View source for Mitsuo Fuchida

{{short description|Japanese Naval officer}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = Mitsuo Fuchida
| native_name   = 淵田 美津雄
| birth_date    = {{birth-date|3 December 1902}}
| death_date    = {{death-date and age|30 May 1976|3 December 1902}}
| birth_place   = [[Katsuragi, Nara]], [[Empire of Japan|Japan]]
| death_place   = [[Kashiwara|Kashiwara, Osaka]], Japan
| image         = MitsuoFuchida.jpg
| caption       = Commander Mitsuo Fuchida (1941-44)
| nickname      =
| allegiance    = {{flag|Empire of Japan}}
| branch        = {{navy|Empire of Japan}}
| serviceyears  = 1924–1945
| rank          = [[File:Imperial Japan-Navy-OF-5-collar.svg|30px]] [[File:Imperial Japan-Navy-OF-5-shoulder.svg|17px]] [[File:Imperial Japan-Navy-OF-5-sleeve.svg|17px]] [[Naval ranks of the Japanese Empire during World War II|Captain]]
| commands      = {{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Akagi||2}}: 1st (flag), 2nd and 3rd air squadrons
| unit          = [[1st Air Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy|1st Air Fleet]]
| battles       = 
{{tree list}}
* [[World War II]]
** [[Second Sino-Japanese War]]
** [[Attack on Pearl Harbor]]
** [[Bombing of Darwin]]
** [[Indian Ocean raid]]
** [[Battle of Midway]]
{{tree list/end}}
| family        =
| laterwork     = {{plainlist |
* [[Christians|Christian]] [[Evangelism|evangelist]]
* Author
}}
| enteredservice =
}}
{{nihongo|'''Mitsuo Fuchida'''|淵田 美津雄|Fuchida Mitsuo|extra= 3 December 1902 – 30 May 1976}} was a Japanese [[Naval ranks of the Japanese Empire during World War II|captain]]{{sfn|National Geographic Society}} in the [[Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service]] and a bomber [[Air observer|observer]] in the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] before and during [[World War II]]. He is perhaps best known for leading the first wave of air [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|attacks on Pearl Harbor]] on 7 December 1941. Working under the overall fleet commander, [[Vice Admiral]] [[Chūichi Nagumo]], Fuchida was responsible for the coordination of the entire aerial attack.

After the war ended, Fuchida became a [[Christian convert]] and [[evangelism|evangelist]], traveling across the United States and Europe to tell his story. He later settled in the U.S. (although never taking American citizenship for himself).{{sfn|Fuchida|2011|p={{page needed|date=December 2017}}}} Some of Fuchida's wartime claims have been challenged as self-serving by historians, including his claimed advocacy for a third wave attack on Pearl Harbor.

==Early life and education==
Mitsuo Fuchida was born in what is now part of [[Katsuragi, Nara|Katsuragi]], [[Nara Prefecture]], Japan to Yazo and Shika Fuchida on 3 December 1902. He entered the [[Imperial Japanese Naval Academy]] at [[Etajima]], [[Hiroshima]], in 1921, where he befriended classmate [[Minoru Genda]] and discovered an interest in flying.{{sfn|Prange|Dillon|Goldstein|2011|p=5}} Specializing in horizontal bombing, Fuchida was made an instructor in that technique in 1936.{{sfn|Prange|Dillon|Goldstein|2011|p=14}} He gained combat experience during the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]], when he was assigned to the aircraft carrier {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Kaga||2}} in 1929{{sfn|Prange|Dillon|Goldstein|2011|p=9}} and then to the Sasebo Air Group,{{sfn|Prange|Dillon|Goldstein|2011|p=11}} He was promoted to [[lieutenant commander]] on 1 December 1936 and was accepted into the [[Naval War College (Japan)|Naval Staff College]].{{sfn|Prange|Dillon|Goldstein|2011|p=14}} Fuchida joined the aircraft carrier {{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Akagi||2}} in 1939 as the commander of the air group.{{sfn|Prange|Dillon|Goldstein|2011|p=21}} Fuchida was made commander in October 1941.{{sfn|Prange|Dillon|Goldstein|2011|p=22}}

== World War II ==
=== Pearl Harbor ===
[[File:Lt.Com Mitsuo Fuchida.jpg|upright|thumb|Fuchida in training for the attack on Pearl Harbor]]
On Sunday, 7 December 1941, a Japanese force under the command of Vice Admiral [[Chūichi Nagumo]]—consisting of six carriers with 423 aircraft—was ready to attack the United States base at [[Pearl Harbor]], Hawaii. At 06:00, the first wave of 183 [[dive bombers]], [[torpedo bomber]]s, horizontal bombers and [[Fighter aircraft|fighters]] took off from carriers {{convert|250|mi|km|abbr=on}} north of [[Oahu]] and headed for the [[United States Pacific Fleet|U.S. Pacific Fleet]] at Pearl Harbor.

