Japan’s Spy at Pearl Harbor

Takeo Yoshikawa (1912–1993) was an ensign in the Imperial Japanese Navy and a naval intelligence officer assigned the task of spying on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. Assuming the alias “Morimura” and the role of secretary at the Japanese Consulate-General in Honolulu in March of 1941, Yoshikawa was able to travel all over the Hawaiian Islands to gather intelligence. His reporting during the nine months preceding the outbreak of the Pacific War would help pave the way for Japan’s surprise attack at Pearl Harbor. Yoshikawa’s memoirs—published here in English for the first time—offer a gripping spy story, personal confessions, and a Japanese eyewitness view of the war in the Pacific.

Takeo Yoshikawa was born in Matsuyama, Japan, in 1912 and was trained at the prestigious Etajima Naval Academy in the early 1930s.

Andrew Mitchell lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Takeo Yoshikawa

Translated by Andrew Mitchell

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 308
Bibliographic Info: 12 photos, notes, index
Copyright Date: 2020
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7699-9
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3699-3
Imprint: McFarland

Translator’s Foreword 1
Preface to the Japanese Edition (1963) 5
Part One: A Letter
1. Ancient Light Hermitage 8
2. A Letter from a U.S. Soldier 11
3. Memories of Childhood and Growing Up 15
4. Navy Life 23
5. Returning Home to Convalesce 30
Part Two: Storm Clouds Over the Pacific
6. The Navy General Staff 34
7. Springtide 41
8. The Situation in America 46
9. Getting Ready 53
10. Aboard the Nitta Maru 58
11. Taking Up a New Post 62
12. An Overview of Hawaii 66
13. Getting Down to Work 70
14. Touring the Islands 74
15. Sending Telegrams 81
16. The Decision to Make War 86
17. The Hawaiian Climate 91
18. A Coral Sea 94
19. Airfields and Army Bases 99
20. The Secret Envoy 105
21. Activity in November 111
22. Cash for an Undercover Agent 118
Part Three: The Fateful Day
23. Activities in December 126
24. The Final Telegram 134
25. Pearl Harbor’s Last Day 140
26. Life Under House Arrest 145
27. A Special Submarine 149
28. Remember Pearl Harbor 156
29. Triangle T Ranch 165
30. Carving 170
31. Rancher Tobacco 175
32. Leaving the Ranch 182
33. At a Crossroads 186
34. Navigating the Seas 192
Part Four: Returning
35. The Welcome 198
36. Longing for the Past 202
37. Interrogating Prisoners of War 210
38. Cipher Code and the Death of Commander Isoroku Yamamoto During Combat 218
39. Japanese Secret Code Before the War 223
40. Walking Away 236
41. On the Run 242
42. The Family Village 248
43. Green Vegetable Juice 255
44. War History 259
45. CBS 268
46. Filming 273
47. Strolling Around Honolulu 279
48. Returning to the Mountain 284
Chapter Notes 289
Index 297

“Recommended…an important acquisition…a must read”—Midwest Book Review