On the 50th anniversary of the re-emergence of one of the last combatants of World War II, his widow and others inspired by his survival continue passing down his legacy.

Imperial Japanese Army Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi (1915-1997) was “discovered” in the jungles of Guam by locals after hiding out for 28 years following the end of the battle in 1944.

Jan. 24 marked the 50th anniversary of Yokoi's discovery. Despite the deep scars of the bitter war that remained in Japan then, he received a hero's welcome when he returned to his homeland.

Though having few direct memories of Yokoi’s return to Japan, the women who knew him personally or his story are moving toward sharing the lessons learned from his struggle to overcome difficulties in a foreign land with future generations.

EMBARRASSED UPON RETURN TO JAPAN

In August 1944, the Japanese military made a suicidal attack during the Battle of Guam before U.S. forces recaptured the island.

Yokoi went into the jungle after the battle and continued hiding out there even after the war ended until he was discovered on Jan. 24, 1972.

When Yokoi arrived back in his homeland, he uttered his famed expression, “It is with much embarrassment that I return.”

This reminded many individuals of the wartime military’s order to prohibit personnel from being taken prisoner.

According to an Asahi Shimbun article published around the time, no less than 3,000 people showed up at Haneda Airport on Feb. 2 that year to greet Yokoi.

His widow, Mihoko, who married Yokoi in November the same year, said she remembers the hordes of individuals waving from the opposite platform when she rode a Shinkansen with him.

Mihoko said not only messages of encouragement but also a flurry of critical phone calls came at night from bereaved families of the war dead, asking, “Why have you returned alone?”

Mihoko, 94, used donations made by those nationwide upon Yokoi’s return to purchase a home in Nagoya’s Nakagawa Ward and renovated the residence into a museum themed on her late spouse in 2006.

She fielded up to 500 visitors a day during the peak period in line with Yokoi’s wish to “return a favor to everyone.” The facility has been closed since 2020 due to her advanced age and the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Mihoko currently lives at a relative’s home in Kyoto, and she is now in a situation in which it is “difficult” to return to her house and resume operating the museum.

INSPIRED BY YOKOI’S CALLIGRAPHY

Yuko Okada, 58, who runs an osteopathic clinic in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, is among those making efforts so Yokoi will not be forgotten.

Okada makes it an annual tradition to display in the treatment room a hanging scroll reading “choju manpuku” (longevity, great happiness) in the New Year holiday season. The scroll was presented by Yokoi, and the expression means living longer will help people be filled with happiness.

Okada was hit by a car in 1990 on her trip to Germany. She was left unconscious for one and a half months and suffered brain damage in the accident. She lost the hearing in her right ear and was temporarily unable to hold things.

While she was thinking she “might die soon,” the scroll arrived from Yokoi.

A few years earlier, Okada, when she was in college, appeared in a TV program where young women spent days outdoors on a southern island. She got to know Yokoi, who provided guidance to the participants. To her surprise, Yokoi was shy and did not say much.

Entering the jungle, Yokoi started moving so fast that others found it difficult to keep up with him. Okada also saw Yokoi climb a tree quickly and start a fire by rubbing pieces of bamboo together. After the TV show, Okada exchanged letters with Yokoi.

Learning of her accident, Yokoi sent his calligraphic work apparently as he had devoted himself to that form of art.

Seeing the scroll, Okada thought that Yokoi, who created clothes from tree bark fibers, gobbled up a toad’s liver to ease a stomachache and dug a hollow by himself to stay in, would not have survived if he had given up on life. Instead, all those means to survive must have been developed following much trial and error.

The “encouragement from Yokoi” motivated Okada to undergo rehabilitation.

In 2002, Okada published a book titled “Choju Manpuku” featuring her illustrations. This sought to portray the life of Yokoi, as some young patients at her clinic were not even familiar with his name.

“I want young people in particular to learn about Yokoi’s power,” said Okada, who suffered a cerebral infarction in 2015 but continues working energetically.

CHILDREN’S BOOK

Eiko Kameyama, 48, a resident of Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture, released the picture book “Yokoi Shoichi San” (Mr. Shoichi Yokoi) in 2020.

After she visited the Yokoi-themed museum in Nagoya in 2015, Kameyama, who tells stories as a volunteer, created pictures by cutting paper in the hope of introducing the life of Yokoi through her picture book.

Hearing Mihoko say she would like the title “to be read by many people,” Kameyama sent bound copies of her work to libraries and publishers. The picture book was eventually published five years later by Yuiport in Nagoya.

Nearly half of all the 48 pages depict how Yokoi spent his days before going to war and after returning to Japan. The episode is also included about a stone monument erected by his grave in sympathy for the small animals he ate to survive, in accordance with Yokoi’s wishes.

A total of 4,500 copies have been released through reprints. Whereas comments from readers came primarily from those in their 50s or older, some children have also enjoyed the book.

A message from a 7-year-old boy states he “could not eat mice, toads or snails.” An 11-year-old girl writes she was astonished that Yokoi used a sword as a substitute for a kitchen knife and a cartridge for a needle and other tools, saying, “Even weapons designed to kill people can be used to help people if modified slightly.”

Kameyama said she is herself among those deeply moved by the way Yokoi lived his life.

“When I get down in the dumps, I imagine Yokoi would tell me not to act like a spoiled child,” she said.

Kameyama noted she was filled with joy upon learning that children have been impressed by Yokoi’s “power to survive” through her book.

As stated in the publication’s colophon, Kameyama now dreams of having her title “adopted by libraries across Japan.” She has delivered more than 100 copies to local elementary and junior high schools as well as libraries and elsewhere.

According to her account, a man has donated 100,000 yen ($878) distributed by the government as part of the pandemic aid, so that the funds will be “utilized” in favor of fulfilling Kameyama’s dream.