was the senior staff officer in charge of operations of the 32nd Japanese Army at

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

during the American invasion of that island during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Defense of Okinawa

Yahara, who had taught strategy at the Army War College, was assigned to Okinawa prior to the anticipated American invasion to organize its pre-invasion strategy. His recommended strategy for fighting the American invaders was to continue to tie up the American military as long as possible in a war of attrition (jikyūsen, 持久戦), so that the rumored American invasion of

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, would be delayed, thereby allowing Kyushu defenders more time to better prepare their defenses. Once the Okinawa invasion started, Yahara recommended holding back Japanese forces for as long as possible and using them primarily in a defensive posture, rather than an aggressive one. However, Chief of Staff of the Army,

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Isamu Cho is a masculine Japanese name, Japanese given name. Possible writings Isamu can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *勇, "courage" or "bravery" *勲, "merit" *敢, "gallantry" *武, "war" The name can also be written in hi ...

, soon became frustrated by the relative inaction of the battlefield, and recommended

banzai charge Banzai charge is the term that was used by the Allied forces of World War II to refer to Japanese human wave attacks and swarming staged by infantry units. This term came from the Japanese battle cry , and was shortened to banzai, specificall ...

s at the Americans. Yahara disagreed with this recommendation, but went along with it. But when it was clear that Cho's

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

-charge methods were not working, but, rather, causing huge numbers of casualties among the Japanese infantry, along with loss of territory, Cho relented and allowed Yahara to continue to make tactical and operational decisions. Yahara's method, since he did not have the firepower to fight the Americans directly in battle and knew that he could not possibly win, was to fight from caves as long as possible and then, once the caves were lost, to "retreat and defend"—time after time—until there was no longer any room to retreat to.

Escape and capture

When Lieutenant General Cho and Lieutenant General

Mitsuru Ushijima was a Japanese general who served during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. He was the commanding general of the 32nd Army, which fought in the Battle of Okinawa during the final stages of the war. Ushijima's troops were defeated, ...

decided to commit ritualistic suicide in Mabuni caves, Yahara requested permission to commit ''seppuku'' alongside them, but Ushijima refused, telling him "If you die there will be no one left who knows the truth about the battle of Okinawa. Bear the temporary shame but endure it. This is an order from your army commander." Cho instructed Yahara to make his way through the American lines to northern Okinawa and report to Tokyo on what had happened, and gave him 500 yen for the journey. After the two generals had committed suicide, Yahara hid with several other staff officers in a small cave whose entrance they had blocked with stone and waited for the opportunity to escape. After hearing American troops drilling into the rock above them they relocated to another cave before deciding to split up. Disguising himself as a civilian, he made his way down Mahuni Hill and eventually joined two other soldiers, the three of them joining a large group of approximately 50 civilians sheltering in a cave. The group was discovered by the Americans who following an air attack on the cave convinced the group to surrender. Yahara lead them out and was mistakenly judged to be a Japanese English teacher. He was taken to a holding camp before being taken to a house on Chinen Peninsula which he shared with 30 other civilian refugees. He later joined a work detail before eventually three weeks after his escape from the 32nd Army headquarters his true identity was discovered by the U.S. military. Now a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

with privileges due to his rank as having been the third highest ranked Japanese officer on the island, he was transferred to 10th Army headquarters where he was interrogated. Following the end of the war Yahara was repatriated back home to Japan in January 1946.

Literary contribution

After the war Yahara wrote his account of the battle. His ''Okinawa Kessen'' (''Decisive Battle for Okinawa''), first published in

ese in 1973, was an account of his first-hand experience directing Japanese operations on Okinawa during the invasion. He died in 1981.

Yahara chronology

1902 – Born. Son of a small country landowner in

Tottori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Tottori Prefecture is the least populous prefecture of Japan at 570,569 (2016) and has a geographic area of . Tottori Prefecture borders Shimane Prefecture to the west, Hirosh ...

(Japan). Won appointment to the

Military Academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

. 1923 – Graduated from Military Academy. Assigned to 54th Infantry Regiment. 1925 – Assigned to 63rd Infantry Regiment. 1926 – Entered Army War College. 1929 – Graduated from War College. Returned to the 63rd Regiment. 1930 – Assigned to Personnel Department of the War Ministry. 1933 – Sent to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

as an exchange officer. Traveled

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, Boston, Massachusetts,

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Attached to the 8th Infantry Regiment for six months at

Fort Moultrie Fort Moultrie is a series of fortifications on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, built to protect the city of Charleston, South Carolina. The first fort, formerly named Fort Sullivan, built of palmetto logs, inspired the flag and n ...

. 1935 – Returned to Personnel Department, War Ministry. 1937 – Appointed as instructor (

strategy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...

and

tactics Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to: * Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks ** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield ** Chess tactics ** Political tact ...

) at the Army War College. Spent three months in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

as staff officer with the 2nd Army (N. China Expeditionary Force). 1938 – Returned to Army War College as instructor. 1940 – September: assigned as Japanese agent to

Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 mi ...

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

. November–December: reported to General Staff as expert on southeast

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. 1941 – July: to

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

as Assistant

Military Attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

. November 15: received secret orders to staff of 15th Army (

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

). Remained at Bangkok and participated in the negotiations for the peaceful occupation of

. Then participated in the Burma operation with the 15th Army. Became ill and returned to

. Again assigned to the War College as instructor. 1944 – 16 March: Assigned to

as advisor from Imperial Staff. 32nd Army Headquarters soon formed (March 22, 1944) and assigned as Senior Staff Officer. 1945 – July 15: captured by American military at the Yakibu Civilian Compound. (Source: U.S. Tenth Army Interrogation Report #28, dated 6 August 1945.) 1981 – Died.

Interrogator comments

“Quiet and unassuming, yet possessed of a keen mind and a fine discernment, Colonel Yahara is, from all reports, an eminently capable officer, described by some POWs as the 'brains' of the 32d Army.”U.S. Tenth Army Interrogation Report #28, dated 6 August 1945

Notes

References

* * This memoir by Yahara, with an introduction and commentary by Frank B. Gibney contains Yahara’s account as well as extensive prisoner-of-war interrogation reports related to the subject.