Bansei Tokko Peace Museum

The Bansei Tokko Peace Museum (万世特攻平和祈念館) stands on the coastal dunes of Fukiagehama in Minamisatsuma, Kagoshima Prefecture, on the site of the former Bansei Airfield (万世飛行場) — the last airfield built by the Imperial Japanese Army, used as a special attack base in the final months of World War II.

Construction of the airfield began in July 1943 on the Fukiage sand dunes along the west coast of southern Kyushu, approximately 16 kilometers from Chiran Air Base. The facility was nearly completed by the end of 1944. Due to the extreme secrecy surrounding its existence, Bansei was called the 'phantom special attack base' (幻の特攻基地), as very few people outside the military knew of its operations.

Air units were stationed at the base from late March to July 1945, and special attack sorties against American ships near Okinawa were flown from it between April 6 and June 19, 1945. The first death at the base occurred during a raid by American carrier aircraft on March 18, 1945. A total of 201 airmen — special attack pilots and other aircrew who flew from Bansei — are commemorated. Many of the sorties were flown in Type 99 assault aircraft — the Ki-51 'Sonia' — alongside Type 97 fighters, Type 2 advanced trainers and Type 1 'Hayabusa' fighters. The youngest pilots were just 17 years old.

Among the most poignant artifacts connected to the base is a photograph taken on May 26, 1945, by a newspaper cameraman. It shows five young pilots of the 72nd Shinbu Squadron — Corporal Yukio Araki (age 17) holding a puppy, flanked by Tsutomu Hayakawa, Takamasa Senda, Kaname Takahashi, and Mineyoshi Takahashi. All five died the following day in their suicide mission toward Okinawa. Araki, the youngest at 17 years and 2 months, is believed to have struck the destroyer USS Braine (DD-630), killing 66 of its crew. This photograph has become one of the most recognized images of the human cost of kamikaze warfare.

Hichiro Naemura, a former flight instructor at Bansei in 1945, spearheaded the effort to establish the museum, which opened in 1993. The museum's centerpiece is the rusted remains of an Aichi E13A1 Type Zero reconnaissance seaplane (serial no. 4116), recovered from the sea floor near Fukiage Dunes in 1992. This is the only surviving example of an E13A in Japan. The aircraft is displayed half-buried in the museum floor as though the building was constructed around it. Notably, the E13A was a Navy aircraft and was not used in tokko missions from this Army base — it ditched off Fukiagehama in June 1945 after running out of fuel.

The second floor displays photographs and biographical information for all 201 deceased servicemen. Unlike many similar museums that focus exclusively on kamikaze pilots, Bansei gives equal attention to those who died in conventional combat missions and during American bombing raids. The first floor features a 10-minute documentary film with interviews from 1945-era local residents and wartime newspaper articles.

The museum is located at 1955-3 Kasedatakahashi, Minamisatsuma, Kagoshima Prefecture, along the scenic Fukiagehama coastline — one of Japan's three largest sand dune areas.