Harp of Burma (Tuttle Classics) [Paperback]

Michio Takeyama (Author), Howard Hibbett (Author)

Book Description

Series: Tuttle Classics | Publication Date: December 15, 1989

Winner of the prestigious Mainichi Shuppan Bunkasho prize, and the subject of an acclaimed film by Ichikawa Kon, Harp of Burma is the story of a company of Japanese soldiers who are losing a desperate campaign against British forces in the jungles of Burma during World War II. In the midst of overwhelming challenges they discover the power of music to make even the toughest situations tolerable, and though they face inevitable defeat, singing the songs of their homeland revives their will to live.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Japanese

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing; 28th printing edition (December 15, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804802327
• ISBN-13: 978-0804802321
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Asian

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece of WWII literature, August 6, 2006

By 

David Bonesteel (Fresno, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harp of Burma (Tuttle Classics) (Paperback)

At the end of WWII, Corporal Mizushima, the pride of his unit, accepts an assignment to convince another Japanese unit to surrender to British forces. Mizushima's unit goes to a POW camp and spends its days tormented by the fate of their missing comrade, who had become something of a symbol of good luck and hope for them. About this time, they also become aware of a travelling Burmese monk who often wanders through the area and bears a striking resemblance to...could it be? I don't want to reveal too much, but what these soldiers learn will affect them deeply and give them a new understanding of what it means to be faithful to one's countrymen--an understanding that is entirely different from the patriotic nationalism that caused them to go to war in the first place.

Michio Takeyama's novel includes sequences of high adventure as well as beautiful, elegiac passages and meditations on spirituality and responsibility. A highly entertaining and rewarding novel.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic anti-war story, June 29, 2002

By 

"rm1514" (boston, ma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harp of Burma (Tuttle Classics) (Paperback)

One of my favorite books. It contains one of the most brilliant and moving scenes ever written. Far from nationalistic propoganda, I found this to be a moving portrayal of the pacific war and how the Japanese troops felt during the closing stages of it. Rather than faceless, evil minions dominant in American popular culture, this book employs well shaped characters to explore what people do when a war is lost and their country lays in ruins. This book asks important questions about whether war is inherent to materialistic societies and whether human beings can kill each other once their humanity is revealed. The answers to these questions shape this book and form the thoughtful basis of an engaging story.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most influential book I ever read, January 15, 1999

By 

Daniel Elmore ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harp of Burma (Tuttle Classics) (Paperback)

Some may feel that the Japanese still haven't come to grips with what their nation did in World War 2, and this book will only reinforce that view. If you think that everything Japan does from now until the end of time should, in some way, be an apology for the role Japan played, then you will hate this book, but you'll only be hurting yourself.

I only read the book because I had to for a class, but that didn't keep me from falling in love with it. The way the author describes things like the terror the Japanese soldiers had for the Gurkas, or how the main character convinces his surrounded friends that the war is over and that they can surrender are scenes I will never forget. Most of all, the burning desire of the Japanese to go home and start over will move anyone.

No, these Japanese soldiers aren't the monsters that some think they all were, but that doesn't make it a bad book.