The Cherry Blossom Winds
My beloved Yuki,
I am writing this in the quiet hours of the morning, in a room with eight other pilots. We are all composing our final letters. Some are writing to their mothers, some to their fathers, some to the sweethearts they will never hold again. The air is calm. Outside, the cherry blossoms are falling.
I am not afraid. That is the truth. I thought I would be — I thought a man facing his end would tremble — but I feel only peace. The Emperor has honored me with this duty, and I will not falter. But before I go, I want you to know the things that fill my heart.
I remember the day we met at the temple festival in Nagasaki. You were wearing a blue kimono with white flowers, and you were laughing at something your friend had said. I watched you from across the courtyard, and I thought: that is the most beautiful sound I have ever heard. When I finally spoke to you, my voice almost failed. You smiled, and I forgot the rest of the world.
I remember the feel of your hand in mine. So small, so warm. I will carry that warmth with me into the sky.
Do not weep for me, Yuki. I will become the wind that protects you. I will be the rain that falls on the rice fields. I will be the sun that warms Sakura’s face — for I know our child will be a girl, and I have already chosen her name. Sakura. Like the cherry blossoms. Because she will be beautiful and she will endure.
Japan will rise again, not from war, but from the hearts of those who remember. From you. From Sakura. From the children who will learn to fold paper cranes and to pray for peace.
Tell our daughter that her father loved her before he ever saw her face. Tell her I dove through the clouds carrying her heart with mine.
Diving through the clouds, I carry your heart with me — Spring will return soon.
Your Kenji
愛するゆきへ。あなたの手の温もりを、私は永遠に忘れません。 私は風になってあなたを守ります。 さくらが咲くたびに、私のことを思い出してください。
The original letter is written in careful, elegant calligraphy. There is a small ink smudge — perhaps a tear — on the line where he writes "I am not afraid."
愛するゆきへ。あなたの手の温もりを、私は永遠に忘れません。私は風になってあなたを守ります。さくらが咲くたびに、私のことを思い出してください。
Kenji Yamamoto was born 1924 in Nagasaki, the eldest son of a fisherman. He was studying literature at Kyushu Imperial University when he was mobilized for the Navy in 1943. His poetry had been published in a university literary magazine. He married Yuki in February 1945, barely two months before his final mission. His final poems are preserved at the Chiran Peace Museum.
What Happened
Aftermath
Historical Context
Timeline
Kenji enters the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy at Etajima.
Kenji transferred to air unit, begins flight training.
First organized kamikaze attacks begin at Leyte Gulf.
Kenji and Yuki marry in a small Shinto ceremony in Nagasaki.
Kenji assigned to the Kikusui special attack unit at Kanoya Air Base.
Kenji writes his final letters and death poem.
Kikusui No. 1 operation. Kenji takes off, shot down 30 miles from Okinawa.
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. Yuki survives in a countryside temple.
Daughter Sakura is born.
Origin
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