Niihau incident

Shigenori Nishikaichi, the pilot who became the center of the Niʻihau incident

On December 7, 1941, Airman First Class Shigenori Nishikaichi, who had taken part in the second wave of the Pearl Harbor attack, crash-landed his battle-damaged aircraft, an A6M2 Zero "B11-120" from the carrier Hiryu, in a Niʻihau field near where native Hawaiian Hawila Kaleohano was standing.[5] Kaleohano was unaware of the attack at Pearl Harbor, but knew from newspapers that the relationship between the U.S. and Japan was poor because of disputes over Japanese expansionism and the resulting U.S. oil embargo on Japan. Recognizing Nishikaichi and his plane as Japanese, Kaleohano seized Nishikaichi's pistol and papers before the dazed airman could react. He and the other Hawaiians who gathered about treated the pilot with courtesy and traditional Hawaiian hospitality, even throwing a party for Nishikaichi later that afternoon. However, the Hawaiians could not understand Nishikaichi, who spoke only Japanese with a limited amount of English. They sent for issei Ishimatsu Shintani, who was married to a native Hawaiian, to translate.[3]

Having been briefed on the situation beforehand and approaching the task with evident distaste, Shintani exchanged just a few words with the pilot and departed without explanation. The puzzled Hawaiians then sent for Yoshio Harada, who was born in Hawaiʻi of Japanese ancestry, and his wife Irene (an issei), who constituted the remainder of the Niʻihau population of Japanese ancestry. Nishikaichi informed Harada of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and Harada chose not to share the information with the non-Japanese natives. Nishikaichi desperately wanted his papers returned, as he had been instructed not to let them fall into American hands, but Kaleohano refused to return them. The Haradas decided to help Nishikaichi retrieve his papers and escape.[6]

A6M Zero in the markings of the aircraft flown by Nishikaichi on display at the Pacific Aviation Museum[7]

Niʻihau had neither electricity nor telephones, but later that night, the Hawaiians heard a radio report about the Pearl Harbor attack on a battery-operated radio. They confronted the pilot, and this time Harada translated what was said about the attack. The owner of the island, Aylmer Robinson, was scheduled to arrive on his regular weekly trip from Kauaʻi, a much larger island just 17 miles (27 km) away, the next morning. It was decided that the pilot would return to Kauaʻi with Robinson.[3]

However, Robinson could not reach Niʻihau because the American military had instituted a ban on boat traffic within the islands soon after the attack. The Niʻihauans did not know of the ban. Nishikaichi was permitted to stay with the Haradas, but with a contingent of five guards. There was now ample opportunity for the Haradas to converse with Nishikaichi.[3]

On December 12, Shintani approached Kaleohano privately on behalf of Harada and Nishikaichi. He offered him a bribe of ¥200 for the pilot's papers, but Kaleohano again refused. Shintani fled into the woods to avoid reporting his failure.[8] Yoshio Harada and Nishikaichi, not waiting for Shintani's return, attacked the lone guard who had been posted outside the Harada residence, while Irene Harada played music on a phonograph to disguise the sounds of the struggle. Three other guards were stationed to watch the Harada residence but were not present at the time of the attack. Harada and Nishikaichi locked the guard in a warehouse, where Harada acquired a shotgun and Nishikaichi's pistol that had been stored there. They proceeded to Kaleohano's house.

Having left Shintani just minutes before, Kaleohano was in his outhouse when he saw Harada and Nishikaichi approaching with the 16-year-old guard whom they were prodding with a gun. With Kaleohano hiding in the outhouse, Harada and Nishikaichi turned their attention to the nearby plane. Kaleohano ran from the outhouse as Harada and Nishikaichi fired at him, and he alerted the residents of the nearby village, warning them to evacuate, but they were skeptical regarding Kaleohano's news. However, when the captive guard escaped and reached the village, the residents fled to caves, thickets and distant beaches.

