Brazilian Miracle
An economic boom built upon industrialization, the Brazilian Miracle is remembered as a failure in centralized planning, military autocracy, and state terror that ultimately degraded many to their pre-industrial lives.
Niihau Incident
December 7, 1941 – December 13, 1941
When a Japanese pilot crash lands on a remote Hawaiian Island, nationalism will conflict with ethnicity in a grand plot of treason.
Background for Context
Upon their entry into WWII, Japan was a state bleeding oil. The momentum of Japan’s island-hopping campaign was sustained through its naval and aerial dominance over the small island colonies of far-off European powers. While the Japanese experienced enormous success, they stood on weak ground. To fuel their conquest, the Japanese war machine desperately needed oil. Following the signing of the Tripartite Pact, the U.S. cut all economic ties with Japan, removing the nation from one of its largest oil suppliers. The reduction in fuel would halt the momentum of Japan’s campaign, determining the victor of the Pacific theater. Japanese strategists believed that a single decisive blow against the United States Navy would be crippling, discouraging any U.S. entry into the war. Crucially, the Japanese would become the dominant power in the Pacific, allowing them to resume their military campaign in the oil-rich East Indies. With this plan decided, Japanese aircraft carriers began the radio-silent journey across the Pacific. On the morning of December 7, 1941, fleets of Japanese aircraft descended on the U.S. Naval base located in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Crash Landing on Niihau Island
Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese ordered any damaged aircraft to land on Niihau Island and await rescue by submarine once night fell. Despite being U.S. territory, airmen were informed the remote island was uninhabited and therefore safe. First Class Airman Shigenori Nishikaichi piloted a Mitsubishi A6M Zero assigned to escort level bombers during the second wave of the Pearl Harbor attack. During his mission, his fuel tanks were punctured by gunfire and began leaking fuel. On the flight back to his carrier, the Hiryū, Nishikaichi realized his engine was stalling. Failing to rendezvous with his squadron, the pilot rerouted his aircraft and started the thirty-minute flight to Niihau Island. As he approached, he noticed foreign villagers and huts below. With no other choice, Nishikaichi pushed the nose of his plane downwards and crash-landed on a clear pasture, knocking him unconscious. While the pilot was in one piece, the fragments of his Zero were strewn about. Unknown to Nishikaichi, the U.S. Army recognized the strategic importance of Niihau to the Japanese. Preventing any safe landing, the island’s flat terrain was furrowed under the direction of Niihau’s owner, Aylmer Robinson. This rutted ground destroyed Nishikaichi’s Zero, just as the U.S. Army intended. Awaking in his wreck, the pilot stared in horror as he watched Hawaiians approaching his downed aircraft.
A Change of Heart
The Japanese had given their airmen poor intelligence on Niihau Island. In 1864, the island was sold by King Kamehameha V of Hawaii to the Scottish Sinclair family who would later pass ownership to the Robinson line. Despite European owners, Niihau’s population was predominately native Hawaiian with small numbers of imported Japanese laborers. Hawila “Howard” Kaleohano spotted the incoming aircraft and hurried to the crash site. Arriving on the scene, Kaleohano recognized the Japanese insignia on the wreck of Nishikaichi’s Zero. Cautious, he confiscated the pilot’s pistol and documents. Kaleohano called over the Japanese-speaking elder of the island, Ishimatsu Shintani, to converse with the pilot. Comfortable speaking with a fellow Japanese, Nishikaichi informed Shintani of the Pearl Harbor attack and Japan’s declaration of war against the United States. The dispirited 60-year-old refused to disclose the pilot’s actions. Kaleohano then called upon Yoshio and Irene Harada, a couple of Japanese descent fluent in both English and Japanese. Nishikaichi retold his story to the Haradas who, like Shintani, found it opportune to keep the pilot’s words to themselves. Welcoming Nishikaichi into the island community, the Haradas hosted a luau to celebrate his arrival. The traditional Hawaiian display of hospitality brought out a softer side of Nishikaichi; he reportedly even played guitar and sang along with the natives. This mood would be short-lived as news reached via ham radio of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Needless to say, the Niihauans had a change of heart regarding the visiting pilot.
A U.S. Army photo of Nishikaichi’s A6M Zero taken on the afternoon of December 17 or 18 of 1941 on Niihau Island, Hawaii. Source : SFGATE
Yoshio & Irene Harada
During the late nineteenth century, the Hawaiian Archipelago was flooded with waves of imported Japanese contract laborers. Following the Organic Act of 1900, Hawaii was incorporated as a U.S. territory and the importation of labor was outlawed. In response, local legislation with a vested interest in protecting plantations prevented the Japanese from leaving, effectively holding them in bondage. Japanese nationals were later required to register themselves as Nikkei, or being of Japanese ancestry. Despite many Japanese being born as American citizens, they were distinguished as separate from their aboriginal Hawaiian neighbors. Abandoned by their country, Japanese Americans were only American in name. On February 22 of 1903, Yoshio Harada was born as an American citizen on a Kauai plantation. Growing up, he would be whipped and abused by the white plantation owners. Harada would eventually leave plantation life behind and enter the workforce on his own accord. Owing to his ambition, he and his wife Irene would receive the opportunity to work as beekeepers and store owners on Niihau Island. Upon their arrival, the Haradas observed the uneducated state of many residents. Praised by the island’s owner and natives, the Haradas began to think of themselves as the Niihauans unequivocal superiors. On December 7 of 1941, Nishikaichi’s crash landing re-awakened the deep-seated Japanese nationality indoctrinated into the Haradas. Compelled by this revival in their identity, Yoshio and Irene were to betray whom they viewed as their intellectual inferiors, their fellow islanders.
An excerpt from The Niihau Incident by Allan Beekman detailing the ostracization of Japanese Americans into a separate identity.
“As the local and California, even the Federal, government has demonstrated in a hundred ways, American citizenship for the Nikkei was a technicality. Despite American citizenship, they still remained Japanese.”
The Niihau Incident, p. 59, Allan Beekman, 1982
Recruiting Conspirators
Unsure how to handle the enemy pilot, the Niihauans awaited the direction of the island’s owner. Expecting Robinson to make his routine visit on December 8, Nishikaichi was temporarily detained in the home of the Haradas. Following the enactment of martial law, restrictions were placed on sea and air travel. Like many Hawaiians, Robinson would be subject to these travel restrictions and fail to make his visit to Niihau Island. His delay bought the pilot valuable time. From the eighth to the tenth of December, Nishikaichi attempted to arose emotions of Japanese patriotism in the Haradas. Vividly detailing his attack on Pearl Harbor, he captivated the couple who agreed to assist the pilot in retrieving his documents. These papers contained strategic Japanese intelligence, information deemed too important to fall into enemy hands. Seeking to recruit more conspirators, the pilot enthralled and convinced Shintani to aid in his mission. The Harada’s and Shintani’s ethnic ties with the pilot had superseded all notions of nationality, in turn, the trio committed treason against their state.
An excerpt from an FBI memorandum written on March 28 of 1942 detailing the contents of Nishikaichi’s documents.
“Kaleohano also searched the pilot and his plane, securing all papers, which included a map of Oahu, the main Hawaiian Island on which the city of Honolulu, the Pearl Harbor Naval Base, and other important military installations are located.”
Source : National Archives
Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1942
Treason & Terrorism
On the afternoon of December 12, Shintani offered Kaleohano two-hundred yen to acquire the pilot’s documents. His bribe was promptly refused. Realizing the elderly Shintani was not an adequate negotiator, Nishikaichi and the Haradas turned to more violent methods of persuasion. Waiting until a single guard was on post, the conspirators set their plan in motion. Yoshio Harada retrieved an empty pistol and loaded shotgun, stashing the weapons in a nearby warehouse. Yoshio and Nishikaichi then convinced the guard to escort them to the warehouse. Once inside, they held him at gunpoint, threatening the guard to stay quiet. Irene blared music over a phonograph to mask the commotion. Now armed and free, the conspirators ransacked the island for the duration of the thirteenth, searching for Kaleohano and the pilot’s documents. Frustrated, Nishikaichi took a 16-year-old boy hostage, threatening to kill him and the rest of the Niihauans if Kaleohano wasn’t found. With a shotgun in hand and a hostage in tow, the pilot proceeded to Kaleohano’s house. Unknown to Nishikaichi, Kaleohano was hidden in the outhouse beside his home. As the pilot moved away, Kaleohano sprinted in an attempt to escape. Nishikaichi turned and sent a blast of lead Kaleohano’s direction, inexplicably missing his shot. The unscathed Kaleohano darted into town, warning others of the pilot’s rampage. After stashing the pilot’s papers at his mother-in-law’s house, he collected five other men. Together they began rowing the fifteen-hour journey to Kauai in search of help. During this havoc, Irene refused to quell her husband’s fervorous marauding. Instead, she became a complicit accessory to the crimes of both her husband and the pilot. Meanwhile, Nishikaichi retrieved his loaded pistol and detached the twin machine guns from his Zero. He then ignited the wreck, hoping to destroy any remaining papers. Japanese soldiers were indoctrinated into the Bushido code, a samurai doctrine of honor originating from imperial Japan. Nishikaichi, loading up a wagon with weapons, was willing to claim his honor by dying for his mission. Furthermore, he set Kaleohano’s house a-light to burn any remaining papers which may have been inside. Unfortunately for Nishikaichi, he would never recover his documents.
