In 1943, about 20 soldiers, thought to be Americans, tried to land on a beach on the Izu peninsula, Japan. The village women gathered on the beach, holding hoes, sickles, and spears fashioned of bamboo. One of them gave the following account.We were filled with ferocious spirit, crying, "Come on ashore, come ashore and we'll kill you!" The enemy, surprised, stood up and raised their arms, saying, "Banzai." A piece of white cloth was tied to a pole. "All right, they've surrendered. Let's take them all prisoner."
The men came cautiously ashore, gesturing exaggeratedly. Finally, we were able to make out that they were Germans whose ship had been attacked by an American submarine. They had come to our coast in lifeboats. This meant they were our allies. Our stance changed, and rushed to shake hands with them.
一九四三年，約二十個疑是美國的軍人準備登陸日本伊豆半島一個沙灘。當地村婦群聚沙灘上，手執鋤頭、鐮刀、竹矛。以下是其中一人的記述。我們滿懷兇狠，高喊：「來吧，上岸就取你們性命！」敵人一臉愕然神氣，站起來，高舉雙手說：「日皇萬歲。」他們把白布纏在長棍上。「好，敵人投降了，把他們俘虜吧。」
那些人做着誇張的手勢，小心翼翼走到岸上。最後，我們總算明白他們原來是德軍，戰艦遭美國潛艇攻擊，坐救生艇來到我們岸上，是我們盟友。我們於是改變態度，跑上前和他們握手。