Harp of Burma

by Michio Takeyama, Howard Hibbett (Translator)

Harp of Burma is Japan's classic novel of pathos and compassion in the midst of senseless warfare.

Winner of the prestigious Mainichi Shuppan Bunkasho prize and the basis for the critically acclaimed film The Burmese Harp by Ichikawa Kon, Harp of Burma shares a powerful human story about Japanese soldiers on the front lines in WWII. Losing a desperate battle against British forces in the tropical jungles of Burma, the young soldiers discover that the trials of war involve more than just opposing the enemy.

Distressed and disoriented by the alien climate and terrain, strange behavior of foreigners and the emotions stirred by the senselessness of war, their commander's ability to lead them in song helps them discover music's power to make even the most severe situations more tolerable. Even though they face the inevitability of defeat, singing the songs of their homeland revives their will to live.

Through the story of these men and of the music that saw them through the war, Takeyama presents thought-provoking questions about political hostilities and the men who unleash them. Harp of Burma is Japan's classic novel of pathos and compassion in the midst of senseless warfare.

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

132 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 1959

About the author

Michio Takeyama (竹山 道雄, Takeyama Michio, 17 July 1903 – 15 June 1984) was a Japanese writer, literary critic and scholar of German literature, active in Shōwa period Japan.

After World War II, Takeyama became famous for his novel, Biruma no Tategoto (Harp of Burma), which was serialized in Akatonbo (The Red Dragonfly), a literary magazine aimed primarily at children, over 1947–1948, before being published in book format in October 1948. An award-winning novel, it was subsequently translated into English under UNESCO sponsorship, and made into a 1956 movie, The Burmese Harp. In 1948, he wrote Scars, set in northern China, which Takeyama had visited in 1931 and 1938.

Reviews

[Noor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel was part of my son's school syllabus, and I used to read it with him, explaining things whenever needed. Those moments brought back some of the best memories of reading together with your child.

The thought of becoming a monk has crossed my mind many times in life. There are days when the rat race, the endless tricks of people, and the weight of expectations make me want to give it all up and join a Sufi or a Buddhist monastery. But the challenges of daily life have always kept me turning the wheels of capitalism, a system that, in a strange way, I also belong to.

Serving others is one of the finest things a human can do, and when Mizushima takes on the painful duty of cremating the dead, something very deep must have awakened inside him.

Harp of Burma by Michio Takeyama is not just a war story, it is a journey into the human heart. It talks about friendship, faith, guilt, and peace after the terrible events of World War II. The book shows how a man can move from being a soldier to becoming a peaceful monk, wearing the robe and spending his life giving peace to countless dead soldiers by cremating them.

Mizushima does not give long speeches, but his actions ask us questions:
What is duty?
What is peace?
What is the right way to live after so much destruction?

I also ask myself:
In our modern world, where we are busy with technology and deadlines, is there still space for such deep acts of compassion?
And finally, can service to others be a form of rebellion against the emptiness of the rat race?

[yelenska]

Une très jolie lecture qui rentre dans la catégorie de ces romans classiques japonais qui procurent une sensation de douceur malgré les choses horribles qui se passent en fond. Cette histoire se déroule à la fin de la Deuxième guerre et il est donc fait mention de soldats tombés, mais la focale est plutôt sur la camaraderie militaire que l'on retrouve dans ce bataillon japonais qui se trouve en Birmanie et qui a la spécificité de chanter ensemble des chansons importantes pour les Japonais, ou très connues dans leur pays natal. Il y a un soldat en particulier qui semble être celui qui cimente le groupe, lui et sa harpe... Puis il disparaît et le mystère de ce qui lui est arrivé obsède son bataillon qui est véritablement en manque de lui, de sa présence et des sons qu'il produits avec sa harpe, et qui le voit partout tel un fantôme. Je retiendrai cette impression d'entendre le vent et les sons provenant d'une harpe en fond, comme si la poésie de cette musique et de ces relations humaines avaient plus d'impact que la morne réalité qui est celle de ces soldats. J'ai également fort apprécié les descriptions (simples mais belles !) des paysages qui nous maintiennent dans cette sensation de flottement grâce à la musique.

