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Japan's Longest Day: A Graphic Novel About the End of WWII: Intrigue, Treason and Emperor Hirohito's Fateful Decision to Surrender
The true story of Japan's surrender in World War II and how it nearly didn't happen!
In the final days of World War II, Japan lay in ruins and the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had been obliterated. A tense drama unfolds in Tokyo as Japan teeters on the edge of Armageddon. Japan's Longest Day tells the true story of the day immediately before the surrender, as a group of fanatical army officers attempt to prevent the Emperor from surrendering--an act of high treason which will inevitably result in Japan's total annihilation.
This dramatic story recounts events that most people outside Japan are unaware
Japan's Longest Day is beautifully told by award-winning manga artist Yukinobu Hoshino, who brings to life the story of Japan's most fateful day in elegant graphic novel form.
In the final days of World War II, Japan lay in ruins and the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had been obliterated. A tense drama unfolds in Tokyo as Japan teeters on the edge of Armageddon. Japan's Longest Day tells the true story of the day immediately before the surrender, as a group of fanatical army officers attempt to prevent the Emperor from surrendering--an act of high treason which will inevitably result in Japan's total annihilation.
This dramatic story recounts events that most people outside Japan are unaware
Japan's Longest Day is beautifully told by award-winning manga artist Yukinobu Hoshino, who brings to life the story of Japan's most fateful day in elegant graphic novel form.
480 pages, Paperback
Published April 2, 2024
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77 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 3, 2024
I'm a big history fan, so I was excited to dig into this manga adaptation of the 1965 history, Japan's Longest Day, recounting the 24 hours leading up to the emperor's announcement of Japan's surrender at noon on August 15, 1945.
The book stumbles early as it skims too quickly through the history leading up to the big day and the many characters who will play a part. A droning, matter-of-fact narration also impedes early progress. However, as I pressed on and became familiar with the characters -- taking notes on them helped -- the narrative started to come together, especially as a military mutiny against the surrender began brewing in earnest. And the closing pages make a quick attempt to tie together the elements introduced in the prologue.
I do have some questions about the history behind this history. It seems at time to have a propaganda gloss, intended to burnish the emperor's reputation after the fact. I know there is much controversy as to whether he should have been tried for war crimes and if the American government used him as a political pawn to smooth its military occupation of Japan following the war. He comes off pretty noble and compassionate here, and I'm sure some people will have a problem with that depiction.
Regardless of any problems with the writing, this book is failed by the editors who missed numerous copyediting issues and the printers who have failed to ensure the entire image fits on the final page. There is a mismatch between the original manga's dimensions and the dimensions of the English edition. It seems the English edition is around a quarter-inch skinnier, meaning the book falls into the old pan-and-scan or letterbox problems of old VHS movies. To completely fit the wide manga on the narrower English page, the art would have to shrink, creating new blank top and bottom margins for the art, but in my printed copy they just leave off the left and right edges of the art in each spread, declaring, "Close enough!" Many of the word balloons or captions that come near the outside edge of the page have been truncated, with one to four letters missing from any word that begins at or approaches the edge . Since the word balloons are more vertical than horizontal this can effect every third word in a complete sentence going down the side of a the page. I see that the Kindle sample on the Amazon page has the complete art, so I recommend anyone interested in this book read it electronically or carefully check through the paper edition before purchasing or checking out of the library.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contents: The Night Before (Part 1 of 2) -- The Night Before (Part 2 of 2) -- The Potsdam Declaration -- August 14, 12 Noon to 2 PM -- August 14, 2 PM to 4 PM -- August 14, 4 PM to 6 PM -- August 14, 6 PM to 8 PM -- August 14, 8 PM to 10 PM -- August 14, 10 PM to 12 Midnight -- August 15, Midnight to 2 AM -- August 15, 2 AM to 4 AM -- August 15, 4 AM to 6 AM -- August 15, 6 AM to 8 AM -- August 15, 8 AM to 10 AM -- August 15, 10 AM to 12 Noon -- Epilogue: Peace
The book stumbles early as it skims too quickly through the history leading up to the big day and the many characters who will play a part. A droning, matter-of-fact narration also impedes early progress. However, as I pressed on and became familiar with the characters -- taking notes on them helped -- the narrative started to come together, especially as a military mutiny against the surrender began brewing in earnest. And the closing pages make a quick attempt to tie together the elements introduced in the prologue.
I do have some questions about the history behind this history. It seems at time to have a propaganda gloss, intended to burnish the emperor's reputation after the fact. I know there is much controversy as to whether he should have been tried for war crimes and if the American government used him as a political pawn to smooth its military occupation of Japan following the war. He comes off pretty noble and compassionate here, and I'm sure some people will have a problem with that depiction.
