Japan Books

In his telling of his experience in some of the most intense battles of WWII in the Pacific, Eugene Sledge takes you into the foxhole for an incredible journey through two battles fought by US Marines. Between the equatorial heat, cement hard coral landscape, intense relentless enemy fire, dead and rotting enemy bodies baking in the sun, bad K rations for food that is made worse by the smell of gunpowder, sweat, human waste and rotting bodies, and the 75% chance you will either be killed or wounded, you somehow can't leave his side as the reader or it would somehow be dishonorable. Through Sledge's storytelling you grasp a real sense of what "team", "core" and "band of brothers" mean to a Marine. It is the absolute best recount of war that I have ever read. We as the next generation of "free" Americans owe it to the men and women who fought for our freedom to read this book.

As a WWII history buff I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to see combat from a combat Marines perspective. GREAT!

I really can't say anything better than has already been said in the previous reviews. This is a horrific, and at the same time, fascinating read. Sledge tells it like it was and holds nothing back. The descriptions of the blasted battlefields full of dead is something you won't forget. His descriptions of the fighting conditions will make you thankful for dry clothes, hot coffee and fresh socks every day after reading this. Should be required reading in schools today - an important gift from someone who lived in the horror of war.

I recently read this book for the second time. As others have noted, this is by far the best American memoir of the Pacific Theater. While Sledge's narrative style is straightforward and plain, there is a sensitivity to the work that is not found in other American war memoirs. Sledge was a good Marine, and understood that Japanese brutality had to be answered in kind: he had absolutely no compunction about killing the Japanese and often expresses an extreme hatred towards them. His descriptions of what he witnessed are often horrific--the picture he paints of "Maggot Ridge" on Okinawa is nothing short of a hellscape. And yet a central theme in the book is that in the midst of all the brutality of Peleliu and Okinawa, one had to try to maintain at least a modicum of sensitivity and human compassion. That, I believe, is what makes this such a remarkable record of the war.
I had the privilege of talking to Dr. Sledge about a decade ago, and he was a true gentleman--courteous, kind, and very generous with his time. Indeed, my overwhelming impression was that he was a very gentle person. Perhaps that is why his memoir is so haunting.

Having seen Ken Burns films on WWII and his mention of this book, I decided
to read it. I was not disappointed. Ordinarily I don't like works like this
but Sledge handled his on-the-ground experiences in the Pacific with simplicity
but with elequence. I was very impressed with the book, moved and sometimes
shattered by the bravery and determination of our troups. It makes for
exciting reading, if you're inclined to know what war was like then, and
probably what war is still like for men and women on the ground now. Read it!
You won't be disappointed.

As a high school student, I first encountered this character in a series made up of five books. At the time, each book was released weeks or even months apart. I was so enamored with the story that I finished each book before the next one was released. But I eagerly anticipated each installment. It was like being hooked on a daytime soap. But mind you, this is no soap opera. This is perhaps the most captivating story I have ever encountered. I am pleased to find this edition contains the whole set in one book. If you are a fan of sword fights that begin with but an intent in the mind of the combatant coming to an end in the deceptively tranquil plains of feudal Japan, look no further. This story reminds you that however perfect the sword is as a tool for killing, the deadliest weapon remains the swordsman and not the sword. Musashi is the ultimate swordsman and his story has all the elements of an engaging epic containing betrayal, honor, struggle, unrequited love, death and much more. The duels of the sword depicted here are like nothing I have ever read or seen or heard about before back then as a high school student and now as an adult. Printing quality and paper quality is excellent as befits a treasure of literature.

Great story!! Full of action and wonderful details so you really feel like you are part of the story. My son who does not like to read cannot help but enjoy this one. Just when he seems a little bored the author has something exciting. A great read for boys or men.

I read this books while I was in the senior high school, approximately twenty years ago, but until now the story is still clinging in my mind and it refused to forget it because this is a best novel I've ever know.Extremely worthy to own it. It seems that Eiji Yoshikawa did a great deal of works to perfecting it.

I remember reading this years ago... now I'm reading the Vagabond comics based on it. So much fun.

I read Musashi 15 years ago, and I remember it vividly. It's such a sweeping, wondrous novel, I'm surprised it's not more famous than it is. I became a bit of a Yoshikawa fan from this, and visited his home, preserved as a museum, outside Tokyo. A beautiful serene place. Musashi, in retrospect, was highly inspirational to me as a writer, in terms of pacing, character development, and raw storytelling. I recently bought a copy for a fellow writer, who has samurai themes in his works, and I'm sure I will continue to gift this novel to my friends. Enjoy!

This was just the book I was looking for; a detailed thoroughly documented and researched account of the battle. I felt like I was watching a newsreel of the events leading up to and through the battle. The writing style is direct and clear but not dry or boring; it contains just the right amount of storytelling. You are not likely to enjoy this if you just want an overview of the battle, or if you are a casual reader; this book is written for someone who is interested in WWII strategy and tactics.

For all serious students of WW2 in the Pacific, this single book corrects all the errors, exagerations, mistatements, lies and wrong conclusions concerning what happened leading up to and during the Battle of Midway, the turning point of the Pacific war.
The authors worked for several years with documents in Japan and the USA plus interviewing living survivors as well as certain prior authors on the subject. Far different conclusions have been reached in many vital points before , during and after this battle. Vast amounts of personal egotism , face saving and self grandizement are revealed and corrected. Japanese self inflicted shame and Bushido Code behavoir which caused them to report incorrectly in many cases are revealed and corrected plus research into US military reports of the time which stated things incorrectly too frequently and lead to wrong conclusions in the post war period, which in turn mislead all postwar writers and researchers.
This book is the definitive work to date and may possibly never be updated or revised.
Dick Trenk
Pinellas Park, FL

"Shattered Sword" is an excellent analysis of the Battle of Midway which all readers with an interest in this great battle will want to read. Its main strength is its analysis of the Japanese side and its command of detail in this regard. Recommended.

