World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseMitsuru Ushijima was born in Kagoshima, Satsuma Domain, Japan in Jul 1887. He was the fourth son of Sanemitsu Ushijima, a samurai in service of the Satsuma Domain who later became a lieutenant in the Japanese Army. His family relocated to Tokyo prior to Ushijima's birth, but after his father passed away shortly after Ushijima's birth, his mother moved the family back to Kagoshima. Following his father's footsteps, he joined the army, graduating from the Army Academy in 1908 and then the Army Staff College in 1916. In Aug 1918, he was assigned to the staff of the Japanese Expeditionary Force which operated in Vladivostok, Russia during the Russian Civil War. He was promoted to the rank of captain in late 1918. In Apr 1919, he was given command of the 4th Guards Regiment. In Aug 1920, he was made an instructor at the Army Infantry School. In 1924, he was promoted to the rank of major and was given command of the 43rd Infantry Battalion. In Apr 1925, he was assigned to Kagoshima Junior High School No. 1, which he attended 25 years prior, to provide basic military education to students. In 1928, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and was given command of the 23rd Infantry Regiment. In 1930, he was given command of the Shimonoseki Fortress. In 1932, he was promoted to the rank of colonel and was made the commandant of the Army Toyama School. Between 1933 and 1936, he served at several staff positions at the Army Ministry. In 1936, he was made the commanding officer of 1st Infantry Regiment, and shortly after the unit was sent to northeastern China where Japan had supported the puppet state of Manchukuo without international recognition.

ww2dbaseRepeated skirmishes between China and Japan escalated to the full scale Second Sino-Japanese War in Jul 1937. Ushijima's first posting in WW2 was with 36th Brigade, which guarded the area surrounding the Shanhai Pass, the first gate of the Great Wall of China. Shortly after, he was attached to the 6th Division (General Hisao Tani), under which he broke Chinese lines and reached Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China by 14 Oct 1937. His 36th Brigade was later credited with the advance westward from Shanghai, capturing Wuhu and Wuhan. He was recalled back to Japan in Dec 1938, and served as the Commandant of the Military Preparatory School. In Aug 1939, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. In Dec 1939, he was given command of the 11th Division at Hulin, Jilin Province in northeastern China. In Oct 1941, he was recalled to Japan to serve as the Commandant of the Non-Commissioned Officers Academy. When Japan brought the United States into WW2 with the Pearl Harbor raid, he thought it was a mistake, believing the Soviet Union should be Japan's adversary. For his public opinion against the government's decision to attack the United States, he was relieved of his position at the Non-Commissioned Officers Academy, but influential colleagues soon persuaded the top brass to return Ushijima to service, securing him as the Commandant of the Japanese Army Academy.

ww2dbaseToward the end of the war, Ushijima was made the commanding officer of the 120,000-strong 32nd Army tasked with defending the Ryukyu Islands. He evacuated 80,000 people from Okinawa Island and 30,000 people from Yaeyama Islands prior to the American invasion. He conducted a carefully orchestrated defensive campaign in the south of Okinawa, but ultimately could not overcome the greater American firepower. As he withdrew southward, his number of troops waned each day, while the Americans continued to bring in additional soldiers and machines of war. Nevertheless, he refused to surrender. By mid-Jun 1945, his troops were effectively reduced down to two strongpoints, one beneath Kunishi Ridge and his headquarters inside a bill that the Americans labeled Hill 89. On 16 Jun 1945, he sent out this written message:

ww2dbaseEnding the final letter was a poem written by Ushijima.

ww2dbaseOn 18 Jun, Ushijima directed his troops to make their way in small groups through American lines to join guerrilla groups in northern Okinawa. In this final order, he ordered his troops to "fight to the end for the sake of the motherland." In the evening of 21 Jun, Ushijima and his deputy Isamu Cho held a small final banquet. At dawn on 22 Jun, Ushijima and Cho received the salutes of their subordinate officers one last time before they committed ritual suicide outside the cave which served as their final headquarters. Captain Sakaguchi served as the kaishakunin who decapitated Ushijima to avoid unnecessary suffering. Ushijima and Cho were buried in shallow graves nearby.

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Mitsuru Ushijima Timeline

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