About
Remembered for his participation in the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, this Imperial Japanese Navy officer subsequently became the United States' first World War II-era Japanese prisoner-of-war.
Before Fame
In the late 1930s and early 1940s, he attended the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy.
Trivia
While confined to an American POW camp, he became a devoted pacifist. In the years following his experience, he penned an autobiographical work titled Four Years as a Prisoner-of-War, No. 1.
Family Life
He and his seven brothers were born and raised in Awa, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. His marriage resulted in two children.
Associated With
Sakamaki was an American POW during the World War II years; conversely, American soldier and Olympian Louis Zamperini was a Japanese POW during the same time period.
