Customer Reviews

Requiem for Battleship Yamato (Bluejacket Books)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Requeim fo Battleship Yamato is an exceptional book describing not just the last battle of the ship, but the feelings and emotions of the crew who manned her in this battle.

This book was written and published in Japan and then suppressed by US occupation censurship policies. I, for one, can't see what the rationale for suppression was, having read the book several times.

What I find must interesting is the author's description of the men he served with and the men he led. He was reproved by a superior officer for NOT striking a Sailor for an infraction of discipline. His description of the role of the executive officer is also enlightening - he was a "designated" survivor to report back about the mission. The description of a Nisei who was in the same stateroom as the author is quite moving. I for one, had never known or considered that there were Nisei in Japan at the time the war started and how they were treated by their fellow countrymen. If for no other reason than this last, I am glad I read the book.

I first wrote this review in 2001. In 2006 I was able to visit the Battleship Yamato Museum in Kure. Having read the book several times before it was amazing to see the film of the minisub examining the remains of YAMATO. There are artifacts from the debris field on display. It would be nice if the book were available in English and Japanese at the museum. All visitors would find it useful. After visiting the muuseum, I did some further research on the US aspect of the YAMATO engagement. I learned that my mother`s second husband was in the crew of one of the submarines that detected YAMATO as she headed towards Okinawa. It was by the submarine reports that the carriers could get aircraft into the air and engage YAMATO. I thus have another reason for finding this book so engrossing and valuable.

this is a fine book for all students of naval history. It is also an excellent piece of literature. I recommend it to all.

Although perhaps unsurprising given the scale of Japan's losses and the bitterness of defeat, the fact remains that there are relatively few accounts of the war by those who fought with the Imperial Forces, and even fewer available in English.

For this reason alone `Requiem for Battleship Yamato' would command attention even if it were only an average work. But it is not an average work; it is a classic in the truest sense of this much abused word, which must be placed alongside books such as `The Last Enemy' by Richard Hillary.

Written in a spare, almost poetic style, `Requiem' tells the story of the Yamato's last doomed sortie from the viewpoint of one of her junior officers. Alongside glimpses of life on board the great battleship, we gain an insight into the thoughts and personal lives of her crew as they prepare for what most realise will be a mission from which there will be no return.

As the tension mounts and enemy forces close in for the inevitable kill, Yoshida provides a moving commentary on the Yamato's last days and hours, with poignant vignettes of such figures as the force commander Vice Admiral Ito, who had correctly appreciated the futility of the mission yet carried out his task with calm resolution.

With the Yamato entering her final death agony, Yoshida gives us harrowing descriptions of the effects of explosives and steel on human flesh - a timely reminder in this age of glossy propaganda of the true face of battle. Then there is the homecoming, with Yoshida's personal struggle to come to terms with the meaning of his survival while so many of his comrades are dead.

No review of this book would be complete without acknowledging the outstanding work of its translator, Richard Minear, who has also provided an excellent introduction. Thanks to his efforts, this work will not only be read with profit by the military historian, but anyone who seeks to broaden his understanding of the human condition.

"Ours is the signal honor of being the nation's bulwark. One day we must prove ourselves worthy."

Requiem for Battleship Yamato is about sacrifice-immolation on the altar of national survival. It was written not to needlessly lionize the wanton sacrifice of combatants in order to bring to an end what one historian called "a war to establish and revive the stature of man." Instead, it was written, and properly so, as catharsis: Yoshida Mitsuru, as a 20-year old ensign on the bridge of the Yamato during its final voyage, had witnessed War, and thus wished that future generations would no longer be called upon to "prove themselves worthy," and to bear the burden of armed conflict.

Yoshida's prose satisfactorily captures the spirit on board the Yamato prior to its climactic encounter. Yet there is no way to adequately describe what the men of the Yamato went through during the ship's final hours. One author called it "a glorious way to die." Alternatively, the battle could be described as a nautical siege, a maritime battle of Troy. There is no apotheosis in death; death is merely a release from duty. During the battle, one man struggles to keep the deck clean by throwing overboard limbs severed by bomb shrapnel or machine-gun fire. Below decks, men grapple with the bodies of their comrades; once-inviting hot tubs (the Yamato has several of them, we are told) are filled to the brim with the ranks of the dead. In the bridge, officers are mowed down by machine-gun bullets. There is no sanctuary aboard the most massive dreadnought ever constructed.

This is a highly readable book, redolent with poignant memories, written by a man who had the courage to confront his phantoms. Through Yoshida's book, many souls who fought during the Pacific War found a voice.

"Three thousand corpses, still entombed today. What were their thoughts as they died?"

This book is not for readers searching for details of battle, or apologies for participating in the miltary adventure against the US. Yoshida Mitsuru was an unlikely survivor of a suicide mission.

