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The Martyr and the Red Kimono: A Fearless Priest’s Sacrifice and A New Generation of Hope in Japan
The remarkable true story of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, his sacrifice in Auschwitz, and the two men in war-torn Japan whose lives he changed forever
The remarkable true story of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, and the two men in war-torn Japan whose lives he changed forever.
On the 14th of August 1941, a Polish priest named Maximilian Maria Kolbe was murdered in Auschwitz.
Kolbe's life had been remarkable. Fiercely intelligent and driven, he founded a movement of Catholicism and spent several years in Nagasaki, ministering to the 'hidden Christians' who had emerged after centuries of oppression. A Polish nationalist as well as a priest, he gave sanctuary to fleeing refugees and ran Poland's largest publishing operation, drawing the wrath of the Nazis. His death was no less remarkable: he volunteered to die, saving the life of a fellow prisoner.
It was an act that profoundly transformed the lives of two Japanese men. Tomei Ozaki was just seventeen when the US dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, destroying his home and his family. Masatoshi Asari worked on a farm in Hokkaido during the war and was haunted by the inhumane treatment of prisoners in a nearby camp. Forged in the crucible of an unforgiving war, both men drew inspiration from Kolbe's sacrifice, dedicating their lives to humanity and justice. Ozaki followed in his footsteps and became a friar. Asari created cherry trees as peace offerings.
In The Martyr and the Red Kimono, award-winning author Naoko Abe weaves together a deeply moving and inspirational true story of resistance, sacrifice, guilt and atonement.
The remarkable true story of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, and the two men in war-torn Japan whose lives he changed forever.
On the 14th of August 1941, a Polish priest named Maximilian Maria Kolbe was murdered in Auschwitz.
Kolbe's life had been remarkable. Fiercely intelligent and driven, he founded a movement of Catholicism and spent several years in Nagasaki, ministering to the 'hidden Christians' who had emerged after centuries of oppression. A Polish nationalist as well as a priest, he gave sanctuary to fleeing refugees and ran Poland's largest publishing operation, drawing the wrath of the Nazis. His death was no less remarkable: he volunteered to die, saving the life of a fellow prisoner.
It was an act that profoundly transformed the lives of two Japanese men. Tomei Ozaki was just seventeen when the US dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, destroying his home and his family. Masatoshi Asari worked on a farm in Hokkaido during the war and was haunted by the inhumane treatment of prisoners in a nearby camp. Forged in the crucible of an unforgiving war, both men drew inspiration from Kolbe's sacrifice, dedicating their lives to humanity and justice. Ozaki followed in his footsteps and became a friar. Asari created cherry trees as peace offerings.
In The Martyr and the Red Kimono, award-winning author Naoko Abe weaves together a deeply moving and inspirational true story of resistance, sacrifice, guilt and atonement.
- GenresJapan
436 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2024
2 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Naoko Abe
11 books35 followersNaoko Abe is a Japanese journalist and non-fiction writer. She was the first female political writer to cover the prime minister’s office, the foreign ministry and the defence ministry at Mainichi Shimbun, one of Japan’s largest newspapers. Since moving to London with her British husband and their two boys in 2001, she has worked as a freelance writer and has published five books in Japanese. Her biography of Collingwood Ingram in Japanese won the prestigious Nihon Essayist Club Award in 2016. She has now written an adaptation of the book for English-language readers. She is a trained classical pianist and an advanced yoga practitioner.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 12, 2025
I'm a bit too old to care about vague and sweeping statements about 'learning from the past' and 'reconciliation'.
I wouldn't say the book was bad, it's just that the author chose a premise tied to some of the most atrocious WWII crimes and I don't think she has enough of an edge or self-awareness to her writing to make it work. I also don't have enough of an understanding of recent Japanese history to see where the narrative she pitches falls on the political spectrum.
