Pledge to Peace
Lieutenant Keiu Matsuo lost his life in a midget submarine attack at Sydney Harbor during the night of May 31 and June 1, 1942. This short animation film pays homage to Keiu Matsuo and his mother Matsue. Lieutenant Keiu Matsuo lost his life in a midget submarine attack at Sydney Harbor during the night of May 31 and June 1, 1942. This short animation film pays homage to Keiu Matsuo and his mother Matsue. The Yushukan Museum at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo shows this film at scheduled times during the day, and the museum store sells DVD copies. The film Matsuo Keiu to sono haha (Keiu Matsuo and his mother) romanticizes his life and accomplishments to show both children and adults his bravery, patriotism, and love of family. It provides a mostly accurate historical summary of the basic facts concerning his life, but several details regarding the midget submarine attack at Sydney do not reflect what actually happened. The dialogue and some scenes seem to be created for the film to give a somewhat unrealistically positive image of Keiu Matsuo and his mother Matsue.
