"This book is a compilation of my interviews with Japanese survivors of the battle, and the family members of those who died during the battle, or since. I promised to tell their stories with no political correctness or modern day revisionism. I added historical references and context to help illsutrate their extraordinary eyewitness accounts."--Author's comments

Originally published: New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965.

The Battle of Iwo Jima has been memorialized innumerable times as the subject of countless books and motion pictures, most recently Clint Eastwood’s films Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima, and no wartime photo is more famous than Joe Rosenthal’s Pulitzer Prize-winning image of Marines raising the flag on Mount Suribachi. Yet most Americans know only one side of this pivotal and bloody battle. First published in Japan to great acclaim, becoming a bestseller and a prize-winner, So Sad to Fall in Battle shows us the struggle, through the eyes of Japanese commander Tadamichi Kuribayashi, one of the most fascinating and least-known figures of World War II. As author Kumiko Kakehashi demonstrates, Kuribayashi was far from the stereotypical fanatic Japanese warrior. Unique among his country’s officers, he refused to risk his men’s lives in suicidal banzai attacks, instead creating a defensive, insurgent style of combat that eventually became the Japanese standard. On Iwo Jima, he eschewed the special treatment due to him as an officer, enduring the same difficult conditions as his men, and personally walked every inch of the island to plan the positions of thousands of underground bunkers and tunnels. The very flagpole used in the renowned photograph was a pipe from a complex water collection system the general himself engineered. Exclusive interviews with survivors reveal that as the tide turned against him, Kuribayashi displayed his true mettle: Though offered a safer post on another island, he chose to stay with his men, fighting alongside them in a final, fearless, and ultimately hopeless three-hour siege. After thirty-six cataclysmic days on Iwo Jima, Kurbiayashi’s troops were responsible for the deaths of a third of all U.S. Marines killed during the entire four-year Pacific conflict, making him, in the end, America’s most feared–and respected–foe. Ironically, it was Kuribayashi’ s own memories of his military training in America in the 1920s, and his admiration for this country’s rich, gregarious, and self-reliant people, that made him fear ever facing them in combat–a feeling that some suspect prompted his superiors to send him to Iwo Jima, where he met his fate. Along with the words of his son and daughter, which offer unique insight into the private man, Kuribayashi’s own letters cited extensively in this book paint a stirring portrait of the circumstances that shaped him. So Sad to Fall in Battle tells a fascinating, never-before-told story and introduces America, as if for the first time, to one of its most worthy adversaries.

An award-winning US Marine Corps armor historian's account of the role of US and Japanese tanks on Iwo Jima. The battle of Iwo Jima is iconic and known for its brutality: this was the only battle in which the number of US casualties outnumbered those of the Japanese. But as is often the case with the Pacific campaigns, the tank action on the island has generally been overshadowed by that of infantry. The tank, however, played an important role as a support weapon – especially on the US side – despite the rough terrain and unconventional enemy tactics. Using unpublished official records and veterans' accounts, award-winning USMC armor specialist Romain Cansière sheds new light on Japanese and USMC armored operations on the island. This book offers new information on the battle in a complete, concise, and accessible format, and its illustrations include unpublished photographs from private collections and meticulously researched new color profiles, highlighting the tanks' modifications and their diverse camouflage and markings.

Blossoms from the Sky True stories from the Japanese pilots who volunteered to fly an experimental rocket-powered aircraft on a one-way mission to save their nation from looming defeat. The Japanese called it the OHKA (cheery blossom), but to the American sailors and fighter pilots it was known as the BAKA BOMB. Discover the untold challenges faced by naval aircraft engineers as they raced to create the "Yokosuka MXY-7 Marudai," a new secret weapon that promised to sink a battleship with a single blow. Follow the young pilots as they make their individual decisions to volunteer for the mysterious training program. Meet the bomber crews who carried these human-guided, anti-ship missiles towards the US fleet near Okinawa. Discover the courageous US Navy and Marine Corps fighter pilots who saved thousands of lives by throwing themselves between the devastating flying bombs and the ships of US Naval Task Force 58. With over 200 photos, maps, and illustrations the reader will learn about the Ohka "Baka Bomb" and the Betty Bombers that ferried these "flying torpedoes" into battle.

