On April 20, Watanabe left his village to take a job in Tokyo. He had heard that anyone could write a letter to the emperor now, and he did so before leaving. He used the familiar "you" (anata), unthinkable before the surrender, in addressing him. He had fought hard for the emperor in accordance with his orders, Watanabe wrote, but since the defeat he had lost all trust and hope in him. As a result, he wished to sever their relationship. He then offered an accounting of all the salary that he had been paid by the imperial navy and every article he could remember having received in his years of service--a long list indeed, itemizing food as well as clothing and other goods. The total, as he calculated it, came to 4,281 yen and 5 sen. With his letter, he enclosed a check for 4,282 yen. "Thus," the letter concluded, "I owe you nothing."〔John W. Dower, ''Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II'' (New York: W.W. Norton, 200), 345. ISBN 978-0-393-04686-1〕

「天皇陛下が処刑されるかもしれない」という噂が村うちに流れている。〔Watanabe Kiyoshi, ''Kudakareta kami: aru fukuinhei no shuki'' (Iwanami Shoten: 2004), 1. ISBN 978-4-00-603088-9〕

"'Perhaps His Majesty the Emperor will be executed' is the rumor that is flowing throughout the village."