At 07:40 Hawaiian Standard Time, Mitsuo Fuchida, who by this time had achieved the rank of [[Naval ranks of the Japanese Empire during World War II#Commissioned officer ranks|commander]], arrived with the first attack wave on Oahu's north shore near Kahuku Point. The first attack wave then banked west and flew along the northwest coast. Fuchida ordered "''Tenkai''" (Take attack position), and upon seeing no U.S. activity at Pearl Harbor, Fuchida slid back the canopy of his [[Nakajima B5N]]2 torpedo bomber, tailcode ''AI-301'', and fired a single dark blue flare known as a "black dragon", the signal to attack.

Passing Waimea Bay at 07:49, Fuchida instructed his radio operator, Petty Officer 1st Class Norinobu Mizuki, to send the coded signal "''To, To, To"'' (''totsugekiseyo''—"to charge") to the other aircraft. Fuchida, thinking Lt Cmdr Shigeru Itaya's Zeroes had missed the signal, fired a second flare. Lt Cmdr Kakuichi Takahashi, overall leader of the first wave dive bombers, saw both flares and misunderstood the signal. Thinking the dive bombers were to attack, he led his dive bombers into immediate attack position. Lt Cmdr Shigeharu Murata, overall leader of the torpedo bombers, observed both flares and saw Takahashi's planes gliding into attack formation. He knew there was a misunderstanding which could not be rectified, so he led his torpedo bombers into attack positions. At this point, Cmdr Fuchida's pilot, Lieutenant Mitsuo Matsuzaki, guided their bomber along with the remaining horizontal bombers in a formation sweep around [[Kaena Point]] and headed down the western coast of Oahu.

At 07:53, Fuchida ordered Mizuki to send the code words "''Tora! Tora! Tora!''"{{efn|(虎 ''tora'' is Japanese for "tiger" but in this case "''To''" is the initial syllable of the Japanese word 突撃 ''totsugeki'' meaning "charge" or "attack" and "''ra''" is the initial syllable of 雷撃 ''raigeki'' meaning "torpedo attack".}} back to the carrier ''Akagi'', the [[flagship]] of 1st Air Fleet. The message meant that complete surprise had been achieved.{{sfn|Agawa|2000|p=267}} Due to favorable atmospheric conditions, the transmission of the "''Tora! Tora! Tora!''" code words from the moderately powered transmitter were heard over a ship's radio in Japan by Admiral [[Isoroku Yamamoto]], the naval commander, and his staff, who were sitting up through the night awaiting word on the attack.{{sfn|Prange|Goldstein|Dillon|1991|p=548}}

As the first wave returned to the carriers, Fuchida remained over the target to assess damage and observe the second-wave attack. He returned to his carrier only after the second wave had completed its mission. With great pride, he announced that the U.S. battleship fleet had been destroyed. Fuchida inspected his craft and found 21 large [[flak]] holes: the main control wires were barely holding together. The successful attack made Fuchida a national hero who was granted a personal audience with [[Emperor Hirohito]].

=== Other actions ===
On 19 February 1942, Fuchida led the first of two waves of 188 aircraft in a devastating [[Bombing of Darwin|air raid on Darwin, Australia]].<ref>Smith, Aaron [http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/blogs/on-this-day/2011/02/on-this-day-darwin-under-attack?adbsc=social_20170218_68349086&adbid=10154357008368339&adbpl=fb&adbpr=100614418338 On this day: Darwin under attack February 19, 2011] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222054504/http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/blogs/on-this-day/2011/02/on-this-day-darwin-under-attack?adbsc=social_20170218_68349086&adbid=10154357008368339&adbpl=fb&adbpr=100614418338 |date=February 22, 2017 }} ''[[Australian Geographic]]'' Retrieved February 21, 2017</ref> On 5 April, he led another [[Indian Ocean Raid|series of air attacks]] by carrier-based Japanese aircraft against [[Royal Navy]] bases in [[Sri Lanka|Ceylon]], which was the headquarters of the British [[Eastern Fleet]], in what [[Winston Churchill]] described as "the most dangerous moment" of World War II.<ref>{{cite book |title='The Most Dangerous Moment of the War': Japan's Attack on the Indian Ocean, 1942 |first=John |last=Clancy |publisher=Casemate Publishers |publication-place=Oxford, United Kingdom of Great Britain |isbn=9781612003351 |date=19 November 2015 |access-date=15 August 2021 |edition=1st |via=[[Google Books]] |chapter=Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bT0ZCwAAQBAJ |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bT0ZCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 |pages=1–10 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Most Dangerous Moment: The Japanese Assault on Ceylon 1942 |first=Michael |last=Tomlinson |year=1976 |editor1-first=William |editor1-last=Kimber |publisher=William Kimber & Co. |publication-place=London, United Kingdom of Great Britain |isbn=9780718304348 |edition=1st }}</ref>

On 4 June 1942, while on board ''[[Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi|Akagi]]'', Fuchida was wounded at the [[Battle of Midway]]. Unable to fly while recovering from an emergency shipboard [[appendectomy]] a few days before the battle, he was on the ship's bridge during the morning attacks by U.S. aircraft. After ''Akagi'' was hit, a chain reaction from burning fuel and live bombs began the destruction of the ship. When flames blocked the exit from the bridge, the officers evacuated down a rope, and as Fuchida slid down, an explosion threw him to the deck and broke both his ankles.