The End of Nishikaichi
Holding the Hawaiians at gunpoint, Nishikaichi continued to demand the return of Kaleohano. Fearing further harm, none of the captives revealed that he had fled the island. Benehakaka “Ben” Kanahele, encouraged by his fellow islanders, failed in his attempt to steal a machine gun from Nishikaichi. Furious, the conspirators captured his wife, Kealoha “Ella” Kanahele, and ordered Ben to continue searching for Kaleohano. Recognizing that Nishikaichi was exhausted, both Kanahele’s leaped at their captor as he passed his shotgun to Harada. As the pilot drew his pistol from his boot, Ella pulled down on his arm, lowering Nishikaichi’s aim. Firing wildly, the pilot shot Ben three times in the chest, hip, and groin. In a fit of adrenaline, Ben threw the pilot into a stone wall before leaping on top of him. Ella used a rock to strike Nishikaichi over the head. Yoshio and Irene stood in horror as they watched their fellow Japanese be bludgeoned beyond recognition. Using the last of his strength, Ben drew his knife and slit Nishikaichi’s throat. It remains unclear whether Ella’s beating or Ben’s knife killed the pilot. Knowing his treason would likely mean execution, Yoshio Harada turned the shotgun on himself, taking his own life.
A photo of Kealoha “Ella” Kanahele and Benehakaka “Ben” Kanahele of Niihau Island. Source : Medium
The Immediate Aftermath
On December 14, Kaleohano’s party arrived back on the island accompanied by thirteen rookie soldiers, the local harbor master, and Aylmer Robinson. Among these military officials included Jack Mizuha and Ben Kobayashi. Both men were Nikkei, and Kobayashi was a former co-worker of Yoshio Harada. The pair were determined to save the Niihauans which they believed would assist in restoring the social and military standing of the Nikkei. To conceal the Zero from any Japanese reconnaissance missions, military officers dragged the plane underneath a tree. After a brief evaluation, Irene Harada and Ishimatsu Shintani were detained by the U.S. Army. Neither of them would be charged with treason although they publicly expressed regret for assisting the pilot. Ben Kanahele was quickly taken to Waimea Hospital on mainland Kauai where he recovered from his wounds. He would receive a Medal of Freedom, a Medal of Merit, and a Purple Heart for his efforts during wartime. Ella wouldn’t receive any formal recognition for her actions during the incident. In honor of the pilot, a twelve-foot cenotaph was erected in his hometown of Imabari, Japan. His eulogy inscribed on the cenotaph was written by a fellow crew member of the Hiryū. As for the efforts of Mizuha and Kobayashi, the Nikkei wouldn’t have their social status restored for years following the war. The hysteria generated by the Pearl Harbor attack further justified the practice of Japanese internment in the mind of the American public. Fitting this fear, Irene Harada and Shintani would be shipped off to internment camps on Kauai and the continental United States respectively. Finally putting the events to rest, Yoshio Harada and Nishikaichi were lowered into their Niihau graves following Japan’s surrender. The U.S. army later cremated the pilot’s remains, returning them to the pilot’s native prefecture. After five years of resting in Hawaii, Nishikaichi’s ashes would return to Japan on December 12 of 1946.
An excerpt from The Niihau Incident by Allan Beekman translating the eulogy of Nishikaichi into English. A crew member of the Hiryū details the pilot’s honorable death.
“It is honorable for flower and warrior to fall. He bravely attacked again and again, without fear of the fierce ground fire, destroying the fleet, even frightening the enemy. Having expended every effort, he achieved the greatest honor of all by dying a soldier’s death in battle, destroying both himself and his beloved plane. Only 22, and having achieved merit in battle, he became in death a foundation of Imperial Japan.”
The Niihau Incident, p. 96, Allan Beekman, 1982
The Irony of the Niihau Incident
In this WWII anecdote, there is a great irony regarding the events which led to this incident. U.S. law had distinguished Japanese Americans as separate from the American public. By this, lawmakers were hoping to ostracize the Japanese from society. Rather, imposing these laws only tightened the bond among the Japanese. Given that the Nikkei were indoctrinated to no longer think of themselves as American, they naturally identified with the nation of their forefathers. Ostracized like so many Japanese Americans, Yoshio Harada became absorbed by the shared identity the pilot provided. From this shared bond with the Nishikaichi, he became compelled to commit actions against his fellow Niihauans. Ironically, the segregation and labeling of the Nikkei created the circumstances for American citizens to assist an enemy combatant. This event serves as a case study for the adverse effects of societal discrimination.
Bibliography
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