World · East Asia & Pacific · 14 hrs ago
WWII aviator’s diary helps sister learn about brother she never met
An exhibition at the Oita City Historical Museum helped 81-year-old Chiyuki Tozawa identify her brother Chushi Kikukawa, whom she had never met.
Tozawa was born about 10 months after Kikukawa was killed in action during World War II.
A television report about the exhibition showed a photograph treasured by their mother, and Tozawa recognized him.
Kikukawa was an army aviator who served in combat in China and was killed on February 12, 1944.
His diary, kept for 407 days until the day before his death, records the deaths of fellow soldiers and his own thoughts about war.
It also reveals details of his personal life, including feelings about a former love and a woman he met in Nanjing.
The exhibition displayed his diaries and belongings from July through October 2026, giving visitors a glimpse of the person behind the wartime record.
An exhibition in Oita gave an 81-year-old woman a chance to learn about her brother, an army aviator killed in World War II before she was born.
Chiyuki Tozawa recognized her brother, Chushi Kikukawa, in a photograph shown in a television report about the exhibition.
Kikukawa kept a diary for 407 days, ending the day before he was killed in action on Feb. 12, 1944.
The diary records his thoughts about comrades who died, his first love and a woman he met in Nanjing.
Tozawa was born about 10 months after Kikukawa’s death and had never met him.
- Who
- Chiyuki Tozawa, 81, and her brother, Chushi Kikukawa, an army aviator.
- What
- An exhibition and Kikukawa’s diary helped Tozawa learn about her brother, whom she had never met.
- When
- The exhibition ran from July through October 2026; Tozawa came forward in August.
- Where
- Oita City Historical Museum, in Oita, Japan. Tozawa lives in Beppu, Oita Prefecture.
- Why
- A television report about the exhibition showed a photograph of Kikukawa that Tozawa’s mother had treasured, leading Tozawa to recognize him.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Kikukawa entered the Tokyo Army Aviation School as a member of its eighth class of Army youth aviators.
Kikukawa was assigned to an air unit in former Manchuria and took part in combat against U.S. air units on the Chinese mainland.
Kikukawa was killed in action, after keeping a diary for 407 days through the day before his death.
Oita City Historical Museum held an exhibition featuring diaries and notebooks left by Kikukawa.
Tozawa came forward to the museum after recognizing her brother in a photograph shown in a television report about the exhibition.
- Diary
- 407 days, ending the day before Kikukawa's death
- Kikukawa's death
- Feb. 12, 1944
- Tozawa's age
- 81
- Tozawa's birthplace timing
- Born in December 1944, about 10 months after Kikukawa was killed
- Exhibition venue
- Oita City Historical Museum, Oita, Japan
- Exhibition dates
- July through October 2026
What people are saying
not afraid to die
It is a happy thing, but to me it feels strange. -- I felt glad, thinking she must be happy as this man's wife.
I received a letter from Chikae. There was an opportunity for the two of us to admire the moon at night.
There is no mistake -- that is my brother Chushi.