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The youngest of the Kamikaze pilots of the Imperial Army was 17 years old,[25] and the oldest, 35.[26] Most of them were in their late teens, or early twenties. As the battle in Okinawa [April to June 1945] worsened, the average age of the pilots got younger. Some had only completed the equivalent of an elementary school and middle school combined. Some had been to college. There was a tendency for them not to be first sons. The eldest sons usually took over the family business.
Most were therefore the younger sons who did not need to worry about the family business.

Most of those who had come from college came in what is called the
Gakuto

Shutsujin. This was when the college students' exemption from being drafted into the military was lifted, and the graduation of the seniors was shifted from April 1944 to

September 1943.[27]

Many of these students were from prestigious colleges such as Tokyo,
Kyoto, Keio, and Waseda Universities. These students from college tended to have more liberal ideas, not having been educated in military schools, and also were more aware of the world outside of Japan.

Where were the pilots trained? All the pilots involved in the "Okinawa
Tokko" had been trained in/as one of the following: The Youth Pilot Training
School, Candidates for

Second Lieutenant, The Imperial Army Air Corps Academy, Pilot Trainee,
Flight

Officer Candidates, Special Flight Officer Probationary Cadet, Pilot
Training Schools, or Special Flight Officer Candidate.[28]

Part Four

Since the Kamikaze attacks were to be made only if the pilots had volunteered, and could not be "commanded," there were two methods to collect volunteers. One was for all pilots in general, and another was for the Special Flight Officer
Probationary Cadet

(College graduates) only. The former was an application form, and the latter was a survey. The survey asked: "Do you desire earnestly/wish/do not wish/to be involved in the Kamikaze attacks?" They had to circle one of the three choices, or leave the paper blank. The important fact is that the pilots were required to sign their names.[29] When the military had the absolute power, and the whole atmosphere of Japan expected men to die for the country, there was great psychological pressure to circle "earnestly desire" or "wish." The Army selected those who had circled "earnestly desire." The reason that the Special Flight Officer Probationary Cadet had to answer such a survey rather than send the applications at their own will was probably because the military had known that the students who had come from college had a wider vision, and would not easily apply for such a mission. For the regular application, the
Army was confident that there would be many young pilots who would apply. They were correct. Every student of the 15th term of the Youth Pilot Training School had applied. Because there were so many volunteers, the military had decided to let the ones with better grades go first.[30]

There are several factors which made so many young pilots volunteer for such a mission. Extreme patriotism must have been one factor for sure. Added to that, there was the reverence for the Emperor, a god. Some say that it was generally believed that if one died for the emperor, and was praised in Yasukuni Shrine, they would become happy forever.[31]

The effect of the brainwashing that the military had done to the students is surprising.

The pilots felt it was "obvious" that they were to take part in the
Kamikaze attacks.

Most pilots mention in letters that they were happy, and proud of being given such an honorable mission. It is true also that they believed that if they took part in the mission, it might improve the war situation for Japan.[32]

What the military education was like was described in a diary kept by
Corporal Yukio

Araki, from the time he had entered the Youth Pilot Training School, until the night before his original date of departure for Okinawa.

Since anything written was checked by one of the military staff, nothing that would upset the military or contradict the ideas of the Japanese government could be written.

However, more importantly, because of the lack of privacy, personal emotions could not be written. Therefore, in Corporal Araki's diary, very rarely can anything "personal" be found. The first several days in the Training school, he simply lists the subjects that were studied that day, and what was done for physical training. Later on he mentions what was done for training, the events that took place, and other things he had done.

However, most of what he wrote was about the "warning" he received.[33] The following are some of the "warnings" he had received:

There is an attitude problem when listening to the officers.[34]

Some students seem to smile or laugh during training, and others are being lazy...In general there seems to be a lack of spirit.[35]

Straighten yourself. It reveals your spirit.[36]

The education emphasized the mind, spirit and attitude. Neatness and cleanliness were also frequently mentioned. Usually, a hard slap in the face accompanied these warnings.

The way the 15-year- old boy responded to the warning was: "I must try harder."[37]

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