The Imperial Japanese Navy had designated Niʻihau as an uninhabited island for damaged aircraft to land and await rescue.

Native Hawaiians, unaware of the Pearl Harbor attack, treated Nishikaichi as a guest but took the precaution of removing his weapons.

[1] Niʻihau, the westernmost and second smallest of the primary Hawaiian Islands, has been privately owned by the Robinsons, a white kamaʻaina family, since 1864.

[2][3][4] On December 7th, 1941, Airman First Class Shigenori Nishikaichi, who had taken part in the second wave of the Pearl Harbor attack, crash-landed his battle-damaged aircraft, an A6M2 Zero "B11-120", from the carrier Hiryu, in a Ni'ihau field near where Hawila Kaleohano, a native Hawaiian, was standing.

[3] Having been briefed on the situation beforehand and approaching the task with distaste, Shintani exchanged just a few words with Nishikaichi and departed without explanation.

[3] However, Robinson could not reach Niʻihau because the American military had instituted a ban on boat traffic within the islands soon after the attack.

[citation needed] Having left Shintani just minutes before, Kaleohano was in his outhouse when he saw Harada and Nishikaichi approaching with the 16-year-old guard whom they were prodding with a gun.

However, when the captive guard escaped and reached the village, the residents fled to caves, thickets and distant beaches.

[citation needed] Robinson was aware that there was trouble on Niʻihau because the Niihauans had flashed signals toward Kauaʻi with kerosene lanterns and reflectors.

With the help of Harada and one of their Hawaiian captives, Nishikaichi removed at least one of the plane's two 7.7 mm machine guns with some ammunition, torched the plane, and proceeded to Kaleohano's house, setting it ablaze in the early morning hours in a final effort to destroy Nishikaichi's papers, which included maps, radio codes, and Pearl Harbor attack plans.

Instead, Kalima enlisted his friend Benehakaka "Ben" Kanahele to sneak back in the darkness to steal the machine guns and ammunition.

[9] Kanahele and his wife, taking advantage of the fatigue and discouragement of his two captors, leapt at them as Nishikaichi handed the shotgun to Harada.

Harada pulled her off Nishikaichi, who then shot Ben Kanahele three times: in the groin, stomach and upper leg.

Nishikaichi's papers (containing local maps, money, and things needed if forced down) were turned over, and the crashed plane was studied.

Mitsuo Fuchida, a naval commander during the attack on Pearl Harbor and later a Christian evangelist who settled in the U.S., visited her after his short trip to Niʻihau.

"[18] Novelist William Hallstead argues that the Niʻihau incident influenced decisions leading to the Japanese American internment on the continental United States.

[citation needed] The coastal town of Hashihama, Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, Japan erected a 12-foot (3.7 m) granite cenotaph in Nishikaichi's honor when it was still believed that he had perished on the day of the attack, December 7, 1941.

For many years, Nishikaichi's remains were those of an unknown Japanese soldier, and it was not until 1956 that the circumstances of his death were revealed to his family, and they claimed his ashes.

Engraved on the column is what was believed at the time: "Having expended every effort, he achieved the greatest honor of all by dying a soldier's death in battle, destroying both himself and his beloved plane... His meritorious deed will live forever.

The Robinson family, who had donated the aircraft and tractor pieces based on what they were told about how the display would read, was unhappy with the censorship of the information about the Haradas.