Pour finir, j'ai très envie de partager avec vous cette citation qui n'est pas du tout représentative de l'ambiance ou des thématiques abordées par le roman, mais qui m'a beaucoup plu car elle me fait penser au comportement humain en groupe - et cette citation me rappelle aussi pourquoi je ne participe plus à des regroupements physiques ou virtuels qui défilent avec un même message ou une même idéologie. Voici la citation:
"En les écoutant, voilà qu'elle était mon sentiment : ces hommes fiévrés et ardents étaient mus par une force étrange. Il n'était pas impossible que chacun d'entre eux, séparément, ait eu ses idées propres. Mais, réunis dans le groupe, faisant en somme un seul corps, tout ce qui leur était personnel avait disparu et ne pouvait s'exprimer à l'extérieur. Leur forfanterie réciproque une fois attisée, il leur était ensuite impossible de faire marche arrière. Ils ne pouvaient plus adopter une attitude différente. Quelque chose de tout à fait éloigné des désirs individuels forgeait le groupe et le mettait en mouvement. Je ne savais pas du tout comment et par quel bout m'y prendre pour aborder cette puissance tenace. Parmi eux, il y avait sans aucun doute des hommes qui avaient pris la décision de se battre jusqu'à la mort. Mais l'on pouvait également penser que d'autres doutaient et se demandaient si une autre attitude n'était pas aussi juste. Ceux-là étaient dans l'incapacité de s'exprimer. Ils étaient non seulement trop faibles pour résister à la pression de la masse, mais ils étaient en outre dans l'ignorance totale de ce qu'était la situation actuelle. Ils n'avaient aucune possibilité d'exercer leur jugement. Même s'ils avaient voulu affirmer une position personnelle, il leur était difficile de l'étayer. C'est pourquoi les arguments combatifs et inconsidérés étaient les grands vainqueurs...
... Après tout, cela également était compréhensible."

[Rural Soul · Rating 5 out of 5]

بہت کم ایسا ہوتا ہے کہ کسی کتاب کا مواد اتنا طاقت ور ہو کہ اس کو کسی زبان میں بھی ترجمہ کر لیا جائے مگر اس کی اہمیت ختم نہ ہو. زیر نظر کتاب بھی اسی قسم کی تھی۔
تھی یہ کتاب ان میں شامل تھی جو میں نے نگارشات پبلی کیشنز ز کی سستی کتابوں کا بنڈل منگوایا تھا۔
آپ سمجھ نہیں آتا کہ اس کی تعریف صرف اس لئے کروں کہ یہ بہت سادہ پیرائے میں تھی. سب سے عجیب بات اس کے انداز میں یہ ہے کہ اس میں کہانی بیان کرنے والا کردار اپنے آپ کو اس پوری کہانی میں اپنی نفی کرتا ہوا ملے گا. آپ اس کے بارے میں جانتے نہیں ہیں کہ وہ کون ہے مگر وہ اپنے موجودگی کے باوجود دوسرے کرداروں کے اوپر پر، آپ کی توجہ لے کر جاتا ہے. دوسری اس کتاب کے اندر اہم بات یہ تھی کہ عام طور پر آپ جب عالمی جنگوں کا ادب پڑھتے ہیں تو اس میں اتنا زیادہ جنگ و جدل، قتل عام اور اس طرح کی چیزیں دکھائی جاتی ہیں کہ آپ کو اس ماحول میں لے کر جانے کی کوشش کی جاتی ہے.
اس ناول کی سب سے اہم بات یہ تھی کہ اس میں آپ کو بغیر کوئی اس طرح کا منظر دکھائے ہوئے آپ کو یہ باور کرایا گیا ہے کہ موسیقی لوگوں کی زندگی میں بہت اہم کردار ادا کرتی ہے. یہ وہ لوگ تھے جو اس کٹھن دور میں اپنی موسیقی کے برتے پر حوصلہ پاتے گئے اور ہمت بانٹتے گئے۔
بہت مشکل ہوتا ہے کہ کم صخامت کے باوجود کافی موضوعات کو ایک ہی ناول میں چھوا جائے. ناامیدی میں روشنی کی کرن اور جنگ کی تباہی میں، ممالک کی لڑائیوں کو عام آدمی کی زندگی پر طاری کرنا بھی ایک الگ کمال ہے. مصنف نے اس بات پر بھی بحث کی ہے کہ جنگ کے بعد ممالک کے ہاتھ خالی ہی رہ جاتے ہیں۔
جنگ میں کام آجانے والے گمنام فوجیوں کے لاشے برما کے جنگلوں میں سڑتے رہے ہوں گے. کوئی بھی ان کا نام نہ جان پائے گا. اس ناول کا مرکزی کردار اسی بات پر جاپان واپسی کا خیال ترک کر دیتا ہے۔
اردو ایڈیشن پر "ریاظ" کا بنایا ہوا سرورق بہت عمدہ تھا. اب ہاتھ سے بنائے ہوئے سرورق کم ہی ملتے ہیں. نگارشات اور مشعل بکس کی کتب زیادہ تر نوے کی دہائی میں چھپی ہیں، اس لئے ان کے ٹائٹل عمدہ ہیں۔
برما کا ماحول جو اس ناول میں بیان کیا گیا ہے، اس کو آج کے مار دھاڑ کے واقعات سے موازنہ کیا جائے تو کلیجہ منہ کو آتا ہے۔ اب تو شاید برمی فوج اور عوام نے تہیہ کرلیا ہے کہ مسلمانوں کو ادھر نہیں ٹکنے دینا۔

[Smiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review 2

It has long been taken for granted as a discipline strictly practiced by Buddhist monks in the Theravada sect in Thailand in that they do not play any musical instrument as one of the Vinaya (monastic discipline), let alone take one with them. Notably, Buddhist monks in Burma also are in the same sect. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theravada) So there might be a misunderstanding concerning the following dialog by the old woman, ". . . Burma is full of monks. They go traveling here and there, and an awful lot of them play harps, . . ." (p. 74)

This paragraph is arguably controversial:

We Japanese have not cared to make strenuous spiritual efforts. We have not even recognized their value. What we stressed was merely a man's abilities, the things he could do -- not what kind of a man he was, how he lived, or the depth of his understanding. Of perfection as a human being, of humility, stoicism, holiness, the capacity to gain salvation and to help others toward it -- of all these virtues we were left ignorant. (p. 129)

In fact, Japan has long had innumerable famous Buddhist monks as we can find out in an encyclopedia or via the internet. In the meantime, it would suffice to mention two remarkable, eminent ones, that is, Saicho on Mount Hiyei (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saichō) and Kukai on Mount Koya (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kūkai).


Review 1

Since many years ago I have come across a Thai novel titled, “เสียงพิณเสนาะใสในพม่า”, and known that it has been translated from Japanese as stated in its introduction. Surprisingly, I have never had any chance in acquiring the said Thai fiction to read till I bought this English version rendered by Howard Hibbett, thinking that this book should be read and compared to the translated Thai texts to verify its translations when I can find the one in Thai to read. (For some reason, I think it has interestingly become a rare one.)

Interestingly, there is a small-font sentence on its black background printed on the top of its front cover; it simply stating, “Japan’s haunting answer to Germany’s requiem for the First World War, All Quiet on the Western Front”. I have read and enjoyed this novel translated from German, thinking the novel’s plot, climax, characters, etc. have been presented from Western views primarily more or less based on religion, presumably most were Christians since the soldiers killed the enemy as ordered, saw death in the face and fought for their survival in the ruthless battlefield; therefore, they could not help applying their religious faith as their ultimate spiritual refuge.

Having a war setting in Burma regarded as a Buddhist country near the end of World War II, this novel’s three parts followed by its varied chapters would reveal its readers to know and see how some fifty desperate Japanese soldiers lived, fought and escaped in time of war and why one of them, Mizushima Yasuhiko, has decided to desert his company to become a Buddhist monk as narrated in its three parts: The Singing Company, The Green Parakeet, and The Monk’s Letter (totaling 21 chapters) instead of returning home to Japan like his survived friends and colleagues.

