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The Boy Who Defied His Karma
On a decrepit freighter headed for Japan in November 1943, a shivering boy stood on deck with his father’s arms around him. Wrenched from his home in Bangkok by the Japanese military, the boy wondered what fate awaited him. “Bunji,” his father said, “I doubt your life in Japan will be easy for you. Or that I can help you. But do whatever you must in order to live fully. Take risks and live. Make your own karma.” A week later, with his father’s execution for treason for aiding the British in Burma, Bunji became an orphan. Put into a Tokyo orphanage, he battles hunger, cold, and loneliness. Despite his misery, he wants to go to school. Remembering his father’s last words to him, at age 12 Bunji runs away from the orphanage only to become a starving street urchin in Kobe. Then, thanks to his resourcefulness and the kindness of many, he goes on to live a life full of adventures and accomplishments in Asia, the U.S. and Europe.
461 pages, Paperback
First published September 8, 2011
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January 2, 2024
I picked up this book not knowing a thing about it. I thought I’d just try a chapter and then move on if I didn’t like it. Well, I was in for a surprise—a story of a half-Japanese, half-Thai orphan whose father was executed for treason at the end of WWII. The story gives a graphic idea of Japan after the war—the poverty, the struggle to revive their economy and society, the extreme difficulties faced by a young half-Japanese orphan boy. Through his inherent ability to survive and through the kindness of some and plain good fortune, he obtains an education and then a scholarship to America.
The story goes on to tell about his experiences in Army Intelligence—true adventures—and becoming a U.S. citizen. Eventually he obtains a PhD in economics and teaches, but the Army Intelligence unit calls on his services occasionally. He is useful to them because he doesn’t look like the average GI and is multilingual. Later in life he is called on to figure out what’s going on with Japan pricing products way below their value to undercut American manufacturers and price-fixing on the buying of U.S. Treasuries.
Thus this is anything but a dry story of dry economics. It’s an unusual way to write an autobiography, but fictionalizing it enabled the author to recount Army Intelligence experiences that otherwise he could not do, plus give the stories of his youth that had affected him so much and caused such pain without having to verify the names of people and places or dates.
I highly recommend this book—a compelling read.
The story goes on to tell about his experiences in Army Intelligence—true adventures—and becoming a U.S. citizen. Eventually he obtains a PhD in economics and teaches, but the Army Intelligence unit calls on his services occasionally. He is useful to them because he doesn’t look like the average GI and is multilingual. Later in life he is called on to figure out what’s going on with Japan pricing products way below their value to undercut American manufacturers and price-fixing on the buying of U.S. Treasuries.
Thus this is anything but a dry story of dry economics. It’s an unusual way to write an autobiography, but fictionalizing it enabled the author to recount Army Intelligence experiences that otherwise he could not do, plus give the stories of his youth that had affected him so much and caused such pain without having to verify the names of people and places or dates.
I highly recommend this book—a compelling read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review