Death March on Mount Hakkoda (Rock Spring Collection of Japanese Literature) [Paperback]

Jiro Nitta (Author)

Book Description

Series: Rock Spring Collection of Japanese Literature | Publication Date: September 1, 1992

The fictionalized account of a military training mission gone tragically wrong as a result of poor planning, bureaucratic interference, and bad luck. In the winter of 1902, 210 soldiers are ordered to cross the snowbound slopes of Mount Hakkoda to test their military strength in anticipation of a Russian invasion. The author's precise descriptions of the terror of the snow and the cold epitomize the detached lyricism so highly admired in Japan.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This excellent antiwar documentary novel, which sold 1.8 million copies in Japan, is made very accessible to the American reader by Westerhoven's smooth and compelling translation. The tale revolves around a true event that occurred in the deep snows of the northern Japan Alps--the loss of nearly an entire company of soldiers due to poor planning, bad weather, and blind devotion to duty. Nitta crafts a carefully thought-out story of competition and the burgeoning hysteria that precedes war. Caught by army structure, lost without landmarks, dying in 20-foot deep snowdrifts, the characters become achingly real. This first translation is published by a new press, which has done us a service by giving further insight to the Japanese mind and culture. An excellent choice for libraries wishing to balance collections heavy on militaristic fiction and for modern international literary interests as well.
- Mike Heines, USAF Rome Laboratory Technical Lib., N.Y.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A compelling tale." —Bloomsbury Review -- Bloomsbury Review

"A compelling tale." ?Bloomsbury Review -- Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 204 pages
• Publisher: Stone Bridge Press (September 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962813729
• ISBN-13: 978-0962813726
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,794,687 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Documentary novel of distress in Army snow training, March 16, 2000

By 

Mire Uno - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death March on Mount Hakkoda (Rock Spring Collection of Japanese Literature) (Paperback)

A documentary novel about the distress in Japanese Army's training march in the snowing Mount Hakkoda in Aomori, in northern part of Japan. The training took place a few years before Russo-Japanese War broke out, to secure the route in case Russian invasion. Two teams were formed, in a kind of contest, and one team with small members and good preparation got through it. But another team got lost in the midst of Hakkoda and out of 210 members, only some ten could survived.

Non-fictional approach based on the facts give readers really heavy impressions.

One of the most impressed part was a short episode at the end of the novel. After the distress, the sound of hundreds soldiers returned to the base every night. One night, one survived leader ordered to the sound to got rest, then it stoppedc

Nitta Jiro is famous for his novel of mountaineering.

4.0 out of 5 stars Bridge Over the River Kwai (Japanese version), April 12, 2003

By 

LeBoucher (Paris, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death March on Mount Hakkoda (Rock Spring Collection of Japanese Literature) (Paperback)

I read this book about a year after I had visited the North of Japan in autumn to walk along Oirase and take a hot bath in one of the hot springs near Mt Hakkoda (both of which are highly recommended). Maybe my view of the area would have been rather different had I read this entertaining but fictionalised account of one of the greatest peacetime military blunders.

The book does not really explore the characters (some real, some fiction) in any great depth (nor are they totally convincing) but the factual basis of the story makes one wince with each new act of arrogance and folly as it is exposed in the narrative. The frailties of the major protagonists are ruthlessly revealed in a strictly hierarchical society - a theme explored subsequently by - among others - Chie Nakane.