The Tragic Tale Of Kazuko
KOUSHIK DAS DECEMBER 23, 2023
Once, a young woman was stuck on a small deserted island situated in the middle of the
Pacific Ocean. She got married there and was leading a peaceful life with her husband. Suddenly, a maritime accident ruined their lives as 32 men started fighting among themselves to become the partner of that lady. While 11 of those men were killed, the woman somehow managed to survive.
Kazuko Higa and 32 men were stranded on
Anatahan Island at the very end of the
Second World War (from 1945 to 1951). The young lady escaped to mainland Japan in 1951 and saved her life. Some of the men, too, survived after spending six years on that island. The conflict between the men for the sake of that beautiful young lady reached such a point that they attempted to take each other’s lives. In fact, 11 men were murdered by others. However, their death is still shrouded in mystery. At one stage, the rest of the men wanted to kill Kazuko, popularly known as the
Queen of Anatahan.
Japan had captured Anatahan Island during the
First World War. The
Government of Japan also formed a company, named
Nanyang Xingfa, after the war. The organisation started coconut cultivation on that island. As expected, many Japanese citizens were interested in joining the organisation. The government also announced
special benefits for people who wanted to join Nanyang Xingfa and to stay on Anatahan Island. Kazuko arrived on the island in 1939 at the age of 16. Later, she tied the nuptial knot with 18-year-old
Shoichi Higa, an employee of Nanyang Xingfa. The couple used to supervise the coconut plantation. Then the
Second World War began, although the war did not affect the deserted island initially. Kazuko and her husband Shoichi were living a normal life there. It may be noted that Shoichi’s boss
Masami Hinoshibe was also living on that island, along with other copra farmers. Interestingly, Masami had a crush on Kazuko. Shoichi realised this, but did not bother about it.
When the US attacked Japan during the
Second World War, the American fighter jets targeted Anatahan Island. Although Kazuko and Masami survived bombardments by hiding themselves in the forest, Shoichi went missing after the attack. It is believed that Kazuko’s husband died in the airstrike. However, some were of the opinion that Kazuko and Masami killed Shoichi. All the employees of Nanyang Xingfa left the island after the US aerial attacks destroyed the coconut plantation. However, Kazuko and Masami decided to stay there. As food, stored for Nanyang employees, was also destroyed; Kazuko and Masami had to depend on 40 pigs and 20 chickens that also survived the US attack. They started living on the island as a couple. When the supply of food from Japan stopped completely, they began to live as primitive men. They used to catch fish and kill wild animals to satisfy their hunger. As Kazuko and Masami had no clothes to wear, they used to cover their bodies with the leaves of trees.
Their lives suddenly changed in 1944 when the US air strike destroyed a Japanese ship near Anatahan Island. There were 31 Japanese citizens, including 10 soldiers, on board the ship. Somehow those people reached the Anatahan Island where they were welcomed by Kazuko and Masami. Kazuko and Masami also nursed their injured
guests. The 31 people soon realised that it would not be possible for them to return to mainland Japan. Hence, they, too, started living like primitive men on that isolated island.
Kazuko was the lone woman on the entire island. As all the men were quite young, they fell in love with Kazuko. Gradually, they came to know that Kazuko and Masami were not married. One of the senior sailors who survived the US attack suggested that Kazuko should get married with Masami so that other men would lose interest in her. As per his suggestion, Kazuko tied a nuptial knot with Masami in the presence of others. However, their marriage did not resolve the problem mainly because of Kazuko’s
complicated relationship with other men.
A US fighter jet was flying over Anatahan Island in August 1946. Accidentally, five pistols and 70 rounds of bullets fell on the island from that fighter jet. This incident made the situation worse on the island, as the conflict between those men over Kazuko increased gradually. There was no
law and order on the island. In such a situation, the men turned violent especially after getting those pistols. As it turned out, whenever a man approached Kazuko, he got killed! One day, the body of the captain of the ill-fated Japanese ship was found floating in the sea. A few days later, the bodies of two soldiers were recovered from the island and both had bullet marks on their bodies.
After these murders, the rest of the men became suspicious of each other. They were getting killed only to have Kazuko. Many died of
poisoning over the next few months. While some perished after falling from trees, others disappeared without a trace! Finally, there were only 19 men on the island, along with the young lady. Then, everyone realised that Kazuko was behind those
murders. They had no idea that the
Second World War had ended in the meantime.
Then, the 19 men decided to assassinate Kazuko in order to ensure
peace on Anatahan Island. However, one of them leaked the plan to Kazuko who immediately hid herself in the jungle. After hiding in the jungle for several weeks, she sighted a US ship that took her to Japan in 1951. Upon her arrival in Japan, Kazuko informed people about the island and what happened to her. Finally, the
Government of Japan rescued those 19 men with the help of the
US Army. Currently, a number of
YouTube videos, Wikipedia posts and
movies on this particular incident are available. Kazuko’s experience shows one the possibility that a woman can rely on her own
strength and
wisdom in a disadvantaged position in order to deal with various adverse circumstances and challenges, and can ultimately achieve
success and
happiness.