=== Staff officer ===
[[File:Mitsuo Fuchida, August 1945 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Fuchida as a staff officer of the [[Combined Fleet]], August 1945]]
After spending several months recuperating, Fuchida spent the rest of the war in Japan as a [[Staff (military)|staff officer]]. On 15 October 1944, he was promoted to captain. The day before the first [[nuclear weapon]] was dropped on [[Hiroshima]], he was in that city to attend a week-long military conference with [[Imperial Japanese Army|Japanese army]] officers. Fuchida received a long-distance phone call from Navy Headquarters asking him to return to [[Tokyo]]. The day after the bombing, he returned to Hiroshima with a party sent to assess the damage. Many members of Fuchida's party later died of [[radiation poisoning]], but Fuchida exhibited no symptoms.{{sfn|Prange|Dillon|Goldstein|2011|pp=178–179}} Fuchida's military career ended with his demobilization in November 1945 during the American-led [[occupation of Japan]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=I Led the Air Attack on Pearl Harbor |first=Mitsuo |last=Fuchida |editor1-first=Roger |editor1-last=Pineau |date=1 September 1952 |access-date=11 August 2021 |volume=78 |issue=9 |journal=United States Naval Institute Proceedings |issn=0041-798X |publication-place=[[Annapolis]], [[Maryland]], United States of America |publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]]/Naval Institute Foundation/[[United States Naval Academy]] |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1952/september/i-led-air-attack-pearl-harbor |archive-date=13 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200313203344/https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1952/september/i-led-air-attack-pearl-harbor |pages=939–952 }}</ref>

== Postwar activities ==
After the war, Fuchida was called on to testify at the trials of some of the Japanese military for [[Japanese war crimes]]. This infuriated him, as he believed this was little more than "victors' justice". In the spring of 1947, convinced that the U.S. had treated the Japanese the same way and determined to bring that evidence to the next trial, Fuchida went to [[Uraga, Kanagawa|Uraga Harbor]] near Yokosuka to meet a group of returning Japanese prisoners of war. He was surprised to find his former flight engineer, Kazuo Kanegasaki, who all had believed had died in the Battle of Midway. When questioned, Kanegasaki told Fuchida that they were not tortured or abused, much to Fuchida's surprise.  He then went on to tell him of a young lady, Peggy Covell, who served them with the deepest love and respect, but whose missionary parents had been killed by Japanese soldiers on the island of [[Panay]] in the [[Philippines]].

For Fuchida, this was inexplicable, as in the ''[[Bushido]]'' code revenge was not only permitted, it was "a responsibility" for an offended party to carry out revenge to restore honor. The murderer of one's parents would be a sworn enemy for life. He became almost obsessed trying to understand why anyone would treat their enemies with love and forgiveness.<ref>{{cite news |publisher=[[Taylor University]] |via=Ringenberg Archives & Special Collections of Taylor University |url=https://pillars.taylor.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=echo-1956-1957 |title=Former enemy speaks as ally in Christ |date=27 March 1957 |access-date=11 August 2021 |format=PDF |volume=XL |issue=11 |page=2 |editor1-first=Miriam |editor1-last=Martin |newspaper=The Echo |publication-place=[[Upland, Indiana|Upland]], [[Indiana]], United States of America |archive-date=26 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126041106/https://pillars.taylor.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=echo-1956-1957 }}</ref><ref>{{cite conference |publication-place=[[Beppu]], [[Japan]] |publisher=Kumamoto University/Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) |language=English |url=https://133.19.170.73/rcaps/uploads/fckeditor/Conference/2014APConferencePictures/Proceedings.pdf#page=229 |format=PDF |date=7 November 2014 |access-date=11 August 2021 |conference-url=|title=Proceedings of the 15th Asian Bioethics Conference (ABC 15) & 12th Asia Pacific Conference (APC 12) |conference=15th Asian Bioethics Conference (ABC 15) & 12th Asia Pacific Conference (APC 12): Ethics, Human Security and Sustainability: Knowledge and Practices in Asia Pacific |editor1-first=Nader |editor1-last=Ghotbi |quote=Breaking the vicious cycle of hate and revenge: the true life story of ‘Wounded Tiger’, a lesson from history |first=Timothy D. |last=Boyle |pages=229–232 }}</ref>

