Yasuo Kuwahara (1929–1980)

Billed as an autobiographical chronicle of a Kamikaze pilot in the late stages of World War II. I'm not entirely sure if it's all that accurate in the details. Reading more like an embellished narrative of a young man building a story around a terrible experience. At times, it reads more like a beautifully written fictional account than an accurate, dry retelling of factual events. Regardless if it's truly non-fiction or purely made up, there's a lot that can be learned from this story.

I wasn't interested in the aviation history of the story or Kamikaze tactics. I wanted some insight into the devotion and suicidal commitment these young men had for their country and Emperor. What drove them? How they felt facing the possibility of certain death? How they wrestled with justifying their actions in their minds, with their peers, and with their families?

Kamikaze gives us a brief insight into the absolute brutal training that cadets were put through in order to break them. The propaganda that fills them with the fighting spirit. And to conflicting feelings of fear and trepidation, but the overwhelming desire to preserve their honor of their country, their people, their Emperor, and most of all their family. The struggle with growing disillusionment of a war going bad, yet still feeling the need to fulfill their duty. I learned a lot of what I was after reading this book, but I don't think I'll truly ever understand what it meant to so willingly forfeit one's own life for a cause that you can't fully believe. Psychologically we are very much alike, sacrifice is universal, but at the same time culturally and all the social pressures that entails makes us so different. To willingly give up ones own life for an abstract idea like honor is hard enough to understand, but when that idea is wrapped in honoring one's family, country, and Emperor, that's something that is difficult to fathom.… (más)

Supposed bio/autobiography contains many factual errors to the point that it may be total fiction in that Kuwahara almost certainly never flew an Army plane. SEE: Ten Historical Discrepancies by Bill Gordon and Yuko Shirako Link: http://wgordon.web.wesleyan.edu/kamikaze/books/fiction/kuwahara/kamikaze.htm
Originally published in 1957, this enduring classic--the first-ever English publication cowritten by a Japanese suicide pilot--remains a touching and insightful look into the world of the kamikaze. This edition, now completely revised, reflects the valuable insight and perspective gained by the author since the time of the book's initial publication. From the age of 15, Yasuo Kuwahara began a life of military service that included suffering through brutal basic training, participating in ferocious aerial combat against the Allies, and avoiding a suicide mission when an atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima, near his hometown. From being handpicked for kamikaze service to finding the discipline to die for the emperor, this history presents a firsthand account of the fascinating life of a kamikaze fighter pilot.… (más)