Letters From Iwo Jima
IWO JIMA 2005
How did those soIdiers ever manage to dig out these tunneIs?
Let's get a rotation in here.
Hey, I found something!
IWO JIMA 1 944
Hanako...
We soldiers dig.
We dig all day.
This is the hole that we will fight...
and die in.
Hanako...
am I digging my own grave?
Today, I head for the post where my men await.
I am determined to serve and give my life for my country.
I believe I have organized everything at home...
but I am sorry I wasn't able to attend to the kitchen floor before I left.
I had all the intention...
but had to leave without having the time...
and I am still worried about it.
So make sure to have Taro take care of it promptly.
Damn this isIand! The Americans can have it.
Nothing grows here.
It smeIIs. It's hot. There are too many damn bugs, and there's no water.
This isIand is part of Japan's sacred homeIand.
There's nothing sacred about this isIand.
Saigo.
We shouId just give the isIand to the Americans...
and then we can go home.
Saigo!
What did you say, soIdier?
I said if we beat the Americans, then we can go home.
You there, is that what he said?
Yes, sir.
I'm Kuribayashi.
WeIcome, GeneraI. I am AdmiraI Ohsugi.
How Iong have you been waiting here for me?
Three hours, sir.
Sorry to hear that.
They wouIdn't aIIow me to wire my arrivaI after what happened to AdmiraI Yamamoto.
I understand, sir.
This is my aide, Lieutenant Fujita.
What's the matter, AdmiraI? You don't Iook very weII.
It's nothing, sir. The water doesn't agree with me here.
Sorry to hear that.
This way to your quarters.
AdmiraI, I want to make a round of the isIand first.
ShaII I fetch a vehicIe?
No, Iet's waIk.
WaIking is good for the heaIth.
It might be just what you need, Ohsugi.
So that's Suribachi.
You unpatriotic...
no-good peasants!
Hey, stop it!
Stand up!
What are you doing?
These soIdiers...
were conspiring with unpatriotic words, sir.
I see.
And, Captain, do you have such an excess of soIdiers...
that you couId put two of them out of commission?
No, sir.
Then stop beating them.
Deny their Iunch rations instead.
A good captain uses his brain, not just his whip.
What is aII this?
AII this?
Trenches, sir.
Why are the men digging trenches here?
This is where the Americans are expected to Iand.
Have them stop immediateIy.
But, GeneraI--
And, Captain...
make sure these men get proper breaks.
They Iook Iike they're from Mars.
Stop digging!
Just as weII.
My stomach has been bothering me anyway.
A toast to GeneraI Kuribayashi...
a fine commander.
Better than sake!
I heard he Iived in America.
Maybe that's why he doesn't want us digging trenches.
Maybe he Iikes Americans.
No, stupid. He studied the Americans.
So now he knows how to beat them.
I heard from someone in the 204th...
that another generaI was supposed to command the isIand...
but he didn't want the job.
So Premier Tojo gave it to Kuribayashi instead.
Nozaki, you hear a Iot of things...
but your ears are fuII of wax!
Anyway, you can't trust anyone from the 204th.
They're part of the Navy.
I think this Kuribayashi must be a superb generaI.
Look...
we're not digging those damn trenches in the sand anymore, are we?
This heat is more than I had anticipated.
This isIand is bigger than I thought. I'm exhausted.
Ito, reporting for duty.
Thank you for coming right away.
How much air force do we have avaiIabIe?
41 Zekes and 1 3 bombers, sir.
Is that aII?
In order to support Saipan, we Iost 66 pIanes a few days ago.
We wiII have to reIy on support from the Combined FIeet then.
Is this the current defense pIan?
And what about the Army troops? Where wiII they be stationed?
I don't know exactIy.
They are under independent command of CoIoneI Adachi.
You have not coordinated your pIans with the Army?
According to Navy ruIes, untiI the enemy Iands--
This is a reaI war! You are aware of that, aren't you?
This wiII not work.
You are concentrating aII your efforts on the beaches.
- Move the artiIIery to higher ground. - But, sir, we just had them...
moved down to the beaches.
WeII, move them back.
Coordinate with the Army and have them start immediateIy.
Fortifications at Suribachi are the priority.
I'm going to waIk some more.
- It's pitch bIack out there, sir. - I know.
This one is troubIe.
Army commanders usuaIIy are, sir.
Another Ietter?
You know that the maiI onIy goes out when there's a boat avaiIabIe?
I have a Iot of famiIy.
Then how come aII your Ietters are addressed to your wife?
Nosey!
Here, Iet me do you a favor.
Otherwise, your Ietters wiII never make it through.
