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A review by the_dave_harmon
Japan at War: An Oral History by Theodore F. Cook, Haruko Taya Cook
5.0
wow, a book like this will teach you so much more than just studying the high level military history of this and that battle. Sure the actual military history is interesting and worth knowing, but actually hearing what specific individuals went through is much more useful to a person. Especially a person living in a democratic state experiencing a resurgence of fascism, nationalism, and exceptionalism.
this book includes accounts from all variety of individuals. soldiers, officers, war criminals, resisters, children, shop owners, Hiroshima survivors, Tokyo firebombing survivors, kaiten (a kamikaze torpedo) pilots, - the only group not represented is of course those who didnt survive.
some quotes:
"Before the war, ordinary Japanese citizens were taught from school books compiled by the state, and were made to believe that Japan was a superior nation whose mission was to lead the world. This was particularly true of national-history and ethics textbooks, and the citizenry as a whole accepted these things as the truth."
"The year of the defeat, 1945, I was a sixth-grader. We no longer had many classes at school. The main thing we did was dig an antitank ditch in the corner of the schoolyard."
"if you were left behind, that was the end. A man who had the strength left to pull the pin could always blow himself up, so everyone tried to keep on hand grenade until the last moment. Even those who tossed away their rifles never threw away their last grenade."
"in China, soldiers were forced to practice on prisoners, slashing and stabbing, as soon as they arrived for training. "stab him!" they'd order, indicating an unresisting prisoner. I didnt move. I just stood there. The platoon leader became enraged, but i just looked away, ignoring the order. I was beaten. I was the only one who didnt do it. The platoon leader showed them how, with vigor. "This is how you stab a person!" he said. He hit the man's skull and knocked him into a pit. "now sab him!" they all rushed over and did it. They all rushed over and did it."
"Unlike Allied memories of a desperately hard-fought progress through the Pacific to ultimate victory, Japanese narratives of the Pacific War often descent precipitately from brief tales of victory and joy into a shapeless nightmare of plotless slaughter."
"We were so naïve and unrealistic. We had expected that somewhere far in the rear, we'd raise the red cross and then wrap men with bandages, rub on medicine, and give them shots as we had been trained. In a tender voice we'd tell the wounded, "dont give up please." Now, they were being carried in one after another untig the dugouts and caves were filled to overflowing, and still they came pouring in. Soon we were laying them out in empty fields, then on cultivated land. Some hemorrhaged to death and others were hit again out there by showers of bombs. So many died so quickly."
this book includes accounts from all variety of individuals. soldiers, officers, war criminals, resisters, children, shop owners, Hiroshima survivors, Tokyo firebombing survivors, kaiten (a kamikaze torpedo) pilots, - the only group not represented is of course those who didnt survive.
some quotes:
"Before the war, ordinary Japanese citizens were taught from school books compiled by the state, and were made to believe that Japan was a superior nation whose mission was to lead the world. This was particularly true of national-history and ethics textbooks, and the citizenry as a whole accepted these things as the truth."
"The year of the defeat, 1945, I was a sixth-grader. We no longer had many classes at school. The main thing we did was dig an antitank ditch in the corner of the schoolyard."
"if you were left behind, that was the end. A man who had the strength left to pull the pin could always blow himself up, so everyone tried to keep on hand grenade until the last moment. Even those who tossed away their rifles never threw away their last grenade."
"in China, soldiers were forced to practice on prisoners, slashing and stabbing, as soon as they arrived for training. "stab him!" they'd order, indicating an unresisting prisoner. I didnt move. I just stood there. The platoon leader became enraged, but i just looked away, ignoring the order. I was beaten. I was the only one who didnt do it. The platoon leader showed them how, with vigor. "This is how you stab a person!" he said. He hit the man's skull and knocked him into a pit. "now sab him!" they all rushed over and did it. They all rushed over and did it."
"Unlike Allied memories of a desperately hard-fought progress through the Pacific to ultimate victory, Japanese narratives of the Pacific War often descent precipitately from brief tales of victory and joy into a shapeless nightmare of plotless slaughter."
"We were so naïve and unrealistic. We had expected that somewhere far in the rear, we'd raise the red cross and then wrap men with bandages, rub on medicine, and give them shots as we had been trained. In a tender voice we'd tell the wounded, "dont give up please." Now, they were being carried in one after another untig the dugouts and caves were filled to overflowing, and still they came pouring in. Soon we were laying them out in empty fields, then on cultivated land. Some hemorrhaged to death and others were hit again out there by showers of bombs. So many died so quickly."