This is not just another war book, but a treaties on how to evaluate a complex situation including a battle. There were lots of new material to me, as I've only read the classic book on the Lexington. But what I found most useful was looking at the battle from a "military doctrine" point of view. How does the organization plan, what happens when the plan meets reality, what happens afterward. Does anyone learn anything from the victory or the defeat? It's pretty clear that the battle at Pearl Harbor shook up the American Navy to the point of learn or die. Not so for the Imperial Navy after Midway.

Students of WWII Pacific battles will love this book whether or not they agree with the findings of the authors. About 1/4 of the book is appendices and bibliography so if you were starting to research this battle this book will lead you to many of the key sources.

I'm off to find a book on the battle of the Solomons next, and you will be too after you read this book.

Picked up my copy at the 65th Anniversary seminar on the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Met Parschall and found him to be very knowledgeable on his subject and very entertaining. The book's coverage of the subjects of why the Japanese carriers were so vulnerable at Midway and the Aleutian diversion theory was as entertaining as it was informative. This is one of the few revisionist history books that I really enjoyed.

Sailor Moon is one of my favorite manga of all time. These books are so hard to get. If you can find one grab it !

I haven't read the manga(any of it) but I want to point something out. Who in this entire universe would want the name Bunny? I woundn't. Maybe that's why they changed it to Serena. Just a tiny clue, you know.

This is one of the best volumes. Usagi and Mamoru and Serena and Darien and Bunny and Darien are my favorite couple. This volume is so romantic and touching. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask are my favorite couple. This volume is so romantic and wonderful. I loved it. I read every volume and loved it. I've been a huge fan since 1995 and still love this series- the anime, manga and lvie action version. Usagi/Mamoru Serena/Darien Bunny/Darien Sailor Moon/Tuxedo Mask are the best couple and the main couple and have the best love story.

This is one of my favorite Sailor Moon volumes. In it, my favorite couple, Bunny/Darien, Usagi/Mamoru, Serena/Darien have lots of romantic moments. I loved both the Japanese and English versions. The Japanese version is my favorite and the English version is great. I use both the Japanese names, Usagi and Mamoru and the English names Bunny and Darien. In this book, Usagi, known as Bunny and Mamoru, known as Darien begin to date. When Usagi (Bunny) wakes up in Mamoru (Darien)'s bed, they reveal their secrets to each other. Tuxedo Mask rescues Sailor Moon from a battle and kisses her. Darien reveals his identity as Tuxedo Mask. He tells Bunny the truth about his past. Although at first they'd enjoy teasing each other, when Darien reveals his identity to her, she admits that she has strong feelings for him and they begin to date. Darien tells her about his childhood. Bunny finds a pocket watch and takes it with her, while Darien saves Bunny's handerkerchief. He gies her a new nickname, in the Japanese version, Mamoru's nickname for her is Usako. Usagi then calls Mamoru Mamo-chan. In this version, Darien's nickname for Bunny is Buns. Bunny becomes very happy with Darien's new name for her. The next time they meet, Bunny sees her new boyfriend, Darien, reading about crystals. Darien playfully teases Bunny as they talk together. Bunny gets excited as they begin to talk. Bunny decides to keep his identity a secret, so the others will let her stay together with Darien. Darien apologizes about before and Bunny smiles and tells him it's alright. Bunny tells Darien that she wants to return his pocket watch. Darien tells her to keep it and he tells her he has something for her and they can trade next time. They reunite when Sailor Moon is about to fall and Tuxedo Mask saves her. Sailor Moon kisses Tuxedo Mask. Darien begins to think about the different sides to her. When Sailor Moon is about to be attacked, Tuxedo Mask saves her. Darien takes the shard for Bunny. Bunny is in shock. She calls out to Darien. Then their past is revealed. Usagi and Mamoru, Bunny and Darien, find out that in the past they were two lovers, Serenity and Endymion. They were in love and reincarnated in the future to meet in the present. Bunny finds out that Darien is her true love. When she sees him in her arms, he is taken away. Bunny is heartbroken and stays in her room for a week as she begins to remember the past. This volume is romantic, touching and will make you cry. It is truly one of the best volumes ever.

Well, this book is when sailor V first appears. She is totally cool. Darien and Bunny (Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon) figure out eachothers true identities. And they find the silver imperium crystal(which is very very important). If you have seen Sailor Moon on Cartoon Network, just a thing. This is much different. Sailor Moon isn't as...clumsy. And the whole crystal thing is done way differently. Still an amazing book, well written, good plot. Any real sailor moon fan will absolutely adore this book.

A simple but a great story that explores some very important issues. Do you wonder why God is silent while people suffer and die? This book explores that issue, and I think it does offer some worthwhile insight.

The book was in great condition and arrived promptly to my door. For me, the typeset was a bit small, but the book appeard to have been brand new. Silence has been very thought provoking. A must read for anyone of Catholic background.

How proud is God? How should God's people uphold his honor? How exactly should the gospel transform human society?

These questions lie at the heart of Silence. Written in the wake of World War two by the Japanese novelist Shusaku Endo, Silence tells the story of the persecution of Christians in seventeenth century Japan.

Although proselytizing efforts by Francis Xavier had been successful in the previous century, the 1600s brought about ecclesiastical quarrels between Roman catholic and protestant missionaries. These squabbles often went hand in hand with political and military shenanigans between competing European powers in Japan. Japan's leadership came to view Christianity as an essential part of this distasteful western mess, and severe persecution quickly became standard fare for the newly budded Japanese church.

Endo's protagonist, the young Portugese priest Sebastian Rodrigues, enters Japan secretly in the midst of these persecutions, along with a monastic colleague, Francis Garrpe. They encounter crude but strong faithfulness among the Japanese believers, who undertake great sacrifice in order to protect the padres from the authorities.

Eventually, however, they are betrayed by a weak-willed Japanese Christian, and their trials begin in earnest. Rodrigues's faith is tested to limits which comfortable modern western Christians may never be able to properly understand. His captors torture him psychologically in order to make him renounce his faith. This is not a simple temptation or test of honor; it is not Rodrigues's mere conscience at stake. If he submits to the authorities by trampling on Christ's portrait, his peasant flock goes free. If he does not, they will be tortured to death.

This test is one of the most soul-churning passages of literature I have read. What will Rodrigues do? Will he apostatize? How important is his honor? How important is God's? As the pastor of these simple peasants, is it better to renounce his faith to save their lives, or better to embrace martyrdom and doom them?

Initially, I found myself cheering for Rodrigues's perseverance and martyrdom, but by the novel's end, I was shaken and unsure. In the West, Christendom has a long and hallowed tradition of persecution stories, from the early believers in Jerusalem, to the church in Rome, and in various places throughout the centuries. Although Christ gives approbation to those who are persecuted for his sake, human sinfulness, such as it is, can even distort the meaning and value of martyrdom. Even the brightest lights in Christian history sometimes succumb to an unspiritual triumphalism. With the benefit of time, we often come to see some of Christendom's triumphs as accreted with sin and pride.

The first believers in Japan did not have this cultural background narrative to inform their consciences. They had only an immediate pagan background confronted with the fresh, non-accreted startling news that God has suffered, endured shame and humiliation, and forgiven their sins. This gospel surely would have motivated them to endure great persecution, but at the same time, the gospel is the story of a man who suffered in order to release his friends from condemnation. In that light, martyrdom for its own sake is dubious at best.

What is true religion? The bible maintains that true religion consists in looking after orphans and widows in their distress, and keeping oneself from being stained by the world. Those two mandates, it seems to me, should never be at odds with one another. If Rodrigues had refused to trample on the fumie (the term for the sacred image of Christ), he would definitely not have been looking after orphans and widows, but rather sending them to certain doom. However, would his simple act constitute "being stained by the world?" Would he be a Judas and an enemy of the gospel? There is a prominent strain of Christianity, very much in the tradition of the western theology of glory, which says "yes". Endo's answer, more in tune with the theology of the cross, is "no".

I am inclined to agree with the latter.

As author stated in the preface of "The Life of Jesus", he is for "Japanese readers who have no Christian tradition of their own and who know almost nothing about Jesus"
1. Two Roman Catholic priets/missionaries from Portugal crossing dangerous oceans to reach Japan. Then giving up everything:Pride,
faith, freedom, and love(?)
2. Courageous Native Christians. Accepting their martyrdom with silence.

There is no balance between these two. There is no reality.

This is a book written by a Japanese for Japanese readers.

I knew a little about this book before I purchased it, since it was referenced in an article I read for one of my doctoral courses.

This book is about the missionary activities in Japan back in the 1500s and 1600s. What would YOU do if you were faced with the choice of stepping on the face of Christ or allow other people to suffer?

Read the book -- and be prepared to THINK! It's worth every second you spend in it!

Inspector Morimoto is a detective who works in the Japanese city of Okayama, which is a medium sized city. He like to ride around on the city trams, and take slow train journeys through the countryside. And he likes to sit in his office with his feet on his desk drinking tea and staring out the window while he discusses problems with his helper - who is Police Officer Suzuki. And in one of the chapters Inspector Morimoto will show you how to cook a Japanese pancake! It is a wonderful book, and I never realized umbrellas could be so fascinating!

I love reading books written by westerners who have spent a lot of time in Japan. I've been there many times myself. I prefer the non-fiction, but have read most everything available, so sometimes read the fiction.

The story is engaging, however, I feel it could have taken place just about anywhere. It didn't have a Japanese feel to it. Inspector Morimoto and Suzuki could have been a detective team in any country as there was almost nothing about their characters that seemed Japanese. There just wasn't that feel of Japanese charm or that little touch of humor that I think there should have been. Even in this day and age in Japan I find it unbelievable that a Japanese man would get tea for a younger Japanese woman--or most any woman.

The train ride descriptions and the lockers in every Japanese train station are very accurate. However, the larger lockers usually cost much more than the smaller ones which usually do cost 300 yen (About $2.50 right now). There are usually three sizes of lockers--the largest ones costing 500 to 600 yen. I've stuffed my luggage in them many times. I know, I'm probably nitpicking.

I also thought there was an obvious way the bad guy could have saved himself a lot of trouble and obtained the desired result for himself. But then, there couldn't have been a book.

This book was interesting enough to make me want to read the next books. I'm hoping there's much more character development in those.

I really enjoyed reading "Inspector Morimoto and the Two Umbrellas". I liked the main plot and I particularly enjoyed reading about the train rides.
I am not good at solving riddles but I could hardly put down the book. I finished reading the book in just 3 days. I thought it was a very clever story. I felt so good when I read the ending. After reading this book I decided to read the rest of the series.

This has got to be the dullest detective story that I've had the misfortune to read. The action consists of Detective Morimoto and his sharp young math-minded assistant Suzuki taking the train to different locations. Now when I find the descriptions of the scenery between Okayama and Osaka the most interesting part of the novel that spells trouble for the storyline. Besides the fact that the detectives don't do much besides ponder the problems and interview people, the writing itself slows the story down. Overuse of words such as "quite" and "rather" and lines like "as we shall see later in the story" make the writing style altogether passive. I would have liked to have seen more character description - these two protagonists could have been located in any country as they did not use a single Japanese word for flavor. (I recommend using the Japanese honorifics such as "san" at least.) Yawn... here we have proof that being a good mathematician does not lead to being a good novelist.

