was a Japanese naval officer who became the first

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 ...

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 ...

to be captured by U.S. forces, and the second to be captured by Americans.

Early life and education

Sakamaki was born in what is now part of the city of

Awa Awa (or variants) may refer to: People * Awa (given name), notable people named Awa or Hawa * Awá (Brazil), an indigenous people of Brazil * Awa-Kwaiker, an indigenous people of Colombia and Ecuador Languages * Awa language (China) or Wa (Va) ...

Tokushima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, E ...

, one of eight sons. He was a graduate of the 68th class of the

Imperial Japanese Naval Academy The was a school established to train line officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was originally located in Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima in 1888. Students stu ...

in 1940.

Career

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

Sakamaki was one of ten sailors (five officers and five

petty officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be superior ...

s) selected to attack Pearl Harbor in five two-man ''Ko-hyoteki'' class

midget submarine A midget submarine (also called a mini submarine) is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, ...

s on 7 December 1941. Of the ten, nine were killed (including the other crewman in submarine ''HA. 19'', CWO Kiyoshi Inagaki.) Sakamaki was chosen for the mission due to his large number of siblings. Sakamaki's submarine became trapped on a reef off Waimanalo Beach,

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

, as it attempted to enter Pearl Harbor. The book ''Attack on Pearl Harbor'' claims that his submarine hit four

coral reefs A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of Colony (biology), colonies of coral polyp (zoology), polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, wh ...

and sank. Sakamaki ordered his crewman, Kiyoshi Inagaki, to swim to shore, and Sakamaki attempted to scuttle the disabled submarine and swim to shore as well. The explosives failed to go off and Inagaki drowned. Sakamaki made it to shore, but fell unconscious once on the beach, where he was found by a U.S. soldier,

David Akui David M. Akui (January 16, 1920 – September 15, 1987) was an American soldier who became famous for capturing the first Japanese prisoner of war in World War II. At the time, Akui was a corporal in Company G, 298th Infantry Regiment of the Haw ...

, and was taken into military custody. When he awoke, he found himself in a hospital under U.S. armed security. Sakamaki became the first Japanese

in U.S. captivity during

, for which he was stricken from Japanese records and officially ceased to exist. His submarine was recovered and taken on tours across the United States to encourage

war bond War bonds (sometimes referred to as Victory bonds, particularly in propaganda) are debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war without raising taxes to an unpopular level. They are ...

purchases.Goldstein, Richard (Dec. 21, 1999)
"Kazuo Sakamaki, 81, Pacific P.O.W. No. 1."
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. After being taken to

Sand Island A sand island is an island that is largely made of sand. The largest sand island in the world is Fraser Island, Australia. Other examples of large sand islands are Moreton Moreton may refer to: People Given name * Moreton John Wheatley (183 ...

, Sakamaki requested that he be allowed to kill himself, which was denied. Sakamaki spent the rest of the war in

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...

s in the

continental United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

. At the war's end, he was repatriated to Japan, by which time he had become deeply committed to

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

.Burlingame, Burl (May 11, 2002)
"World War II's first Japanese prisoner shunned the spotlight."
''

Honolulu Star-Bulletin The ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii (after the ''Honolulu Advertiser''). ...

''.

Later life and death

Sakamaki married and raised a family.Mukuda, Kayo (Dec. 4, 2021)
"Son of Japanese POW who survived Pearl Harbor attack reflects on post-WWII family history."
''

Mainichi Daily News The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...

''. He worked with the

Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

, becoming president of its Brazilian subsidiary in 1969. In 1983, he returned to Japan and continued working for Toyota before retiring in 1987. Outside of writing a memoir, Sakamaki refused to speak about the war until 1991, when he attended a historical conference at the

National Museum of the Pacific War The National Museum of the Pacific War is located in Fredericksburg, Texas, the boyhood home of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. Nimitz served as commander in chief, United States Pacific Fleet (CinCPAC), and was soon afterward named commander i ...

Fredericksburg, Texas Fredericksburg (german: Friedrichsberg) is the seat of Gillespie County, in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 Census, this city had a population of 10,530. Fredericksburg was founded in 1846 and named after Prince Frederick of Prussia. O ...

. He reportedly cried at the conference when he was reunited with his submarine (which was on display at the museum) for the first time in 50 years. He spent the rest of his life in Japan until his death in 1999 at the age of 81.

Publications

* ''Four Years as a Prisoner-of-War, No. 1'' (Japan). Published in the United States as ''I Attacked Pearl Harbor''.

References

External links

USS ''Helm'', Report of Pearl Harbor Attack
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakamaki, Kazuo 1918 births 1999 deaths People from Tokushima Prefecture Imperial Japanese Navy officers Imperial Japanese Navy personnel of World War II World War II prisoners of war held by the United States Attack on Pearl Harbor Japanese prisoners of war Japanese expatriates in Brazil Toyota people Japanese pacifists