Kamikaze Diaries: Reflections of Japanese Student Soldiers

This is not a historical book that records events as they occurred. Professor Onuki-Tierney uses exerpts from the diaries of six remarkable young men. Though she calls the book "Kamikaze Diaries", several of her subjects were not technically members of Admiral Onishi's Tokkotai (Special Forces, the Kamikaze). They all however, were certain of their impending death in a war that several believed should not have happened. Of the more than four thousand Tokkotai members, three thousand were young boys, the remaining 25 percent were "student pilots" drafted from the universities. These "student pilots" or "student soldiers" were primarily humanities majors (philosophy, music, the arts, and linguistics) as the science and engineering majors were generally exempted. As such, many read heavily, particularly philosophy texts in the native language of the authors (German, French, Dutch, English). Some were Christian and, along with the thousand stitch scarves, they took Bibles and their favorite philosophy texts with them on their last flight. These diary exerpts and the Professor's interpretation of the meaning in their poems and letters give a small insight into these intelligent young men's thinking and the rationalization of their impending death.This is a difficult book to read in many ways. Besides the emotion of seeing the mind and soul of young men about to fly out to try and kill my father by themselves dying and this being a book written by an academic about academics, the book's format adds to the difficulty. Besides a six page preamble, there is a thirty seven page introduction. This is a bit long but necessary to set the stage for non-Japanese. The Professor also uses this to point out the differences between the Kamikaze (who attacked only military targets) and today's suicide bomber, a point which needs to be made. The Professor included a references section but also put references in the text (particularly to her own earlier works) which break up the flow of the reading. She also put in a section of notes instead of using footnotes. While some readers may find this format preferable, I found it cumbersome.Three relatively minor discrepancies appear which again detract from the reading. At one point, the professor makes the claim that some student pilots had read as many as four to five thousand books by the time they died. If they had read a book a day for fourteen years (age 10 to 24), they would have read 5110 books. Considering that they read many philosophical tomes in the author's native language, this looks very unlikely. In an anecdote about how strenuous the discipline was for these student pilots, she recounts one Tokkotai member departing and returning nine times because he couldn't find any targets. On the ninth return, he was shot by his superior officer. Throughout the text, the Professor mentions that these flights were to be one way, there was no return. They had enough fuel for one trip out. The Tokkotai went out in groups or flights. If this returnee could return nine times, why didn't the rest of his flight? One or maybe two times could be reasonable due to mechanical malfunction but nine times? And while some were trained to land, most weren't - and they were carrying 250 kg bombs. And the third discrepancy occurs when the Professor is discussing the emperor's palace as having been built by "Toyotomi Ieyasu". It was of course Tokugawa Ieyasu. Toyotomi Hideyoshi preceded the Tokugawa as shogun.I was looking for historical impressions of what it was like in Japan during World War II. There is some of that in this text but looking into intelligent minds realizing they are about to die and watching them rationalize this fate is as valuable as any historical documentary. Those interested in philosophy, psychology, and the nature of the Japanese will find this book rewarding.

The book was good enough to finish, but its value mostly comes from the fact that their are very few other books about this (at least in English)

This an eye and mind opening book. However, it is extremely philosophical and requires a sophisticated vocabulary. I was impressed that it presents to "defensive" bias, otherwise known as excuses. The words of the student pilots speak for themselves....and speak a great deal about the need for real intellectual evaluation of any nation's motives and their manipulations of their populations' minds. The content becomes quite sorrowful as the student pilots try to make sense, or good, of their sure imminent, non-productive deaths. I am gleaning long lists of readings from the students' quotes and reading lists. The students' intellectual abilities are amazing. The editing of the individual diaries was a work of love from their families. The compilation into this book is good enough to keep me reading through difficult ideas.

within the 2nd paragraph the major military history distortions began and are rife thru out the book.if you are a literature major with a minor in jap cultural studies this is your book.if you are looking for a book that in any way adds to your knowledge of kamikaze opperations,not your book.it was well written in all fairness,just not sure about what exactly.most of the book relates to diary entries made during the pilots primary and secondary education with military entries omitted for the most part.the authors knowledge of the base topic of kamikaze and his research has to be questioned when he states that no graduate of any of the military academies ever volunteered a kamakaze/tokko mission.it is a well established fact that lt.yukio seki graduate of the IJN academey was the 1st not only to volunteer but to sortie and succeed in october 1944. while the book had an interesting aspect to cover the excluding or editing of the military subject matter was a fatal flaw in the book. a parody to this book would be "grade school essays of hitlers ss".

This is an amazing book. Nowadays we believe that Japan's society on the eve of WWII was just archaic and devoted to the Emperor. Maybe it was so among the people, but clearly the offsprings of the elite were as educated as in the West. Yet, they were slaughtered for the sake of the nation.Of course, the book, which was edited by the sister of one of the Kamikaze, doe not represent a broad social section of the Japanese society. i would recommend the book to anyone that studies history, WWII and political sciences.

An enlightening perspective about the desperation for life and intimate heartfelt thoughts and ideals of a group of young Japaneese pilots, unjustly stereotyped as willing suicidal human weapons of destruction by their own inhumane and criminally insane leaders as well as our own country's propoganda, that would otherwise be lost to posterity.

I was disappointed as alot of space in the book is taken up by discussion of Japanese militarism. The reflections of the diarys of the tokko pilots is somewhat shallow. I would have liked to be able to read more of them than just the parts in the book. One the other hand what there is from the tokko pilots is revealing. Leaves you wanting more.

This should be read by all the young people today. The book is a diary of a young university student who was drafted and forced to become a Kamikaze pilot against his will like many others in ca 1945. They had no other choice then. I could not read this book without a box of tissues. Because I lived in their generation and in the same country.

A must-read for anyone interested in Japan's history, particularly twentieth century. Contains the thoughts of Japan's intellectually elite young men who were forced to become pilots during the 2nd WW.

Bought this for a friend who is raving about it. Texts me every morning after he's read a section over breakfast. So, if it's your thing, it's highly recommended.

Heavy reading but has to be read

Livre captivant: Emiko Ohnuki Tierney a exploité les lettres laissées par quelques très jeunes Japonais, destinés à finir kamikazes. On partage les interrogations, les peurs et les pensées de ces étudiants, extrêmement cultivés, lecteur de Goethe et de Péguy. Ils avaient été sélectionnés pour leur capacité à apprendre rapidement, le but étant d'en faire des pilotes aller-simple en un temps record. Tous n'étaient pas des fanatiques, loin de là. Ils admiraient, à bien des égards, ces gens sur qui ils s'écrasaient à bord de leurs bombes volantes. Le cheminement qui les conduit à s'envoler un jour, sans révolte apparente contre le système moribond qui les condamne, mérite vraiment d'être découvert. Le livre a été critiqué sur quelques aspects. Des spécialistes lui ont reproché, entre autres, une ambiguïté. Il y a eu plusieurs milliers de kamizakes et ceux que Mme Ohnuki-Tierney a choisi de faire découvrir étaient probablement moins militaristes que la moyenne. Ils ne sont pas représentatifs, pour employer un anachronisme. Ce qui ne change rien à l'émotion profonde que dégagent leurs lettres, des décennies après leur sacrifice.

Recomendado para academicos das ciências humanas, que tem interesse no Japão da Segunda Guerra Mundial. Uma pesquisa séria e interessante, que desconstrói a visão sobre os kamikazes, e traça um pararelo com os homens-bomba do nosso tempo.