What really annoys me the most is all of the bogus 5 star reviews posted here at Amazon for this book. I can tell that the author self published this book with no editor and promoted it here with these generic 5 star reviews so that it would be prominently displayed on Amazon's lists. Bah humbug! I got suckered into buying this but I hope that anyone who reads this far looks elsewhere for their entertaining detective novel.

I admit it, I'm a sucker for all things Japanese. I like this series and am working my way through them steadily. They are very, very dry [although it rains a lot] and some might say that not a damn thing happens. In reality, a crime occurs and then 'the team' of Morimoto and Suzuki work on their inductions and then their deductions till they have the crime figured out. Then they talk it through again, then they confront the criminal, then they sum up. They also spend a vast amount of time on the tram, the train and the bullet express, so the chances of a police chase are pretty slim. As slim as the books themselves, in fact. All very cerebral, exactly as you'd imagine a police procedural written by a mathematician.

I only just started this story last night and I'm already wanting to put everything else off to finish it! As a teacher, frustrated with "the system" of education today, this is a refreshing, exciting look at a unique school of railroad car classrooms, lunches of "something from the sea and something from the mountains," student-centered learning (Wow! what a concept!)from the eyes of little Totto-chan. If the rest of the book proves to be as great as the first part, I will be recommending it to all my teacher friends. It's a quick, fun read for anyone! Two thumbs up!

Honestly I read this book over 25 years ago and thought that this book has long been discontinued. I guess this proves what a time-tested treasure it is. The author, a TV celebrity in Japan, recalls her childhood and the unorthodox school she went to. Absolutely adoring in the simple story of how a concerned mother tried to do the best for her daughter and how a simple man did his best to give a bright and meaningful future to the few children who comes into his life.

It is the type of book that makes you wish that there were more teachers like him and that you had a teacher like him.

This is one of my all-time favorite books. First published in Japan in 1981, this beautiful book depicting the true story of innocent little Totto-chan, her family, friends, and above all, the innovating educationer she befriends in the years leading up to, and during the first years of WW2, remains a national best seller in Japan to this day. I don't have any children of my own, but if I did, and if Tomoe-Gakuen (the elementary school Totto-chan attends) existed today, I would immediately enroll my children there. Since there is not, I hope I have the good luck of finding somebody like Sosaku Kobayashi to help make my child the happiest and kindest child in the world.

It was due to this book's beauty that then UNICEF Executive Director, James P. Grant persuaded those working at UNICEF to appoint the author, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi (who is Totto-chan grown up), to UNICEF's International Goodwill Ambassador, enabling her to visit and help children in need all over the world.

For people who have read this book and those who have not, I also recommend "Totto-Chan's Children : A Goodwill Journey to the Children of the World" by the same author. It tells the story of Totto-chan grown up, still big-hearted as ever, striving to help children in need. Check it out!

In 1969 I was part of a group of teachers who created a school much like that featured in Toto Chan. We thought we were on the "cutting edge" of educational practices without knowing that a school in Japan had been delivering many of the same holistic, humanistic educational practices over a quarter of a century before. I'm sure many U.S. educators who thought/think they were/are in the vanguard of educational practices would appreciate this beautiful story of a dedicated educator and his students.

I have not read a better book which has made me laugh, cry, love, and ponder over is such a way! This book is awesome and worth much more than 5 stars.

Japan. 1912. Japanese society is divided, or at least complex. Still with most of it's body and soul in the ancient tradition of the East, but with ever increasing impulses towards the "Western culture" (In the unsemitically correct reality, we of the "West" have infinitely more in common with the traditional culture of the East than we do the current world-wide Weimar Republic, but oh well). Mishima, the author, was more or less a Japanese representative of the "conservative revolution", and appears to have been quite well read. His life reminds me in many ways of Corneliu Codreanu and Julius Evola. His well-known dramatic ritual suicide as a protest against the betrayal of tradition in Japan, and the Japanese submission to American rule, followed him and his radical "right wing" organization's (The Shield Society) failure to arouse the Japanese Defence Force into rebelling.

The book is the first in a tetralogy, and follows Kiyoaki Matsugae, a young student from a family of the lower nobility in his relationship with Satoko Ayakura, the daughter of one of the 28 families of the higher nobility, her being the daughter of a count. The book in many ways actually reminded me of the excellent "Victoria" by Knut Hamsun, with the constant back and forth in the interaction between the characters, sometimes they love each other dearly, and at other times torment each other. Such is the nature of difficult relationships, I guess! The book paints a very vivid picture of the end of a noble era, and the translation I read was excellently done. The moral teaching of this period, and it's sometimes less noble effects is excellently portrayed.

Through certain misunderstandings, Satoko ends up being future wife of one of the royal princes, and Kiyoaki is driven to despair. Long story short, as all the books in the series, there is no happy ending, but that is basically the ending of all our lives. This is a book I highly recommend, and apart from a few minor flaws, it is all in all an excellent tale, and I look very much forward to reading the rest of the series. 4,5 stars.

(I read a different edition)

Maybe it was a bad transalation. Maybe I could not relate as a westerner to an old Japanese story, but I really did not enjoy this book. It was maudlin and unbelievable. Story was boring. Character development was terrible and it was poorly written/transalated. I recommend Murakami's Norwegian Wood for those who want to read books by Japanese authors.

Mishima's Spring Snow is a coming-of-age tale for nouveau riche Kiyoaki, whose naive childhood crush on the more mature Satoko grows into something much more powerful, beautiful and, ultimately, destructive. Kiyoaki's failings are human and familiar; acting on rash impulses, immaturity, a failure to realise what he wants till he has lost it. Mishima's characterisation is finely drawn and accurate. The scheming Tadeshina turns out to have her own secret heartbreak, enervated Ayakura lacks guile but not luck, the ancient loyalties of the Abessess make her a formidable eminence grice. The characters are at once individually drawn and representative of a unique and fascinating era of flux and change in Japan, as ancient modes of behaviour gave way to modernising forces. Mishima's novel is both of its time and timeless. A true masterpiece.

