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Hiroshima and Nagasaki have been destroyed. Japan is in ruins and occupied by the Americans.
Takuya, an ex-officer in the Imperial Army, has returned to his native village only to learn that the Occupation authorities are intensifying their efforts to apprehend suspected war criminals. And those who are found guilty are being sentenced to death.
Fearing that his role in the execution of a number of American pilots, Takuya takes to the road and becomes a fugitive in his own country.
One Man's Justice is both a reflection on the murky reality of war and a page-turning novel of pursuit and escape.
Takuya, an ex-officer in the Imperial Army, has returned to his native village only to learn that the Occupation authorities are intensifying their efforts to apprehend suspected war criminals. And those who are found guilty are being sentenced to death.
Fearing that his role in the execution of a number of American pilots, Takuya takes to the road and becomes a fugitive in his own country.
One Man's Justice is both a reflection on the murky reality of war and a page-turning novel of pursuit and escape.
238 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
11 people are currently reading
810 people want to read
About the author
Akira Yoshimura
83 books123 followersPrize winning Japanese writer. Akira Yoshimura was the president of the Japanese writers union and a PEN member. He published over 20 novels, of which in particular On Parole and Shipwrecks are internationally known and have been translated into several languages. In 1984 he received the Yomiuri Prize for his novel Hagoku (破獄,engl. prison break) based on the true story of Yoshie Shiratori.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
January 30, 2019
A jarring and personal look at the definition of "war crime" that in some ways did for Japan what Slaughterhouse-Five did for Germany. This novel, like Vonnegut's, highlights the sufferings of civilians by Allied fire bombing during WWII. It was a time when the aerial bombing of civilian targets by Allies was so routine that no one questioned the morality of killing hundreds of thousands of civilians. The fire bombing campaigns leveled city after city just as thoroughly, through repetitive air raids, as a single bomb leveled Hiroshima at the close of the war.
Yoshimura creates a protagonist who executed a B-29 pilot for war crimes after his mother is incinerated by fire bombing and after whole cities are leveled; he is wanted in turn for the war crime of executing the pilot, after the war is over, when his act during the war has been labeled a capital offense.
Unlike Slaughterhouse Five, One Man's Justice is delivered in a near-documentary level of prose that feels more like witness-bearing than fiction. Partly it's the translation--so many sentences are adequate, and yet thuddingly dull, where it's easy to imagine a different word choice or sentence structure would have made for a better read. It's still a riveting look at postwar Japan, filled with details that only someone who lived through it could imagine.
Yoshimura creates a protagonist who executed a B-29 pilot for war crimes after his mother is incinerated by fire bombing and after whole cities are leveled; he is wanted in turn for the war crime of executing the pilot, after the war is over, when his act during the war has been labeled a capital offense.
Unlike Slaughterhouse Five, One Man's Justice is delivered in a near-documentary level of prose that feels more like witness-bearing than fiction. Partly it's the translation--so many sentences are adequate, and yet thuddingly dull, where it's easy to imagine a different word choice or sentence structure would have made for a better read. It's still a riveting look at postwar Japan, filled with details that only someone who lived through it could imagine.
July 23, 2012
Takuya was a steely young man with a hard stare and a dashing uniform. While the ground was cracking and reverberating from the shock of the explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and when the legendary twilight of the submerged racial soul of Japan must have been dark and sagging under the weight of the wings of dragons coming home to roost, Takuya didn't tremble or waver: in a grove he took his sword and executed an American airman.
Yikes.
The Americans arrive with some questions about missing POWs. Suddenly Takuya's a man on the run. He and his world adapting all the time; a shining prince becoming a fawning peasant, just to stay alive.
Great stuff. Moral questions. Takuya's certainties eroding.
And loads of Shikoku! Takuya was from somewhere between Yawatahama and Uwajima! I've been there! I really wanted him to run away to Kochi but he didn't.
Adorable:
"'Kiyohara!' he heard behind him. Takuya looked back and saw Shirasaka hurrying down the slope, eyes glistening. 'Don't go killing yourself,' he said imploringly, tears welling up."
Frank:
"' So you've killed an American.'
'I cut his head off with my sword,' replied Takuya."
No longer a resident of "Mishima Country":
"The change in his eyes was particularly striking. The piercing look had disappeared, replaced by an unsettled look of apprehension."
September 15, 2018
There are large parts of this novel which actually read more like a war documentary. Still, I found it quite engaging overall. The author attempts, through this work, to offer a Japanese perspective on the cold-blooded execution of captured US pilots who carried out devastating fire bombing raids on civilian Japanese populations during the final stages of WWII. These raids resulted in catastrophic death tolls, even before culminating in the atomic of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Given widespread knowledge about the atrocities carried out by Japanese troops themselves during WWII throughout conquered parts of Asia, Yoshimura certainly set himself a difficult task in trying to generate empathy for the Japanese soldiers and officials involved in the executions. All of them faced significant jail terms and/or the death penalty before the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal. The author poses an interesting moral question here, namely when hundreds of thousands of your fellow countrymen/women/children have been murdered, is it a crime to execute those who carried out the bombings?
Given widespread knowledge about the atrocities carried out by Japanese troops themselves during WWII throughout conquered parts of Asia, Yoshimura certainly set himself a difficult task in trying to generate empathy for the Japanese soldiers and officials involved in the executions. All of them faced significant jail terms and/or the death penalty before the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal. The author poses an interesting moral question here, namely when hundreds of thousands of your fellow countrymen/women/children have been murdered, is it a crime to execute those who carried out the bombings?
February 1, 2025
3.5|5 🗡️ 2025 TBR
September 26, 2018
This is another novel by Akira Yoshimura I enjoyed reading and found it surprisingly readable (except the ruthless detailed air attacks on Japan by US B-29s); the first being his Shipwrecks (Harcourt, 2000). Acclaimed by various news agencies and periodicals, namely, Associated Press, San Jose Mercury News, Christian Science Monitor, Booklist, What's on in London, LA Times, Kirkus Reviews, and San Diego Union-Tribune (pp. i-ii), this book seemingly symbolizing a World War II legacy has thus assured the author's literary stature as one of the prestigious novelists in Japan nowadays.
The man in question named Takuya, an ex-officer of the Imperial Army, is the protagonist who has returned to his native village and desperately been on the run for his life when he knows that the Occupation authorities are intensifying their hunt for suspected war criminals. Surprisingly, after his narrative on the air attacks loaded with well-researched factual data, I think, its readers would find its remaining two-thirds a sort of page-turner because it's so thrilling and exciting that we really long to know Takuya's final verdict which, due to your reading enjoyment, I won't divulge in the meantime. As for the end of the story, I would like you to know that Takuya, a true former soldier, has nobly opted his own choice of settling alone somewhere; he would not neither visit Terasawa, his wife nor Teruko (her niece) whom Terasawa had once proposed as Takuya's wife before he surrendered to the detectives. One of his ultimate reasons is that:
In sum, this novel presumably categorized as an antiwar one would help us better understand the war aftermath in terms of the cruelty and, I read somewhere, even the futility of war, in this case, that have profoundly affected Takuya's life as a fateful fugitive whose mission has taught him who is friend or foe. Finally, he could be proud to have faced and endured adversity with integrity till he is allowed to be free once again.