[Carolinem · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel, harp of burma by Michio Takeyama, was about the lives of a group of musical Japanese soldiers who were P.O.Ws in Burma after WWII ended. They face many challenges, especially when they do not know the whereabouts of a beloved soldier. Most of the book is about the soldiers trying to find out where he is, if he is even alive. Takeyama has also ritten, The Scars of War: Tokyo During World War II: Writings of Takeyama Michio. WWII is a common theme in his novels, and does have japanese heritage himself.
I thought that this novel was very interesting, especially the character of Mizushima, because we could never really tell what he was thinking until the end. Mizushima had a strong personality, and he seemed very brave,honorable, and courageous. These charactaristics add to his positive effect on readers. The plot was unpredictable, and i had know idea why Mizushima had disapeared until the very end. The author also did a good job of adding suspense to the novel, in his "mystery" characters, for example the monk.
There were not very many weaknesses in the novel, except that i think it would have been more interesting if the author had added more subplots other than just Mizushima's disapearance. Some parts of the novel were boring i thought, like when they were talking about burma, and the traditional monks.
Despite the lack of plot and character varieties, i thought this novel was very well done, and it had an interesting,suspensful main plot. The characters also had were great topics to discuss about, and they made decisions that were interesting, and good topics reflect back on. Anyone who enjoys war novels, but would rather focus on the lives of the soldiers than the historical aspect would love this book.

[Beth Ohrenschall · Rating 5 out of 5]

A moving story of love and war in WWII Burma. The movie was wonderful, too.

[Matt S · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Harp of Burma was written by Michio Takeyama and a World War 2 story told from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers in Burma, now known as Myanmar. The novel follows a group of soldiers known as the singing company because they always sing to keep their spirits up. A soldier in the singing company named Mizushima plays the harp to accompany all of the company's songs and he uses the harp to save the company from death on many occasions. The Japanese eventually surrender and the singing company is taken prisoner. Mizushima is asked by the captain of the singing company if he will briefly leave the company to help the British convince a group of die hard Japanese to surrender. Mizushima agrees and sets off on his mission. He never returns to the POW camp and the singing company is left filled with doubt about what happened to Mizushima. One day a monk appears around the POW camp that resembles Mizushima and the company hears harp music playing while they are out working. Finally, when the company is about to be released and sent back to Japan, the monk reveals himself as Mizushima, but refuses to rejoin the company. He later explains in a letter that he has decided to remain in Burma to give all of the dead and forgotten Japanese a proper burial.

The characterization is the novel was very well done. Mizushima was the only character with a name and the author did a great job showing how he was split between staying in Burma as a monk or returning to Japan throughout the novel. The author also did a great job of portraying the company's feeling about Mizushima's disappearance, especially the captains feelings. Besides the expert characterization, the author did a great job weaving a deep plot that didn't just involve Mizushima deciding that he liked Burma better, but deciding that the dead needed to be honored, which came as a total surprise to the reader. The author did a great job describing the contrast of Japanese and Burmese culture.

I found that a major weakness in the book was that Mizushima's adventures could have been described in a more exciting way. The way the author spoke of him sitting in the middle of the battlefield playing his harp as bullets whizzed by didn't capture Mizushima's fear or how tense the situation was at all. I also felt that the author could have used more descriptive language. Although I found that the descriptions of the Burmese culture were great, more descriptive language would have allowed me to imagine what Burma looked like, not just what the culture was like.

Overall, I thought that the novel was a very enjoyable read because its lack of description of setting and action was easily made up for with the authors descriptions of Burmese culture. I thought the plot was very entertaining and although it was not unthinkable that Mizushima decided to remain in Burma, his reasons took the reader completely by surprise. I would recommend this book for anyone because I found it interesting and none of the topics covered in the book appeal to my interests, so anyone, no matter what their interests, could find this book enjoyable.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by Michio Takeyama, Harp of Burma is a war novel taking place during World War II in Burma, which is now called Myanmar. Takeyama wrote the novel in 1946, and it was later translated into English in 1996. The novel demonstrates the significance of music in a soldier’s life. The Japanese soldiers who were known as the “singing company”, sang songs and played instruments to cheer themselves up during rough times, and also times of rejoice. The main character of the story, corporal Mizushima, was an inspiration to his company. He left to go on a mission and did not return, making his company think he was dead, until they later found out he had been disguising himself as a monk.
Mizushima’s disguise surprised me the most in Harp of Burma. I thought the whole situation was extremely ironic. His company had been seeing him everyday and did not know it, thinking he was dead the whole time. Although they made observations of recognizing the monk as Mizushima, they did not believe it was him. The company thought they lost their best corporal in a mission to retrieve soldiers, but all along he had been right there by their sides.
I thought Harp of Burma had quite a few weaknesses. Some of the major ones were the gruesome details, the insignificant information, and the lack of description for most characters. Takeyama described some of the death situations with too much detail. I did not enjoy reading about the cannibals in so much detail. On the other hand I thought some other events were not described with enough detail. Some parts of the story that I thought were significant were brushed by such as the surrendering of the Japanese. That seemed like a major event to me, but it was only mentioned, not described. I also did not like how none of the characters had names. Mizushima was the only character with a name, and the rest of the soldiers were labeled as “the singing company.” I thought more characters should have been individualized and given names.
Although I thought the novel had weaknesses, Harp of Burma was the easiest war novel to understand. It did not go into chapters of unnecessary information like most books about war do. It was also fairly simple to understand, not using words from centuries ago. I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys a story about war, and also likes a book with plenty of symbolism. Overall I thought Harp of Burma was an exceptional book demonstrating the importance of music and leadership during war.