I wouldn't say the book was bad, it's just that the author chose a premise tied to some of the most atrocious WWII crimes and I don't think she has enough of an edge or self-awareness to her writing to make it work. I also don't have enough of an understanding of recent Japanese history to see where the narrative she pitches falls on the political spectrum.
July 24, 2024
I chose to read this book knowing a little about Maximilian Kolbe but wanting to learn more. I did this, whilst being completely immersed in the extraordinary events not only of his life but also the lives of the other two subjects of this book, Tomei Ozaki and Masatoshi Asari.
Maximilian Kolbe was an exceptionally driven man. His life was dogged by illness. Leaving Poland for Japan he endured great hardship but in keeping with his Franciscan vows he accepted and embraced this and did not allow it to overcome him. Instead he was known for his relentless hard work in pursuit of his mission of the Militia Immaculatae, achieved through writing and publishing.
Having returned from Japan to his native Poland, Kolbe was subsequently arrested and died a martyr in a starvation chamber in Auschwitz. The author's account of human suffering in Auschwitz is harrowing. Kolbe sacrificed his life that another man might live.
Tomei Ozaki lived in Nagasaki. He escaped the direct impact of the 1945 atomic bomb because at the precise time the bomb exploded he was underground, in a tunnel, manufacturing explosives. There is vivid and compelling narrative describing what greeted Ozaki's eyes when he left the tunnel - apocalyptic destruction, fire and death. For the rest of his life Ozaki struggled with survivor's guilt - why did he live when thousands and thousands died, could he have done more to aid the injured and dying.
Masatoshi Asari is an expert with a passion for cherry trees. He comes to the realisation that the cherry trees he grows and lovingly tends in Japan could be symbols of remembrance, unity and peace, if some of them could be transported to Poland. Logistically this was difficult, and with a different climate and soil conditions even if the trees could arrive safely, could they survive? The author undertakes her own voyage to find out.
The book is meticulously researched with lots of photographs and reference to other documentary evidence and the testimony of eyewitnesses. The author came to know Asari and Ozaki personally, and the warmth of those relationships comes across strongly on the page.
The book ends by reflecting that at the time of writing the Polish friary in which Maximilan Kolbe lived was once again on the edge of a war zone, being close to the Poland / Ukraine border. The reader is reminded that peace is fragile. Throughout history there are people who have have died appalling deaths as a result of war, have lived with lifelong trauma as a result of war and have dedicated their lives to bringing about peace and reconciliation following war. Kolbe, Ozaki and Asari are three such inspiring people.
Maximilian Kolbe was an exceptionally driven man. His life was dogged by illness. Leaving Poland for Japan he endured great hardship but in keeping with his Franciscan vows he accepted and embraced this and did not allow it to overcome him. Instead he was known for his relentless hard work in pursuit of his mission of the Militia Immaculatae, achieved through writing and publishing.
Having returned from Japan to his native Poland, Kolbe was subsequently arrested and died a martyr in a starvation chamber in Auschwitz. The author's account of human suffering in Auschwitz is harrowing. Kolbe sacrificed his life that another man might live.
Tomei Ozaki lived in Nagasaki. He escaped the direct impact of the 1945 atomic bomb because at the precise time the bomb exploded he was underground, in a tunnel, manufacturing explosives. There is vivid and compelling narrative describing what greeted Ozaki's eyes when he left the tunnel - apocalyptic destruction, fire and death. For the rest of his life Ozaki struggled with survivor's guilt - why did he live when thousands and thousands died, could he have done more to aid the injured and dying.
Masatoshi Asari is an expert with a passion for cherry trees. He comes to the realisation that the cherry trees he grows and lovingly tends in Japan could be symbols of remembrance, unity and peace, if some of them could be transported to Poland. Logistically this was difficult, and with a different climate and soil conditions even if the trees could arrive safely, could they survive? The author undertakes her own voyage to find out.
