A new museum is in progress in Usa City, Oita Prefecture, to convey the history of the Ohka aircraft. Known as the Cherry Blossom, the Usa Flying Corps deployed the Ohka towards the end of the war. The museum's new home is scheduled to open in April 2027. It will serve as a field museum where visitors can explore war records and relics, including hardened shelters used for storing fighter planes.
Due to various construction delays, Usa City has been displaying items from its collection at a temporary facility. Known as the "Peace Museum," the city has exhibited 4,000 pieces here since 2013.
Alongside the Ohka, the permanent museum will also feature life-sized models of the Zero Fighter Model 21 (Zero). Additionally, it will showcase Japan's first-ever display of the Type 97 Carrier Attack Bomber. It aims to tackle the important challenge of preserving memories from the era. With the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II approaching, this new museum is worthy of attention.
Theater of History
Usa City, situated in north Oita Prefecture at the base of the Kunisaki Peninsula, boasts serene rural landscapes. On October 1, 1939, the Usa Flying Corps was established. It served as a training air corps for pilots of carrier-based attack and bomber aircraft.
The Usa base also provided the backdrop for numerous historical events. For example, Major Kakuichi Takahashi was an instructor at the base during the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 8, 1941. He commanded the flight squadron of the aircraft carrier Shōkaku and is remembered for dropping the first bomb.
In the war's final stages, Usa was a base for the Kamikaze Special Attack Units, in which 154 aviators lost their lives on suicide missions. Mounted on the Type 1 Land Attack-based Aircraft, the Ohka also launched from Usa.
As a result, it has served as the setting for several novels. These include Hiroyuki Agawa's Burial in the Clouds and Saburō Shiroyama's Shikikantachi no Tokko [The Commanders' Special Attacks].
Hardened Shelters and Bomb Ponds
Originally, the city had planned to open the Peace Museum (tentative name) in 2020 and began preparations accordingly. However, a bidding process in 2018 fell through, reportedly due to soaring construction costs driven by the Tokyo Olympics. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic caused further delays.
By scaling down the building size to two floors, approximately 3,370 square meters, Usa officials have managed to streamline the budget. Construction is now set to begin in 2025. Even with the reduction, the total cost is projected to be around ¥800 million JPY (approximately $5.3 million USD).
This site is the WWII-related historical site to be designated as a cultural property, following the Okinawa Army Hospital Haebaru Bunker No. 20. Remarkably, it received its designation before Hiroshima's Atomic Bomb Dome.
Other notable sites include a parachute maintenance facility marked by bullet holes. There is also the Bomb Pond, formed by a crater left by a B-29 bomb. Additionally, remnants of an 80-meter-wide, 1,800-meter-long runway can be found. More than ten such locations are scattered around the Usa base area.
After the war, the concrete from the runway was removed, and the former airfield was converted into rice paddies and residential areas. Of the approximately 100 bomb craters, only the Bomb Pond remains, as the others were filled in.
Footage of Yamato Under Attack
A local historical research group unearthed the footage the museum is set to showcase. These historians spent over a decade uncovering the footage from the United States National Archives records. The collection includes gun camera footage from US military aircraft documenting air raids over Japan. In addition, the footage features dramatic scenes of the battleship Yamato under attack, which is sure to draw significant interest.
Due to delays in opening the museum, Usa City has been displaying items from its collection at a temporary facility. Known as the Peace Museum, the city has exhibited 4,000 pieces here since 2013.
A life-size model of the Ohka, along with the actual cockpit glass and launch tubes, is already on display at the temporary museum. In addition to the name "Cherry Blossom," the aircraft was called the "human bomb." Testimony videos from former crew members and personal belongings, including letters, reveal the tragic nature of their suicide missions.
The first special attack using the Cherry Blossom was planned in Usa. However, on March 18, 1945, American forces conducted an air raid. All 18 Type 1 Land Attack Aircraft equipped with the Cherry Blossom were destroyed as they prepared for takeoff.
Footage from the US National Archives features US soldiers inspecting captured Cherry Blossoms in Okinawa. It also contains dramatic scenes from the air raid on Usa.
Making History Tangible
A life-sized model of the A6M Zero Fighter Type 21, featured in The Eternal Zero, is also on display. Authentic tires from the fighter aircraft Hayate enhance the exhibit. Designers meticulously recreated the cockpit instruments, rust, and wear on the airframe for a strikingly realistic effect.
However, the spotlight is likely to fall on the Type 97 Carrier Attack Bomber. A dive-shop operator discovered the plane off the coast of Tanegashima in 2021, leading to its subsequent retrieval. Despite severe damage, this aircraft is the only one of its kind on display in Japan, making it extremely important.
The new museum will serve as an educational facility, providing free admission for students and younger visitors. Recruitment for volunteer guides is underway, with training already in progress.
Junichi Sagara, head of the Usa City Peace Museum construction preparation office, expressed his vision for the museum. "We aim to establish a unique field museum that teaches about war," he revealed. "Through a blend of historical materials and remains, we intend to distinguish ourselves from other similar institutions."
About the Ohka 'Cherry Blossom'
Developed by the Naval Air Technical Arsenal in 1944. This aircraft earned the nickname "human bomb" because a single pilot would board it for a suicide attack. Carried by a Type 1 Land Attack Bomber, the Cherry Blossom would release upon spotting an enemy vessel. It then ignited its three tail-mounted rocket boosters sequentially, accelerating to over 600 kilometers per hour before impact. Without fighter escorts, it often faced the risk of enemy aircraft shooting it down along with the Type 1 Bomber.
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Read the article in Japanese.
Author: Yoshitaka Ando, The Sankei Shimbun writer