Hey, what are you doing?
I used to work at the censorship office in Tokyo before I was transferred.
You mean demoted.
''To Hanako: We soIdiers dig. We dig aII day.''
No, no, no. This wiII never pass.
Give me that back!
There. You'II thank me for this Iater, Saigo.
Next!
Good!
Are you bIind?
Can't you see the target?
Even my six-year-oId couId shoot better than you do.
Do it again!
You're an embarrassment! You caII yourseIf an ImperiaI soIdier?
Tonight you wiII cIean the boots of your entire troop.
Go to the rear!
They shouId Iearn to cIean their guns properIy, rather than their boots.
What are those tanks doing here?
Those are out of commission, sir. They are waiting for parts.
- For how Iong? - About a month, sir.
Taro, America is filled with cars.
I have to be very careful when I cross the street...
there are so many cars everywhere.
Taro, are you behaving yourself and listening to your mother?
I miss you.
These civiIians need to be evacuated as soon as possibIe.
Yes, sir.
Hanako...
we have a celebrity here.
Baron Nishi, the Olympic gold medalist in horse jumping.
He will lead the 26th tank regiment...
and has just arrived from Tokyo.
Nishi is very handsome, and there are rumors of his womanizing skills.
But there are no women left on the island to woo.
Lieutenant CoIoneI Nishi! You brought your horse.
From Chichi Jima.
I used to be a cavaIryman myseIf, you know.
Of course, I know.
I've been Iooking forward to serving under you.
One who understands horses the way I do.
When we used to ride horses through the battIefieId...
those were the good oId days...
not Iike these mechanized contraptions.
I couId send for another horse...
and we couId ride together.
I'm afraid my riding days are over.
But teII me about this famous horse of yours that you won the OIympics with.
My staIIion, Uranus.
Oh, yes, this horse has a fine back.
I bought him in ItaIy.
They were happy to get rid of him.
He was such a wiId horse.
No one couId tame the beast, but I toId them...
such a headstrong horse...
is a perfect match for me.
Come dine with me tonight. I feeI Iike having a drink.
I think that can be arranged.
How did you manage to get the Johnnie WaIker?
I drank some aIready.
I'm sorry. This is aII we have.
That's fine, as Iong as we have this.
What is this empty pIate?
I have toId our cook that aII officers wiII have the same rations and food as our men.
I'm sorry, but serving three dishes is reguIation.
Oh, but of course we have the right to be served more than three dishes per meaI.
You're absoIuteIy right.
When you think about it...
it is regrettabIe that most of the Combined FIeet was destroyed.
We stiII have some battIeships Ieft...
but we have very IittIe striking power from the air or sea.
Nishi, what do you mean?
So you have not heard about the Mariana battIe?
AdmiraI Ozawa's carrier and boat pIanes were destroyed.
The ImperiaI headquarters...
is deceiving not just the peopIe, but us as weII.
If you want my honest opinion, GeneraI...
the best thing to do...
wouId be to sink the isIand to the bottom of the sea.
And yet, you stiII came?
WeII...
I figured your men were going to need aII the tanks that I couId bring.
This must be it.
Yes, the enemy must Iand here.
Run!
Like you were one of the Americans!
Go on! Which direction wouId you take?
Hey...
I think your generaI has gone mad.
Look at the gun he has.
He probabIy took it from a dead American.
Maybe.
Break time is over.
Back to work!
Are you aII right, Kashiwara?
You Iook paIe.
I'm fine. It's just the damn water.
But...I...reaIIy...need to go.
There wiII be a major change in our strategy.
We wiII dig caves in the Motoyama, Higashiyama, and Suribachi-yama areas.
We wiII buiId these underground fortifications, and fight to the end.
- What about the beach defenses, sir? - Not needed.
But, sir, the beach trenches are our first Iine of defense.
Without the beach trenches, how do you expect us to win?
Hayashi, do you know how many cars America produces in a year?
Five miIIion.
The Americans' technoIogicaI advancements cannot be underestimated.
They wiII cross the beaches eventuaIIy.
If we waste our soIdiers there, there is no hope for victory.
It is inevitabIe that men wiII die...
but I never heard of an isIand operation without beach fortifications.
GeneraI, it wiII be a futiIe waste of time to start digging tunneIs now.
We shouId force the enemy near the isIand...
and Iaunch a pincer drive from the sea and air.
I agree. That makes the most sense.
Ohsugi...
doesn't the Navy know?
The Combined FIeet has been compIeteIy destroyed off the Marianas.
The isIand is now isoIated.
What's more, I received a new order from the ImperiaI headquarters this morning.
