School me on the Tekketsu Kinnotai

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Another thread on school related information has got me thinking: Has anyone ever done any in depth reading/research on the Blood and Iron Imperial (student) Corps of Okinawa? Particularly with what they were issued? The few pictures I have seen were of the students in regular IJA uniforms, and from what little I have read, weapons issuance was spotty, mostly being hand grenades. Were they all given uniforms? Any further information is greatly appreciated, thanks!


Tom

[MAP]

I have very little to add to this other than that during my wonderful visit to Okinawa 5 years ago, I saw photos of the "local" troops who were pressed into service. Most had only the most basic of weapons such as sharpened sticks. Or sticks with blades attached to the ends.

[Nick Komiya]

Not really a subject from my area of interest, so I won't go into it any depth. They were 14-16 year old school kids pretty much coerced into military duty. There are 31 files on the subject in the archives.

The file on the unit formed at the 3rd Middle School, which was named the 3rd Company, says for roughly 2 months they were trained to use MGs, LMGs, rapid fire guns and mortars, but their most typical duty in reality was as construction laborers and cannon fodder in the form of suicide bombers carrying a 10 kg charge in wooden boxes on their backs and getting run over by American tanks to damage track links. Or they were used as messengers with multiple kids carrying the same message in the hope that one will reach the destination. These typical duties are described in the Japanese and German versions of the Wikipedia article. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tekketsu_Kinn%C5%8Dtai

As such, most would have fought in their school uniforms, which would have been in military colors anyway. 1,780 boys were mobilized and 50% of them died.

More famous for their tragic fate was the female version, the Himeyuri students. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himeyuri_students

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Thanks for the replies, it is much appreciated!


Tom

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A few week's back, I was able to pick up a commemorative photo album from one of the schools that contributed students to the fight within the Tekketsu Kinotai units on Okinawa: the Okinawa Prefectural Agricultural and Forestry School. This album is dated 1941 and was most likely taken during/after the battle. (Apologies for the poor quality photos, I am away from my collection at this time.) According to Japanese sites onlilne, about 18% of the students who fought from this school perished during the battle (Japanese Wiki has it at 24% for some reason), as well as several former students who were enlisted in the Japanese military. Prior to the battle, the students were used as construction help on the island. One of the former students was interviewed after the war and the following was recorded (translated from Google translate):


...Before the war, there was an Okinawa Prefectural Agriculture and Forestry School in Kadena. As the memoirs of the graduates say, "Everyone wore proper uniforms and was dashing with white gaiters, all the faces looked smart and reliable, and they were longing for children's hearts." Many boys who passed the entrance examination also attended school from Yomitan Yamamura.
However, the shadow of the war became deeper in the school life that I longed for, and instead of studying, I built an AA gun position at the site of Zakimi Castle, dug a tank pit along the coast, and a naval gun position at Umakaji (Chatan Heianzan). It has come to be opened by construction, air defense pit digging, military training, etc.
On March 26, 1945 (Showa 20), the Tekketsu Kinnōtai Agricultural and Forestry Corps was formed, and 130 students (110 from the main corps and 20 from the (斬込) slashing corps) were mobilized. The 110 members of the main corps who joined the 19th Aviation District Command were placed in the Makihara moat built along the Hija River. There was a row house-building comfort station in front of this moat, but on March 29, it was bombed and one student who was hit by the blast was killed in action. This was the first victim of agriculture and forestry. The number of agricultural and forestry students killed in the Battle of Okinawa is 124 (23 students, 64 enlisted, 37 others). (Reference Material "All Students of the Battle of Okinawa" Exhibition "Report" Himeyuri Peace Museum)

The album itself has several pictures of activities the students participated in, like sumo wrestling, as well as pictures of the school buildings and the students themselves. Here are a few pics. of the album (again, apologies for quality!) Top is the cover to the album with Imperial year 2601 (1941) and name of the school, Okinawa Prefectural Agricultural and Forestry School. The next photo shows students at the shooting range and stacked rifles.

[tomp]

Pics. of some of the students at the school and the principal. A sobering artifact connected to a brutal battle. Thanks for looking.

Tom