A Japanese soldier in Shibushi thought of committing suicide when Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945, but was unable to go through with it. He describes how he returned home.
Feeling ashamed about returning home alive, I took the last train of the day. When it arrived, I walked through the wicket in the dark. Suddenly my father appeared before me. "Hideo! Hideo! I'm so glad you're home." He wept as he spoke.
It was after eleven o'clock at night. I could not figure out how my father had known to meet me at the station. He told me that since 15 August, for three months, he and my mother had taken turns meeting all the trains as they arrived at the station. I was speechless. To think that I had contemplated suicide. How undutiful that was towards my parents. I pledged in my heart never again to sing the national anthem.
一九四五年八月十五日日本投降那天，志布志灣一名日本士兵想自殺，卻無法下手。他記述回家的經過。
我活着回家，感到羞愧，就搭當天最後一班火車。回到故園，已是黑夜，我從小門走出來。父親突然出現在我面前，哭着說：「秀夫，秀夫，真高興你回來了。」
當時已過了十一點。我不知道父親怎麼會知道來車站接我。他說，八月十五日開始，就和我母親輪流到車站，等候每一班到來的火車，前後等了三個月。我呆了，想到自己曾經要自殺，是多麼的不孝。我暗暗發誓，以後不再唱國歌。