Emiko Ohnuki Tierney Libri

Why did almost one thousand highly educated "student soldiers" volunteer to serve in Japan's tokkotai (kamikaze) operations near the end of World War II, even though Japan was losing the war? In this fascinating study of the role of symbolism and aesthetics in totalitarian ideology, Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney shows how the state manipulated the time-honored Japanese symbol of the cherry blossom to convince people that it was their honor to "die like beautiful falling cherry petals" for the emperor. Drawing on diaries never before published in English, Ohnuki-Tierney describes these young men's agonies and even defiance against the imperial ideology. Passionately devoted to cosmopolitan intellectual traditions, the pilots saw the cherry blossom not in militaristic terms, but as a symbol of the painful beauty and unresolved ambiguities of their tragically brief lives. Using Japan as an example, the author breaks new ground in the understanding of symbolic communication, nationalism, and totalitarian ideologies and their execution.

“We tried to live with 120 percent intensity, rather than waiting for death. We read and read, trying to understand why we had to die in our early twenties.” This reflection by Irokawa Daikichi, a kamikaze pilot, encapsulates the tragic reality faced by many young men during Japan's desperate military operations at the end of World War II. This poignant history unveils diaries and correspondence from tokkotai pilots and student soldiers who perished in the conflict. While often viewed as fanatical zealots willing to die for the emperor, the writings analyzed by Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney reveal a more complex truth. Many of these kamikaze were university students, drafted and compelled to volunteer for missions that seemed futile. They were the intellectual elite, deeply engaged with philosophical thought, and often expressed their anguish and fear through heartfelt soliloquies. Their writings reflect a profound ambivalence towards the war and articulate a thoughtful opposition to Japan’s imperialism. This work serves as a crucial corrective to the simplistic portrayals of kamikaze pilots, offering essential insights into the human experience of war and the historical context of Japan during World War II.