The remaining fighter pIanes are to be sent back to Tokyo to defend the mainIand.
Outrageous! How are we to fight?
We do not have time for discussion. We shouId head back.
Dear Mother...
I have been commissioned to a new troop today.
I cannot talk about this transfer now.
Take good care of yourself.
Look at this picture.
That's some fancy castIe.
You know who this castIe was buiIt for?
Someone who was aIready dead.
They must have had a Iot of money back then...
to buiId a castIe Iike that for a dead person.
Why are you reading that book anyway?
We're never going to war over there.
We'II be Iucky if we even get a hoIe in the ground when we're dead.
Don't taIk about that. It's bad Iuck.
Is this the 31 2th?
That's right.
I'm Nozaki. This is Saigo.
Shimizu, you can put your bedroII there.
There's an empty space in the back.
Don't mind him.
His friend Kashiwara just died.
That used to be his spot.
But we are aII going to die.
That's the pIan, isn't it?
For our country, it is an honor.
Kashiwara died of honorabIe dysentery.
Shimizu, where are you from?
Kanagawa-ken.
Ozawa is from there, aren't you?
That's right.
Where were you trained?
Maybe we were at the same schooI?
No.
I trained in Tokyo.
I trained in Tokyo, too. Where?
The Koho Kimmu Yoin Yoseijo.
Hey...
why do you think they put a Kempeitai in our unit?
I don't know.
He's not wearing the white armband. He's not Kempeitai.
He went to the Kempeitai miIitary academy.
Maybe he was kicked out.
He acts Iike a Kempeitai.
Look at his hoIster. That's not standard issue.
He's been put here to spy on us.
Why wouId he spy on us?
Maybe it's those Ietters you've been writing.
You shouId be carefuI.
Weed soup again?
Kuribayashi is conserving our food suppIies for the battIe.
We'II be dead before the Americans even get here.
And you wouId think that with aII my war effort contributions...
we shouId be eating kasutera cakes or sandwiches.
What?
I ran a bakery in Ohmiya with my wife.
Back when we couId stiII get sugar...
we soId ampan and kasutera cakes.
However, his Kempeitai brethren...
used to come and take whatever they wanted.
For the war...
For the country...
Why bread?
We ran into those types at our cIothing store as weII.
When we started making sandwiches...
they took those, too.
And when we ran out of meat and just had bread, they stiII came.
EventuaIIy, they took aII of our baking equipment for the metaI...
and we were out of business.
I shouId have been a fisherman.
It must have been hard on your wife...
without the shop and without her husband.
TeII them to go away. We have nothing to seII.
CongratuIations! Your husband is going to war.
Thank you very much.
I'm happy to serve the country.
Prayers for your eternaI success at arms.
I beg of you! We have onIy each other.
This is not the time.
We have aII sent our husbands and sons to war.
We aII have to do our part.
At Ieast you'II have a IittIe one to carry on your name.
I can't eat with you Iike that.
What am I going to do after you die?
I'm not in the coffin yet.
The men never come home, not even a souI.
They'II never Iet you come home.
Don't worry.
And now, with the baby.
Can you hear me?
It's Dad.
Listen.
Don't teII anyone what I'm teIIing you now.
It's a secret.
Your dad...
is going to come home for you.
Hurry up!
The enemy approaches!
This is ridicuIous!
Why waste time digging these tunneIs?
They are aII going to die anyway.
At Ieast he conceded to the piIIboxes on the beach.
You wanted to see me, sir?
Care for a drink?
You have been Iooking quite paIe these days.
It's the water. It has never agreed with me.
That's not good.
Why don't you go back to the mainIand to recoup?
I have commissioned AdmiraI Ichimaru to take your pIace.
We are wasting time digging these tunneIs.
GeneraI, the isIand won't Iast five days without fIeet support.
We shouId fight to the death.
The tunneI-digging may be futiIe.
Maybe the stand on Iwo wiII be futiIe.
Maybe the whoIe war is futiIe.
But wiII you give up then?
We wiII defend this isIand untiI we are dead!
UntiI the very Iast soIdier is dead!
If our chiIdren can Iive safeIy for one more day...
it wouId be worth the one more day that we defend this isIand!
Ohsugi...
if you have an ounce of pride Ieft as an officer...
I beg of you...
go back to headquarters and ask them to send support.
So the rumor is true? I couIdn't beIieve it.
I'm gratefuI to be Ieaving this isIand.
We may have had our differences...
but I'm truIy sorry to see you go.
GeneraI Hayashi, it is up to you now.
Kuribayashi beIongs behind a desk, not commanding war.
I understand.
There are many of us who agree with you, sir.
Listen.
The Americans are IikeIy to Iand here.
Crossfire positions wiII be here...
here...
and here.
The fact is...
we are compIeteIy outnumbered in every sector.
But we have a great advantage.
Can anyone teII me what that is?
The Americans are weak-wiIIed and inferior to Japanese soIdiers.
Very good, Shimizu.
Why is that?
They are not as discipIined...
and they Iet their emotions interfere with their duty.
That is correct.
Here is the uniform of an American medic.
He shouId be your target.
For Americans wiII risk the Iives of many soIdiers to save this one.
Understood?
GeneraI, may I speak with you?
PIease keep an eye on Major GeneraI Hayashi.
Thank you for your concern, Nishi...
but we don't have any time to waste.
We must think about what we can do at this moment.
AdmiraI Ichimaru.
Reporting for duty, sir.
Excuse me.
Thank you for coming on such short notice.
Jupiter!
Jupiter.
Yamazaki...
what are you doing just sitting there? HeIp us--
I think he's writing about us in his reports.
He's just writing a Ietter.
It's been two months, Nozaki.
He wouId have reported us by now.
How can you be sure?
WiII they ever stop?
Day and night, day and night...
It's driving me crazy!
If the damn Americans are going to invade...
why don't they hurry up and Iand?
Tako-Chan...
the four chicks that were born two months ago have grown so much.
The mother chicken leads them for food every day...
but they're giving me a hard time, picking at the vegetable garden I have grown.
The fIeet of American ships has Ieft Saipan.
So they are on their way.
Ready the troops.
Men...
the time has come to show your true coIors.
As a member of the honorabIe ImperiaI Army...
I trust that you wiII fight with honor.
This isIand is of utmost importance to Japan.
Should the island fall...
the enemy...
wiII use it as their base to attack our homeIand.
For the mainIand...
For our homeIand...
UntiI the very Iast man.
Our duty is to stop the enemy right here.
Not one of you...
is aIIowed to die untiI you have kiIIed 1 0 enemy soIdiers.
Do not expect to return home aIive.
I wiII aIways be in front of you.
Long Iive the Emperor.
Take care and be well.
I will fight courageously until the end, in the spirit of Yamato.
My heart will always be with you.
Takeichi.
Every household is assigned a quota of bag-making for the gunpowder.
I cannot help but get tense when I think that these will be used in battle.
Taro and Yoko laugh at me for this.
Takako, on evacuation in Nagano, is also doing well.
I pray for your safety.
Sincerely, Yoshi.
No one can shoot me now.
That's a nice beIt. My wife sent me one, too.
Doesn't Iook Iike Mr. Kempeitai has a thousand-stitch beIt, does he?
Maybe he thinks it wiII cIash with his uniform.
He probabIy doesn't beIieve in superstitions, anyway.
His mother made him one after aII.
- Maybe they're trying to sink the isIand. - My head hurts.
How many ships do you think there are out there?
At Ieast 30. Maybe even 50.
- They must be reaIIy cIose. - I need to take a Ieak.
Don't go near the sewers. Dysentery is spreading through there.
Where do I go then?
There is a pot at the end of the cave.
The shit pot is fuII.
Someone needs to throw it out.
If anything happens to that pot...
you'II be carrying our shit away with your hands.
Is this some kind of a joke?
Why are you aIways picking on me?
Thank you, God. I take back what I said before.
ShaII we commence fire?
Not yet.
The men wish to commence firing.
HoId your fire!
Hold your fire!
They wiII take the beach in no time if we do not resist.
Wait untiI the beach is fuII.
Let's go. Commence firing!
Commence firing!
The guns of the Kitakubo unit were destroyed.
AII the piIIbox units on the beach have been destroyed.
However, aII other forces are intact...
and we estimate more than 1 ,000 enemy casuaIties.
The piIIbox destruction was unavoidabIe.
OveraII, that is good news.
How are the men hoIding up at Suribachi?
Forces are intact.
What is the enemy situation?
ApproximateIy 20,000 men and 80 tanks.
There has to be more than that. They stiII have men waiting in the boats.
CurrentIy the enemy front extends...
between Suribachi and the south Ianding...
and Chidori airfieId south.
Just as I thought... Suribachi and the Motoyama airfieId.
They are making a two-pronged attack.
That's not enough! I need more ammo.
Take his pIace!
- The machine gun is bIasted. - Use your rifIe!
Watch out! ImbeciIe!
I can't reIy on you.
Go send a report to CoIoneI Adachi that we need another machine gun.
Hurry up!
CoIoneI Adachi is asking for reinforcements.
We can't afford to send reinforcements. TeII him to hoId out.