Tadamichi Kuribayashi

101
Tadamichi Kuribayashi bigraphy, stories - Japanese general

Tadamichi Kuribayashi : biography

1891 – 1945

General was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, part-time writer, haiku poet, diplomat, and General (Taisho) of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff. He is best known for being overall commander of the Japanese garrison during the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Even before the battle, General Kuribayashi insisted upon sharing the hardships of his men. He also refused to permit banzai charges, which he regarded as an unnecessary waste of his men’s lives. Although the United States Marine Corps had expected to capture Iwo Jima in 5 days, Kuribayashi and his men waged guerilla warfare against them for 36 days. While it is believed that he had been killed in action in the final assault, Kuribayashi’s body was never identified by the United States military.

The 2006 movie Letters from Iwo Jima brought General Kuribayashi’s story to an international audience for the first time. Kuribayashi was portrayed by Japanese actor Ken Watanabe. The film received wide acclaim and four Academy Award nominations.

Pacific War

In December 1941, Kuribayashi was ordered into the field as the Chief of Staff of the Japanese 23rd Army commanded by Takashi Sakai, in the Invasion of Hong Kong. According to a former subordinate, General Kuribayashi regularly visited wounded enlisted men in the hospital, which was virtually unheard of for an officer of the General Staff.

In 1943, he was promoted to lieutenant general, and reassigned to be commander of the 2nd Imperial Guards Division, which was primarily a reserve and training division. On 27 May 1944, he became commander of the IJA 109th Division.

Just two weeks later, on 8 June 1944, he received orders signed by Prime Minister Hideki Tojo to defend the strategically located island of Iwo Jima in the Bonin Islands chain. According to Yoshii Kuribayashi, her husband said upon receiving the orders that it was unlikely even for his ashes to return from Iwo Jima.

According to historian Kumiko Kakehashi, it is possible that Kuribayashi was deliberately selected for what was known to be a suicide mission. General Kuribayashi was known for having expressed the belief that Japan’s war against the United States was a no win situation and needed to be ended via a negotiated peace. In the eyes of the ultra-nationalists in the General Staff and in Tojo’s cabinet, this had allegedly caused Kuribayashi to be seen as a defeatist.

He was accorded the honor of a personal audience with Emperor Hirohito on the eve of his departure. In a subsequent letter to Yoshii and their children, the General made no mention of meeting the Emperor. He instead expressed regret for failing to fix the draft in the kitchen of their home. He included a detailed diagram so that his son, Taro Kuribayashi would be able to complete the repair and prevent the family from catching cold.

Planning for the Battle of Iwo Jima

On 19 June 1944, General Kuribayashi stepped off a plane on Iwo Jima’s Chidori airstrip. Meanwhile, the island’s garrison was busy digging trenches on the beach. Kuribayashi made a careful survey of the island and ordered his men to construct defenses further inland. Deciding not to seriously contest the projected beach landings, Kuribayashi decreed that the defense of Iwo Jima would be fought almost entirely from underground. His men honeycombed the island with more than of tunnels, 5,000 caves, and pillboxes. According to his former Chief of Staff, Kuribayashi often told him, "America’s productive powers are beyond our imagination. Japan has started a war with a formidable enemy and we must brace ourselves accordingly."Picture Letters from the Commander-in-Chief, page 235.

Kuribayashi recognized that he would not be able to hold Iwo Jima against the overwhelming military forces of the United States. He knew, however, that the loss of Iwo Jima would place all of Japan within range of American strategic bombers. Therefore, he planned a campaign of attrition, by which he hoped to delay the bombing of Japanese civilians and to force the United States Government to reconsider the possible invasion of Japanese home islands.