For a good look at the personal lives of tokkotai pilots' in the final months of the war, read "ホタル帰る―特攻隊員と母トメと娘礼子" by 赤羽 礼子 "Firefly Come Back" by Reiko Akabane and Hiroshi Ishii. This book tells the story of a woman named Tome Torihame who owned a restaurant in Chiran Town in Kagoshima Prefecture, where one of the Tokkutai bases was located. She took care of many of the pilots in their final days, and later took care of American GI's based in Chiran during the occupation. The book includes many photos and excerpts from letters and diaries of pilots and their families. It is only available in Japanese, but you can find it on amazon.co.jp. An unauthorized English translation is available from https://gna2000.tripod.com/firefliescomebacktome. A movie was made in Japan about Torihama in 2007 and is available on DVD (see the link in External Links below).

This book tells the story of a woman named Tome Torihame who owned a restaurant in Chiran Town in Kagoshima Prefecture, where one of the Tokkutai bases was located. She took care of many of the pilots in their final days, and later took care of American GI's based in Chiran during the occupation. The book includes many photos and excerpts from letters and diaries of pilots and their families.   The story is thought-provoking and touching - not at all what I expected - and offers a unique perspective on the final days of these young pilots and the community where they lived out their final days.   The last third of the book also deals with how the community adapted to the arrival of the occupation forces and the community's first contact with foreigners.   A powerful book! 

An unofficial ENGLISH translation of the original Japanese book (reference below) is available by contacting me at the email address below.    There will be a small charge for the book and postage from Japan.   The book was translated by Yuuichi Shirakura and Chris-Lynn McPherson.