"Endo’s very personal and nuanced narrative of the family’s experiences in Changchun, Yangqi, and Tianjin provide valuable lessons about political ambitions, armed conflict, and societal upheavals, and their effects on ordinary people... Teachers at all levels, as well as high school and college students, will benefit from reading about Endo’s experiences."
—Education About Asia
“A tour de force.”
—Mainichi Shinbun
“[Homare Endo] may love [her homeland] but says, ‘What happened at Changchun is a stain that remains on the birth of modern China. It is time to speak out about the truth!’ And we agree.”
—Asahi Shinbun
“An exceptional true-to-life documentary narrative.”
—Yomiuri Shinbun
"Reveals the power of official history to write its own story and exclude what troubles that narrative."
"Japanese Girl at the Siege of Changchun is an important work, a reminder of humanity’s boundless potential for compassion or cruelty, once war forces a fight for survival... [It] vividly captures the psychological and physical trauma of surviving war... Endo’s memoir is also a call to action. It’s part of a history that has been deliberately ignored, and deserves to be remembered."
"Endo has carefully studied the historical material as well as her own traumas. Consequently, she has elected to place a heavy emphasis on the little things in life and the fleeting moments of another era, shifting her attention away from animosity and antipathy, and preventing us of becoming overwhelmed with enmity."
It’s a reminder of how far people will go to survive and how much farther they will go with hope of a better life. It’s a monument to the truth and a memento to the forgotten dead."
"[Japanese Girl at the Siege of Changchun] is a fascinating, harrowing story of resilience and struggle that has been overlooked by most people and historians. It is a story that needs to be told, in order that it will not be repeated."
"A chilling yet inherently fascinating and intensely personal memoir, Japanese Girl at the Siege of Changchun is exceptionally well written, organized and presented."
—Midwest Book Review
"Japanese Girl at the Siege of Changchun is an important work, a reminder of humanity’s boundless potential for compassion or cruelty, once war forces a fight for survival... [It] vividly captures the psychological and physical trauma of surviving war... Endo’s memoir is also a call to action. It’s part of a history that has been deliberately ignored, and deserves to be remembered."—The Japan Times
"Endo has carefully studied the historical material as well as her own traumas. Consequently, she has elected to place a heavy emphasis on the little things in life and the fleeting moments of another era, shifting her attention away from animosity and antipathy, and preventing us of becoming overwhelmed with enmity."―The Literary Review
"There are things written in this book that are difficult to repeat aloud – haunting moments that stun the reader and stick in his or her mind long after the book is closed... Even today, no Chinese publisher has been willing to publish this book for fear of retribution. That’s what makes Japanese Girl at the Siege of Changchun so important. It reveals a truth hidden for so long and brings to light stories of the people who suffered, the people who were forgotten... It’s a reminder of how far human apathy can sink, the destructive power of selfishness and the necessity of empathy. It’s a reminder of how far people will go to survive and how much farther they will go with hope of a better life. It’s a monument to the truth and a memento to the forgotten dead."—The Daily Nebraskan
"[Japanese Girl at the Siege of Changchun] is a fascinating, harrowing story of resilience and struggle that has been overlooked by most people and historians. It is a story that needs to be told, in order that it will not be repeated."—Lost In Translation blog
"A chilling yet inherently fascinating and intensely personal memoir, Japanese Girl at the Siege of Changchun is exceptionally well written, organized and presented."—Midwest Book Review
Homare Endo was born in China in 1941, lived through the Chinese Revolutionary War, and returned to Japan in 1953. She is a Doctor of Science, director of the Center of International Relations at Tokyo University and Graduate School of Social Welfare, and professor emeritus at the University of Tsukuba. She was a visiting researcher and professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
She has published many works about postwar China.
Among her published works are Mo Takuto: Nihongun to kyobo shita otoko (Máo Zédong: The Man who Conspired with the Japanese Army; in Japanese and Chinese), Chaina Sebun: Akai kotei Shu Kinpei (The China Seven: The Red Emperor Xí Jìnpíng), Chaina Nain: Chugoku o ogokasu kyunin no otoko-tachi (The China Nine: The Nine Men who Move China), Netto taikoku Chugoku: Genron o meguru kobo (Internet Superpower China: The Battle over Freedom of Speech), Chaina Jajji: Mo Takuto ni narenakatta otoko (Bó Xilái: The Man who Failed to Become a Second Máo Zédong), Kanzen kaidoku: Chugoku gaiko senryaku no nerai (An In-depth Study: The Aims of Chinese Foreign Policy), Chugoku-jin ga eranda wasuto Chugoku-jin banzuke: Yahari akai Chugoku wa fuhai de horobiru (The Worst Chinese as Selected by the Chinese: Corruption Will Bring Red China Down in the End), and Chugoku doman shinjin-rui: Nihon no anime to manga ga Chugoku o ugokasu (The Chinese Anime-Manga Tribe: Japanese Anime and Manga Shake China).
About the translator: A longtime editor at Kodansha International and now freelance translator, Michael Brase counts among his translations The Manga Biography of Kenji Miyazawa, The Culture of Japan as a New Global Value, and The Building of Horyu-ji. His miscellaneous writings and translations can be seen on Facebook at Japan & Stuff Press.
