I got a present of two return tickets to the cities Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya or Naha, which are connected with my hometown of Matsuyama City by ANA direct flight. I picked the last choice up. I'm going to write about my trip to Okinawa whose capital city is Naha.
I left Matsuyama in the pouring rain. About an hour later, the captain announced that we were flying above Kagoshima Prefecture in the south of Kyushu. Due to the thick cloud, I couldn't see the ocean, but I remembered Chiran air station in Kagoshima Prefecture from which pilots of the "Kamikaze Suicide Squad" flew toward the U.S. fleet 68 years ago. How long did it take for them bearing heavy bombs to reach the target. After taking off, they must have put up with the solitude because they were prohibited to use wireless communication so as not to be detected by the U.S. What were they thinking? About their sweetheart? Family? Friend? Childhood? I was so sorry to be happy on the passenger plane. At the same time, I was proud of them. They truly had Bushido, the soul of Japan, I believe. I'd like to cite the words of Inazo Nitobe; "Unformulated, Bushido was and still is the animating spirit, the motor force of our country". I hope the truth about the last war will be revealed.
(Vocabulary)
Unformulated, Bushido was and still is the animating spirit, the motor force of our country.
新渡戸稲造：決して定義されているわけではないが、武士道は、今も昔も日本人に息づく魂であり、我が国の原動力である。
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１２月の沖縄旅行。マイレージが貯まったので行ってみました。途中、機長の挨拶で、鹿児島県上空を飛んでいると聞いて知覧を飛び立った特攻隊員のことを考えました。重い爆弾を抱えてどのくらい孤独な時間を過ごしたのでしょう。盛大な見送りを受けて飛び立ったものの沖縄沖の敵艦を発見するまでたった一人。その間、何を考え、死んでいったのでしょう。彼らの存在は今生きる日本人が誇りにすべきものと考えます。
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