Regardless of any problems with the writing, this book is failed by the editors who missed numerous copyediting issues and the printers who have failed to ensure the entire image fits on the final page. There is a mismatch between the original manga's dimensions and the dimensions of the English edition. It seems the English edition is around a quarter-inch skinnier, meaning the book falls into the old pan-and-scan or letterbox problems of old VHS movies. To completely fit the wide manga on the narrower English page, the art would have to shrink, creating new blank top and bottom margins for the art, but in my printed copy they just leave off the left and right edges of the art in each spread, declaring, "Close enough!" Many of the word balloons or captions that come near the outside edge of the page have been truncated, with one to four letters missing from any word that begins at or approaches the edge . Since the word balloons are more vertical than horizontal this can effect every third word in a complete sentence going down the side of a the page. I see that the Kindle sample on the Amazon page has the complete art, so I recommend anyone interested in this book read it electronically or carefully check through the paper edition before purchasing or checking out of the library.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contents: The Night Before (Part 1 of 2) -- The Night Before (Part 2 of 2) -- The Potsdam Declaration -- August 14, 12 Noon to 2 PM -- August 14, 2 PM to 4 PM -- August 14, 4 PM to 6 PM -- August 14, 6 PM to 8 PM -- August 14, 8 PM to 10 PM -- August 14, 10 PM to 12 Midnight -- August 15, Midnight to 2 AM -- August 15, 2 AM to 4 AM -- August 15, 4 AM to 6 AM -- August 15, 6 AM to 8 AM -- August 15, 8 AM to 10 AM -- August 15, 10 AM to 12 Noon -- Epilogue: Peace
July 28, 2024
I enjoyed the graphic novel Japan's Longest Day (picked up at Tsutaya Books in Daikanyama), despite the noticeable repetition of many words and phrases that a proofreader could have easily fixed. The graphic novel provides more background information than the 1967 film of the same name and illustrates, sometimes disjointedly and confusingly, the chaos of the final 24 hours before Emperor Hirohito's speech ended the war, including bombings in Tohoku, ongoing fires in Tokyo, and air raids in other regions of Japan. It also suggests that the Emperor might have been partly (or more) to blame for initiating the war, tied to historical conflicts between imperial lineages dating back to the time of Emperor Go-Daigo in the 14th century.
I also watched the film adaptation of journalist/researcher Soichi Oya's account, which was star-studded, intense, and well-shot. Both the graphic novel and the film portray the madness leading up to the Emperor's speech, including the near coup d'état. Both are very similar, both dialogue-driven, with some "shots" appearing almost identical, but each is compelling in its own way.
I also watched the film adaptation of journalist/researcher Soichi Oya's account, which was star-studded, intense, and well-shot. Both the graphic novel and the film portray the madness leading up to the Emperor's speech, including the near coup d'état. Both are very similar, both dialogue-driven, with some "shots" appearing almost identical, but each is compelling in its own way.
June 26, 2024
Glossed over in American history textbooks, the story of how Japan came to surrender during WWII is convoluted and fraught. The text is a little on the dry side, but the story itself is incredibly strange.
August 12, 2025
This is an history graphic novel that I bought in Japan… it reads like all Japanese books from the end to the cover. It tells the story of Japan’s surrender in the II World War, which was not as straightforward as it seemed. A group of officials challenged the Emperor’s decision and staged a coup to even depose the emperor and continue the war efforts. The background story is told on how the Army and the Navy were descendants of the Ronin and Samurai that existed before the Meiji years. Thanks to some brave officials and cabinet members the Emperor’s surrender message to the nation was drafted, recorded and aired. The process was tortuous and full of tears, deaths, suicides, resignation and fury. The book is a bit repetitive and sometimes chaotic as those days were. It is sad to read how the delays drafting the right wording provoked the death of thousands due to the raids.
June 10, 2025
In Summary
If you ever wondered what was happening in Japan during the six days between the bombing of Nagasaki and the end of the Pacific War, this manga dives into it. It is an extremely deep dive, however. To provide context for the drama in the hours leading up to the Emperor’s public declaration of surrender, the creators delved into the Japanese military’s origins and even further back. This skillfully illustrated manga is perfect for Japanese history or war history buffs but would probably overwhelm the casual reader.
The Review
In August 1945, atom bombs obliterated Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Under those circumstances, one might think Japan’s unconditional surrender to the Allies was a foregone conclusion. As it turns out, a mob of Army officers fought to the end–even going so far as to interfere with the Emperor’s announcement of surrender–in hopes of prolonging the war.