Just finished reading an excellent book, just a few minutes ago, and I feel compelled to write a review, while ideas are still fresh in my mind.

This is the first book I've finished reading for my Summer Reading. The book is called Snow Spring (Haru no Yuki) by Mishima Yukio and its the first book in his masterpiece, The Sea of Fertility or Hojou no Umi. The Sea of Fertility is a series of four novels by one of Japan's greatest authors. The book I have is the Vintage International edition, translated by Michael Gallagher.

This novel really moved me. In the last 100 pages, I couldn't do anything but finish it. Just like a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, where the reader hangs onto every word until the truth and mystery is finally revealed in the last word, so does this novel grip the reader.

On the surface is a conventional tale of the Japanese idea of unrequited love, a theme that is done over and over again in Japanese fiction. What sets this piece apart from others, is Mishima narrative drive and richly detailed characters and the psychological insight into every major and minor character involved.

Kiyoaki begins his ill fated relationship with the beautiful Satoko, whom he has known all his life. At first he disregards her and then he is on fire to obtain her love after she is engaged to a Prince. Wealthy families are invovled in making the Wedding ceremony a success and any type of scandal leaking out to the press must be avoided at all costs. But Kioyaki single minded determination to pursure Satoko, despite such obstacles, causes the reader to want him to succeed.

On the one hand, Kiyoaki lets his desires and emotions rage out of control and on the other all those emotions put him into action. He used to sit around in his room all day, lonely and depressed, until he just decided to pusure love. Its his drive to obtain love and his selfish quest for Satoko's heavenly beauty that pushes him along page after page. These type of overly romantic novels can quickly turn unwittingly comical in lesser writer. But Mishima combines the richness of Japanese traditional and culture with romantic ideas of love and realistic views, based in concrete reality, that prevent the work from becoming a low form of soap opera.

The novel is both realistic novel and emotional charged romantic that causes the entire work to be a cleverly crafted paradox. For example, Honda is Kiyoaki's best friend in high school. Honda has a revelation that he must prevent Kiyoaki from pursuing Satoko becomes of his friend's harmful obession. The fact that Honda can't bring himself to hurt his friend by giving him a cold rational arguement, shows love between friends that isn't distorted by irrational love. Kiyoaki's love for Satoko is more based on his own selfish fantasy. It is this fantastic love that wins out between Satoko and over Honda, who had good intentions but failed to act on them. Irrational love wins out over the gloom of reality.

Without giving away any more of the story, let me just end with how this book took over my imagination and wouldn't let it go for 2 whole days. All day Saturday and all Sunday afternoon, I cared more about the characters in this story then my own family. I couldn't do anything else except finish reading it.

It starts out slow but builds to a breakneck speed in the end. It is highly recommended for anyone who wants to read an excellent novel this Summer. Forget about it being Japanese and look past all that exoticism and you will see the novel for all its beauty.

Today I will start on the second novel in the series, called Runaway Horses.

I can't wait.

In "Spring Snow," Yukio Mishima has chosen the perfect title for his novel. The narrative is as gentle and as beautiful as wet snow on spring blossoms, and indeed there is a poignant scene where two lovers have a tryst in a rickshaw under such conditions. It was my first foray into the world of Mishima -- indeed, of Japanese literature -- and will not be my last.

The story of a young and handsome aristocrat, Kiyoaki Matsugae, and the beautiful and mysterious Ayakura Satoko, comes from the same time-honored tradition of as more familiar star-crossed lovers such as Romeo and Juliet, Pyramus and Thisbe, Tristan and Isolde, and Lancelot and Guinevere. Set just after the Russo-Japanese War in the early 20th century, the novel offers intriguing insights into a Japanese culture that is at once in flux and clinging to traditions.

If you love a writer whose strength is description of nature, Mishima is not to be missed. His words are as fit as any Nature Channel special on the wonders of Japan and he is equally adept at describing the contours of his young lovers' bodies. In addition to the sensual and sensuous wonders, the inner psychology of passion-plagued minds is a point of expertise for this writer. He deftly avoids sentimentalism while walking the thin line between hatred and love, between passion and pain.

Symbolism, description, psychology, and a gentle narrative pace. What's not to love? Readers looking for a fast-paced plot might not be overwhelmed, but those who love it when they stumble upon a "writer's writer" will be glad they tried Yukio Mishima. It is the first book of the tetralogy, "The Sea of Fertility."