Some of the reviewers have found this book morbid, and focused on death. Mitsuru attempts to describe his feelings and unaswered question that haunted him for the rest of his life. Why was he saved, when so many other died? Was there a purpose to his life, and the life of his dead shipmates. These are questions that all men ask to some extent, but for those caught in a war, life and death are close and constant companions.

The normal thoughts of young men towards life and the future are put aside as their ship plows forward on a suicide mission.

Do not buy or read this book if you are not prepared to think about the personal cost of war. Some have described this as an anti-war book. I do not believe that is a correct description. This book is written by someone whose education and social standing required him to enter the Navy, and go to war. I view this work as a refection of an eyewitness and wounded survivor. Such an experience at such a young age makes one an expert on the war experience, not the root causes of war or their justifications.

Most men who shared Mitsuru's experience do not write, or even disuss their experiences. For some, just the thoughts of their experience is unbearable and the reason some end their days in mental hospitals.

When Mitsuru wrote the first draft of this book, it fell under the authority and censorship of the American Occupation, which did not approve of the text.

Which brings up the question not posed directly by this book. What "truths" were censored during the official investigations surrounding Pearl Harbor, the Bataan Death March, and other matters that impacted on the ledgends and careers of Americans of that time?

In the 1950's and 60's, Japanese memoirs of the Pacific War flooded forth from the publishers. Saburo Sakai's "Samurai", Hara's "Japanese Destroyer Captain," Mochitsura Hashimoto's "Sunk!" are just the tip of the spear. But Yoshida's "Requiem for Battleship Yamato" is simply in a class by itself. The youngest officer on board the mighty battleship, he was present when the giant was ordered on her suicide sortie. Escorted by the anti-aircraft cruiser Yahagi and numerous destroyers in April 1945, Yamato's mission was sublimely ridiculous: sail down toward the Ryuku Islands (where a massive American task force was staging the invasion of Okinawa), attack the landing force, beach itself, expend all weapons and ammunition, then the surviving crew members would join the garrison in Okinawa's defense. It was no surprise that the force didn't even make it halfway before being annihilated by U.S. planes. Yoshida's book is poetic and is beautifully translated by Richard Minnear who also provides a superb introduction as well. Yoshida's account of the American air attacks which inevitably shattered the Yamato, the Yahagi and most of the escorting destroyers come off as not combat, but high slaughter. Veterans who survived idiotic orders and suicide charges will find a spiritual brother in Yoshida. Don't be surprised if you have a tear in your eye for the brave crews of these ships as you close this book for the last time.

Written as a tribute to his shipmates, "Requiem" is also a powerful anti-war book.

Even if Yoshida's prose-poetry was not exceptional, this book would still be important as it is one of the few Japanese literary memoirs of the Pacific War. Luckily for us, Yoshida writes a moving and interesting account of the battleship Yamato's final days at sea. He provides a revealing view of life in the Imperial Japanese Navy; repleat with items that relate all sailors, despite nationality, but he also illuminates portions of the IJN that were unique. Of particular interest is Yoshida's description of harsh discipline and its rationale. While this book is not exactly a historical account, its subject matter and the author's own wartime service aboard the Yamato lends "Requiem for the Battleship Yamato" well to those interested in martitime and IJN history. Highly recomended.

The author conveys very well the power of his ship and the almost helpless feeling of all aboard in the face of overwhelming American naval and air strength. The descriptions of the death of this great ship are almost poetic and leave one with a sense of great sorrow at the passing of the ship named for Japan. There will be no other like her.

Yoshida Mitsuru has indeed written a requiem. This book was long ago published in Japan and was a stunning bestseller. The poetic spirit of Japan is often reflected in the one way mission of this greatest of all battleships, one built to be superior to anything afloat and which ended up a meaningless sacrifice to a lost cause. Yoshida has put personal observation and emotional impact into an historical event often overlooked as an afterthought. To the crew of Yamato, their struggle under constant attack, their suffering and deaths, and their heroism are more than mere afterthoughts. Theirs was the spirit of Japan.

I am not a regular war book fan , but when a friend lent me this book to read I was absolutely taken in. One of my all time favorite books. It will set your hair on ends. Not so much a blood and guts,but more of a Japanese insight on being a young naval officer during a major battle of WW2. Superb!

The literatual quality of this book has no equal.
This is definitely the best Japanese literature of WWII.

For those who want to know the detail of the final sortie of Yamato, the book called "Senkan Yamato Musashi Sento Kiroku"(Battle Report of BB Yamato, Musashi) by Atene Shobo[Athen Publishing],Tokyo (JYE8000(!))is very useful.
Though it is written in Japanese (original photocopy of the hand writing document.)