" "Liar Who are you?" "[ Ooishi ] Excuse me, my name is Kenichiro Ooishi," "during the war, your husband really looked after for me." "I am the wife of Miyabe." "Thank you for looking after Miyabe." "Yes..." "No..." "It was me who was taking care of." "[ voice of Kenichiro ] My heart was aching." "Mr. Miyabe wished so much to protect them." "They were living in such poverty and hardships." "My heart was crying inside." "I told Matsuno the story of exchanging airplanes with Mr. Miyabe and by doing so, I was the only left alive." "I had expected this bad news." "I am sorry" "It was my fault." "No, it was his fate, it is not your fault." "No, it is not!" "When Mr. Miyabe asked me to exchange his type 52," "I can't think fate played its role." "After I made emergency landing at Kikaishima Island," "I found these in the cockpit." "this picture and attached memo" "Earlier, when he stepped into type 52, he had foreseen the failing engine," "and with this knowledge, he left this picture and memo for me to find later." "[ voice of Miyabe ] Ooishi second lieutenant, if you survive this war" "I have a favor to ask you." "If my family turned out into the streets and suffering" "I want you to help them." "Why..." "I am sorry I am the one who should had died." "Get out." "I beg you, please get out! [ voice of Kenichoro ] I vowed to help them all I can." "I made visits every chances I had." "Dear Kiyoko, with this, you can buy a juice." "[ Kiyoko ] juice?" "May I?" "No, you may not" "Please stop worrying about us." "No if I don't, I can't pay my honor to Mr. Miyabe." "Please, accepted this." "It's a meager amount." "No, Mr. Ooishi." "I can't accept it." "[ Kiyoko ] It's cold, mother." "Uncle" "[ Kenichoro ] at every paycheck, I visited Osaka." "Matsuno did not easily accepted my offers but I continued my visits." "It was my obligation and I was convinced to do so..." "Uncle! Here we go." "Thank you." "this way, this way!" "Trees are in full bloom." "Can you reach it?" " No" " Can't reach it?" "O.K." "How about now?" "did you touch it?" " no, can't - oh... you can't touch it... here ah..." "Are you all right?" "take this..." "I am soaked." "O.K., you must dry yourself" "No..." "Wait" "You!" "come back!" " Come!" " Nope..." "You will catch cold if you don't." " Did you enjoy yourself?" " Yes - one more time, one more time - one more?" "Let's do it together, here we go! Why are you so kind to us?" "My life was saved by Mr. Miyabe." "Even though, you don't have to sacrifice your life." "You have already fulfilled your obligations." "I can't continue to be looked after by you anymore." "It is not like that." "It is different." "At fist, it was my duty but, by doing so, coming here turned into my joy." "Being able to provide even a little support to both of you, it became the pillar of my life." "No, I will be honest with you." "From the first time, when I met you, I was..." "My intention was not pure." "Please don't leave." "Now, I understand." "what?" "My dear, he kept his promise" "He said to me" ""even if I die"" ""I will be back"" ""if reincarnation is possible"" ""I will be back to you and Kiyoko"" "Now, you are here with me" "Miyabe kept his promise." "He wished so much to return here." "Then, why..." "I can't quite put into words, it is not so easily describe by words." "But, one thing I can think of..." "He was not afraid of his own death but the life of Matsuno and you which may crumble and be destroyed that what he was feared and afraid." "We, as the survivor, must not waste their sacrifices." "We must continue our stories." "Soon afterward, we got married." "After our marriage, we never talked about Mr. Miyabe again." "But both of us, we have never forgotten about Mr. Miyabe." "Grandpa and Grandma you experienced such an amazing past." "We are not unique at all, during that time, everybody weaved their own tapestries." "Everyone kept their memories inside their hearts and lived their lives, acting as nothing had happened in their past." "That is the way we live through the war." "Maybe after 10 more years, most of our generations will disappear." "This story," "I am glad I could able to share it with you." "[ voice of Matsuno ] There was one peculiar incident in my past." "I want to be honest with you and there will be no secret between us." "Right after the war, I was deceived and almost became a mistress of local Yakuza." "The reason I was able to escape that predicament was, a person who had laid his life down for us and he helped us to escape." "That person, he dashed into the room with bloody sword like object," "he throw his wallet at me and yelled" ""Live"!" "At that moment, his being reminded me of Miyabe, he came back and was trying to rescue us." "Do you know what happen to this man?" "I've never seen him again." "After that, Kiyoko and I escaped and moved here." "I don't know who he was, where he lived..." "I should have found both of you much sooner." "I shouldn't have left you alone." "I should have searched after for you much sooner." "That person..." "Who was he..." "Matsuno... [ voice of Miyabe ] By that time, what kind of transformations did" "Japan go through?" "until I return to my wife and child I can not die." "Therefore, for me to live and able to return home is so precious and important." "I wish such a day would come." "Izaki, why don't you understand? [ Gyokuon-hōsō ] ...endure the difficulty of endurance, accept the difficulty of unacceptable." "For all generation..." "[ Kageura ] Show your spirit!" "[ Kageura ] Miyabe..." "Miyabe" "Are you leaving me, Miyabe!" "[ Gyokuon-hōsō ] ...maintain the country, and for obtaining loyalty will" "Miyabe!" "Mr. Miyabe..." "I am sorry." "He was a number one coward in the Navy." "Why Miyabe signed up for Special attack?" "He was the person who should have lived." "That is the way we live through the war." "For our generation, it was same as saying "I love you"" "My dear, he kept his promise. [ Radio Transmission ] The Eternal Zero" "♪ As a love song is interrupted ♪" "♪ the light of heart disappeared ♪" "♪ sacrificing only one life ♪" "♪ rest in peace my friend ♪" "♪ sad blue sky ♪" "♪ the day, sunshine filtering through foliage, it is sad and painful ♪" "♪ every time summer arrive it is same as that day ♪" "♪ wind passing by ♪" "♪ trying not to show my tears ♪" "♪ Good bye with smile ♪" "♪ We made a promise to meet again ♪" "♪ Why did you terminate your life ♪" "♪ and only your soul can return?" "♪" "♪ following buzzing firefly in the darkness ♪" "♪ I feel the presence of you ♪" "♪ If you are reincarnated ♪" "♪ you will fall in love ♪" "♪ hold each other in arms, and burning our lives ♪" "♪ trying not to show my tears ♪" "♪ Good bye with smile ♪" "♪ world filled with dreams ♪" "♪ pray ♪"