Tome Torihama (鳥濱トメ) (June 20, 1902 – April 22, 1992）was the owner of a restaurant called "Tomiya Shokudo" in

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

that served

kamikaze pilots , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to ...

before they flew off to war. She is called the "Mother of Kamikazes".

Career

Torihama was born in Kagoshima prefecture on June 20, 1902. When she turned 18, she married Yoshkiyo Torihama. They had two daughters, Miako and Reiko. In 1929 Torihama opened the Tomiya Shokudo. When the Chiran Airbase opened in 1942, the Tomiya Shokudo became the designated dining hall for the soldiers living on the base. After the

Japanese Special Attack Units During World War II, , also called ''shimbu-tai'', were specialized units of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army normally used for suicide missions. They included ''kamikaze'' aircraft, ''fukuryu'' frogmen, and several types of ...

were formed in 1945, many of the kamikaze pilots would visit Torihama's restaurant. She became close with many of the young pilots, and would send their final letters to their families for them. After the war ended, the Supreme Commander of Allied Powers requested to patronize Torihama's restaurant, but she refused. However, when the town had a welcome party for the SCAP at the Tomiya Shokudo, Torihama became close with the American soldiers, some of whom called her "Mama-san". In 1952, Torihama opened the Tomiya Ryokan for family members visiting graves of fallen Japanese soldiers. In 1955, she built a temple dedicated to the soldiers. In 1975 until her death, Torihama dedicated her life to the

Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots The airbase at Chiran, Minamikyūshū, on the Satsuma Peninsula of Kagoshima, Japan, served as the departure point for hundreds of Special Attack or kamikaze sorties launched in the final months of World War II. A peace museum dedicated to the ...

. Torihama died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

in 1992. After her death, many movies, plays, and books were made about her life. There were two monuments erected in her honor, one in 1981 and one in 2007.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Torihama, Tome 1992 deaths 1902 births Kamikaze People from Kagoshima Prefecture History of Kagoshima Prefecture

Career

Further reading

References

External links