| On May 29, 1943, Japanese forces under Commander Yasuyo Yamazaki defending Attu Island in the Aleutians committed gyokusai (“honorable death”) in battle against the U.S. forces. On May 12, 15,000 U.S. soldiers landed on Attu Island and attacked the 2,500 Japanese troops defending the island. The Japanese troops received no reinforcements, and made no attempt to retreat. They were ultimately annihilated on May 29. The battle on Attu Island was the first battle in which the Imperial General Headquarters used the expression gyokusai. |
- Document 1 is issue No. 276 of Shashin Shuho, which was published on June 16, 1943. It depicts the gyokusai of the Japanese forces on Attu Island. This issue pays tribute to the soldiers who committed gyokusai on Attu Island, and carried the following statement designed to incite national sentiment: “Now is the time to give all you can to the life of battle, and carry forward past the dead bodies of these brave soldiers to mount total attacks on our enemies, the United States and the United Kingdom.” Shashin Shuho continued to run articles about the gyokusai on Attu Island for some time after this issue.
- Document 2 is issue No. 277 of Shashin Shuho, which was published on June 23, 1943. It features an article covering the Nagoya Preparatory Military School, which developed and produced Commander Yasuyo Yamazaki, the man who had led the Japanese troops in battle on Attu Island.
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