Why A Woman Killed Her Kids So Her Husband Could Die With Honour

Before we start, I would like to warn you that this is a harrowing and heart-breaking true story of Commander Hajime Fujii and the distressing lengths that his wife went to so that he could further serve his country during World War Two. I wanted to take some time to look over why she did what she did and what his motivations were.

Hajime Fujii had a respectable military career in Japan. When he first joined as an infantryman within the Japanese army, he was classed as a highly skilled gunner and was sent to fight against China which Japan had been fighting since 1931. During his time there, he was hit with a mortar shell causing permanent damage to his left hand.

During treatment at a military camp hospital, he met his wife to be, Fukuko who was working as a field nurse at the time. Their love was instant and they decided to get married and return to Japan shortly after.

By the time of their return, Hajime had built up a reputation and was swiftly selected to enter the Army Air Corps Academy and after graduation in 1943, went on to be a company commander at the Kumagaya Army Aviation School. Here, he would be in charge of training students and forming their mentality into that of highly skilled, and loyal pilots.

As a man of honour, Hajime constantly preached about Japanese patriotism with recorded phrases such as “If needed, crash your aircraft into an enemy camp or into an enemy ship” and “I will not let only you die. I, as your company commander, also will surely go.”

This type of honour ran deep in his veins and it is this mentality that also haunted him due to his inability to properly grip and plane’s control stick after the mortar wound.

Twice, Hajime had requested to join the special attack force (Tokkōtai) and both times he had been rejected. This special attack force was put together to turn the tide of war against the US Naval fleet that was gradually approaching Japan and its surrounding islands. This task force, designed for its lethality, had one job, to Kamikaze into the American battleships.

Both times he was rejected was because he was an essential figure within the military, but mainly because he was also a family man with two young children.

At this point, you may be asking yourself, ‘Why would a father want to become a Kamikaze pilot?.” To answer this, we turn to the media. As explained by Mordecai Sheftall in Blossoms in the Wind:

“The primary motivation was they were thinking about their family because the newspapers were saying that if the Americans land, you’re all going to be slaves, the women are all going to be raped and the men will all be murdered. Every nightmare scenario was put across on the Japanese public, saying this is what’s going to happen if the Allies aren’t stopped now.”

If you combine this fear tactic along with an ideology that he should be joining his students as he told them he would many times, you begin to understand the distress he must have gone through after being rejected. Knowing this, his wife did the only thing she could think of.

On December 14th 1944, his wife Fukuko wrote out a letter to Hajime which including: “Since you probably would be worried about us and not be able to freely carry out your duties because we are here, we go ahead before you and will wait for you. Please fight without reserve.”

She then dressed up in her finest kimono along with their two young girls ages one and three, walked out to the Arakawa River where she weighted and tied herself to the kids and jumped in. Their bodies were found the day after.

After the funeral, Hajime cut himself in what is known as yubitsume and wrote his third application to become a Kamikaze pilot in his own blood.

In a letter to his eldest daughter, he wrote: “Daddy will perform a great feat on the battlefield and bring it as a present for you. Both you and Chieko, please wait for me until then.”

On May 28th 1945, Hajime, who was the commander of the 45th Shinbu Squadron, drove his plane into, and sinking the USS Drexler killing 158 of its crew.

At first, the Japanese government banned the public release of information surrounding Commander Hajime Fujii ,but with too many people aware of what happened, sending letters, and visiting the grave, it did not stay quiet for long.

Each year, a group of his former students of Kumagaya Aviation School visit the family grave to pay their respects.

Hajime is one of over 3,000 kamikaze pilots that perished in World War 2.