Kaneyoshi Muto

was a Japanese naval aviator and flying ace known for his great skill in fighter aircraft. Fellow ace Saburō Sakai called him "a genius in the air."

Second Sino-Japanese War Kaneyoshi Muto was born to a humble farming family in June 1916 in Aichi Prefecture. Muto grew to a height of —short in stature—and enlisted in the Imperial Japanese Navy in June 1935 when he was 19.

In December 1944, Muto was posted to the Japanese Home Islands to join Captain Minoru Genda in his 343rd Kōkūtai formed to defend against Boeing B-29 Superfortress attacks. Muto has also been identified as a tactics instructor with the Yokosuka Air Group, based at Naval Air Facility Atsugi in early 1945. and to Masatake Okumiya, Jiro Horikoshi and Martin Caidin, who co-wrote the book Zero!

Muto continued to serve in combat, defending Japan against American forces such as in March 1945 when aircraft from Task Force 58 flew over Shikoku.

Legacy Japanese military officials gave Muto credit for 35 aerial victories at the time of his death. Sakai wrote in 1957 that this figure included four B-29s, which were very difficult to shoot down. After the war, Muto was credited with 28 victories by U.S. Air Force researchers studying battle records.

In the 1970s, a Shiden fighter was recovered from the Bungo Channel in shallow water some from shore. Among the fishermen who helped bring the aircraft to the surface were ones who had witnessed it falling into the water on 24 July 1945. The wrecked aircraft showed no bullet holes and provided no other clue as to what caused it to ditch. It was restored for display and placed in an exhibit at a nearby museum in Shikoku. No evidence is available to identify which 343rd Air Group pilot flew the fighter, so the museum honors all six of the Shiden pilots who lost their lives that day, including Muto and Oshibuchi.