[Stacia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally written in 1946, Harp of Burma shows its age just a little bit in some of its stereotypes. And, Takeyama's teaching a moral lesson in the book, so it gets a bit heavy/didactic in a few parts. I think it was originally written for teens, so it's a bit more overt in the message too, rather than being more subtle. Even so, I'm glad I read it as I can imagine it was probably revolutionary in Japan for the time it was written (being more open-minded about the Burmese people & those from other nations too; some examination of what was wrong with Japan's thinking/moral code during WWII). Quick & interesting read that gives a different WWII perspective. Would be a great addition to any collection or assignment of WWII reading.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Burmese look very much like us Japanese, except that they have light beards."

"Like any bridegroom, I stood looking down meekly as if resigned to my fate."

[M.R. Dowsing · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sentimental but genuinely moving story about a platoon of Japanese soldiers in Burma towards the end of World War 2 who find solace in music. One of their number (who plays the harp of the title) goes missing in action, but a few months later his former comrades are struck by a wandering monk's resemblance to their missing friend.

Author Takeyama was not himself a soldier, but a professor who saw many of his students sent off to fight and often be killed overseas. The book was originally intended for children, but became very popular with adults, and it's not difficult to see why; not only is it a cracking story, but it's written with an artless simplicity that is very affecting. However, as it was largely a product of its author's imagination, there are some occasional unfortunate lapses, such as the sequence involving a tribe of cannibals; this seems to be complete fantasy.

Kon Ichikawa's 1956 film version does full justice to the book, I think.

[Revanth Ukkalam]

Having read the novel and then watched the film, The Burmese Harp "tradition" testifies to the power and pertinence of audience - both by the latter's capacity to demand and consume, as well as an artist's overt insistence on identifying an audience and providing for them. That the novel was written for children and young adults slowly recovering from the most scarring war that the world still knows is as unsurprising as it is apparent that the film was written and made for viewers of fine and sombre cinema. While the former booms with irony and to some degree, even parody of those soldiers who could so easily in the gaze of nationalism become heroes (and thus also in some way even protects them from the obvious attacks that progressive historiographies have made against the atrocities committed by Japan in the prologue of the War - for these soldiers are, in the novel, a mass of innocent and almost guileless men), the film is a thoughtful meditation upon a gentle man who rejects the spoilage that war (and nationalism that has even begotten War in the first place) causes embracing independently a fold that is evidently an object of ridicule it seems, for his fellow Japanese soldiers.

The novel seems to also entail a commentary on the disjointed nature of "Pan-Asianism". Considering Japan's tall claims from the 1930s onwards at its intentions to unify East Asia (and had their disastrous attempts at making inroads into India not failed, even further), it is disappointing indeed for the Japanese army to be not just quite ignorant about one of its new "friends" (read: colonies), but also incredibly bigoted. Implicitly the novel seems to ask if the founders of Independent Burma: U Nu and Aung San who worked hand in glove, in a moment of realpolitik with Japan, were truly well-guided in their choice of friends. While being thoroughly in jest, the prejudice is located in the judgments the soldiers pass on Theravada Buddhism. There is a vulgar understanding among the soldiers of what the austere Southern Buddhism does - encourage the individual to focus on the self alone and the cessation of suffering and reject the pursuit of worldly goals for the benefit of the larger society. At the communitarian level, the Japanese soldiers all observe that the Burmese wager themselves before faith; they may live in small huts but still endow large gifts upon temples and enlarge monasteries. These judgments cause no surprise to the reader: the indictment of Theravada as a solipsistic, navel-gazing, anti-materialist, collectivist, and nihilistic dispensation is a mirror image of 19th century conceptions of Eastern spiritualities. Therefore truly the modernised Japanese (some perhaps even practitioners of Japanese Buddhism) are made to sing in this novel the tune of colonial propaganda. But this is all given a clownish twist. We are made to ask: these "heroes"... is this what they are really about?