In the fall of 1948, Fuchida was passing by the bronze statue of [[Hachikō]] at the [[Shibuya Station]] when he was handed a pamphlet about the life of [[Jacob DeShazer]], a member of the [[Doolittle Raid]] who was captured by the Japanese after his [[North American B-25 Mitchell|B-25]] bomber ran out of fuel over occupied China. In the pamphlet, "I Was a Prisoner of Japan"<ref>{{cite journal |title=I was a prisoner of Japan |last=DeShazer |first=Don |journal=Digital Resources |date=10 January 1950 |access-date=20 August 2021 |editor1-first=Don R. |editor1-last=Falkenberg |editor2-first=Sharon Ann |editor2-last=McMullen |publisher=Asbury Theological Seminary/The Bible Meditation League (BML) |oclc=29335720 |url=https://place.asburyseminary.edu/limiteddigitalresources/213 |via=ePlace (B.L. Fisher Library/[[Asbury Theological Seminary]]) |publication-place=[[Wilmore, Kentucky|Wilmore]], [[Kentucky]], United States of America |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719203037/http://personal.georgiasouthern.edu/~etmcmull/DESHAZER.htm |archive-date=19 July 2011 }}</ref> DeShazer, a former [[United States Army Air Forces|U.S. Army Air Forces]] staff sergeant and [[bombardier (rank)|bombardier]], told his story of imprisonment, torture and his account of an "awakening to God."{{sfn|Fuchida|1953}} This experience increased Fuchida's curiosity of the Christian faith. In September 1949, after reading the Bible for himself, he became a Christian. In May 1950, Fuchida and DeShazer met for the first time.{{sfn|Coffman|2008}} Fuchida created the Captain Fuchida Evangelistical Association based in Seattle, Washington and spoke full-time of his conversion to the Christian faith in presentations titled "From Pearl Harbor To Calvary".

In 1951, Fuchida, along with a colleague, published an account of the Battle of Midway from the Japanese side. In 1952, he toured the United States as a member of the Worldwide Christian Missionary Army of Sky Pilots. Fuchida remained dedicated to a similar initiative as the group for the remainder of his life.

In February 1954, ''[[Reader's Digest]]'' published Fuchida's story of the attack on Pearl Harbor.{{sfn|Fuchida|1954}} Fuchida also wrote and co-wrote books, including ''From Pearl Harbor to Golgotha'', a.k.a. ''From Pearl Harbor to Calvary'', and a 1955 expansion of his 1951 book ''Midway'', a.k.a. ''Midway: The Battle that Doomed Japan, the Japanese Navy's Story''.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3465&context=nwc-review |archive-date=19 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319041658/https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3465&context=nwc-review |title="Midway: The Battle that Doomed Japan, The Japanese Navy's Story" and "Incredible Victory" |volume=46 |issue=4 |journal=Naval War College Review |first1=John J. |last1=Doyle |first2=Mitsuo |last2=Fuchida |first3=Masatake |last3=Okumiya |first4=Walter |last4=Lord |format=PDF |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command/[[United States Naval War College]] ([[United States Department of the Navy]]) |publication-place=[[Newport, Rhode Island|Newport]], [[Rhode Island]], United States of America |issn=0028-1484 |lccn=75617787 |oclc=01779130 |editor1-first=Frank |editor1-last=Uhlig Jr. |pages=142–143 |access-date=11 August 2021 |date=23 September 1993 }}</ref>  His autobiography, titled "Shinjuwan Kogeki no Sotaicho no Kaiso", was published in Japan in 2007. This was translated into English by Douglas Shinsato and Tadanori Urabe and published in 2011 under the title, "For That One Day: The Memoirs of Mitsuo Fuchida, Commander of the Attack on Pearl Harbor". Fuchida's story is also recounted in ''God's Samurai: Lead Pilot at Pearl Harbor'' by Donald Goldstein, Katherine V. Dillon and Gordon W. Prange.{{sfn|Prange|Dillon|Goldstein|2011}}

In 1959, Fuchida was among a group of Japanese visiting the tour of [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] equipment given by General [[Paul Tibbets]], who piloted the ''[[Enola Gay]]'' that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Fuchida recognized Tibbets and had a conversation with him. Tibbets said to Fuchida that "[y]ou sure did surprise us [at Pearl Harbor]" in which he replied "what do you think you did to us [at Hiroshima]?" Fuchida further told him that:

{{quote|You did the right thing. You know the Japanese attitude at that time, how fanatic they were, they'd die for the Emperor ... Every man, woman, and child would have [[Volunteer Fighting Corps|resisted that invasion with sticks and stones]] if necessary ... Can you imagine what a slaughter it would be to [[Operation Downfall|invade Japan]]? It would have been terrible. The Japanese people know more about that than the American public will ever know.<ref>{{cite book |title=Clear Conscience: The Atom Bomb Vs.-- the Super Holocaust |page=87 |oclc=43675004 |isbn=9781563114458 |first1=Raymond |last1=Davis |first2=Dan |last2=Winn |publication-place=[[Paducah, Kentucky|Paducah]], [[Kentucky]], United States of America |publisher=[[Turner Publishing Company]] |editor1-first=Todd |editor1-last=Bottorff |date=15 July 1999 |edition=1st }}</ref>}}

According to Fuchida's son, his father had a green card allowing [[Permanent residence (United States)|permanent residence in the U.S.]] but he never obtained U.S. citizenship. This is contrary to the assertions of several authors.{{Quantify|date=July 2013}}{{sfn|Fuchida|2011|p=11}}

Fuchida died of complications caused by [[Diabetes mellitus|diabetes]] in [[Kashiwara, Osaka|Kashiwara]], near [[Osaka]] on 30 May 1976 at the age of 73.

== Published works ==
Fuchida was the author of three books: one on [[the Battle of Midway]], one a [[memoir]], and one on his conversion to [[Christianity]].
* ''Midway: The Battle that Doomed Japan, the Japanese Navy's Story'' ([[Naval Institute Press]], 2000) was coauthored with [[Masatake Okumiya]]. In a section entitled "Five Fateful Minutes", Fuchida (as translated) writes "Five minutes! Who would have believed that the tide of battle would shift in that brief interval of time?&nbsp;... We had been caught flatfooted in the most vulnerable condition possible—decks loaded with planes armed and fueled for attack."{{sfn|Fuchida|Okumiya|1976|p=177-178}} Later scholarship (Parshall et al.) dispute Fuchida's description. (Edited by Clarke H. Kawakami and Roger Pineau; {{ISBN|9781557504289}})
* ''For That One Day: The Memoirs of Mitsuo Fuchida, the Commander of the Attack on Pearl Harbor'' (eXperience, Incorporated, 2011) was his memoir. In it, Fuchida makes a claim that has not been corroborated by others: "In my role as Staff of General Navy Headquarters, I was assigned miscellaneous tasks to help the Japanese side's preparations. Since I was not an official attaché, I was watching the signing ceremony from the upper deck along with the crews of the ''USS Missouri''."{{sfn|Fuchida|2011|p=204}} (Translated by Douglas T. Shinsato and Tadanori Urabe; {{ISBN|9780984674503}})
* ''From Pearl Harbor to Calvary'' (Pickle Partners Publishing, March 28, 2016, {{ISBN|9781786259066}}), originally published as ''From Pearl Harbor to Golgotha'', is the story of Fuchida's Christian conversion.

== Historical controversy ==
Fuchida was an important figure in the early portion of the Pacific War, and his written accounts, translated into English and published in the U.S., were highly influential.<ref>{{cite news |publisher=StrategyWorld.com |url=https://www.strategypage.com/bookreviews/1536.asp |title=The Japanese Navy in World War II, in the Words of Former Japanese Naval Officers Book Reviews |first=A.A. |last=Nofi |access-date=September 3, 2017 |quote=Originally published in 1969, The Japanese Navy in World War II was virtually the only thing available that looked at the Pacific war as experienced by the Japanese officers who helped plan, command, and fight it. As such, the book quickly becoming an essential read for anyone interested in the naval war in the Pacific, and a revised and expanded second edition appeared in 1986, which is the edition under review here, available in paperback for the first time.}}</ref>  However, the veracity of Fuchida's statements on several topics has been subsequently called into question.  This process began in Japan in 1971, with the publication of the Japanese official war history volume on the [[Battle of Midway]], which explicitly contradicted Fuchida's version of events.{{sfn|War History Section of the Japanese Defense Agency|1971|pp=372–378}}

In 2001, historians H.P. Willmott and Haruo Tohmatsu in their ''Pearl Harbor'', dismissed Fuchida's rendition of having demanded a third-wave against Pearl Harbor's fuel tanks as "blatant and shameless self-advertisement" regarding "an episode which never took place."<ref>H.P. Willmott, ''Pearl Harbor'', pp. 156-157.</ref> These criticisms were repeated by historian Jonathan Parshall{{sfn|Parshall|2010}} and Mark Stille's ''Tora! Tora! Tora! Pearl Harbor 1941''.<ref>Stille pp. 73-75.</ref> Alan Zimm's 2011 ''Attack on Pearl Harbor: Strategy, Combat, Myths, Deceptions'', reinforced and enlarged these earlier criticisms{{sfn|Zimm|2011|pp=301-308}} and added new charges, including Fuchida having fabricated a battle damage assessment that was presented to Emperor [[Hirohito]].{{sfn|Zimm|2011|pp=255-258, 361-365}} Zimm subsequently accused Fuchida of lying about important decisions and signals he made as strike leader immediately prior to the attack, while blaming others for his own errors.{{sfn|Zimm|2016|pp=19-22.}} 

With respect to the [[Battle of Midway]], Fuchida's account of the readiness of the Japanese counterstrike aircraft during the American dive-bomber attack has been disputed by historians Parshall and Anthony Tully in their 2005 work ''[[Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway|Shattered Sword]]'',{{sfn|ParshallTully|2005| p=437–442}} as well as Dallas Isom's ''Midway Inquest'',<ref>Dallas Isom, ''Midway Inquest'', pp. 204–206.</ref> Craig Symonds' ''The Battle of Midway'',<ref>Craig Symonds ''The Battle of Midway'', p. 304.</ref> and Evan Mawdsley,<ref>Evan Mawdsley, ''The War For The Seas'', p. 219.</ref> with Mawdsley noting "Parshall and Tully compellingly contradict Fuchida."<ref>Evan Mawdsley, ''The War For The Seas'', ffn. 496.</ref> Parshall also disputed Fuchida's uncorroborated claims of attendance on the battleship {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|6}} during the [[Surrender of Japan|Japanese surrender ceremony]] in 1945,{{sfn|Parshall|2010}} these criticisms being later amplified by Zimm.{{sfn|Zimm|2011|pp=260-263.}}

== Portrayals ==
In the 1970 film ''[[Tora! Tora! Tora!]]'', Fuchida was portrayed by Japanese actor [[Takahiro Tamura]].

== Auction ==
Fuchida's hand-drawn map showing the post-Pearl Harbor attack destruction sold at auction for $425,000 in New York City on 6 December 2013. The map had previously been owned by [[Malcolm Forbes]].<ref>{{cite news|author=The Associated Press|author-link=The Associated Press|title=Japanese map of Pearl Harbor damage, drawn by attack's lead pilot, sells for $425K at auction|url=http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/3594821d531e44f79e10b8a3a4dc05d1/NY--Pearl-Harbor-Japanese-Map|access-date=13 December 2013|newspaper=[[The Republic (Columbus, Indiana)|The Republic]]|date=6 December 2013|location=[[Columbus, Indiana]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131213162635/http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/3594821d531e44f79e10b8a3a4dc05d1/NY--Pearl-Harbor-Japanese-Map|archive-date=13 December 2013}}</ref>

The map was purchased by the Jay I. Kislak foundation, who then donated it to [[Miami-Dade Library]]. The library then sold it to the [[Library of Congress]] in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2020/03/japanese-pilots-map-of-pearl-harbor-attack-now-at-library/|title=Japanese Pilot's Map of Pearl Harbor Attack Now at Library {{!}} Library of Congress Blog|last=Tucker|first=Neely|date=2020-03-16|website=blogs.loc.gov|access-date=2020-04-02}}</ref>

== References ==

=== Notes ===
{{notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|22em}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book | last = Agawa | first =Hiroyuki | title = The Reluctant Admiral: Yamamoto and the Imperial Navy | year = 2000 | publisher = Kodansha International | location = Tokyo | isbn = 4-7700-2539-4 }}
* {{cite journal |first=Martin |last=Bennett |title=Research & Debate: Parshall's 'Whoppers' Examined, Fact-Checking the Various Claims and Conclusions of Jonathan Parshall |volume=66 |issue=1 |editor1-first=Carnes |editor1-last=Lord |journal=Naval War College Review |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command/[[United States Naval War College]] ([[United States Department of the Navy]]) |publication-place=[[Newport, Rhode Island|Newport]], [[Rhode Island]], United States of America |issn=0028-1484 |lccn=75617787 |oclc=01779130 |url=https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1324&context=nwc-review |format=PDF |archive-date=22 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122214305/https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1324&context=nwc-review }}
* {{cite journal |title=In My View: Fireside chats and chasing rabbits |first=Martin |last=Bennett |date=1 March 2013 |volume=66 |issue=3
|journal=Naval War College Review |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command/[[United States Naval War College]] ([[United States Department of the Navy]]) |publication-place=[[Newport, Rhode Island|Newport]], [[Rhode Island]], United States of America |issn=0028-1484 |lccn=75617787 |oclc=01779130 |pages=155–157 |url=https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1403&context=nwc-review |format=PDF |access-date=11 August 2021 }}
* {{cite web | work = Beyond the Movie: Pearl Harbor | publisher = [[National Geographic Society]] | url = http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/ngbeyond/people/people9.html | title = Capt. Mitsuo Fuchida (1902–1976) | access-date = 13 July 2013 | ref = {{sfnRef|National Geographic Society}} | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121013031514/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/ngbeyond/people/people9.html | archive-date = 13 October 2012 | url-status = dead | df = dmy-all }}
* {{cite web |issn=0009-5753 |publication-place=[[Carol Stream, Illinois|Carol Stream]], [[Illinois]], United States of America |series=Christian History |website=[[Christianity Today]] |date=8 August 2008 |title=Beyond Pearl Harbor |first=Elesha |last=Coffman |url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/news/2001/jun01.html |access-date=11 August 2021 |archive-date=10 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910143458/http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/news/2001/jun01.html |editor1-first=Mark |editor1-last=Galli |editor1-link=Mark Galli }}
*{{cite journal |title=I was a prisoner of Japan |last=DeShazer |first=Don |journal=Digital Resources |date=10 January 1950 |access-date=20 August 2021 |editor1-first=Don R. |editor1-last=Falkenberg |editor2-first=Sharon Ann |editor2-last=McMullen |publisher=Asbury Theological Seminary/The Bible Meditation League (BML) |oclc=29335720 |url=https://place.asburyseminary.edu/limiteddigitalresources/213 |via=ePlace (B.L. Fisher Library/[[Asbury Theological Seminary]]) |publication-place=[[Wilmore, Kentucky|Wilmore]], [[Kentucky]], United States of America |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719203037/http://personal.georgiasouthern.edu/~etmcmull/DESHAZER.htm |archive-date=19 July 2011 }}
* {{cite web | last = Fuchida | first = Mitsuo | title = From Pearl Harbor to Calvary | year = 1953 | work = biblebelievers.com | url = http://www.biblebelievers.com/fuchida1.html | access-date = 13 July 2013 }}
* {{cite journal |issn=0034-0375 |date=1 February 1954 |title=I led the attack on Pearl Harbor |first=Mitsuo |last=Fuchida |journal=[[Reader's Digest]] |volume=64 |issue=382 |publication-place=New York City, New York, United States of America |editor1-first=Lila Bell |editor1-last=Wallace |editor2-first=DeWitt |editor2-last=Wallace |editor1-link=Lila Bell Wallace |editor2-link=DeWitt Wallace |publisher=[[Trusted Media Brands, Inc.]] |oclc=1763471 }}
* {{cite book | last1 = Fuchida | first1 = Mitsuo | last2 = Okumiya | first2 = Masatake | editor = Clark K. Kawakami | title = Midway: The Battle that Doomed Japan, the Japanese Navy's Story | year = 1976 | orig-year = 1955 | publisher = Naval Institute Press | location = Annapolis, Maryland | isbn= 0-87021-372-5 }}
* {{cite book | last = Fuchida | first = Mitsuo | translator = Douglas T. Shinsato | translator2 = Tadanori Urabe | title = For That One Day: The Memoirs of Mitsuo Fuchida, Commander of the Attack on Pearl Harbor | year = 2011 | publisher = eXperience, Inc. | location = Waimea, Hawaii | isbn = 978-0-9846745-0-3  }}
* {{cite book |title=God's Samurai: Lead Pilot at Pearl Harbor |via=[[Google Books]] |first1=Gordon W. |last1=Prange |first2=Katherine V. |last2=Dillon |first3=Donald |last3=Goldstein |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eQgaTpu_hT8C |isbn=9781597973588 |series=Warriors series |edition=3rd |publisher=Prange Enterprises, Inc./Brassey's. Inc. |publication-place=[[Washington, D.C.]], United States of America |year=2011 |orig-year=1990 }}
* {{cite book | last = Isom | first = Dallas | title = Midway Inquest | year = 2007 | publisher = Indiana University Press | location = Bloomington, Indiana | isbn = 978-0-253-34904-0 }}
* {{cite book |publication-place=Tokyo, Japan |year=1971 |volume=43 |series=Boeicho Boeikenshujo Senshibu |title=Midowei kaisen |language=Japanese |trans-title=Battle of Midway |page=289 |publisher=Asagumo Shimbunsha |author=War History Section of the [[Japanese Defense Agency]] }}
* {{cite web | last = Karpicky | first = Gregory | title = Pearl Harbor – "Tiger, Tiger, Tiger" | date = 17 December 2005 | publisher = Military History Online.com | url = http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/wwii/pearlharbor/tiger.aspx | access-date = 13 July 2013 }}
* {{cite book | last = Mawdsley | first = Evan | title = The War For The Seas: A Maritime History of World War II | year = 2019 | publisher = Yale University Press | location = New Haven & London | isbn = 978-0-300-19019-9 }}
* {{cite book | last1 = Parshall | first1 = Jonathan | last2 = Tully | first2 = Anthony | title = Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway | url = https://archive.org/details/shatteredswordun0000pars | url-access = registration | year = 2005 | publisher = Potomac | location = Dulles, Virginia | isbn = 978-1-57488-924-6 }}
* {{cite journal |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command/[[United States Naval War College]] ([[United States Department of the Navy]]) |publication-place=[[Newport, Rhode Island|Newport]], [[Rhode Island]], United States of America |issn=0028-1484 |lccn=75617787 |oclc=01779130 |date=21 March 2010 |title=Reflecting on Fuchida or "A Tale of Three Whoppers" |jstor=26397106 |volume=63 |issue=2 |pages=127–138 |access-date=15 August 2021 |first=Jonathan |last=Parshall |journal=Naval War College Review |url=http://www.usnwc.edu/getattachment/612aa0c4-47a1-4107-afbb-17fa992adf59/Reflecting-on-Fuchida,-or--A-Tale-of-Three-Whopper |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127070529/http://www.usnwc.edu/getattachment/612aa0c4-47a1-4107-afbb-17fa992adf59/Reflecting-on-Fuchida,-or--A-Tale-of-Three-Whopper |archive-date=27 November 2011 }}
* {{cite book | last = Peattie | first = Mark R. | title = Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power 1909–1941 | year = 2001 | publisher = Naval Institute Press | location = Annapolis, Maryland | isbn = 1-55750-432-6 }}
* {{cite book |lccn=82005896 |isbn=9780140064551 |title=At dawn we slept: The untold story of Pearl Harbor |edition=2 |first2=Donald M. |last2=Goldstein |first3=Katherine V. |last3=Dillon |first1=Gordon W. |last1=Prange |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |publication-place=[[London]], United Kingdom of Great Britain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V0OWBgAAQBAJ |via=[[Google Books]] |date=1 December 1991 }}
* {{cite book | last = Stille | first = Mark | title = Tora! Tora! Tora! Pearl Harbor 1941 | year = 2011 | publisher = Osprey Publishing | location = Oxford, England | isbn = 978-1-84908-509-0 }}
* {{cite book | last = Symonds | first = Craig | title = The Battle of Midway | year = 2013 | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford, England | isbn = 978-0-19-931598-7 }}
* {{cite book | last = Willmott | first = H.P. | title = Pearl Harbor | year = 2001 | publisher = Cassell & Co. | location = London, England | isbn = 978-0-304-35884-7 }}
* {{cite book |year=2000 |orig-year=1998 |first=Mike |last=Wright |publisher=Presidio Press |publication-place=[[Novato, California|Novato]], [[California]], United States of America |title=What They Didn't Teach You About World War II |edition=2nd |isbn=9780891416494 |lccn=97039073 |url-access=registration |via=[[Internet Archive]] |url=https://www.archive.org/details/whattheydidnttea0000wrig_j8v6  }}
* {{cite book | last = Zimm | first = Alan D. | title = The Attack on Pearl Harbor: Strategy, Combat, Myths, Deceptions | year = 2011 | publisher = Casemate Publishing | location = Haverton, Pennsylvania | isbn = 978-1-61200-010-7 }}
* {{cite journal | last = Zimm | first = Alan D. | title = Commander Fuchida's Decision | journal = Naval History | publisher = U.S. Naval Institute | date = December 2016 | volume = 30 | issue = 6 | pages = 16–23 |editor1-first=Peter H. |editor1-last=Daly |editor2-first=Mark |editor2-last=Ripley |editor3-first=Adam |editor3-last=Kane |publication-place=[[Annapolis]], [[Maryland]], United States of America }}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commonscat}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130617215954/http://vimeo.com/26449133 Film project in development on the life of Fuchida]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20161230160132/https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/documentary/201610140600/ Road to Redemption (NHK documentary in English on Mitsuo Fuchida and Jacob DeShazer)]
* {{cite interview |first=Mitsuo |last=Fuchida |interviewer-first=Merv |interviewer-last=Griffin |interviewer-link=Merv Griffin |work=[[The Merv Griffin Show]] |title=Capt. Mitsuo Fuchida – Architect of Pearl Harbor bombing (S2.E72: Mitsuo Fuchida, Phyllis Diller, Sandy Baron, Bruce Scott) |via=Television broadcast |collaboration=directed by Carson Dick, production by Bob Murphy and Merv Griffin, narration by [[Arthur Treacher]], script by [[Jerry Bresler]] |publisher=[[Merv Griffin Productions]]/[[National Broadcasting Company]] |date=26 August 1965 }}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuchida, Mitsuo}}
[[Category:1902 births]]
[[Category:1976 deaths]]
[[Category:Attack on Pearl Harbor]]
[[Category:Battle of Midway]]
[[Category:Converts to Protestantism from Buddhism]]
[[Category:Imperial Japanese Navy officers]]
[[Category:Imperial Japanese Navy personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Japanese emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Japanese naval aviators]]
[[Category:Japanese Protestants]]
[[Category:Japanese World War II pilots]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Nara Prefecture]]