Kamikaze Diaries: Reflections of Japanese Student Soldiers

Like Anne Frank's diary, this collection of kamikaze pilot diaries (translated by anthropologist Ohnuki-Tierney) uses the eyes of those on the cusp of adulthood to bring to life the unfathomable daily realities of war. Drawing from stores of knowledge that spanned from Western philosophy to contemporary Japanese cultural criticism, the young men who penned these diaries (""the intellectual creme de la creme of Japan"") sought to use the traditional medium of journal writing to find meaning in the uncertain adulthoods they were on the verge of entering. The range of views encompassed illustrates these young men's varying convictions: the latent patriotism in one young idealist, Sasaki Hachiro (""We cannot succumb to the 'Red Hair and Blue Eyes'""), the influence of Thomas Mann on Hayashi Tadao (""Japan, why don't I love and respect you?""), the sentimentalism of Matasunaga Shigeo (""Those who, even then, love Japan are fortunate. / But, poor souls; it is the happiness of a wild goose. / It is the fake blue bird whose color fades away under light"") and the resignation of Hayashi Ichizo (""I will do a splendid job sinking an enemy aircraft carrier. Do brag about me"") together eerily illuminate the tragedy of war in a way no textbook could.