A Boy Called H: A Childhood in Wartime Japan

by Kappa Senoh, Kappa Senoh

This is the fascinating true story of a Japanese boy's growing disillusionment with the conduct of a patriotic war.

Boy H's father was a tailor, his mother a tambourine-banging Christian in a country of very few Christians. His childhood unfolded in the 1930s, when militarism was steadily strengthening its grip on Japan; it ended when the nation lay in ruins. What set H apart from other kids, despite the shared
preoccupation with schoolmates, movies, and sex, was an unusually sharp eye and a precociously skeptical attitude that made him a bit of a loner in a conformist society.

Though at times dark, his anecdotes are arranged with the lightest of touches and a sharp sense of humor. The total effect is of a rich, varied, and intensely readable novel, but one that involves real lives, actual events.

Genres: Japan, Historical Fiction, Japanese Literature, World War II, Historical, Literature, Asia

536 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Sasha]

Well, here we go with a Japan shelf, in preparation for 2018's Japan project. This one's rec'd by the esteemed Maru, who has more to say about Japanese books here.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are certain books a person must read about WWII, and I think this is one of them. It is about a boy growing up in Kobe and the war going on around him. The boy, Hajime, is unusually perceptive and his father is also very wise. His parents (especially his mother) are Christians. Hajime is good at art and ended up becoming an artist and writer.

I looked at Kappa Senoh's biography on google and his real name is indeed Hajime Senoh. I don't personally believe that this book is strictly autobiographical. Some of it is probably fiction or changed. But the important is information about the war, about the government's treatment of it, and people's reactions all seem to be true. This book jibes with what I have heard about Japan during WWII. Reading this book is a good look into the mind set of the time.

I give it five stars because it such an important book. The actual writing is straightforward and easy to understand. I give the story and writing four stars. If it has a fault, it does go on and on and on....it is over 500 pages. I wish I would have divided into two parts, but instead I wanted to plow through it.

The translation is very good. John Bester (the translator) did an excellent job.

I don't think the English version of this book is in print anymore, which is a real shame.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have ever read. It provides a highly descriptive and personal account of growing up in Kobe during WW2. The author covers day to day details of his life as a student in a world that was becoming more difficult to live in by the day. Food shortages, brutal treatment by teachers, work in the factories and H's growing sense of disillusionment with those who were promoting the wartime propaganda are vividly portrayed. H also shows his own transformation from a young boy to high school age, including the psychological stresses that caused him to act out and attempt suicide.
Despite the horrors of the war, the author also spends a good amount of the book on lighter subjects: friends, antics they got up to, quirky neighbors, etc.
Highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the daily life of someone living in WW2 Japan.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read many books about Jews and their suffering during WWII, but I have never read anything about the Japanese psche and their lives during the war. An American friend of mine (from our Geneva days) is married to a Japanese pastor. They have now retired to live in Japan. Her husband knew the father of H (the father, however, was a pastor, and not the tailor portrayed in the book). Gloria recommended the book and has seen the movie in Japan. What is amazing is that the Japanese really liked the movie. Interesting how Christians were not trusted and watched carefully. I thoroughly enjoyed the story of the young boy pre-war, during the war and post-war. Such a different life. Like the people of Germany (particularly the youth), the Japanese were fed so much propoganda and lived in such fear, that they didn't have much choice but to follow the Emperor God.

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Until recently, I've only read books about the Pacific War written by American authors from the perspective of people in the frontlines. I really never thought about perusing books written by Japanese authors until I stumbled on an online book forum that suggested this very book. I still can't believe I haven't thought of doing that, so I'm glad I came across this book. It's a long read, but a read that I very much enjoyed. It provided an insightful look at the lives of the Japanese people before, during and after World War II from the eyes of a boy. A lot of times I couldn't help but agree with the boy's sentiments about war. It's more relevant now with how things have been looking. Children understand much more than adults think they do.

[Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

#ownvoices #beyondbestsellers

Japan.
Memoir.
This book really drives home that any childhood feels normal because it’s yours. Sure, WW2 is happening in the background - but that’s secondary to him swimming in the ocean, sneaking the occasional sweet potato, school teacher trouble, and finding himself as an artist.
People have always been people, and people stay people, even during greatest calamities.

[Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

《少年H》（日）妹尾河童。

说违心的话，做违心的事是不快乐的。

“别再去管别人会怎么样，或是这个社会又有哪里错了。只要忠于自己想做的事情就好。从今以后，我要为了自己而活。”H如此下定了决心。

“无论哪个时代，在其他时代的人们看来或许都是奇怪的。”

[Judah Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gave me a greater understanding of the war and its effects in Japan. Would recommend highly.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this 500 plus page book very much - enjoyed the actual reading. It has short chapters and most are interesting and it reveals a lot about life in the years just before and during WW II. The author was born in Kobe in 1930 and the story/memoir was written many years later so I wonder if the sentiments are truly those of a young boy, but his personality remains consistent throughout. He grew up in an unusual home - both parents were Christians and his father was an amazingly gentle and perceptive man. The author had many friends and a lively interest in the world - he probably drove his teachers crazy. He went on to become an artist in the theater and an essayist. The book was apparently a major best seller in Japan.

[Phair · Rating 3 out of 5]

An autobiographical novel- a hefty one, too. Slow starting with a bit too much detail about his young childhood. As he gets to high school age & war begins to approach it gets a lot better- much more focused and interesting. The last half was really good except for the final chapter or two but maybe I was just really tired trying to finish in time for f2f discussion. This was an awfully BIG book to have to read quickly. I give it a 5 for style and an 8 for the better bit of content. Made me think of the movie Bridge to the Sun (with James Shigeta) and the novel The Ginger Tree by Oswald Wynd- both stories of wartime privation in Japan. I must say many of the scenes in H have stuck with me and I refer back to it often when discussing other works set in this era/locale.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I would recommend to mostly everyone for its readability and its story. I do tend to like young boy narrators, and I thought this story was so relevant and so true that I couldn't help but like it.

After reading this, I've decided to change how I've been rating books. I've mostly only been giving 5 stars to books I would call "favorites" or books that changed me, or books that I find personally beautiful. But since I didn't want to just say "I really liked it" = 4 stars, I decided to give this book 5 stars because I think it was the best it could have been, in telling the story it did.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

In brief, this book is amazing. Somewhat unbelievably I was put onto it by one of those 'celebs summer reads' articles in one of the sunday papers. Gordon Ramsay recommended it. I find Japan pretty fascinating; its about as close as you can get to an alien world, so different are their customs and beliefs from those in the west. This book is a window on time in from 1937-1946ish and is exceptionally well written. Insightful, funny and very touching it brilliantly illustrates how people in Japan were brought up in peace and during war.

[Linda Stenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent story. The boy comes from an unconventional Japanese family and thus he has unconventional thoughts. I love when he tells the story that his mother, as a Christian, would run around telling the neighbours that she loved them. You have to think of how out of place this would have been in Japan in the 1930s. If you want a good story to read, made even better because it's based on his real life, this is it.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful look into this era and culture. It helped me better understand my mom who went through many of the same experiences as a child in wartime Japan. Not really an exciting read but interesting and perceptive.

[Jazzerat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly information and fascinating book; a look into the war that I had never considered; the life of a Japanese child, growing up under the Japanese flag in WWII. A definite must read!
This book, while translated from the original Japanese, reads fluently in an excellent English prose.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read - we must remember what happens to people in the actual war torn countries....they are not the enemy...they are just ordinary people caught in horrible situations.

[Al- · Rating 4 out of 5]

A look at day to day life of a school boy during war, told through short-story-like chapters. Very good!

[Megan Winkler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This one is special. It's the WWII Japanese experience. Read it. Seriously. It's profound

[Ross-Barry Barcock. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Has just been made into a movie. Well worth the time to read.

[Leora]

Well written and translated, interesting, but just too long.