Departing from Moji Port to the battlefield
Moji Port, located in close proximity to mainland China, flourished as a major coal shipping hub before the war. It was a bustling trading port where domestic firms congregated. However, during the war, it transformed into a critical base for supplying personnel and resources to the front lines. Between January 1942 and August 1945, during the Pacific War, 761 transport ships departed from Moji. While other ports like Yokohama and Kobe were also used, Moji Port accounted for approximately 45% of all military vessels departing from Japan.
At that time, the city was so overwhelmed with soldiers awaiting deployment that local inns reached capacity, and many stayed overnight in private residences. The town was filled with soldiers and their families seeing them off. This atmosphere is depicted in war literature such as Ashihei Hino’s Soil and Soldiers. (Nishinippon Shimbun, August 12, 2011)
Table: Japanese army deployed to the south from Moji Port (from Moji Port Monument Construction Committee website)
|
|
Region |
Dispatched Troops |
War Dead |
Survivor |
Death Rate |
|
Philippines |
466,000 |
368,700 |
97,300 |
79％ |
|
|
Borneo |
29,000 |
10,400 |
18,600 |
35％ |
|
|
Celebes |
19,000 |
1,300 |
17,700 |
7％ |
|
|
Eastern New Guinea |
140,200 |
110,000 |
30,200 |
73％ |
|
|
West New Guinea |
53,700 |
1,800 |
51,900 |
3％ |
|
|
Sunda |
169,100 |
51,600 |
17,500 |
75％ |
|
|
Java |
42,600 |
2,200 |
40,400 |
52％ |
|
|
Sumatra |
61,500 |
2,000 |
59,500 |
3％ |
|
|
French Indochina |
96,500 |
6,100 |
90,400 |
6％ |
|
|
Thailand |
110,800 |
4,800 |
106,000 |
4％ |
|
|
Burma |
230,800 |
160,400 |
70,400 |
69％ |
|
|
Malay Peninsula |
91,700 |
6,900 |
84,800 |
8％ |
|
|
Andaman Nicobar |
11,400 |
700 |
10,700 |
6％ |
|
|
Central Pacific |
139,600 |
91,000 |
48,600 |
65％ |
|
|
Subtotal |
1,561,900 |
817,900 |
744,000 |
52％ |
|
|
Taiwan |
155,300 |
27,200 |
128,100 |
18％ |
|
|
Okinawa |
108,500 |
67,600 |
40,900 |
62％ |
|
|
Subtotal |
263,800 |
94,800 |
169,000 |
36％ |
|
|
Grand Total |
1,825,700 |
912,700 |
913,000 |
50％ |
■ Moji City Air Raid: June 29, 1945
The urban areas of Moji and Shimonoseki serve as transportation gateways between Kitakyushu and southern Honshu, significantly impacting industrial production. As highly concentrated and flammable urban targets, they were designated as high-priority objectives. Striking these centers was intended to cripple the economic capacity of the entire industrial complex within a 10-mile radius.
Photo Captions: Left – Moji city area before the air raid / Right – U.S. military reconnaissance photograph taken on June 29, 1945, to assess the effectiveness of the raid. The white areas indicate scorched earth. (owned by the Maxwell Air Force Base Historical Archives)
The destruction of these two cities and their complex transportation infrastructure severely disrupted Japan’s economy and military production. Ferry facilities were insufficient to replace damaged railway networks for several weeks. Disrupting the 10-hour freight transport link (via the Kanmon Tunnel and its marshaling yard) had significant consequences, effectively eliminating alternatives like piers and water transport.
Other critical effects included:
-
Threatening the supply lines and provisions for troops in Manchuria.
-
Disrupting the adjacent industrial zone on Hikoshima.
-
Severely impacting nearby transshipment hubs, such as Wakamatsu Port.
■ Moji Port and Allied POWs
(In collaboration with POW Research Network Japan – Taeko Sasamoto)
During World War II, the Japanese military captured approximately 130,000 Allied soldiers (American, British, Dutch, Australian, Canadian, Indian, New Zealander, etc.) across the Asia-Pacific as prisoners of war. More than 30,000 were transported to Japan by ship to address domestic labor shortages. Nearly 70 POW transport vessels of various sizes arrived in Japan, the majority of which entered Moji Port. From there, POWs were sent by train from Mojiko Station or Shimonoseki Station to various labor sites across Japan, including coal mines, shipyards, and factories.
Moji Port just after the end of the war (U.S. National Archives)
■ Prisoners Arriving at Moji Port on “Hell Ships”
The vessels that transported these prisoners are often referred to as “Hell Ships” due to the horrific conditions during their voyages. POWs were crammed into dark cargo holds with minimal food, water, or sanitation. The lack of basic facilities led to the rapid spread of infectious diseases such as dysentery, resulting in numerous deaths. Additionally, many of these unmarked ships were torpedoed or bombed by Allied forces, causing heavy casualties. It is estimated that over 10,000 POWs perished during these voyages.
POWs who survived the journey to Moji were often on the brink of death. Many died on board just before they could land. One witness provided the following testimony:
“Along the quay, coffins overflowing from the warehouse were stacked two or three high in long rows. Some lids wouldn’t close properly, and hands protruded from the coffins. It was an eerie sight. The prisoners who came ashore staggered to their feet, their faces deathly pale. Looking as if they might die at any moment, they were lined up in columns and led away by Japanese soldiers.”
Those who died upon arrival at Moji Port were cremated on the beach or at the municipal crematorium in Maruyama Town. Those capable of walking were sent to camps throughout Japan, while the critically ill were taken to Kokura Army Hospital, Shimonoseki Quarantine Station, or Moji Camp.
■ Moji POW Camp
This camp opened on November 27, 1942, utilizing the YMCA building in Kusunoki-cho, Moji City (now Oimatsu-cho, Moji Ward). Its designation changed over time, but its final official name was “Fukuoka POW Camp No. 4 Branch Camp.”
Moji POW camp immediately after the end of the war | Moji YMCA
Approximately 300 prisoners, including British, American, and Dutch nationals, were interred here. They were primarily forced into hard labor as cargo handlers at Moji Port and the warehouses surrounding Sotohama Station. A former British POW who spent two and a half years in Moji recalled suffering from brutal labor, hunger, and violence from guards, though he also noted that some Japanese individuals showed kindness.
The camp also served as temporary housing for seriously ill patients from transport ships, and many deaths occurred here. By the end of the war, 191 prisoners had died at this camp. Including the 93 who died on transport ships just before landing, the death toll reached 284 (303 according to other sources). Their remains were initially stored at the camp and later moved to Hongan-ji Temple. After the temple was destroyed by fire, they were moved to a mass grave at Daiyuji Temple in Shoji-cho in May 1945. After the war, these remains were recovered by Allied Occupation Forces and interred at the British Commonwealth War Cemetery in Yokohama.
Immediately after the end of the war, the town of Moji became a burnt-out ruin. Daiyuji Temple at the foot of the mountain, and a mass graveyard halfway up the mountain (owned by the U.S. National Archives)
■ Shimonoseki Quarantine Station
In late November 1944, four “Hell Ships” arrived at Moji simultaneously. Approximately 60 prisoners suffering from infectious diseases, including dysentery, were placed in the isolation ward of the Shimonoseki Quarantine Station in Enoura-cho, Hikoshima, located across the strait from Moji. This facility operated as a branch of the Moji camp, though its exact period of operation remains unclear. Local residents recall that after a period of relative calm, the POWs were transferred to a second camp near Hikoshima, but further details remain unknown.
Shimonoseki Quarantine Station Ruins (2006)