The man in question named Takuya, an ex-officer of the Imperial Army, is the protagonist who has returned to his native village and desperately been on the run for his life when he knows that the Occupation authorities are intensifying their hunt for suspected war criminals. Surprisingly, after his narrative on the air attacks loaded with well-researched factual data, I think, its readers would find its remaining two-thirds a sort of page-turner because it's so thrilling and exciting that we really long to know Takuya's final verdict which, due to your reading enjoyment, I won't divulge in the meantime. As for the end of the story, I would like you to know that Takuya, a true former soldier, has nobly opted his own choice of settling alone somewhere; he would not neither visit Terasawa, his wife nor Teruko (her niece) whom Terasawa had once proposed as Takuya's wife before he surrendered to the detectives. One of his ultimate reasons is that:
Indeed, if they had adopted Teruko and she had married and started a family, she would probably feel obliged to offer little more than a perfunctory welcome. The prospect of having to make conversation with Teruko's husband hardly inspired enthusiasm. (p. 282)
In sum, this novel presumably categorized as an antiwar one would help us better understand the war aftermath in terms of the cruelty and, I read somewhere, even the futility of war, in this case, that have profoundly affected Takuya's life as a fateful fugitive whose mission has taught him who is friend or foe. Finally, he could be proud to have faced and endured adversity with integrity till he is allowed to be free once again.
November 3, 2024
مردی نظامی به اسم تاکویا، در دوران جنگ جهانی دوم، در مرکز فرماندهی نواحی غرب ژاپن خدمت میکرد و در اعدام یکی از ۴۱ اسیر آمریکایی ای که خلبان های بمب افکن های b-29 بودن دست داشت..
بعد از جنگ تاکویا جزو جنایت کاران جنگی به شمار می اومد، پس تحت تعقیب قرار گرفت و فراری شد..
تو این کتاب ما از سرنوشت اندوهناک یک نظامی فراری میخونیم که زندگیش با مشکلات زیاد و ترس از اعدام به سختی و بدون امید پیش میره و جوانی اش در حال از دست رفتنه!
همچنین تغییراتی در کشور و دیدگاه ملت ژاپن نسبت به جنگ و نظامی ها در حال شکل گرفتنه که در اثر مرور زمان و به خاطر اشغال کشور توسط آمریکایی ها صورت گرفته و اینها همه به وحشت و تنهایی این سرباز ژاپنی دامن میزنه..
هیچوقت با کتابی که به شرح اتفاقات و رخدادهای بعد از جنگ پرداخته باشه برنخورده بودم و تجربه ی خوانش این کتاب خیلی برام جالب و جدید بود!!
فرض کنید جنگی شروع شده و شما احتمالا پیروز قطعی میدان هستید اما یکهو ورق برمیگرده، کشورتون بمباران میشه اون هم با بمبهایی که چندین نسل شما رو به نابودی میکشونه!!
شما شکست میخورید و کشورتون اشغال میشه،
همون مردمی که به شما به چشم قهرمان نگاه میکردن حالا از شما فرار میکنن!
همون مردمی که اگر یکی از اون خلبانهای بمب افکن ها به چنگشون میوفتاد تکه و پاره اش میکردن، حالا به خاطر اعدام اونها توسط شما، بهتون به چشم مجرم نگاه میکنن و معتقدن باید به خاطر اعمالتون تقاص پس بدید!!
من اصلا نمیخوام راجع به مقصر و قربانی صحبت کنم و یا آمریکا رو به خاطر وحشی گری هاش در جنگ بدتر از ژاپن نشون بدم و یا بالعکس!!
فقط دارم از احساساتی که یک سرباز حین جنگ و بعد از اون ممکنه تجربه کنه صحبت میکنم که به نظرم خیلی میتونه عجیب و متناقض باشه!!
از جذابیت های دیگه ی کتاب برای من، تصویر پرجزئیات و دردناکی بود که نویسنده از اوضاع و احوال ژاپنِ بعد از جنگ و مردمش نشون داده بود:
کشوری که سوخته و آوار شده بود، زنهایی که مورد تجاوز قرار میگرفتن، پلیسی که در مقابل ظلم و تجاوز نیروهای اشغالگر ناکارامد بود، جنازه هایی که از گرسنگی و بی پناهی گوشه و کنار شهرها افتاده و روند تجزیه و تلاشی شون شروع شده بود، قحطی و بیکاری ای که بیداد میکرد، آرمانهایی که شکست خورده بود و اشکها و بغض ها و خشمی که فروخورده میشد…
بعد از جنگ تاکویا جزو جنایت کاران جنگی به شمار می اومد، پس تحت تعقیب قرار گرفت و فراری شد..
تو این کتاب ما از سرنوشت اندوهناک یک نظامی فراری میخونیم که زندگیش با مشکلات زیاد و ترس از اعدام به سختی و بدون امید پیش میره و جوانی اش در حال از دست رفتنه!
همچنین تغییراتی در کشور و دیدگاه ملت ژاپن نسبت به جنگ و نظامی ها در حال شکل گرفتنه که در اثر مرور زمان و به خاطر اشغال کشور توسط آمریکایی ها صورت گرفته و اینها همه به وحشت و تنهایی این سرباز ژاپنی دامن میزنه..
هیچوقت با کتابی که به شرح اتفاقات و رخدادهای بعد از جنگ پرداخته باشه برنخورده بودم و تجربه ی خوانش این کتاب خیلی برام جالب و جدید بود!!
فرض کنید جنگی شروع شده و شما احتمالا پیروز قطعی میدان هستید اما یکهو ورق برمیگرده، کشورتون بمباران میشه اون هم با بمبهایی که چندین نسل شما رو به نابودی میکشونه!!
شما شکست میخورید و کشورتون اشغال میشه،
همون مردمی که به شما به چشم قهرمان نگاه میکردن حالا از شما فرار میکنن!
همون مردمی که اگر یکی از اون خلبانهای بمب افکن ها به چنگشون میوفتاد تکه و پاره اش میکردن، حالا به خاطر اعدام اونها توسط شما، بهتون به چشم مجرم نگاه میکنن و معتقدن باید به خاطر اعمالتون تقاص پس بدید!!
من اصلا نمیخوام راجع به مقصر و قربانی صحبت کنم و یا آمریکا رو به خاطر وحشی گری هاش در جنگ بدتر از ژاپن نشون بدم و یا بالعکس!!
فقط دارم از احساساتی که یک سرباز حین جنگ و بعد از اون ممکنه تجربه کنه صحبت میکنم که به نظرم خیلی میتونه عجیب و متناقض باشه!!
از جذابیت های دیگه ی کتاب برای من، تصویر پرجزئیات و دردناکی بود که نویسنده از اوضاع و احوال ژاپنِ بعد از جنگ و مردمش نشون داده بود:
کشوری که سوخته و آوار شده بود، زنهایی که مورد تجاوز قرار میگرفتن، پلیسی که در مقابل ظلم و تجاوز نیروهای اشغالگر ناکارامد بود، جنازه هایی که از گرسنگی و بی پناهی گوشه و کنار شهرها افتاده و روند تجزیه و تلاشی شون شروع شده بود، قحطی و بیکاری ای که بیداد میکرد، آرمانهایی که شکست خورده بود و اشکها و بغض ها و خشمی که فروخورده میشد…
May 16, 2025
شروع داستان جالبه اما هرچی جلوتر میره از ریتم میفته
March 23, 2009
One Man's Justice by Yoshimura Akira is about the end of the war and the confusion that follows. It is one of the best anti-war novels to come out of Japan from that era. Absolutely gripping!
Takuya, the main character and a (ex-)lieutenant in the army, realizes that he will not get a "Hero's Welcome," or, any welcome, upon discharge and return home. Furthermore, he begins to sense that things all around him are going terribly wrong. A recurring premonition that he will be hunted down like some wild beast becomes stark reality. The plot moves fast, shifting in a blur, from home to safehouse, from the cover of night to the shelter of the woods. Takuya does his best to avoid capture, but like all fugitives on the run, he can not evade his pursuers for ever.
This story of a man's frantic escape from the authorities is vividly chilling and powerful, but what makes a lasting impression is Takuya, his inner being - his thoughts and feelings. He is a defeated man in every way, yet, a man who possesses unfaltering strength and a formidable spirit.
He had always thought of himself as an average, decent man, called to duty, to defend family, emperor, and country from foreign invaders. So why is he on the Occupation Goverment's List of war criminals? He thought that he served in the Imperial Army with courage and honor; the idea that he too would be a criminal-fugitive never crosses his mind until it is almost too late. He searches for answers, as he struggles and agonizes with his new found situation, but only confusion, frustration and paranoia envelope him. So he runs; he hides; he runs some more.
The plot, the character, and the historical background makes this novel a surprisingly quick, deeply rewarding, and downright frightening read. One can not help but support this man, a hero, against the injust system of retribution.
Takuya, the main character and a (ex-)lieutenant in the army, realizes that he will not get a "Hero's Welcome," or, any welcome, upon discharge and return home. Furthermore, he begins to sense that things all around him are going terribly wrong. A recurring premonition that he will be hunted down like some wild beast becomes stark reality. The plot moves fast, shifting in a blur, from home to safehouse, from the cover of night to the shelter of the woods. Takuya does his best to avoid capture, but like all fugitives on the run, he can not evade his pursuers for ever.
This story of a man's frantic escape from the authorities is vividly chilling and powerful, but what makes a lasting impression is Takuya, his inner being - his thoughts and feelings. He is a defeated man in every way, yet, a man who possesses unfaltering strength and a formidable spirit.
He had always thought of himself as an average, decent man, called to duty, to defend family, emperor, and country from foreign invaders. So why is he on the Occupation Goverment's List of war criminals? He thought that he served in the Imperial Army with courage and honor; the idea that he too would be a criminal-fugitive never crosses his mind until it is almost too late. He searches for answers, as he struggles and agonizes with his new found situation, but only confusion, frustration and paranoia envelope him. So he runs; he hides; he runs some more.
The plot, the character, and the historical background makes this novel a surprisingly quick, deeply rewarding, and downright frightening read. One can not help but support this man, a hero, against the injust system of retribution.
April 15, 2015
"Takuya mused that his involvement in the executions was essentially the same in nature as the actions of the man he had killed, in that both were merely carrying out their duties as military men. The difference was that whereas the killing committed by the American had been by bombing, which precluded witnessing the bloodshed, Takuya’s act had involved wielding the sword with his own hands as he beheaded the airman. The fact that the American had killed countless people as opposed to Takuya’s one victim brought him some comfort."
February 2, 2025
یوشیمورا در این کتاب با دیدگاهی متفاوت به بررسی پیامدهای جنگ جهانی دوم پرداخته. زندگی یک افسر ژاپنی، تاکویا، رو در آخرین روزهای جج روایت میکنه. تاکویا به عنوان یک مجرم جنایت جنگی تحت تعقیب و فراری هست و...
سربازی که وظیفه خودش رو انجام داده ولی حالا جنایتکار شناخته شده. نویسنده این سوال که پیروزی از دستورات مافوق اعمال خشونتآمیز سربازها و زیردستها رو توجیه میکنه یا نه؟!، رو مطرح کرده!
تحولات اجتماعی ژاپن پس از این جنگ رو نشون داده. خواننده رو به تفکر در مورد مفهوم عدالت و اخلاق در زمان جنگ واریز وا میداره!
کتاب بیشتر حالت مستند داره تا داستانی. متن روان و یکنواختی داره و داستان اوجی نداره.
نویسنده کمتر به احساسات شخصیتها پرداخته. کمتر به شخصیتهای دیگه پرداخته.
سربازی که وظیفه خودش رو انجام داده ولی حالا جنایتکار شناخته شده. نویسنده این سوال که پیروزی از دستورات مافوق اعمال خشونتآمیز سربازها و زیردستها رو توجیه میکنه یا نه؟!، رو مطرح کرده!
تحولات اجتماعی ژاپن پس از این جنگ رو نشون داده. خواننده رو به تفکر در مورد مفهوم عدالت و اخلاق در زمان جنگ واریز وا میداره!
کتاب بیشتر حالت مستند داره تا داستانی. متن روان و یکنواختی داره و داستان اوجی نداره.
نویسنده کمتر به احساسات شخصیتها پرداخته. کمتر به شخصیتهای دیگه پرداخته.
August 3, 2019
It's official: Akira Yoshimura is one of my favourite Japanese authors — no, authors, period — of all time. One Man's Justice might very well be my favourite book of his that I have read thus far (the other two being On Parole and Shipwreck). It pains me to know that he isn't popular enough to have all of his books translated into English.
One Man's Justice tells the story of a former Japanese lieutenant on the run after WW2, because the occupying forces (the Americans) are charging him and his associates with war crimes. The crime being that, at the tail end of the war, Takuya's superiors ordered for the captured American airmen to be executed, and our protagonist was one of the executors. After being tipped off by a friend, Takuya leaves his family behind and travels across Japan to escape capture.
What I love most about Yoshimura's writing, in general, is that he doesn't take the easy route with characters. He often introduces a character as a certain kind of archetype, then deconstructs him/her over the course of the book. In this book, you are introduced to Takuya as one of the executioners of these captured American soldiers. Outside of Japan, it is easy to immediately paint him and the other executioners as villains, but I think Yoshimura does a wonderful job at questioning the readers' preconceived ideas of justice, what's right and what's wrong during the war, and where you draw lines in the sand. Even though Takuya did swing the sword, he (unlike some of his friends) never volunteered for the job. Even though the captured Americans were directly responsible for fire bombing innocent people in Japanese cities, they, too, were following the orders of their superiors — just like Takuya. So how do you figure out who's right, who's wrong, who's the villain and who's the hero?
Another element of the book I love is the fluid nature of justice. At the beginning of the book, Takuya's sense of justice looks like it is set in stone. To him, the Americans are the enemies because they fire bombed innocent people, they did so with naked women painted on bombers, they listened to jazz in the cockpit after every bombing run, they ought to be executed for their crimes. Furthermore, he performed the execution based on orders from the top, and that's just how the military works. To him, or according to his sense of justice, he does not deserve the kind of punishment meted out by the occupying forces at the time. Kicking or slapping prisoners during the war, apparently, was enough to earn you a death sentence, and that's what Takuya is running away from.
However, his sense of justice slowly wavers throughout the course of the book — and spoilers from here on out. You see it when he's eventually cornered by the local police, and yet he makes no effort to run; you see it during the trial, when his supposed superiors grovel for lighter sentences, going as far as lying just to exonerate themselves; you see it when his attitude towards the occupying Americans changing from blind hate to numb indifference. When the entire PURPOSE of the escape is predicated on your sense of justice, and that sense of justice is then slowly degraded over time, what does that do to a person? I just love the depth to which Yoshimura goes to explore these nuances.
At the end of the day, it isn't a story about whether Takuya was right to execute the prisoners. It is a critic on war as a whole, and how the authorities manipulate the boundaries of justice as they see fit, and its impact on the people below.
One Man's Justice tells the story of a former Japanese lieutenant on the run after WW2, because the occupying forces (the Americans) are charging him and his associates with war crimes. The crime being that, at the tail end of the war, Takuya's superiors ordered for the captured American airmen to be executed, and our protagonist was one of the executors. After being tipped off by a friend, Takuya leaves his family behind and travels across Japan to escape capture.
What I love most about Yoshimura's writing, in general, is that he doesn't take the easy route with characters. He often introduces a character as a certain kind of archetype, then deconstructs him/her over the course of the book. In this book, you are introduced to Takuya as one of the executioners of these captured American soldiers. Outside of Japan, it is easy to immediately paint him and the other executioners as villains, but I think Yoshimura does a wonderful job at questioning the readers' preconceived ideas of justice, what's right and what's wrong during the war, and where you draw lines in the sand. Even though Takuya did swing the sword, he (unlike some of his friends) never volunteered for the job. Even though the captured Americans were directly responsible for fire bombing innocent people in Japanese cities, they, too, were following the orders of their superiors — just like Takuya. So how do you figure out who's right, who's wrong, who's the villain and who's the hero?
Another element of the book I love is the fluid nature of justice. At the beginning of the book, Takuya's sense of justice looks like it is set in stone. To him, the Americans are the enemies because they fire bombed innocent people, they did so with naked women painted on bombers, they listened to jazz in the cockpit after every bombing run, they ought to be executed for their crimes. Furthermore, he performed the execution based on orders from the top, and that's just how the military works. To him, or according to his sense of justice, he does not deserve the kind of punishment meted out by the occupying forces at the time. Kicking or slapping prisoners during the war, apparently, was enough to earn you a death sentence, and that's what Takuya is running away from.
However, his sense of justice slowly wavers throughout the course of the book — and spoilers from here on out. You see it when he's eventually cornered by the local police, and yet he makes no effort to run; you see it during the trial, when his supposed superiors grovel for lighter sentences, going as far as lying just to exonerate themselves; you see it when his attitude towards the occupying Americans changing from blind hate to numb indifference. When the entire PURPOSE of the escape is predicated on your sense of justice, and that sense of justice is then slowly degraded over time, what does that do to a person? I just love the depth to which Yoshimura goes to explore these nuances.
At the end of the day, it isn't a story about whether Takuya was right to execute the prisoners. It is a critic on war as a whole, and how the authorities manipulate the boundaries of justice as they see fit, and its impact on the people below.
February 9, 2020
Wenn Grenzen Menschen töten dürfen
Warum darf dann ich das nicht
- Audio88, Lied Vom Tod Auf Dem Theremin
(if borders are allowed to kill people
Then why am I not allowed)
The second World War is over, Japan is rubble, and Takuya, former Imperial soldier, learns that he has to disappear. He has participated in the execution of US airmen shot down over Japan (a war crime), and the US occupying forces have begun to arrest and execute Japanese war criminals.
It sounds like the plot to The Fugitive, and in parts it is, but it's also an examination on how personal and public justice shifted during WW2 and afterwards, and that's what makes this book so great. Yoshimura manages to convince you of Takuya's shifting position: as the reader you can understand how Takuya and the Japanese public wants to kill the POWs, as the POWs' bombing has killed so many civilians.
After the war the Japanese public's perception of these crimes shifts and suddenly they're "proper" crimes, with all perpetrators immediately being sentenced to death, with the execution carried out almost immediately. After a few months though, Realpolitik sets in - the US occupying forces need Japanese support against the communists, and the crimes are not as important any more, with death sentences turning into life sentences turning into shorter prison sentences turning into early pardons, as the public perception shifts into general apathy (similar in Germany - 'who cares about the past?').
It's a thing of genius how this public perception of justice is mirrored in the main character's actions and thoughts, and that's what makes this book so good.
September 23, 2017
This is a powerful novel, but one I feel will never develop much of a readership in the United States, given that we are asked to sympathize with a Japanese protagonist who has beheaded an American POW at the end of WWII. There is nothing in Takuya's rationalizations that I can really find fault with. War is not black and white. Japan's atrocities in no way make the Allies' actions completely innocent. After studying the Pacific War at length, I have come away with few definite answers. It is just far too complex. And it can never hurt to try to see things from the other side's perspective. This may be a work of fiction, but it is based upon factual events.
October 28, 2021
Esta novela trata sobre el destino de muchos militares japoneses al final de la segunda guerra mundial, cuando EEUU invadió el país y ejecutaba a muchos oficiales acusándolos de crímenes de guerra. Además de la situación económica, social y anímica del pueblo japonés después de la rendición.
La novela se centra en Takuya Kiyohara, un ex-oficial que recién había pasado al retiro por haber terminado la guerra que es contactado por un compañero de armas que aún trabajaba para el gobierno pero sirviendo a los estadounidenses dados sus conocimientos de inglés. Este compañero le dice que Takuya podría ser acusado por crímenes de guerra así que le dice que se esconda y le entrega un arma.
Luego de ese encuentro Takuya va recordando cosas de su vida en el ejército y describiendo la situación de pobreza, camino a casa, donde le dice a su familia que tiene que esconderse, quema todos sus documentos y se despide de su familia diciéndoles que tal vez no los vea en muchos años.
En el tercer capítulo Takuya rememora los últimos días de la guerra, cuando aún era oficial en una base militar en el sur del Japón y describe de forma detallada los sentimientos de furia e indignación que sentía por los constantes bombardeos que hacían los estadounidenses sobre ciudades y pueblos japoneses matando miles de civiles y destruyendo todas las propiedades de más gente inocente.
Relata la batalla de Okinawa y lo que esperaban los oficiales japoneses sobre como podría ser una invasión a las islas mayores de Japón. Y lo más importante describe como fue el episodio en que derribaron un avión bombardero estadounidense y capturaron vivos a varios militares de EEUU, como estuvieron presos, su indignación porque estos prisioneros se les alimentaba bien mientras familias japonesas inocentes no tenían nada que comer. También Takuya relata como es que se vivió los bombardeos nucleares en Hiroshima y Nagasaki, además de la posterior rendición de Japón.
En los últimos días de la guerra los altos oficiales deciden pena de muerte para los estadounidenses capturados, algunos son llevados al hospital donde son usados para experimentos y otros se quedan en sus celdas para ser ejecutados. Llegado el momento Takuya se ve involucrado teniendo que elegir soldados para la ejecución, llama a algunos pero otro se ofrece porque días antes su madre había muerto por los bombardeos estadounidenses y quería desahogar su dolor en esos militares, Takuya vió razonable aceptarlo dentro de los soldados que iban a ejecutar a los estadounidenses. Y así con espadas decapitaron a algunos de los militares capturados, otros fueron fusilados o decapitados por otras unidades.
En el capítulo cuatro, se vuelve al presente, donde Takuya viaja a la casa de su tío, ex alto oficial del ejército japonés, ya que creyó que lo podría esconder un tiempo o ayudarlo, pero su tío ya no era el militar enérgico de antes, sino era un anciano temeroso y derrotado, que le dice que se entregue. Takuya se desilusiona de su tío al que antes respetaba, pero la derrota de la guerra también lo transtornó. En la ciudad Takuya se encuentra con su hermano que le dice que la policía lo está buscando y le entrega un saco de arroz, cosa muy valiosa en tiempos de hambre como en ese entonces. Takuya va donde otro amigo involucrado en las ejecuciones a advertirle que se esconda porque los estadounidenses que ocupaban el país estaban vengándose usando a la policía japonesa para capturar y ejecutar a los militares japoneses que estuvieran involucrados con la captura y ejecución de prisioneros estadounidenses durante la guerra.
En el capítulo cinco, Takuya va a un pequeño pueblo pesquero donde se queda varios días con un antiguo amigo del ejército pero se va para no generar sospechas en ese pequeño pueblo, luego va a la ciudad de Kobe donde un viejo amigo de la universidad lo acoge por unas semanas trabajando en el taller de la casa, pero decide irse a otra ciudad porque sentía que incomodaba a la familia de la casa, además que no soportaba ver japonesas del brazo con soldados estadounidenses en la ciudad y por tener un encuentro con la policía que lo puso muy nervioso.
En el capítulo seis, siete y ocho, se relatan los meses en que Takuya trabaja con el amigo del papá de su amigo, en una fábrica de cajas en otra ciudad. Allí vive oculto, con lentes, con el rostro cambiado, recibiendo un sueldo, alojamiento y comida en la fábrica. Un día atrapa a un ladrón dando su declaración a la policía pero no lo reconocen. Por este episodio describe una angustia terrible al tener que hablar con la policía temiendo que lo reconozcan y lo arresten por su juicio pendiente, ya que leía en las noticias que los generales que dieron las órdenes de ejecutar prisioneros ahora lo negaban y le echaban la culpa a los oficiales de bajo rango como él era. Y los estadunidenses resolvían por dar pena de muerte a todos los japoneses involucrados, incluso a soldados rasos que solo habían golpeado prisioneros estadounidenses en tiempos de guerra.
También lee sobre la hambruna en Japón y que se esperaba que se agudizara más y eso traiga millones de japoneses muertos por hambre.
Como obrero que transportaba carga es acusado de un robo, y se siente cambiado, humillado, por pasar de ser un graduado universitario y oficial del ejército imperial del Japón a un fugitivo que tenía que pasar sus días como un sucio obrero ocultando su identidad y ocultando sus estudios para evitar que la policía lo atrape.
Un día encuentra un muerto en la calle, y no hace nada para no verse involucrado con la policía. Otro día llevando sus cargas se cruza con un vehículo militar de EEUU y desde él, unos soldados lo insultan y uno le lanza un casco en el rostro que lo hace caer en una acequia con toda su carga, donde queda inconsciente. Sabía que no podía hacer nada ante la humillación porque había escuchado que otros que osaron defenderse fueron asesinados en la calle por los soldados estadounidenses sin que nadie haga nada.
Después de ese episodio evitaba salir, y su jefe le dio un trabajo de de puro trabajo físico dentro de la fábrica.
Pasaron más meses y su jefe le ofreció un trabajo como ayudante contable, Takuya como graduado de la facultad de Economía estaba más que preparado para el trabajo, pero como ocultaba su identidad fingía saber poco del asunto y se limitaba. Luego su jefe le dijo que su sobrina se había fijado en él y como también le había agarrado afecto, que le agradaría que se case con ella. Takuya lo piensa pero decide declinar porque un matrimonio significaba revelar su identidad y pasado, por el trámite documentario. Ahí le cuenta a su jefe su verdad, y este le promete no decir nada.
Al finalizar el capítulo ocho, Takuya es informado que la policía lo ha localizado, su jefe le dice que escape antes que lo atrapen, pero Takuya se siente cansado de huir tanto tiempo y se entrega a la policía. Ya en prisión le informan que su padre fue quien lo delató a la policía después de interrogatorios en que le dijeron que era mejor delatar la dirección donde se ocultaba su hijo. Con la misma técnica atraparon a varios de los compañeros de Takuya.
Así Takuya es encarcelado meses hasta que se fija el día en que le dan su veredicto, que es el de cadena perpetua. Esperaba la pena de muerte, ya que antes por menos los estadounidenses habían dado pena de muerte a otros soldados japoneses.
En el capítulo nueve, se ve sus días en prisión y como este régimen va cambiando conforme pasa el tiempo. La situación de las relaciones de Japón con EEUU varían, y por la guerra fría, EEUU se pone más indulgente con Japón, lo que hace que le perdonen la vida a muchos oficiales japoneses que estaban esperando su ejecución, se reduzcan penas y los de penas corta sean liberados, al final la pena de cadena perpetua de Takuya es reducida a unos pocos años. Cuando sale en libertad casi una década después su padre había muerto arrepentido de haberlo delatado, pero Takuya no quiere ir a su casa, va a la vieja fábrica de Terasawa donde antes se había ocultado pero cuando estaba cerca se arrepiente y cree que es mejor no volver al pasado.
En esta novela se respira la angustia de un fugitivo, el sentimiento de pérdida de su propia vida y sentido del mundo, la rendición de una sociedad, además de las ansías de venganza primero de los japoneses cuando ejecutaron a los prisioneros estadounidenses y luego de los estadounidenses disfrazando de juicios las ejecuciones sumarias a oficiales y soldados japoneses por cualquier mínima acusación.
Como la derrota cambia a los militares, ya sea de bajo o alto rango. Muchos generales negándolo todo con cobardía echándole la culpa a sus subordinados para salvar la vida, otros suicidándose antes de ser atrapados, otros suicidándose en su propia celda.
El autor Akira Yoshimura nació en 1927, así que tendría 18 años el año de la rendición por lo que vivió de primera mano esa época. Una gran novela para entender al Japón de la postguerra.
La novela se centra en Takuya Kiyohara, un ex-oficial que recién había pasado al retiro por haber terminado la guerra que es contactado por un compañero de armas que aún trabajaba para el gobierno pero sirviendo a los estadounidenses dados sus conocimientos de inglés. Este compañero le dice que Takuya podría ser acusado por crímenes de guerra así que le dice que se esconda y le entrega un arma.
Luego de ese encuentro Takuya va recordando cosas de su vida en el ejército y describiendo la situación de pobreza, camino a casa, donde le dice a su familia que tiene que esconderse, quema todos sus documentos y se despide de su familia diciéndoles que tal vez no los vea en muchos años.
En el tercer capítulo Takuya rememora los últimos días de la guerra, cuando aún era oficial en una base militar en el sur del Japón y describe de forma detallada los sentimientos de furia e indignación que sentía por los constantes bombardeos que hacían los estadounidenses sobre ciudades y pueblos japoneses matando miles de civiles y destruyendo todas las propiedades de más gente inocente.
Relata la batalla de Okinawa y lo que esperaban los oficiales japoneses sobre como podría ser una invasión a las islas mayores de Japón. Y lo más importante describe como fue el episodio en que derribaron un avión bombardero estadounidense y capturaron vivos a varios militares de EEUU, como estuvieron presos, su indignación porque estos prisioneros se les alimentaba bien mientras familias japonesas inocentes no tenían nada que comer. También Takuya relata como es que se vivió los bombardeos nucleares en Hiroshima y Nagasaki, además de la posterior rendición de Japón.
En los últimos días de la guerra los altos oficiales deciden pena de muerte para los estadounidenses capturados, algunos son llevados al hospital donde son usados para experimentos y otros se quedan en sus celdas para ser ejecutados. Llegado el momento Takuya se ve involucrado teniendo que elegir soldados para la ejecución, llama a algunos pero otro se ofrece porque días antes su madre había muerto por los bombardeos estadounidenses y quería desahogar su dolor en esos militares, Takuya vió razonable aceptarlo dentro de los soldados que iban a ejecutar a los estadounidenses. Y así con espadas decapitaron a algunos de los militares capturados, otros fueron fusilados o decapitados por otras unidades.
En el capítulo cuatro, se vuelve al presente, donde Takuya viaja a la casa de su tío, ex alto oficial del ejército japonés, ya que creyó que lo podría esconder un tiempo o ayudarlo, pero su tío ya no era el militar enérgico de antes, sino era un anciano temeroso y derrotado, que le dice que se entregue. Takuya se desilusiona de su tío al que antes respetaba, pero la derrota de la guerra también lo transtornó. En la ciudad Takuya se encuentra con su hermano que le dice que la policía lo está buscando y le entrega un saco de arroz, cosa muy valiosa en tiempos de hambre como en ese entonces. Takuya va donde otro amigo involucrado en las ejecuciones a advertirle que se esconda porque los estadounidenses que ocupaban el país estaban vengándose usando a la policía japonesa para capturar y ejecutar a los militares japoneses que estuvieran involucrados con la captura y ejecución de prisioneros estadounidenses durante la guerra.
En el capítulo cinco, Takuya va a un pequeño pueblo pesquero donde se queda varios días con un antiguo amigo del ejército pero se va para no generar sospechas en ese pequeño pueblo, luego va a la ciudad de Kobe donde un viejo amigo de la universidad lo acoge por unas semanas trabajando en el taller de la casa, pero decide irse a otra ciudad porque sentía que incomodaba a la familia de la casa, además que no soportaba ver japonesas del brazo con soldados estadounidenses en la ciudad y por tener un encuentro con la policía que lo puso muy nervioso.
En el capítulo seis, siete y ocho, se relatan los meses en que Takuya trabaja con el amigo del papá de su amigo, en una fábrica de cajas en otra ciudad. Allí vive oculto, con lentes, con el rostro cambiado, recibiendo un sueldo, alojamiento y comida en la fábrica. Un día atrapa a un ladrón dando su declaración a la policía pero no lo reconocen. Por este episodio describe una angustia terrible al tener que hablar con la policía temiendo que lo reconozcan y lo arresten por su juicio pendiente, ya que leía en las noticias que los generales que dieron las órdenes de ejecutar prisioneros ahora lo negaban y le echaban la culpa a los oficiales de bajo rango como él era. Y los estadunidenses resolvían por dar pena de muerte a todos los japoneses involucrados, incluso a soldados rasos que solo habían golpeado prisioneros estadounidenses en tiempos de guerra.
También lee sobre la hambruna en Japón y que se esperaba que se agudizara más y eso traiga millones de japoneses muertos por hambre.
Como obrero que transportaba carga es acusado de un robo, y se siente cambiado, humillado, por pasar de ser un graduado universitario y oficial del ejército imperial del Japón a un fugitivo que tenía que pasar sus días como un sucio obrero ocultando su identidad y ocultando sus estudios para evitar que la policía lo atrape.
Un día encuentra un muerto en la calle, y no hace nada para no verse involucrado con la policía. Otro día llevando sus cargas se cruza con un vehículo militar de EEUU y desde él, unos soldados lo insultan y uno le lanza un casco en el rostro que lo hace caer en una acequia con toda su carga, donde queda inconsciente. Sabía que no podía hacer nada ante la humillación porque había escuchado que otros que osaron defenderse fueron asesinados en la calle por los soldados estadounidenses sin que nadie haga nada.
Después de ese episodio evitaba salir, y su jefe le dio un trabajo de de puro trabajo físico dentro de la fábrica.
Pasaron más meses y su jefe le ofreció un trabajo como ayudante contable, Takuya como graduado de la facultad de Economía estaba más que preparado para el trabajo, pero como ocultaba su identidad fingía saber poco del asunto y se limitaba. Luego su jefe le dijo que su sobrina se había fijado en él y como también le había agarrado afecto, que le agradaría que se case con ella. Takuya lo piensa pero decide declinar porque un matrimonio significaba revelar su identidad y pasado, por el trámite documentario. Ahí le cuenta a su jefe su verdad, y este le promete no decir nada.
Al finalizar el capítulo ocho, Takuya es informado que la policía lo ha localizado, su jefe le dice que escape antes que lo atrapen, pero Takuya se siente cansado de huir tanto tiempo y se entrega a la policía. Ya en prisión le informan que su padre fue quien lo delató a la policía después de interrogatorios en que le dijeron que era mejor delatar la dirección donde se ocultaba su hijo. Con la misma técnica atraparon a varios de los compañeros de Takuya.
Así Takuya es encarcelado meses hasta que se fija el día en que le dan su veredicto, que es el de cadena perpetua. Esperaba la pena de muerte, ya que antes por menos los estadounidenses habían dado pena de muerte a otros soldados japoneses.
En el capítulo nueve, se ve sus días en prisión y como este régimen va cambiando conforme pasa el tiempo. La situación de las relaciones de Japón con EEUU varían, y por la guerra fría, EEUU se pone más indulgente con Japón, lo que hace que le perdonen la vida a muchos oficiales japoneses que estaban esperando su ejecución, se reduzcan penas y los de penas corta sean liberados, al final la pena de cadena perpetua de Takuya es reducida a unos pocos años. Cuando sale en libertad casi una década después su padre había muerto arrepentido de haberlo delatado, pero Takuya no quiere ir a su casa, va a la vieja fábrica de Terasawa donde antes se había ocultado pero cuando estaba cerca se arrepiente y cree que es mejor no volver al pasado.
En esta novela se respira la angustia de un fugitivo, el sentimiento de pérdida de su propia vida y sentido del mundo, la rendición de una sociedad, además de las ansías de venganza primero de los japoneses cuando ejecutaron a los prisioneros estadounidenses y luego de los estadounidenses disfrazando de juicios las ejecuciones sumarias a oficiales y soldados japoneses por cualquier mínima acusación.
Como la derrota cambia a los militares, ya sea de bajo o alto rango. Muchos generales negándolo todo con cobardía echándole la culpa a sus subordinados para salvar la vida, otros suicidándose antes de ser atrapados, otros suicidándose en su propia celda.
El autor Akira Yoshimura nació en 1927, así que tendría 18 años el año de la rendición por lo que vivió de primera mano esa época. Una gran novela para entender al Japón de la postguerra.
June 20, 2017
One Man's Justice is one of those books that will haunt you for a long time. While you read a compelling narrative of one man's plight following WWII, you are brilliantly led to ponder much bigger issues related to war. One Man's Justice is one of those great reads where some of the content is disturbing, and yet the journey it takes you on somehow transcends the unsettling parts. This one really made me think and challenge some of my viewpoints.
July 31, 2021
*Score: 8.5/10*
This is an anti-war novel, about a Japanese officer who has beheaded an American POW in WW2, and it focuses on the hunt for war criminals post the war, and the officer's goal to avoid getting captured as a war criminal and be on the run. It tackles a lot of war related topics, such as the morality of certain matters, and how the "winners" can affect law and judgement.
Yoshimura's Shipwrecks, and On Parole, are both amongst my all time favorite books, easily in my top 20. While I can't say the same about this novel, as I thought certain elements didn't work as intensely here, this is still a solid work, and very much has yoshimura's signature style of dark and stark storytelling aiming to tackle questions on justice and areas of grey morality.
The key issue here, which is not much of an issue more so than a personal preference, is that the first half of the novel is written like an essay / documentary, detailing some of the raids and bombing events in Japan during the war, but with full detachment, mentioned as facts. I personally felt this part could have been much more emotional, and with stronger integration between the main character's plight and those bombing events. The novel eventually starts getting much more personal, but it was a bit later than I was hoping for, slightly diminishing the impact of the ending.
As per classic yoshimura, he always delivers and ending to remember, and this is also the case here, which is one of the main reasons he is up there as one of my all time favorite authors. He is a master of subtle imagery and slow burners that end up printed in the brain to never leave my memory. Also he never offers answers, and never preaches, but always questions and raises moral dilemmas in exactly the way I like, making the reader think and draw their own conclusions.
I still think Shipwrecks is the best starting point for Yoshimura for new comers, but honestly I liked all 3 so far, and would read anything else by him in a heartbeat. Here is hoping we get more works translated for this underappreciated and one of a kind author.
This is an anti-war novel, about a Japanese officer who has beheaded an American POW in WW2, and it focuses on the hunt for war criminals post the war, and the officer's goal to avoid getting captured as a war criminal and be on the run. It tackles a lot of war related topics, such as the morality of certain matters, and how the "winners" can affect law and judgement.
Yoshimura's Shipwrecks, and On Parole, are both amongst my all time favorite books, easily in my top 20. While I can't say the same about this novel, as I thought certain elements didn't work as intensely here, this is still a solid work, and very much has yoshimura's signature style of dark and stark storytelling aiming to tackle questions on justice and areas of grey morality.
The key issue here, which is not much of an issue more so than a personal preference, is that the first half of the novel is written like an essay / documentary, detailing some of the raids and bombing events in Japan during the war, but with full detachment, mentioned as facts. I personally felt this part could have been much more emotional, and with stronger integration between the main character's plight and those bombing events. The novel eventually starts getting much more personal, but it was a bit later than I was hoping for, slightly diminishing the impact of the ending.
As per classic yoshimura, he always delivers and ending to remember, and this is also the case here, which is one of the main reasons he is up there as one of my all time favorite authors. He is a master of subtle imagery and slow burners that end up printed in the brain to never leave my memory. Also he never offers answers, and never preaches, but always questions and raises moral dilemmas in exactly the way I like, making the reader think and draw their own conclusions.
I still think Shipwrecks is the best starting point for Yoshimura for new comers, but honestly I liked all 3 so far, and would read anything else by him in a heartbeat. Here is hoping we get more works translated for this underappreciated and one of a kind author.
May 17, 2025
I love Akira Yoshimura's books, and this one is one of his best. It is an absorbing story packed with individual and institutional moral questions on the nature of justice set against the realistic backdrop of a defeated Japan during the American occupation. What is truth and who decides? While those guilty of war crimes are sent to the gallows, the victors whitewash their own crimes against humanity. Akira Yoshimura weaves a compelling narrative together with historical fact from the point of view of a wanted war criminal on the run from the US. There is an atmosphere of oppressive inevitability throughout the narrative as the protagonist attempt to flee his destiny and as the tension ramps up and the net slowly closes in on him, this reader found himself rooting for the protagonist in spite of his crimes. While this translation can at times take you down long-winded corridors, the pictures painted of the changing seasons and the changing society make for an incredibly beautiful journey. Highly recommended!
November 12, 2024
Opens the mind. What would I have done? Too easy to judge war-time situations, and personal conflicts, when my experience of war is a few black-and-white British heroes war films. And what value in chasing down a supposed war criminal? He didn't run a concentration camp or torture prisoners, or decide to drop nuclear bombs on civilians. One low-level soldier whose family had just been fire-bombed, with his seniors panicking as their country was beginning to collapse. Would I, at that point, have really taken the opportunity to review the rule book on how to treat a prisoner? Or would I have cut the f...ing b...ard's head off? I was brought up with the mantra that the Japanese were cold, callous, vicious and manic soldiers. This book gives a personal view which can be put alongside histories of what the Japanese government was thinking and saying, and their refusal to surrender, with their 'honour' and 'holy' Emperor.
December 9, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Es una historia extraordinaria de suspenso psicologico de Akira Yoshimura.
Se centra en el final de la segunda guerra mundial y nos cuenta la historia de Takuya un soldado desmovilizado que se entera que las fuerzas aliadas lo buscan por crimenes de guerra.
Takuya nos va relatando el dia a dia de sus pensamientos acerca de lo que el vivio y como lo vivio durante la guerra, ademas de que vemos como el se las arregla para escapar luego de terminada la guerra.
La trama, los personajes y el contexto histórico hacen de esta novela una lectura sorprendentemente rápida, profundamente gratificante y absolutamente aterradora. Uno no puede evitar apoyarlo y queres que las cosas le salgan bien, contra el injusto sistema de retribución.
"Los aliados veian como heroes a sus propios soldados por haber matado japoneses, pe pretendian imponer por las mismas razones, una muerte humillante a takuya y a sus camaradas derrotados."
Es una historia extraordinaria de suspenso psicologico de Akira Yoshimura.
Se centra en el final de la segunda guerra mundial y nos cuenta la historia de Takuya un soldado desmovilizado que se entera que las fuerzas aliadas lo buscan por crimenes de guerra.
Takuya nos va relatando el dia a dia de sus pensamientos acerca de lo que el vivio y como lo vivio durante la guerra, ademas de que vemos como el se las arregla para escapar luego de terminada la guerra.
La trama, los personajes y el contexto histórico hacen de esta novela una lectura sorprendentemente rápida, profundamente gratificante y absolutamente aterradora. Uno no puede evitar apoyarlo y queres que las cosas le salgan bien, contra el injusto sistema de retribución.
"Los aliados veian como heroes a sus propios soldados por haber matado japoneses, pe pretendian imponer por las mismas razones, una muerte humillante a takuya y a sus camaradas derrotados."
September 15, 2025
Leer a Yoshimura es abrir la puerta a un mundo demasiado humano. No sé si las traducciones le harán justicia al idioma original, pero los tres libros que he leído de él (en español) me los devoro. Me hipnotiza el naturalismo que hay en ellos, la crueldad, como todo sucede en las mismas capas donde suceden otras cosas.
Con este libro no he dejado de pensar quién es realmente el enemigo (los gringos, la rabia, las ganas de vivir, la violencia); uno apunta a otro y el otro al otro, y así.
Toda realidad tiene sus matices. Cada acción tiene una motivación detrás. Y todo esos espacios por donde transita la historia ocurren entre lo escrito y el lector.
Aprecio mucho los libros que dejan esos espacios <33
Con este libro no he dejado de pensar quién es realmente el enemigo (los gringos, la rabia, las ganas de vivir, la violencia); uno apunta a otro y el otro al otro, y así.
Toda realidad tiene sus matices. Cada acción tiene una motivación detrás. Y todo esos espacios por donde transita la historia ocurren entre lo escrito y el lector.
Aprecio mucho los libros que dejan esos espacios <33
July 9, 2025
This was a really beautiful book and helped me better understand Japan’s perspective during WWII. Takuya was seriously broken down by the time he was finally released from prison, but he continued to show time and time again across his various jobs while on the run that he had a hard working driven spirit in him. Of course his sense of pride towards his former role in the Imperial Army might have changed, but he found solitude in the work he could find, even if usually temporary. Also, the author did such an amazing job with imagery throughout the whole book and has given me one more reason to make the trip to Japan.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2024
One man's justice is a book that will grab your emotion and does not let go even after the last page. The story of a Japanese soldier with blood on his hands and on the run and the torturous emotions he goes through is heart wrenching. Akira has has balanced the events before and after with such precision that it will leave you not knowing who to root for. That's what writing a good novel is all about. It definitely moved me in so many ways and I wish I could continue reading the story after the last page.
November 14, 2022
Translated from the Japanese. A former Japanese Lieutenant gets word that he may be sought for war crimes. He goes into hiding, and sees the devastation that WWII has wrought on the cities and civilians of Japan. The story calls into question, what are war crimes, the mass civilian casualties of war, or the execution of those who dropped the bombs. At times beautiful and at times horrific. The translation is excellent, the prose is simple and stark.
worth reading
worth reading
January 31, 2025
یویشمورا به زیبایی تمام تنهایی مردی را تصویر میکشد که رنج یک کشور جنگ زده را بر دوش میکشد. تاکویا، افسر سابق ارتش امپراطوری ژاپن، در گریز از مرگ است و دیگر گویی هم وطنانش هم، به اندازه ارتش ایالات متحده دشمنش هستند. تاکویا میگریزد تا جایی که دیگر راهی جز رویارویی با حقیقت برایش باقی نمیماند: شکست. تاکویا تن به در هم شکستن میدهد و هر لحظهای که میگذرد را، در گذشتهاش دفن میکند، چشمش را به غروب خورشید در پس قصر درنای سفید میدوزد و باز هم به مسیرش ادامه میدهد.
July 9, 2023
Details crippling events, the ambiguity and fog of war and war crimes, but the tone is flat, uninvolved. Makes it difficult to become invested, be shocked and appalled. I understand that Japanese is a rather minimal language, as opposed to English, which is sometimes hideously complex, and florid. Probably lose something in translation.
October 30, 2019
This is a novel I will be thinking about for awhile. Aside from the weighty moral questions, it makes you long for a really good social history of Japanese society in the decade after the war. What monumental changes!
July 8, 2017
Enjoyed reading this book. It brought to life an aspect of World War 2 in Japan which we don't speak of very often.
November 9, 2020
Incredible look into the hypocrisy of USA policy towards Japan during and after WW2
January 18, 2022
This was a pretty good read.
I found the narrative a very interesting perspective.
I would recommend it for fans of old Japanese literature.
3.8/5
I found the narrative a very interesting perspective.
I would recommend it for fans of old Japanese literature.
3.8/5
September 10, 2022
Maybe a 3.5. It’s very dry in writing style, still a fascinating depiction of the mental accounting one who has been involved in war atrocities must do.
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