The book is meticulously researched with lots of photographs and reference to other documentary evidence and the testimony of eyewitnesses. The author came to know Asari and Ozaki personally, and the warmth of those relationships comes across strongly on the page.
The book ends by reflecting that at the time of writing the Polish friary in which Maximilan Kolbe lived was once again on the edge of a war zone, being close to the Poland / Ukraine border. The reader is reminded that peace is fragile. Throughout history there are people who have have died appalling deaths as a result of war, have lived with lifelong trauma as a result of war and have dedicated their lives to bringing about peace and reconciliation following war. Kolbe, Ozaki and Asari are three such inspiring people.
July 13, 2024
This is the story of St Maximilian Kolbe of Poland and how his life/death inspired both Ozaki Tomei and Asari Masatoshi in Japan to seek peace and promote love/harmony across Japan and beyond.
Kolbe is an interesting character: utterly fervent in his worship of the Virgin Mary and determined to spread his message using the latest technology regardless of his own perilous state of health. He established a friary in Poland with its own printing press for both a magazine and a daily newspaper. As the Japanese had helped some Poles in the past, Kolbe decided to go to Japan and spread his message there by way of thanks. He then came back to Poland against the backdrop of the Nazis ultimately choosing to sacrifice his life in Auschwitz so another Pole could live.
Kolbe’s friary in Nagasaki became a bastion of hope after the atomic bomb (unharmed due to its mountainous location) and it was there that Ozaki learnt of him and found him profoundly inspirational, choosing a religious life himself and serving the local community, especially orphans. It was the circulation of Kolbe’s magazine which inspired Asari’s actions both to uncover/call out Japanese war crimes in his local region but also to send cherry trees as peace symbols all over the world.
The book ends on something of a somber note: the peace that Ozaki and Asari and others have desired to build looks in jeopardy, certainly in Poland, due to the actions of one Vladimir Putin. Will humanity learn anything from the past?
Kolbe is an interesting character: utterly fervent in his worship of the Virgin Mary and determined to spread his message using the latest technology regardless of his own perilous state of health. He established a friary in Poland with its own printing press for both a magazine and a daily newspaper. As the Japanese had helped some Poles in the past, Kolbe decided to go to Japan and spread his message there by way of thanks. He then came back to Poland against the backdrop of the Nazis ultimately choosing to sacrifice his life in Auschwitz so another Pole could live.
Kolbe’s friary in Nagasaki became a bastion of hope after the atomic bomb (unharmed due to its mountainous location) and it was there that Ozaki learnt of him and found him profoundly inspirational, choosing a religious life himself and serving the local community, especially orphans. It was the circulation of Kolbe’s magazine which inspired Asari’s actions both to uncover/call out Japanese war crimes in his local region but also to send cherry trees as peace symbols all over the world.
The book ends on something of a somber note: the peace that Ozaki and Asari and others have desired to build looks in jeopardy, certainly in Poland, due to the actions of one Vladimir Putin. Will humanity learn anything from the past?
July 18, 2024
I have visited both Hiroshima and Nagasaki and was also aware of the of the anti-Christian activity in Japan, but not about the deep involvement and perseverance of the Polish friars to improve relations - religious, spiritual and social between the two countries. This is an eye-opening account and a must read for anyone with a deep interest in Japan.
September 23, 2025
Nederlandstalige versie 2024 / De martelaar en de rode kimono door Fred Hendriks
ISBN 978 94 904 0888 3
Tweede vertaald boek van Naoko Abe.
Allebei zeer leerrijke lectuur. Een boek om over na te denken en "regelmatig" terug in te kijken.
Benieuwd naar een volgende vertaling van een boek van Naoko Abe.
ISBN 978 94 904 0888 3
Tweede vertaald boek van Naoko Abe.
Allebei zeer leerrijke lectuur. Een boek om over na te denken en "regelmatig" terug in te kijken.
Benieuwd naar een volgende vertaling van een boek van Naoko Abe.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews