Chiran Peace Museum

The Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots, first opened in 1974, honors the lives of the kamikaze pilots who took off from Chiran airbase during WWII. The Chiran airbase, which opened in 1941 as a flight training school for young air cadets, was only utilized as a launch point for kamikaze attacks near the conclusion of the war when it appeared that the US troops would win the Battle of Okinawa. Chiran was one of the numerous kamikaze bases around Japan and Japanese-occupied Taiwan, and it was home to over a thousand pilots who were dubbed "thunder gods" by senior leadership and guaranteed divinity in the hereafter.

The unique portraits of all 1,036 men who died in the army's suicide missions greet tourists as they enter the Museum for Kamikaze Pilots. The images are displayed with personal objects contributed by the pilots' families, such as military uniforms, notebooks, diaries, goggles, hachimaki headbands, and flags engraved with inspiring messages from loved ones. Additional photos and handwritten letters to loved ones reveal the range of emotions many pilots had before embarking on their final flight. Although the majority of the interpretive panels are in Japanese, a few personal letters and diaries have been translated into English and are accessible through computerized touch displays.

Address: 17881 Kori, Chiran-cho, Minamikyushu-shi, Kagoshima-ken 897-0302
Website: chiran-tokkou.jp