The film does not get its feet muddy in these water. By inverting the voice and placing Mizushima at the centre, right away it embodies a liberating image of religion and Buddhism. One that is meditative and inward-looking while at the same time serving the material (and also) soteriological needs of the people. The extended segment of Mizushima almost making cremation of fallen Burmese and Japanese soldiers his prerogative, his mode of merit-making and service to individuals, families, societies, and yes, nation, rescues faith in general and Buddhism from on the one hand the critical scrutiny of fast-paced Japanese and secular modernity. Doing so the film also rescues Japanese too - the troops are not the comical ignorant ruffians of the novel. They, by dominating the space of the film, after Mizushima's thorough transformation occur automatically to the audience on a different karmic plane, so to speak.

[Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mythological interpretation of the Japanese war, aimed primarily at younger audiences. Takeyama's way to get a young reader to ponder the future of post-war Japan.

Given the young audience, many details of the war are excluded, particularly the actions perpetrated by the Japanese soldiers and the horrors of war. Instead, the story points the reader to think about the future. Reading the book as an expression of debate on the future of Japan as a nation and Japanese culture, Takeyama clearly embraces Buddhist principles and traditions, as opposed to the rapid rationalization and technological development represented by Meiji Japan. Interesting to see that the book clearly does not turn its back on Japanese nationalism, however.

Being a mythic interpretations of the events, there are unbelievable scenes and vignettes of adventure and even comic relief to help the reader deal with the topics at hand. The characters are fairly one-dimensional, representing ideas and characteristics, but not really true people. The way the fictional story ends allows the reader to achieve closure, especially over lingering issues of Japanese interest in its former battle grounds (unburied Japanese bodies), taking the burden of responsibility and action off the reader and vesting it in a mythological-like character. Like most myths, this is a way to understand and comprehend difficult issues that one may not be able or ready to completely approach. The ways the story plays out gives the reader closure on the past and the actions of the war, and instead lets them focus on what Takeyama clearly thinks is more pressing, which is determining the future direction and spirit of a defeated Japanese nation.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michio Takeyama, author of Harp of Burma, was born in Osaka, Japan in 1903. He spent many of his childhood years in Seoul, Korea and later graduated from the German Literature Department of Tokyo Imperial University. After the great success of Harp of Burma, Michio gave up his career as a professor of German literature to focus on literature and literary criticism. Harp of Burma recounts the journey of a company of Japanese soldiers in Burma at the end of World War II. The men encounter many hardships during their time in Burma, but they are able to overcome these difficult situations with the help of music.
The author’s very descriptive language made Harp of Burma more interesting to me. He does a really nice job of providing many details to make it easier for the reader to picture the scene. Also, I liked how Michio integrates information about Burma and the Burmese people into sections of the novel. I thought it was interesting to read about some aspects of their culture.
I think one weaknesses of the novel is that it ends somewhat abruptly. I feel like the author could have expanded the last chapter a bit so that the book would not come to an end so suddenly. Also, I think some passages were a bit lengthy and repetitive.
Despite its weaknesses, Harp of Burma was a very intriguing and exciting novel to read. Anyone who likes to read war stories would enjoy it.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully writen story about a company of Japanese soldiers in Burma at the close of WWII. To keep their morale high, they sang and played insturments, and the main insturment was a homemade harp. It is a charming story of bravery and companionship, and also a comment on the ugliness of war. I highly recommend it for its charming story and beautifully written prose.

[Stephen Rowland · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was written for children, and it appropriately naive, silly, and uninteresting. Why it has become popular with adults is beyond me.

[Francisco Barrios · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esta es la única novela que Michio Takeyama, otrora crítico y académico de literatura alemana, escribió a raíz del impacto que la desaparición y muerte de los jóvenes, algunos de ellos estudiantes suyos, le trajo después de la derrota de Japón en la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

Como tal, resulta una historia entrañable, escrita bajo todas las pautas que dicta el canon: hay un planteamiento, un desarrollo y un desenlace que giran en torno a un conflicto interno: ¿qué habrá pasado con el soldado Mizushima, que partió en una misión complicada, una vez que su compañía se enteró de que Japón se había rendido?