Japan’s Longest Day: A Graphic Novel about the End of World War II has a broader scope than the final 24 hours before Emperor Hirohito’s radio proclamation of Japan’s surrender. The book begins with Admiral Perry’s Black Ships in 1853. This bit of history introduces the low-ranking samurai who formed the basis of what became the Japanese army as well as Japan’s relationship with foreign powers. Thus, readers get the origin story of the Japanese military and an understanding of their ideology and influence on the government.
Although this backstory provides context for the conflict central to this manga, the sheer number of names, places, and events may be overwhelming for a person unfamiliar with Japanese history. Also, the manga was originally created for a Japanese audience, so the selected events are Japanese-centric. For instance, Japan declares war on the United States/attacks Pearl Harbor on page 48, and two pages later, the timeline has skipped ahead 4 ½ years to the American bombings on Tokyo. Although the book mentions the Japanese colonization of Manchuria, no mention is made about how the Japanese Army’s treated the populations they invaded. It only describes the plight of Japanese settlers who were massacred by the Soviets after the Japanese army retreated.
After three chapters of introductory material, we get to the meat of the book: the 24 hours leading up to Emperor Hirohito’s August 15 noon declaration of surrender. Events are laid out in 12 chapters, each chapter covering a two-hour interval. A huge number of characters, many with lengthy titles, are involved, but it broadly boils down to two opposing groups. One side is the Emperor and cabinet members who are advocating peace. The other is comprised of Army officers and specifically members in the Imperial guard who want to fight to the last person.
The creators include a lot of detail about the layout of various facilities and the different military groups involved. However, they pack in so much information that it becomes difficult to follow the narrative, especially in regard to the coup instigators. Differentiating between those involved is also complicated by the fact that most are soldiers in similar military garb.
However, other parts of the story are much more straightforward in terms of heightening the drama. In “August 14, 4 PM to 6 PM” and “August 14, 6 PM to 8 PM,” the nation is clearly taking a beating, but the Cabinet wastes precious time making their surrender because they are quibbling over phrasing in their surrender document. The manga drives home the consequences of this lollygagging by depicting the areas of Japan that were concurrently getting destroyed while ministers nitpicked words. Later in the book, rogue army officers storm the Imperial Residence and the radio broadcast center in an attempt to thwart the announcement of surrender. It was impossible to keep track of all the people swept up in that chaos, but the tension of that critical moment definitely came through.
Overall, the narrative is very sympathetic toward the Emperor. Meanwhile, the Army is depicted as an inflexible mob, who, despite all the rhetoric about sacredness of their Emperor, would not hesitate to dispose of him if he veered from their agenda. Nearly all the officers involved in the failed coup committed suicide, so it’s easy to shove the blame entirely on them. However, the end of the manga does raise the question of whether the Emperor was completely innocent of war crimes.
In terms of illustrations, Hoshino-sensei’s drawings deliver plenty of impact. Because this is a story of wartime and insurrection, there is no shortage of violent images. In addition to the ruthless actions of the hawkish officers, the loss of life due to war are depicted quite graphically. Military equipment and landmarks are drawn with impressive detail, and Hoshino-sensei appears to have rendered a number of historical photographs for the narrative.
The translation unfortunately has several grammatical errors, including missing words and misspellings. The most glaring error I noted was the incorrect date for the bombing of Nagasaki (August 6 instead of August 9).
For more manga and book reviews, drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon!
If you ever wondered what was happening in Japan during the six days between the bombing of Nagasaki and the end of the Pacific War, this manga dives into it. It is an extremely deep dive, however. To provide context for the drama in the hours leading up to the Emperor’s public declaration of surrender, the creators delved into the Japanese military’s origins and even further back. This skillfully illustrated manga is perfect for Japanese history or war history buffs but would probably overwhelm the casual reader.
The Review
In August 1945, atom bombs obliterated Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Under those circumstances, one might think Japan’s unconditional surrender to the Allies was a foregone conclusion. As it turns out, a mob of Army officers fought to the end–even going so far as to interfere with the Emperor’s announcement of surrender–in hopes of prolonging the war.
Japan’s Longest Day: A Graphic Novel about the End of World War II has a broader scope than the final 24 hours before Emperor Hirohito’s radio proclamation of Japan’s surrender. The book begins with Admiral Perry’s Black Ships in 1853. This bit of history introduces the low-ranking samurai who formed the basis of what became the Japanese army as well as Japan’s relationship with foreign powers. Thus, readers get the origin story of the Japanese military and an understanding of their ideology and influence on the government.
