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By the time I was perhaps 30 pages into the book, I told myself how terribly depressing the book was. The word death, or ideas associated with it, must have appeared on every page. Time after time, the author Mitsuru Yoshida repetitively asked himself about the useless nature of his current mission, then encouraged himself to die honorably in the defense of his home country. It probably took until the halfway point in this 152-page book before I realized that I was being offered an incredible insight into the psyche of a Japanese junior officer. It was an insight into the concept of self-sacrifice for the greater good and the mentality of absolute dedication to a profession.

When it was first built, the battleship Yamato was the largest ship ever built in history, but its immense firepower sat nearly untapped for the entire duration of the war. Bearing the name of an ancient mythical Japan, it was understandable; if the ship was ever lost, the damage on morale would be profound. However, by Apr 1945, the situation dictated Yamato to take action. Operation Ten'ichigo, or Operation Ten-Go as it was more often known, called for Yamato to lead 9 other lesser ships in a suicide attack against the American task force in the process of invading Okinawa. The author of this book was a radar officer aboard the ship, and was one of the junior officers present at the bridge to be able to observe the reactions of high ranking officers of the ship and the task force.

I have in the past few months just read two books about WW2 naval disasters, both American warships. I felt there were eerie similarities and stark contrasts. One major difference was the mentality toward death. The American sailors in the previous books I have read fought just as hard as their Japanese counterparts, but once abandon ship order was given, what went through their minds were the safety of their comrades and themselves. Yoshida, however, described a different mentality when Yamato was doomed to sinking. He was concerned of his mission; he was sent to die fighting for the defense of Japan, so how could he leave his post and seek rescue if he could not accomplish his mission? Other officers in his book also exhibited similar thoughts, with some chaining themselves to the ship with operation code books and portrait of the Emperor in their grasps, refusing to let the code books, the portrait, or their honor fall into enemy hands. In Yoshida's mind, however, a philosophical debate existed. What was the good of such self sacrifice? Was this mission an opportunity to do his duty? If so, why did the men look at Ensign Suzuki with anger when he broke his glass while toasting?

The natural urge to survive was probably the most notable similarity between the disasters. However, the Japanese mentality as expressed by the experiences of Yoshida took on a different spin. He noted that, once adrift in the water, he thought about letting go and succumb to the waves. However, he paddled on and stayed afloat. What seemed to him like twenty or thirty minutes of paddling actually was two or three hours in time before a destroyer rescued him; in the mean time, he debated in his head between letting himself die as he had promised at the start of the mission and the natural urge of survive.

This book was originally written in Japanese, and the version I read was translated by Richard Minear. Minear's translation, according to his own notes, was true to Yoshida's writing to the best of his ability. The result was a uniquely beautiful writing style. Meanwhile, the Japanese attention to details that a western sailor might not have done also added an interesting, sometimes deeply metaphoric, element to the book. Below is a passage that I particularly felt stood out. It took place amidst American air attacks on the battleship.

What caught me off guard with this passage was not just the unusual time for him to think of food, but how he remembered the deliciousness of the sweets and cookies while American aircraft rained fire on the battleship. There was, perhaps, an eerie satisfaction that he was fulfilling a promise he had given for his country. He was brought up and shaped by the Bushido spirit. Against natural urges to remain alive, he seemed almost able to transcend the fear for death.

Unique in style, this small book ended up being a great read.

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