EXHIBITS

There Were Children on the Battleground: Japanese and Filipino Youth in the Second World War: Incendiary Bombing in Japan

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Incendiary Bombing in Japan

This map, titled: "New Map of Great Tokyo and Yokohama" highlights the U.S.A.A.F's (United States Army Air Force) possible aerial bombardment targets in Tokyo during World War II.

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(Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, World War II collection, MSS 478, Box 7, Folder 6)

This image is a part of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey in Japan. This study sought to evaluate the effects and importance of air power. The white areas of this photograph are all burned areas, the smoke is still smoldering from the attack. The caption reads: "Oblique photo taken 10 March showing most of the damaged area and some of the fires still burning from the attack of 9-10 March."

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(Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, Walter H. Gardener Collection, MSS 57, Box 4, Book 44, pg. 93)

During World War II, the United States implemented indiscriminate bombing tactics against the Japanese. American bombing tactics became more aggressive as the war continued. In the spring of 1945, the air force removed the guns of B-29s to allow room for more incendiary or “fire” bombs. When dropped, these bombs sparked firestorms that demolished Japanese cities, which were especially prone to fire damage as most of the buildings were constructed of wood.[1] The United States Air Corps justified its use of indiscriminate bombing because they believed it would end the war faster and by the end of World War II, U.S. incendiary bombs annihilated 168 square miles of sixty-seven Japanese cities. Many cities were 50-60% destroyed, in seventeen cities 60-88% of the city was destroyed, and in Toyama, the city was 98.6% destroyed.³⁹

“It Doesn’t Seem Too Bad”

This image is a part of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey in Japan. This study sought to evaluate the effects and importance of air power. This photo depicts children playing in the remains of burned section of Tokyo. The caption reads: "Wide street in the burned area where the wind was blowing at right angles at the time of the attack."

(Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, Walter H. Gardener Collection, MSS 57, Box 4, Book 44, pg. 113)

Although U.S. incendiary bombs had an enormous impact on Japanese cities, the bombs did not always damage morale. Instead, many people, including children, simply became desensitized to the destruction. As a young child, Shirai Naruo first witnessed the destruction of incendiary bombs while riding on a train passing the city of Kobe. When he looked out the window, he saw that the city was completely demolished. Despite his shock at the sight, he muttered “‘It doesn’t seem too bad.’”[2] Later in the account, he concluded that “war was what made a young boy say, ‘it doesn’t seem too bad’ when he saw a city turned into a scorched wasteland.”[3]

Other youth were traumatized by the bombs. During a bombing raid in Tokyo, teenage Okubo Michiko encountered a sobbing five-year-old girl who had lost her parents in the chaos. Okubo grabbed the little girl’s hand and began to escort her out of the burning city. When Okubo saw an incendiary bomb descending from the sky towards her, she accidently dropped the child’s hand and ran into a nearby house. When she turned around, the little girl was bathed in flames. Okubo later recalled, “I have never been able to forget the feeling of her soft, little hand, like a maple leaf, in mine.”[4] Children’s morale may have been affected by the incendiary bombs, but youth did not have any power to stop the war. Instead, the United States Air Force exposed Japanese children to man-made hellfire in hopes that the Japanese leaders would give in. But the Japanese military—Japanese adults—would not surrender, so children died for decisions they did not make.

"Doesn't Seem Too Bad" is a personal account written by Shirai Naruo, who was a child during World War II in Japan and discusses the effects of U.S. incendiary bombing tactics on Japanese cities. This account is published in Senso: The Japanese Remember the Pacific War which is a collections of letters sent to the Asahi Newspaper between 1986 and 1987 that describe the homefront experiences of Japanese civilians.

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(Courtesy of M.E. Sharpe)

In "Hand Like a Maple Leaf," Okubo Michiko describes her experience of a U.S. incendiary bombing raid in Japan during World War II. This account is published in Senso: the Japanese Remember the Pacific War which is a collections of letters sent to the Asahi Newspaper between 1986 and 1987 that describe the homefront experiences of Japanese civilians.

[Click on the image to enlarge; click the image again to browse all pages]

(Courtesy of M.E. Sharpe)

In "Memories of Youth Turned to Ashes," Okubo Michiko explains how a U.S. bombing raid on her hometown destroyed her memories of her youth. This account is published in Senso: The Japanese Remember the Pacific War which is a collections of letters sent to the Asahi Newspaper between 1986 and 1987 that describe the homefront experiences of Japanese civilians.

[Click on the image to enlarge; click the image again to browse all pages]

(Courtesy of M.E. Sharpe)

This image is a part of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey in Japan. This study sought to evaluate the effects and importance of air power. This image shows houses that were demolished to create a fire break, making it more difficult for incendiary bombs to ignite entire cities. The caption reads: "Japanese photograph showing a firebreak being constructed. These houses were wrecked by demolition."

[click the image to enlarge]

(Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, Walter H. Gardener Collection, MSS 57, Box 4, Book 44, pg. 81)

This image is a part of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey in Japan. This study sought to evaluate the effects and importance of air power. This image is of a family bomb shelter in Kobe, Japan that was dug out of the side of a mountain. The caption reads "Family shelter built in side of mountain. Used for valuables as well as for persons."

[click the image to enlarge]

(Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, Walter H. Gardener Collection, MSS 57, Box 3, Book 19, pg. 66)

This image is a part of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey in Japan. This study sought to evaluate the effects and importance of air power. This image depicts the cremation remains of atomic bomb victims.

[click the image to enlarge]

(Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, Walter H. Gardener Collection, MSS 57, Box 3, Book 21, pg. 39)

This image is a part of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey in Japan. This study sought to evaluate the effects and importance of air power. This is a Japanese photo taken after the aftermath of the fire bombings. The caption reads: "Japanese photo showing bodies of people trapped and burned as they fled through a street during the attack of 9-10 March. Not that automobiles and bicycles were also trapped an burned."

[click the image to enlarge]

(Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, Walter H. Gardener Collection, MSS 57, Box 4, Book 44, pg. 106)

Making Games Out of War

Faced with such violence, some Japanese youth attempted to be fearless, and at times foolish, when they encountered enemy airplanes. In an oral history, Satō Hideo describes how he and other sixth graders would watch for fighter planes while they harvested fodder for military horses. They assigned one student to watch the sky while the others worked. When a fighter plane spotted them, the plane would begin to descend. Satō recalls, “Even a child instinctively knew who their targets were.”[5] Some youth would run into the forest to take cover while the fighter planes strafed the ground. Others turned the strafing airplanes into a game of bravery. The youth coaxed one another to stand their ground while the airplane shot bullets at them, and they would wait until the last second to get out of the way.[6] This shows that U.S. fighter planes commonly targeted children, most likely because they could not identify their targets from a long distance, and strafing occurred often enough for youth to make a game out of it.

[1] Mark Seldon, “A Forgotten Holocaust: U.S. Bombing Strategy, the Destruction of Japanese Cities, and the American Way of War from the Pacific War to Iraq,” in Bombing Civilians: A Twentieth Century History, ed. Yuki Tanaka and Marilyn B. Young (New York: The New Press, 2009), 83.

[2] Shirai Naruo, “Doesn’t Seem Too Bad,” in Sensō, 206.

[3] Shirai, “Doesn’t Seem Too Bad,” 207.

[4] Ōkubo Michiko, “Hand Like A Maple Leaf,” in Sensō, 207-208.

[5] Satō Hideo, “Playing at War,” in Japan at War: An Oral History, ed. Haruko Taya Cook and Theodore F. Cook (New York: The New Press, 1992), 236-237.

[6] Satō Hideo, “Playing at War,” 238.