‘I had no qualms fighting the Australians, just as I have killed without remorse any of the Emperor’s enemies: the British, the Americans and the Dutch’, so admits Takahiro Sato in this ground-breaking oral history of Japan’s Pacific War. Thanks to years of research and over 100 interviews with veterans, the Author has compiled a fascinating collection of personal accounts by former Japanese soldiers, sailors and airmen. Their candid views are often provocative and shocking. There are admissions of brutality, the killing of prisoners and cannibalism. Stark descriptions of appalling conditions and bitter fighting blend with descriptions of family life. Their views on the prowess of the enemy differ with some like air ace Kazuo Tsunoda who believed the Australians ‘worthy’. Some remain unrepentant while others such as Hideo Abe are ashamed of his part in Japan’s war of aggression. The result is a revealing insight into the minds of a ruthless and formidable enemy which provides the reader with a fresh perspective on the Second World War.

First published in 1986 and lauded by historians and World War II buffs eager for the Japanese viewpoint, this collection of essays makes significant contributions to the field of World War II literature. In it, top-ranking Japanese officers offer their personal perspectives of the Pacific War. This second edition adds five articles to the original twelve to present a full picture of the Japanese navy’s role in the war. Most of these moving accounts were written in the 1950s and retain the immediacy felt by the writers when they participated in the events. They provide valuable information on the strategy, tactics, and operations of the Japanese fleet, as well as insights into the personalities and motives of its leaders. Here, Vice Admiral Shigeru Fukudome comes to grips with allegations that the assault on Pearl Harbor represented strategic folly, political blundering, and tactical stupidity. Captain Mitsuo Fuchida describes how his bombing group unleashed “devils of doom” on Battleship Row, and Mitsuru Yoshida gives an eye-witness account of the sinking of the famous battleship Yamato. The new contributions to the volume discuss operations in the Indian Ocean, the battle of the Philippine Sea, the protection of merchant shipping, submarine warfare, and Japan’s overall naval strategy.

"Investigating Iwo encourages us to explore the connection between American visual culture and World War II, particularly how the image inspired Marines, servicemembers, and civilians to carry on with the war and to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure victory over the Axis Powers. Chapters shed light on the processes through which history becomes memory and gains meaning over time. The contributors ask only that we be willing to take a closer look, to remain open to new perspectives that can deepen our understanding of familiar topics related to the flag raising, including Rosenthal's famous picture, that continue to mean so much to us today"--

This portable, user-friendly Japanese language guide, phrasebook and dictionary is the cheapest and easiest way to learn Japanese before and during your trip. If you only want to purchase one Japanese language book--Essential Japanese is the way to go. Part of Tuttle Publishing's Essential Series, it is a great first introduction and beginner guide to the language of Japan and is also designed as a Japanese phrasebook, making it the most versatile Japanese language learning tool on the market. Perfect for business people or tourist traveling to Japan or for students who want to supplement their learning, this book's easy indexing feature allows it to act as a Japanese phrase book or as an English-Japnese Dictionary. A clever "point to" feature allows you to simply point to a phrase translated in Japanese without the need to say a word. You will soon find yourself turning to Essential Japanese again and again when visiting Japan and working or interacting with Japanese speakers. In this book you will find: Over 1500 practical sentences for everyday use. A glossary of over 200 terms and expressions. Latest Japanese vocabulary and Japanese phrases for smartphones, social media and more. Japanese characters (kana and kanji) as well as Latin script (romanji). Extensive information about Chinese grammar and pronunciation. This beginner Japanese book will help you to quickly and easily learn Japanese. Your ability to read Japanese, write Japanese, speak Japanese, and comprehend Japanese will be vastly improved without having to take an entire Japanese language class. Other titles in this bestselling series of phrasebooks include: Essential Japanese, Essential Chinese, Essential Korean, Essential Tagalog, and Essential Arabic.

A look at how our monuments to World War II shape the way we think about the war by an award-winning historian. Keith Lowe, an award-winning author of books on WWII, saw monuments around the world taken down in political protest and began to wonder what monuments built to commemorate WWII say about us today. Focusing on these monuments, Prisoners of History looks at World War II and the way it still tangibly exists within our midst. He looks at all aspects of the war from the victors to the fallen, from the heroes to the villains, from the apocalypse to the rebuilding after devastation. He focuses on twenty-five monuments including The Motherland Calls in Russia, the US Marine Corps Memorial in the USA, Italy’s Shrine to the Fallen, China’s Nanjin Massacre Memorial, The A Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, the balcony at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem and The Liberation Route that runs from London to Berlin. Unsurprisingly, he finds that different countries view the war differently. In monuments erected in the US, Lowe sees triumph and patriotic dedications to the heroes. In Europe, the monuments are melancholy, ambiguous and more often than not dedicated to the victims. In these differing international views of the war, Lowe sees the stone and metal expressions of sentiments that imprison us today with their unchangeable opinions. Published on the 75th anniversary of the end of the war, Prisoners of History is a 21st century view of a 20th century war that still haunts us today.