Para dotar de una mayor profundidad a los personajes, la compañía del soldado Mizushima estaba bajo el mando de un capitán músico que la había convertido en una suerte de coro. El propio Mizushima era uno de los más aventajados de la misma y varios arreglos —de los que se interpretaban bajo la batuta del capitán— eran de su autoría. Este acompañaba al coro con su arpa: de ahí el título, “El arpa birmana”.

¿Qué habrá sucedido con Mizushima? ¿Cómo nos enteraremos de lo sucedido? La respuesta a ambas preguntas forma parte de la sólida e ingeniosa experiencia lectora de esta novela única. Se trata de una obra inolvidable que trae consigo un bello mensaje de paz.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

It gets an extra star for being a thin book, and, a WWII story written by a Japanese author from the Japanese perspective over a half century ago.

It gets another extra star or two for incorporating interesting WWII details that rang true.

And it gets an extra star for not being like any other crap you’ve read lately.

~Four stars plus a 20% tip gets us to give stars.

Ultimately it’s the story about a few dozen Japanese soldiers in Burma, late in the war, when it’s going badly for Japan. They’re cut off from their larger retreating army and have to retreat out of Burma by themselves. They eventually get captured by the British and become POW’s. The war ends, but isolated units are still fighting to their death, so one of their comrades volunteers to try and get them to surrender. A large part of the last section of the book is that soldier’s odyssey, and his comrades not knowing what fate befell him.

It’s been compared to all quiet on the western front, a comparison which i think is a bit of a stretch. This book tends to come off as a bit of a parable at times.

Still, the stars add up in the end...

[TS Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harp of Burma is the finest literary memoir of the kyodatsu condition, the incomparable exhaustion and despair that pervaded Japan after its defeat in the Second World War. Its theme--ambitious for what was meant to be a children's novel--is the transcendence of defeat through Buddhist contemplation. Through the odyssey of a company of the Imperial Japanese Army, Michio Takeyama compares Japanese civilization, which sent its soldiers to be destroyed in a foreign land, with Burmese civilization, where their defeat and ensuing captivity occurs. The Burmese, Takeyama thinks, are "weak," "lazy," and worst of all "colonized," but do not hopelessly strive to "try to change [the world] according to one's own designs" and thus infinitely happier. The author reveals the intense socialization for death (to borrow Tsurumi Kazuko's phrase) of the Japanese soldiers, and juxtaposes them with Burmese who "do not fear death." "Which civilization is more advanced?" Takeyama asks, but the question remains unanswered. Perhaps the problem is the urge to ask that question in the first place.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I had heard of Harp of Burma sometime in the past, I never read it. I read it at this time in conjunction with a course I am auditing on Japan as it has been portrayed in fiction.

Written in a sparse, direct prose the book is readily readable. In fact, I read the whole thing in one day.

Takeyama offers a striking critique of Japan’s pursuit of world dominance via WWII. His presents a powerful contrast between ‘civilized’ and materialistic Japanese soldiers struggling with terror, helplessness, and hopelessness at the end of the war. And the ‘lazy’ and uncivilized Burmese who are serene and humane in the relative simplicity of their lifestyle informed by Buddhist values.

Great literature this is not. As it is only 130 pages the characterizations are not as deep as would be the case in a longer book. They are mainly vehicles through which the author expresses his politics, etc. And some aspects of the plot seemed a bit contrived. But thought provoking it was.

Addendum: per the professor, who talked about the book in my class, Takeyama wrote it post WWII to encourage Japanese youth to seek a life based on Buddhist rather than materialistic values. Thus, he highlighted the humanitarian aspects of Burmese culture as a model for his readers to strive for.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of this book was so good the words sang off the pages! The second half wasn't as joyful to read, but the mystery of where the missing soldier was was beautifully described. As a reader, I didn't believe he was dead as I trusted his captain's judgement. The captain would not have sent him on a mission that would cause him to die. The author made us feel the angst of the Japanese company wondering what happened to him. It was unexplained though how the Captain came to peace on the matter before the letter even arrived.

I'm glad I read this book. I found the author's characterizations of Burmese culture to be spot on, which is rather extraordinary given that this is 66 years later (for the English translation, at least). I too wonder like the author does through his character Mizushima, isn't there a happy medium between Buddhist inner peace and industriousness? It would be lovely if the Japanese and us in the States could discover it!

[Iñigo · Rating 3 out of 5]

My wife invited me to read this book that she'd read a long time ago. Story is simple: Japanese army soldiers captured in Burma while one of them left on an expedition to survey the surroundings. Group gets sent to a concentration camp and are led to believe that their mate is dead. However, when there is chance of getting back together, this lonely Japanese soldier takes upon himself to bury every single Japanese soldier dead in battle during the conflict in Burma. The rest go back to Japan to reconstruct the post war Japan. Muzushima, the lonely soldier, offers a revision of that reconstruction.
It's a quick overview of some idiosyncratic ideas from the Japanese culture mixed up with the Burmese nature which strongly ties with Shintoism. Also Japan is depicted as the collective identity of the group against the one that envisions a new and original thought who, as a result, automatically stops belonging the collective identity.

[Jove · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoiler alert for anyone beyond me that reads this :)

Great story about a company of Japanese troops retreating through Burma, who are eventually cut off by British forces, then spend time in a work camp before being shipped back to Japan. Their philosophical captain and musical leader figures prominently as he remains behind in Burma to bury lost Japanese troops as a Buddhist monk.

I found the author's reflections on the Japanese's role in the war, as well as his continued commitment to his country despite his disillusionment via the character, applicable to the US today. Knowing that Takeyama published the book in 1946 makes it all the more interesting.

An easy read, but one in which I found historical and modern significance.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a challenge with this book - I picked it up on Sunday and had until Wednesday evening to finish it for a book discussion. I had a friend mention that she was reading it and had to stop, so I was a bit concerned. Challenge completed, and I am happy that I did. I got hooked from the very beginning because it is not just another war story. So much of what I have read has also been with the American view, and not the Axis view which gives this a different twist. This book does make me wonder how much music should be playing a role in our lives. How can it help us? Would we have the PTSD that we have now if we had more music?

[Laksmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s thought-provoking in a way it questions the aftermath of war and the causes of sufferings, and a good show of brotherhood of war soldiers during WWII. Nevertheless, imo it’s biased since it doesn’t balance itself showing or mentioning anything about the Japanese army’s atrocities during the WWII on their conquest to Southeast Asia. It’s a good, and surprisingly light reading, especially for a war-themed books, but I would recommend reading other war-themed novels as well to show another perspective of the Japanese imperial army’s deeds during the war. This one’s philosophical but a bit of a one-sided glorification of the Japanese army.

[Lana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as part of the Kansas Humanities Council TALK (Talk About Literature, Kansas) series on world faiths at the Kinsley Public Library. I definitely would not have picked this book up on my own, but am glad that I read it. It is a short book and short introduction to Buddhism, a religion I know little about. The writer's style was simple and easily understood, which appealed to me in the context of young men at war. Although simple, the messages conveyed throughout the book about commitment, loyalty, kindness, morality, etc. were deep, but eloquently expressed.

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

That'll learn me - don't trust blurbs that say "Japan's haunting answer to Germany's famous requiem for the First World War, All Quiet on the Western Front"...
This gives little of the experience of war and is no Fires on the Plain . The only shocking thing about it is how bland and unmoving the entire experience is.

[Naomi Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

It starts out a bit purple prose and preachy (almost to the point of infantilization?) but it was worth it to keep reading, because it was a beautiful love story and I am a little bit obsessed with the Harp Player and the Caption of the soldiers <3 That scene with the banging on the door was heart-wrenching.

[JoeG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe my new favorite Japanese novel, or at least solidly in the Top 5. The pathos Burma in WW II, especially in the final days of the war, is beautifully contested with the captured singing company and the seemingly omniscient captain who in turn is complemented by the harpist Mizushima. It is he who overcomes all stereotypes and becomes the missing soul of the defeated Japanese.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm so sad that Mizushima did not go back to Japan with them. I had to read this for my Japanese literature course and it was a bit difficult to get through since the story was not that interesting to me (except for that part where he got captured and the people were going to eat him!)