Drifting Toward Defeat: Balloon Bombs and Youth Labor in Wartime Japan

Ogawa Tatsuo at his Kawasaki home. (© Hamada Nami)

A sign describing the balloon bombs stands in a corner of a park slightly inland from the actual launch site. (© Yokozeki Kazuhiro)

The Paper Balloon Bomb Follies by Kobayashi Erika, published by Bungeishunjū.

Female workers rinsing “balloon paper” after immersing it in caustic soda. (Thought to have been photographed by a contracted army cameraman at Kokura Arsenal. Courtesy of Meiji University’s Noborito Laboratory Museum for Education in Peace.)

Ichinomiya Beach, where the balloon bombs were launched, is now a popular destination for surfers. (© Yokozeki Kazuhiro)