William I once had a gig teaching at the Japanese Self Defense Forces (SDF = Jieitai 自衛隊), mostly at their Kengun base but for a short time at their Kitachutonchi camp on the northern side of Tatsudayama. From my reading, I immediately recognized it as Camp Wood, as the Americans called it while occupying Kumamoto after WWII.
News of that time is sparse, but I came across a first-hand account of an American soldier stationed there:
Jim reflected on the Japanese population of Kumamoto saying, “It was sad, they had it tough. They were starving and some committed suicide, mostly women. They were eating out of our trash cans.” He says, “The Japanese soldiers were returning home in their old dirty uniforms to a country in ruins. There were no jobs, so they worked in the rice fields.” He says, “I was there a year and never saw a car."
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