I was moved to reread this fine book by Richard Frank by the allegation by Presidential candidate Senator Barak Obama's former preacher and confidant Jeremiah Wright's that one of America's supposed "sins" that he was cursing it for was the use of the Atomic Bombs on Japan at the end of the Second World War. I was in High School during the Vietnam War period and I recall my teachers telling us that that use of the Bomb was unnecessary and was carried out merely to scare the Communist Soviets and didn't matter anyway since the Japanese were supposedly viewed as "racially inferior". We were taught that the United State government is inherently dishonest, so any such decision to use the bomb must have had "tainted" motiviations. Such cynicism is potentially destructive, as Frank shows in his book.
Attitudes like these have unfortunately become common in the United States over the years, and as Frank points out, are based on ignorance and self-righteousness. President Truman's aide, Admiral Leahy claimed after the war that the use of the bomb was "unnecessary" (Frank points out that there is no record of his opposition at the time the decision was made). This is, of course, true. The Japanese would have eventually surrendered even without the use of the bomb. The question, though, remains "at what cost"? There are two possible scenarios, (1) American and Allied forces invade the Japanes Home Islands in order to force a decision, or (2) no invasion is mounted, but a tight blockade and heavy air bombing keep up the pressure.
Frank shows that although a two-phase invasion was planned, Operation Olympic in Kyushu, followed by Operation Coronet on Honshu near Tokyo, as time passed, American interception and decryption of Japanese messages showed that powerful forces were being brought up to the planned invasion zones along with thousands of aircraft designed for Kamikaze attacks. The civilian population was also being trained to carry out suicide attacks (the government's slogan was "100 Million Die Together"). As a result, American enthusiasm for the invasion scheme waned and, instead, a plan to destroy Japan's railroad system to prevent the distribution of food was developed, which, along with the naval blockade, would bring starvation to the population, forcing the Japanese government to eventually capitulate. The question remained "how long would it take to reach this situation"? Frank points out that over 100,000 Chinese were dying every month during the war, in addition to large numbers of Allied prisoners and forced Asian laborers in southeast Asia. If the war dragged on longer, hundreds of thousands of these people would have died. Had the blockade "succeeded" in bring famine in addition to plague and civil disorder to Japan, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Japanese would have died.
Frank also points out that something like 350,000 Japanese died in the Soviet campaign to conquer Manchuria, many of them civilians. In addition there were still large Japanese forces in China , the Dutch East Indies (today's Indonesia) and southeast Asia. Without the shock of a surrender brought about by the use of the Atomic bombs it is conceivable that these forces would have continued to fight on (the Japanese Army in China had a history of subordination). There was also a Soviet plan to invade the Japanese home island of Hokkaido. One can only specularte on how many deaths would this have caused, in addition to the possibility that the USSR would have set up a "Japanese Peoples' Republic" in their zone, just like they did in Korea, for which the world is still paying to this day. It is odd that those who show "compassion" for the Japanese people in saying that the bomb shouldn't have been used, seem to lack the same compassion for the oppressed thousands who were dying every day in the Japanese-occupied territories.
Frank also shows that the popular "deus-ex-machina" scenario that supposedly the Japanese government had really made a decision to surrender and were in contact with the USSR government is false. It is true that there were contacts with the Soviets, but they were on a low diplomatic level, and no decision to surrender had been made before the first use of the bomb. In addition, no contacts were made during the three days that passed before the use of the second bomb. It turns out that some Japanese leaders thought the bomb was merely a one-shot affair which the Americans couldn't repeat. Frank shows clearly that America's leaders had no choice but to make the decision they did and that this decision saved untold number of lives, both Allied and Japanese. Anybody who saw the horrific casualties at places like Iwo Jima and Okinawa in addition to the mass suicides of Japanese civilians at Saipana and Okinawa would reach the same conclusion.
Richard Frank is performing an invaluable service in destroying the "politically correct" myths demagogues like Wright are propagating and showing that a clear, open mind leads one to the truth.

Frank has done an excellent job of dispassionately presenting the facts about the endgame of the Pacific War. I appreciate that Frank laid out the evidence and left it to the reader to judge where it pointed.

What is clear from the evidence is that neither the Japanese nor American leadership had adequate information to judge the other's intentions during 1945. In fact, there is some evidence that the Japaneese High Command was being mislead by underlings regarding the state of American morale. Thus the War Council believed that they were just one decisive battle away from being able to negotiate with the Americans for softer terms than Unconditional Surrender. On the other hand, American intelligence community were not adept enough to draw out from the vast array of intercepted cable traffic a clear picture. Thus they did not provide Truman information that was 'actionable'.

As for the bomb, the preponderance of evidence amassed by Frank points to the conclusion that once the decision to build the atomic bomb was made, the Manhattan project took on its own momentum and thus made the bombs use inevitable.

All-in-all a terrific book. Since I finished it on September 30th, it makes it onto my Summer Reading Favorites of 2007 :-)

Richard Frank conclusively shatters a number of myths about the end of the Pacific side of World War II.

First, Japan was NOT ready to accept unconditional surrender, even with the caveat of the preservation of the Japanese throne, until after both bombs were dropped. Frank uses extensive declassified transcripts of Ultra (military) and Magic (diplomatic) U.S. codebreaking to get members of the Japanese war cabinet's own words, or lack thereof, on this issue. Within that is the fact that Japan's attempt to use Russia as an intermediary-ally in negotiations was totally out of tune with reality, so much out of tune that Tokyo actually expected Moscow to honor the full one year's "down time" after abrogating the two countries' neutrality agreement.

Second, the Japanese Army was ramping UP the plans for Keisu-Go, the all-out defense of the Japanese homeland, after the spring firebombings of Tokyo and elsewhere. Top Army brass considered that the U.S. might well try blockade, and thought it had enough kamikazes, midget submarines, etc., to make the U.S pay enough a price for even the blockade that it would settle for a negotiated peace. Again, Frank looks in-depth at Magic and Ultra transcripts to show how much support there was for this.

Third, Frank demonstrates that U.S. casualty fears of an invasion of Kyushu were well-warranted and may even have been understated in some cases.

The determination of the Japanese Empire to resist was well-known by American troops in the Pacific who had seen the Japanese, on average, take 97 percent casualties in many of their defensive actions. A militaristic government was ready to exploit this to the death.

The atomic bomb was therefore used for reasons of the highest seriousness. It was NOT dropped on Hiroshima as a demonstration for Stalin. And, speaking of demonstrations, the fact that it took two atomic bombs on Japan to get it to surrender puts the lie to the idea that a "demonstration" bomb would have been enough to get the Japanese to a non-negotiated surrender with them attempting to hold on to territory.

I was so fascinated by this book that I read all the previous reviews. I only want to add my unlimited praise and to add a few thoughts and stories...
I was as unaware as anybody of the details of the end of the Pacific war until I met a fellow (Bill Lear, son of "the" Bill Lear) who was on a troop ship to Olympic. He said the officers told them that they all were going to die. After that the book was a natural, and I couldn`t have chosen better.
In my present line, I am in Japan a lot. If there is any one thing that makes Frank`s book fascinating, it is the detailed look at the inner workings of that eastern mind in the government and military leaders, and the resulting confusion for their hapless diplomats. In some cases it is not so radical - we Americans still get huffy about Pearl Harbor, when the Japanese were following a pretty basic tenet of war. Frank didn`t really go to a lot of trouble to remind us that the "unfathonable" Asian way of seeing things is normal to them. Perhaps it isn`t necessary. Any Japanese soldier who sees dying for his emperor/country as his highest honor will tend to see anyone who surrenders or is beaten before he can sacrifice himself, as the lowest sort of worm, not worthy of bayonet practice let alone a bowl of rice. Just an example, but with a point. Frank managed to state facts, back them up with numbers and intel documents and let it go at that. The case builds easily in the reader`s mind that this was a terrible war and that the allies/Americans were in a real conundrum about how to end it. Which brings up the sadly fascinating fact that the very thing that the allies demanded, as a way of keeping "these fascist and militarist governments from starting a world war every few years", was unconditional surrender, the very thing the Japanese couldn`t accept.
One thing which makes a really great book is that it opens discussion on the topic rather than, say, on the writer`s vocabulary. By that measure, this is one of the best. Please indulge me...
I have been to the peace museum in Hiroshima. It is very moving and also very evenhanded. It shows the little uniforms of the school kids killed - they were in town that day to help build firebreaks. It also has the army order on the wall which commanded that when the invasion came, all subjects were to show up on the beaches with pitchforks, sticks or any other weapon that came to hand. Hiroshima, by the way (to answer a previous comment) was the headquarters of the 5th Japanese Army, in charge of Japan and Korea (where they'd been since 1920, only getting to Manchuria in 1931, re another comment)It was also a recruit center, and a navy shipyard, in other words not exactly non-military.
My Dad flew in B-29s. He was a tough old farm boy, but once he met an army buddy who had also `been there` That`s the only time I saw him cry. I don`t think it`s wrong to lament the terrible things humans are capable of doing to each other and to make them stop; a basic about war, by the way. The fact that millions of innocents had died and were likely to keep dying in this war would make any way of stopping it look pretty good, ie, "moral". I personally would say, you can`t argue with success. The Japanese had been fighting since at least 1920. Days after the bomb, it was over. I`m in the camp of "the Russians had nothing to do with it." I want to thank Mr. Frank for explaning readably and in detail, how that came about.
Finally a note from my Mom... The war council was correct in believing that Americans were sick of the war (Incorrect in their eastern way in seeing Potsdam as weakness). They were beaten but wouldn`t quit. If you had a family member in the service, you put a red star in your window, and if they were killed, you changed it to a gold star. There were plenty of houses with two gold stars in the window. People in 1945 wanted the war to end and wanted the boys home. Imagine you are Truman, and a wife/mother says to you, "You mean to tell me you had the means to end this war the day before my boy was killed, and you didn`t do it?"
Read this book.

It is easy today, with so much information out there about the horrors of atomic warfare, and so little remembrance of the actual history of the final stages of WWII, to be critical of the U.S. decision to drop two atomic bombs on Japan.

Sadly, as a result, most Japanese are taught today that they were merely the victims of overwhelming American might, rather than the aggressors and instigators of war, and even more sadly, we are confronted with the shameful specter of anti-nuke, anti-war, anti-history Americans pathetically apologizing to the Japanese, misquoting history, and blindly ignoring the real facts behind the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan.

In this book, Richard Franks sets about methodically re-creating the historical context of the end stages of WWII. He addresses virtually every controversial claim, every possible scenario, in the decision process that led to the atomic bombing. Other reviewers have mentioned several points already, and so I present only a summary of the major controversies dealt with in this book:

1. Why was it necessary to drop two atomic bombs or to use them on civilians? - The U.S. was afraid that Japan would think that its supply of atomic bombs was limited (and in fact, production was limited, but was steadily growing), and wanted to demonstrate to Japan that it had the ability and willpower to completely annihilate Japan with a series of atomic bombs. As it turns out, the U.S. calculations were correct. After Hiroshima was bombed, Franks points out that there was a faction in the Japanese military that had enough knowledge of the difficulty of uranium separation to deny the possibility that the U.S. could have developed such a bomb or claimed that the U.S. would not be able to keep up the atomic bombing, and used these arguments to continue to hold out against surrender. Other Japanese military leaders hoped that world opinion would bar the U.S. from further use of the atomic bombs on civilians. That the Japanese military doubted the willpower of the U.S. to use atomic bombs against civilians is proof that a mere demonstration on some unpopulated target would have been useless. Dropping two atomic bombs thus served to vaporize all of the final delusions of these fanatic military leaders.

2. Wasn't Japan close to surrender already because of the massive firebombing of its cities? The U.S. had destroyed over 60 Japanese cities already, killing over 100,000 in one raid on Tokyo alone. However, while this caused enormous suffering for Japanese civilians, the military elite ruling Japan couldn't care less, and continued to hold out for a final land battle, intending to inflict enormous casualties on any U.S. invasion. Their calculation was that the U.S., a democracy with freedom of the press and freedom of speech that even then was extremely sensitive to casualties, could be forced to offer a negotiated surrender with better terms (see no. 5 below for more on this) instead of unconditional surrender. One thing that Franks does not emphasize enough is that subsequent firebombings after Tokyo killed far fewer people per raid, as the Japanese learned how to deal with the firebombing better. A significant factor in the success of the firebombing was the nature of the highly flammable wooden cities of Japan. However, neither firebombing nor the inaccurate conventional bombing of that era would have had much impact on the dispersed and hidden armed forces of the Ketsu-Go operation (the Japanese plan for a massive suicidal countering of an American invasion on the island of Kyushu). Ketsu-Go versus the atomic bomb would have been a completely different story. The general in charge of Ketsu-Go happened to have his headquarters in Hiroshima, and after surviving the atomic bombing and seeing its effects, he bluntly told Hirohito that he could not be sure anymore that his forces would be able to fend off an invasion. IMHO, it was this realization by the military that Ketsu-Go would fail in the face of the atomic bomb that was the key in forcing the military to accept defeat without an invasion. And it was this realization by Hirohito that the military would accept his "command" to accept unconditional surrender that encouraged this timid personality to finally step in and "command" surrender (Franks gives some more convoluted reasons that I think are less convincing. He does not emphasize enough that Hirohito had no legal authority at the time to force the military to do anything - Hirohito's power was entirely based on tradition, respect, and superstitious symbolism - and in fact the military fanatics had a history of assassinating advisors to Hirohito whenever it seemed that he was favoring a course of action that they did not like).

