Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army [Paperback]

Meirion Harries (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 5, 1994

Soldiers of the Sun traces the origins of the Imperial Japanese Army back to its samurai roots in the nineteenth century to tell the story of the rise and fall of this extraordinary military force.

Meirion and Susie Harries have written the first full Western account of the Imperial Japanese Army. Drawing on Japanese, English, French, and American sources, the authors penetrate the lingering wartime enmity and propaganda to lay bare the true character of the Imperial Army.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This is a well-written, comprehensively researched survey of the Imperial Japanese army--its fighting power and mentality. The Harrieses ( Sheathing the Sword ) describe an ethos based on service to the "Japanese way," embodied in the emperor. The book argues convincingly that the Russo-Japanese War marked the zenith of the army's popularity and efficiency. Over the following three decades it fell victim to its own myths. The soldiers increasingly advocated transforming Japan into a self-sufficient garrison state through total physical and psychological mobilization. This ideology, however, was not translated into operable strategy. Unable to conquer China, the army embarked on war with the West as well. This reckless advance into the unknown involved missed opportunities and repeated mistakes from Bataan to Imphal. Spirit and willpower were expected to compensate for material weaknesses. Unreflected decisions were made at all levels of planning and command. Eventually the gap between the samurai way and modern high-tech warfare became obvious even to true believers. But by the time of Japan's WW II surrender its army had unrepentently inflicted death and destruction throughout the Pacific on a scale that continues to assert Japan's status as an outsider among Western-style democracies. This first-rate analysis will appeal to general readers and specialists alike.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

``How was it possible,'' the husband-and-wife Harrieses ask about the Imperial Japanese Army, ``for an organization displaying the highest of soldierly qualities to possess such a capacity for barbarism?'' In this nicely researched, compelling history of the Imperial Japanese Army from its inception during the Meiji Restoration to its dissolution in 1945, the authors (Sheathing the Sword, 1987, etc.) answer that question well. At the core of the paradox lies the code of bushido, the ancient ethos of the samurai that, according to the authors, was perverted by modernizers of the Japanese military into a philosophy that exalted death and violence and taught contempt for the vanquished. These alterations, the Harrieses says, ``did indeed contribute to war crimes.'' The development of the Imperial Japanese Army evidently was also pervasively influenced by the military institutions of Europe (particularly Germany), and, in emulating the armies of Europe, the Japanese distilled much of the best of both the samurai and the European traditions while developing a fighting force that could compete successfully with those of the Great Powers. Once it emerged from international isolation, the authors explain, Japan began to imitate Europe's imperialism as well as its militarism. Detailing Japan's intrigues against China and Russia and its successes in the first Sino- Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, as well as its successful though peripheral involvement in WW I, the Harrieses show how the island nation's warlords developed a hubris that led inexorably to Japan's imperialist adventures on the Asian mainland and war with America. The authors go on to tell the story of the atrocities of the WW II Japanese forces and the collapse of Japan's martial tradition in the wake of defeat, and assess the modest role of the military in postwar Japanese life and policy. A fine history that analyzes the military legacy of the Imperial Japanese Army and assesses moral responsibility for its excesses. (Sixteen pages of b&w illustrations--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 604 pages
• Publisher: Random House (July 5, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679753036
• ISBN-13: 978-0679753032
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.5 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,037,394 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lucid, accessible, and entertaining, May 1, 2000

By 

dj_swinger (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army (Hardcover)

Perhaps "Soldiers of the Sun" would be light reading for a dedicated student of Japanese history, but for someone who finds Japanese culture interesting but has no serious educational or professional exposure to Japan, I found this book enlightening and engrossing. It traces the history of the Imperial Japanese Army from its inception during the Meiji Restoration, its slow decline in the early years of WWII and its inevitable collapse. I find the book to be quite balanced in its treatment of the IJA and her soldiers. It both explores the barbarity of the so-called "Rape of Nanking", the myth of the "Jungle Supermen" and the reality of the Japanese mindset which could drive a soldier to both extremes. Along the way you will also pick up some interesting background on Japanese social & political history of the time, and Japan's relations with foreign powers, particularly the British, German, Russians, and Americans. But make no mistake: its all about the Imperial Japanese Army. At heart it was a lively history book that moved the pace along to keep the narrative flowing while being highly informative at the same time. Highly recommended!

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Was a passable popular history, but now obsolete, February 3, 2003

By 

W. D ONEIL "Will O'Neil" (Falls Church, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army (Paperback)

This book has now been altogether overtaken by a book that is superior in every possible respect, Japan's Imperial Army: Its Rise and Fall, 1853-1945 (Modern War Studies Series). Read my review of it and you will see why I say this. I cannot recommend the Harries' book at all now, not even as a supplement. Don't waste your time.

I'm retaining my original 2003 review, below, because it still has some useful pointers:

This British husband-wife history-writing team have produced a serviceable popular narrative history of the Japanese Army (which, as they do not note, only became "Imperial" after 1930). It's a field in which there is no great competition and their work has the merit of being fairly comprehensive and quite readable. Most of it comes from rehashing of well-known (and often not very strong) secondary sources, but they seem to have mined British War Office papers pretty thoroughly, resulting in some interesting tidbits. They mention having journeyed to Japan and consulted Japanese sources, but these don't seem to have played a very prominent role. There are a number of errors regarding well-known facts, and no significant analysis.

A brief, sound, readable summary of Japanese army history is provided by Alvin Coox in his article "The Japanese Army Experience," from Russell Weigley (ed.), _New Dimensions in Military History_ (Presidio, 1975). For a comprehensive work in English on the Japanese Army in World War II, see _Kogun: The Japanese Army in the Pacific War_, by Saburo Hayashi and Alvin Coox. (It is out of print and hard to find, but a text file is available on the Web.) Virtually anything written by Alvin Coox on the subject is well worth reading, and particularly his article "The Pacific War" in Vol. 6 of _The Cambridge History of Japan_. Coox's _Year of the Tiger_, (unfortunately also out of print) is valuable for the army in the China Incident, and his _Nomonhan: Japan Against Russia, 1939_ (available from Amazon) is a masterful study not only of this critical campaign but of the entire Japanese Army experience in Manchuria. For an understanding of the Japanese Army as an institution, see Leonard Humphreys, _The Way of the Heavenly Sword: The Japanese Army in the 1920's_ (available from Amazon) as well as Shin'ichi Kitaoka, "The Army as a Bureaucracy: Japanese Militarism Revisited," _J. Mil. Hist._, 57/5: 67-86; James B. Crowley, "From Closed Door to Empire: The Formation of the Meji Miltary System," in Bernard S. Silberman and H. D. Harootunian (eds.), _Modern Japanese Leadership: Transition and Change_ (U. Arizona Press, 1966); and Roger F. Hackett, "The Military: A. Japan," in Robt. E. Ward & Dankwart A. Rustow (eds.) in _Political Modernization in Japan and Turkey_ (Princeton U. P., 1964).

Will O'Neil

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A high quality no-nonsense read, February 28, 2003

By 

Liu Pi Chen (TAIWAN ROC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army (Paperback)

This piece is an outstanding history of the Japanese Army, with a focus on the 20th century. Exceptionally well researched, this volume goes along way in explaining how and why the Japnanese army performed the way it did in the Second World War. A primary source for understanding 20th Century Japanese military affairs. SOLID GOLD BUY!