The True Story 32 Men Fighting Over a Single Woman on a Remote Island
Queen of Anatahan — the lurid tale of sex and violent deaths
At the end of World War II, a young woman found herself stranded with 32 young men, full of testosterone, on a remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
As you can imagine, there were numerous fights among the men, all vying for her attention. Periodically, the woman would shift her affection to a different man, after which that man would end up murdered.
On the secluded tropical island, the only woman on the island became a source of passion, love, intrigue, hatred, and murder.
After six killings and countless conflicts, the surviving men eventually realized that the woman was not worth all the strife and decided to kill her in order to put an end to the bloodshed between them.
The woman managed to escape the island, granting interviews about her miraculous survival amidst the tumultuous group of sailors on that remote island, and even achieving minor celebrity status. Her name was Kazuko Higa.
The story of Kazuko Higa a.k.a. the Queen of Anatahan may sound like fiction, but it is true.
Anatahan — the remote tropical island with a dirty secret
Anatahan is a small island in the Pacific Ocean. Part of the Mariana Islands, Anatahan stretches for a length of 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) and has a width of 4 kilometers (2.5 miles), covering an area of 33.9 square kilometers (13.1 square miles).
Initially colonized by the Spanish, they later sold it to the Germans, who in turn sold it to the Japanese. The Japanese established vast coconut plantations on Anatahan.
How did one woman end up with 32 men on a remote island?
Kazuko Higa (1920-1971) arrived on Anatahan during World War II with her husband, Shoichi Higa, to assist in tending the coconut plantations.
However, amid the conflict, her husband left to locate his sister on Saipan, an island approximately 65 nautical miles (120 kilometers) to the south. He pledged to return within a month but never did.
In June 1944, three Japanese ships were sunk by the Americans, and 31 sailors and soldiers in their early twenties swam ashore to Anatahan.
By July 1945, American Marines had landed on the island, but the Japanese concealed themselves. The Americans evacuated 45 native Carolinians who had been working on the plantations.
Only the Japanese remained on the island — one woman and 32 men. The plantation manager, Kikuichiro Higa (who coincidentally shared the same surname as Kazuko’s husband), proposed to Kazuko that they marry as a means of safeguarding her from the sailors
The survivors consumed the food supplies left on the island, hunted bats and lizards, and gathered bananas, sweet potatoes, and mangoes.
In early September 1946, the Japanese discovered the wreckage of an American Boeing B-29 Superfortress, which had crash-landed in January 1945. The wreckage provided them with materials to craft tools like fishing hooks, knives, and even goggles. However, they also stumbled upon a pair of .45 caliber automatic pistols.
The two pistols from the plane wreckage profoundly altered the balance of power on Anatahan.
Men killed each other over Kazuko
Soon after the discovery of the pistols, Kazuko’s fake husband, manager Kikuichiro, was murdered.
Kazuko had been married to another man. However, he drowned under mysterious circumstances only 20 days later. Afterward, Kazuko married four more husbands, and each of them was murdered in a mad, lustful vengeance.
It is very likely that in some cases, Kazuko convinced another man to kill her current husband in order for her to take another lover.
Altogether, 13 men died on the island — some due to natural causes, some because of fights over Kazuko, and others due to disputes over leadership positions.
In 1950, the men realized that she was more trouble than she was worth and agreed to kill Kazuko. However, she received a tip-off, ran away, and hid in the jungle. There, she signaled the passing American ship, Miss Susie, and was rescued.
The Japanese surrendered only 6 years after the end of WWII
In August 1945, Japan surrendered.
When Americans gave the Japanese survivors on Anatahan the news about the end of WWII, they didn’t believe it. They thought it was a trick.
The Japanese hid on the island, trained, and made improvised weapons to fight off an upcoming American invasion on Anatahan.
In June 1950, the Americans began delivering food packages under a white flag, including 200 letters from the soldiers’ relatives and Japanese authorities, Tokyo newspapers, and magazines to show the Japanese that the war was indeed over.
After a year, the American efforts brought results. The Japanese surrendered.
Out of the 32 Japanese men on the island, only 19 survived until their surrender in June 1951.
Kazuko received fame as a tropical seductress
In November 1952, 1,000 Japanese thronged the pier at Yokohama to greet the “Queen of Anatahan,” the nickname the media gave to Kazuko Higa. That was only one example of the frenzy over Kazuko and her lurid story.
Kazuko Higa found fame as a tropical temptress, a Machiavellian queen who ruled over 32 men.
She became a minor celebrity, telling her story to newspapers and theaters before becoming a stripper and a prostitute.
Kazuko Higa died in 1971 at the age of 51. She was poor, working as a garbage collector at the time of her death.
Kazuko’s story inspired a movie by Josef von Sternberg titled “Anatahan” (1953). Additionally, several books were written about her story.
Conclusion
Anatahan was a lawless island. Some sailors simply wanted to survive. Some chose to fight and kill each other to gain control over the group and have a relationship with Kazuko.
Kazuko, being the only woman on the island, though not particularly beautiful, was lusted after by the men.
She manipulated men to secure food and safety. After leaving Anatahan, she utilized her story to ensure her survival.
The story of Kazuko is a tragic tale of one woman’s struggle to survive amidst the desires of numerous men in desperate circumstances. She was one of millions whose lives were irreparably destroyed by World War II.
