|
The Niihau incident (or Battle of Niihau) occurred on December 7, 1941, when Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service pilot Shigenori Nishikaichi (西開地 重徳 ''Nishikaichi Shigenori'') crash-landed his Zero on the Hawaiian island of Niihau after participating in the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was killed in a struggle with people on the island. The island's Native Hawaiian residents were initially unaware of the attack, but apprehended Nishikaichi when the gravity of the situation became apparent. Nishikaichi then sought and received the assistance of three locals of Japanese descent in overcoming his captors, finding weapons, and taking several hostages. Eventually, Nishikaichi was killed by Niihauans Benehakaka "Ben" Kanahele and Kealoha "Ella" Kanahele;〔(NI'IHAU INCIDENT - Benehakaka "Ben" Kanahele - WWII, Medal for Merit, Purple Heart (1891-1962) ), by Duane Vachon, at the Hawaii Reporter; published June 30, 2013; retrieved July 5, 2014〕 Ben Kanahele was wounded in the process, and one of Nishikaichi's confederates, Yoshio Harada, committed suicide. The incident and the actions of Nishikaichi's abettors contributed to a sense in the American military that every Japanese, even those who were American citizens or otherwise thought loyal to the United States, might aid Japan; this ultimately may have influenced the decision to intern Japanese Americans during World War II. Ben Kanahele was decorated for his part in stopping the incident; Ella Kanahele received no official recognition.〔 == Background == Niihau, the westernmost and second smallest of the primary Hawaiian Islands, has been privately owned by the Robinsons, a white ''kamaaina'' family, since 1864. At the time of the incident, it had 136 inhabitants, almost all of whom were Native Hawaiians whose first language was Hawaiian. In 1941 the owner was Aylmer Robinson, a Harvard University graduate who was fluent in Hawaiian. Robinson ran the island without interference from any government authority, and although he lived on the nearby island of Kauai, he made weekly visits by boat to Niihau. The island was only accessible with permission from Robinson, which was almost never given except to friends or relatives of Niihauans. The handful of non-native residents included three of Japanese extraction: ''issei'' Ishimatsu Shintani and Hawaiian-born ''nisei'' Yoshio and Irene Harada, all of whom became involved in the incident. Prior to the Pearl Harbor attack the Imperial Japanese Navy designated Niihau, which they mistakenly believed to be uninhabited, as a location for damaged aircraft to land after the attack. Pilots were told they could wait on the island and rendezvous with a rescue submarine. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Niihau incident」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|