3. Weren't the estimated potential U.S. casualties in an invasion grossly inflated? Perhaps they were, but first of all, if you are an American and think that ANY number of dead American soldiers in an invasion of Japan would have been worth trading in return for not using the atomic bomb, then you need to have your citizenship revoked. And if you are Japanese, and believe that a U.S. invasion would have been preferable to atomic bombing, then you really don't understand the fanaticism of the military elite that was in control at the end of the war. At Saipan and Okinawa, the local Japanese citizenry had been recruited into the battles and had suffered enormous casualties. Even worse was being planned for an invasion of the Japanese homeland, with the entire civilian population given bamboo sticks and suicide bombs which they were expected to use against U.S. soldiers. Franks calculates that the civilian casualties in an invasion of Japan would have far exceeded what was suffered at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In addition, U.S. intelligence eventually revealed that preparations for Ketsu-Go were so extensive that chances for a successful invasion were becoming increasingly uncertain. American casualties would have almost certainly been enormous. While General MacArthur blithely swept all of that intelligence under the rug, and continued to insist on the original invasion plans, Admiral Nimitz was on the verge of going on the record opposing the invasion when the atomic bombs were dropped. This book makes clear that a U.S. invasion of Kyushu, led by the over-confident MacArthur, could have well been a complete disaster.

4. Wouldn't a blockade and continued bombing of Japan have forced a surrender? - Yes, but it would have taken a much longer period of time, at a minimum of several more months, and resulted in enormously greater loss of life to others besides U.S. soldiers. Franks points out that by attacking Japan's railway systems and vital coastal shipping, the U.S. could have easily shut down all food distribution in the country. However, again, because the Japanese warlords did not care about the suffering of the civilian population, it is likely in such a scenario that they would have held out for so long that Japanese deaths from starvation would have easily exceeded the deaths from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Plus there were also the vastly greater numbers of deaths that would have occurred in the countries that had been invaded by Japan, people who would have continued to die under a brutal occupation. There would also have been much greater numbers of deaths amongst Allied POWs. The numbers calculated by Franks are truly staggering, and make clear that atomic bombing to force a surrender was by far the least of all evils in terms of total numbers of dead people. Franks also recounts the massive atrocities committed by the Japanese in WWII. Yep, after you read these sections (the atrocities mentioned included dissecting and drilling holes into the brains of captured, living American airmen, among other niceties), you might also look more favorably upon atomic bombing Japan. Let's face it, this was a war without mercy, and the Japanese, who were merciless in their treatment of their enemies, had no right to expect any. Nevertheless, after the surrender, Japan did receive mercy, in the form of massive shipments of food from America to their starving civilians.

5. Wouldn't a negotiated surrender, as demanded by the military warlords, have been preferable to atomic bombing? No, first and foremost, up until the atomic bombings, the Japanese militarist faction simply refused to consider surrender under any conditions. They wanted an invasion and a chance at redemption of national honor with their Ketsu-Go operation. The peace faction's best efforts consisted of delusional hopes that Russia could somehow broker a negotiated settlement. Even AFTER both atomic bombs had been dropped, and Russia had declared war on Japan, the militarist faction continued to hold out briefly for a negotiated surrender with three additional terms besides maintenance of the emperor (which the peace faction also wanted): a short occupation by a minimal force, demobilization of Japanese troops by Japanese officers, and trying of war criminals by Japanese courts (Franks does not mention these details in his book - they are contained in another book "The Day Man Lost Hiroshima"). Acceptance of such conditions would have resulted in only a temporary cease-fire, much like the treaty of Versailles had been for WWI. It would not have removed the basic root causes that led Japan to attack East Asia and America - the institutions and ideology of an intensely nationalistic and fanatic military elite that put national honor and pride above everything else, including common sense. This bitter lesson from WWI, that the military elites and institutions of Germany and Japan needed to be completely eradicated in order to ensure lasting peace with those nations, was what caused Roosevelt to demand unconditional surrender. Roosevelt did not want the sacrifice of the lives of so many soldiers to be in vain, as it had been for WWI.

In summary, people critical of the atomic bombing of Japan simply fail to grasp just how difficult it was at that time for the U.S. and the peace faction in Japan to force an increasingly delusional military elite that was fanatically committed to national honor and pride to give up all of their institutions of power without first completely immolating their country. Read this book, read it carefully, and you WILL understand.

I wanted a book with a lot of information and recipes. Too many cook books are filled with pictures, and empty of information. This book is the opposite. Don't expect many photos, do expect lots of information. The author gives you information about the food, about the preparation, and about the ingredients. It even gives you a little Japanese history as related to the food.
This is a must buy for anyone serious about cooking Japanese food.

I purchased this for my daughter for Christmas. I took some time to browse through the book and found it full of interesting information in addition to recipes and directions on how to prepare ingredients. I was very impressed, as was my daughter.

A beautiful book, clearly written, but the simple of the title is misleading. These are difficult, exacting recipes calling for both ingredients and kitchenware that require a search in specialty Japanese markets.

My wife and I bought this cookbook in Japan 25 years ago and have used it often since then. It is the best I've found on describing ingredients and how to do certain techniques especially making sushi rice.

This book explains everything, and is actually an enjoyable read.