Remains of Nishikaichi's Zero after having been burned by Nishikaichi on December 13, 1941

Robinson was aware that there was trouble on Niʻihau because the Niihauans had flashed signals toward Kauaʻi with kerosene lanterns and reflectors. Nishikaichi unsuccessfully attempted to make contact with the Japanese military using the downed aircraft's radio. With the help of Harada and one of their Hawaiian captives, Nishikaichi removed at least one of the plane's two 7.7 mm machine guns with some ammunition, torched the plane, and proceeded to Kaleohano's house, setting it ablaze in the early morning hours in a final effort to destroy Nishikaichi's papers, which included maps, radio codes, and Pearl Harbor attack plans.[9]

During the night, Niʻihau resident Kaahakila Kalimahuluhulu, known as Kalima, had also been taken captive. He was released to help in the search for Kaleohano, who had escaped with Nishikaichi's papers. Instead, Kalima enlisted his friend Benehakaka "Ben" Kanahele to sneak back in the darkness to steal the machine guns and ammunition. That morning, Saturday, December 13, Harada and Nishikaichi captured Kanahele[10] and his wife Kealoha "Ella" Kanahele.[5] They ordered Kanahele to find Kaleohano, keeping Ella as a hostage. Kanahele knew that Kaleohano was rowing toward Kauaʻi with five others but pretended to look for him. He soon became concerned about Ella and returned to her. Nishikaichi realized that he was being deceived. Harada told Kanahele that Nishikaichi would kill him and everyone in the village if Kaleohano was not found.[9]

Kanahele and his wife, taking advantage of the fatigue and discouragement of his two captors, leapt at them as Nishikaichi handed the shotgun to Harada. When Nishikaichi pulled his pistol out of his boot, Ella Kanahele grabbed his arm and brought it down. Harada pulled her off the pilot, who then shot Ben Kanahele three times: in the groin, stomach and upper leg. However, Kanahele was still able to pick up Nishikaichi and hurl the pilot into a stone wall, knocking him unconscious. Ella Kanahele then killed the Japanese pilot by bashing his head with a rock.[8] Harada then killed himself with the shotgun.[11]

After the incident, Ella Kanahele went for help, dropping the shotgun and the pistol on the way. (About five years later, a flood washed the shotgun into a wall where it was found by islanders. The pistol and one of the machine guns were never found.) Ben Kanahele was taken to Waimea Hospital on Kauaʻi to recuperate.[12] He was awarded the Medal for Merit and the Purple Heart in 1945, but Ella did not receive any official recognition.[13]

The next afternoon, December 14, the military authorities, the six Hawaiians who had rowed to Kauaʻi, and Robinson arrived together. The pilot's papers (containing local maps, money, and things needed if forced down) were turned over, and the crashed plane was studied.

Irene Harada and Ishimatsu Shintani were taken into custody. Shintani was sent to an internment camp and later rejoined his family on Niʻihau, where he attained U.S. citizenship in 1960.[13]

Irene Harada was imprisoned for 31 months until her release in June 1944. She was not charged with any crimes resulting from the incident. She maintained her innocence, but added in a 1992 interview with Japanese television that she felt sorry for the pilot and wanted to help him.[14] She moved to the island of Kauaʻi. Mitsuo Fuchida, a naval commander during the attack on Pearl Harbor and later a Christian evangelist who settled in the U.S., visited her after his short trip to Niʻihau.[15]

Composer R. Alex Anderson was inspired by the incident to compose "They Couldn't Take Niihau, Nohow!" It was played on August 15, 1945, when Kanahele was decorated for his actions in Honolulu.[16][17]

Rusted parts of the Niihau Zero as displayed at the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor

The coastal town of Hashihama, Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, Japan erected a 12-foot (3.7 m) granite cenotaph in Nishikaichi's honor when it was still believed that he had perished on the day of the attack, December 7, 1941. For many years, Nishikaichi's remains were those of an unknown Japanese soldier, and it was not until 1956 that the circumstances of his death were revealed to his family, and they claimed his ashes. Engraved on the column is what was believed at the time: "Having expended every effort, he achieved the greatest honor of all by dying a soldier's death in battle, destroying both himself and his beloved plane... His meritorious deed will live forever."[21] In June 2017, the pilot's nafuda, a set of seven wooden sticks that carried the names of Nishikaichi's colleagues, the identifying markings of his Zero and his administrative command, was returned to his family in Japan.[22]

The remains of Nishikaichi's Zero and those of the tractor that he used to travel to the boat landing are on permanent display at the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor. A Japanese-American group in Hawaiʻi criticized the original design of the museum display. Threatening to have federal funds withheld, they demanded that the museum remove mention of the Haradas from the display. The Robinson family, who had donated the aircraft and tractor pieces based on what they were told about how the display would read, was unhappy with the censorship of the information about the Haradas. The exhibit mentions Yoshio Harada's suicide, but not his wife.[23]

A film entitled Enemy Within[24] was released in theaters on April 19, 2019. Joe Naufahu stars as Ben Kanahele.[25]

The 2006 novel East Wind, Rain by Caroline Paul also tells the story of the incident.