Although this backstory provides context for the conflict central to this manga, the sheer number of names, places, and events may be overwhelming for a person unfamiliar with Japanese history. Also, the manga was originally created for a Japanese audience, so the selected events are Japanese-centric. For instance, Japan declares war on the United States/attacks Pearl Harbor on page 48, and two pages later, the timeline has skipped ahead 4 ½ years to the American bombings on Tokyo. Although the book mentions the Japanese colonization of Manchuria, no mention is made about how the Japanese Army’s treated the populations they invaded. It only describes the plight of Japanese settlers who were massacred by the Soviets after the Japanese army retreated.
After three chapters of introductory material, we get to the meat of the book: the 24 hours leading up to Emperor Hirohito’s August 15 noon declaration of surrender. Events are laid out in 12 chapters, each chapter covering a two-hour interval. A huge number of characters, many with lengthy titles, are involved, but it broadly boils down to two opposing groups. One side is the Emperor and cabinet members who are advocating peace. The other is comprised of Army officers and specifically members in the Imperial guard who want to fight to the last person.
The creators include a lot of detail about the layout of various facilities and the different military groups involved. However, they pack in so much information that it becomes difficult to follow the narrative, especially in regard to the coup instigators. Differentiating between those involved is also complicated by the fact that most are soldiers in similar military garb.
However, other parts of the story are much more straightforward in terms of heightening the drama. In “August 14, 4 PM to 6 PM” and “August 14, 6 PM to 8 PM,” the nation is clearly taking a beating, but the Cabinet wastes precious time making their surrender because they are quibbling over phrasing in their surrender document. The manga drives home the consequences of this lollygagging by depicting the areas of Japan that were concurrently getting destroyed while ministers nitpicked words. Later in the book, rogue army officers storm the Imperial Residence and the radio broadcast center in an attempt to thwart the announcement of surrender. It was impossible to keep track of all the people swept up in that chaos, but the tension of that critical moment definitely came through.
Overall, the narrative is very sympathetic toward the Emperor. Meanwhile, the Army is depicted as an inflexible mob, who, despite all the rhetoric about sacredness of their Emperor, would not hesitate to dispose of him if he veered from their agenda. Nearly all the officers involved in the failed coup committed suicide, so it’s easy to shove the blame entirely on them. However, the end of the manga does raise the question of whether the Emperor was completely innocent of war crimes.
In terms of illustrations, Hoshino-sensei’s drawings deliver plenty of impact. Because this is a story of wartime and insurrection, there is no shortage of violent images. In addition to the ruthless actions of the hawkish officers, the loss of life due to war are depicted quite graphically. Military equipment and landmarks are drawn with impressive detail, and Hoshino-sensei appears to have rendered a number of historical photographs for the narrative.
The translation unfortunately has several grammatical errors, including missing words and misspellings. The most glaring error I noted was the incorrect date for the bombing of Nagasaki (August 6 instead of August 9).
For more manga and book reviews, drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 20, 2024
This is an interesting story. It's about the last few days before the end of World War II in Japan and the attempted coup by hardliners who wanted every man, woman and child in Japan to fight to the death. My problem is that it's hard to follow. The art is good. But there's a gazillion different people in it, most of which look very similar so it's difficult to keep track of who is who. There's also some translation issues that made it more difficult to follow.
May 14, 2024
I really like the history of WWII and watched tv series and movies about it and I'm glad that I read this book for a new information about the treason and coup before Japan surrenders which I've never learned happen. This is so interesting and I also like the illustrations, well drawn and the quality of the book.
November 2, 2024
The beginnings or endings of wars are fascinating, as so many competing and compelling forces and beliefs about the nature of power and honor come to light. Is it better to be killed than to surrender? Which lives are worthy of being spared, or which are worthy of giving for the cause? Is life valued, or does honor take precedence?
May 12, 2024
I've learned a lot about Japanese history, and read a lot of Japanese novels.... which made me all the more surprised that I didn't know more about the precarious nature of the Japanese unconditional surrender which ended WW2. Worth the read if you are interested in war history.
January 11, 2025
Great story but the plot gets a little convoluted sometimes with characters that pop in and only do one thing. I guess that’s accurate to history but maybe a little more context could’ve been added in certain places
July 6, 2024
This book is absolutely fantastic, but the text has so many minor errors, it feels like it went to print with a rough draft.
August 20, 2024
With art that is often inspired and occasionally breathtaking, the translation’s apparent rush job (e.g., frequent typographical and grammatical mistakes) feels all the more disappointing.
April 5, 2025
I bought this book more by curiosity (manga version) during a trip in Japan. Although I apreciated the graphics, it was pretty hard to follow the detaild of the history/story only through images.
April 17, 2025
Muy buena novela gráfica sobre la influencia de la política y la guerra en Japón en el siglo XX.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews