Warriors of the Rising Sun: A History of the Japanese Military

by Robert B. Edgerton

“This is a compelling, well-told story that gives us extraordinary insights into why Japanese and Chinese see each other as they do, how Americans and Russians became involved in the barbarism of Asian conflicts, and why this will be remembered as the century of total and incredibly brutal war.” ―Walter LaFeber, author of The Clash Chronicles the Japanese military's transformation from honorable soldiers known for their chivalry and kindness towards their wounded and imprisoned enemies into men who massacred hundreds of thousands in the Pacific theater during World War II.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military History, Military Fiction, Japan, War, Japanese History

388 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for Edgerton's book, but it was something of a disappointment for me. Firstly, it is not nearly as comprehensive as the title led me to believe. The subtitle should indicate that the period covered is really from 1853 to 1945. This was not too much of a concern for me, as my historical interest is on the modern regardless. However, even after reformatting my expectations to exclude everything prior to the Perry Mission, I still found myself confused by what the author excluded and what he decided to include. For instance, a significant portion of the first chapter is devoted to the Second Opium War, a conflict in which the Japanese played no part. It is worth mentioning given the Japanese response to these events, but not in such detail. The Meiji Restoration, covered in this first chapter, receives comparatively little attention - the Boshin War is never mentioned by name, with Edgerton claiming that support for the Meiji government was widespread. One sentence is devoted to discussing an unnamed rebellion against the new regime (presumably either the Satsuma or Saga Rebellion). The aforementioned Perry Mission is covered adequately, but there is no substantive discussion of the consequences of the sonnō jōi movement (the Shimonoseki Campaign and the Anglo-Satsuma War are conspicuously absent). A very glaring absence is the Taiwan invasion of 1874, which was the first overseas deployment of the new Imperial military. The Ganghwa Island incident is also missing. At this point, I was becoming very frustrated with the book.

Thankfully, the chapters on the First Sino-Japanese War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Russo-Japanese War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the Pacific War are adequate. However, Edgerton's discussion of wartime atrocities committed in each conflict is stomach turning. It is certainly key to his argument to demonstrate this brutality in charting the transformation of the IJA from a force revered for its strict adherence to the rules of war into one of the most vicious armies in history. But the level of detail here is enough to make even the least sensitive reader (read: me) somewhat uneasy - perhaps that was the point. Moreover, I was disappointed by how little attention was given to the internal struggles of the military during the interwar period. Some readers might want more on the struggle between the Kodoha and Toseiha factions and the power jockeying between the Army and Navy.

[Changho Sohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, this book portrays the genesis of Japanese might in the first part of the 20th century. The information curates the sequence of military conflicts that allowed it to face off with China to the west and the U.S. to the east in its contest to win over Asia during the WWII. The take-away should be not how Japanese behaved, but how it fared in various military contentions.

[Amanda Maciel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horrifying. conclusion: men are evil

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Warriors of the Rising Sun is a good topic looking for a focus. Mr. Edgerton is a sociologist and anthropologist so I wasn't looking for an academic history but I was hoping for more than what I read. He focus on the Boxer Rebellion and The Russo-Japanese War which is refreshing but in 100 pages he goes from 1905 to 1945 where he gave five years almost 200 pages. I felt cheated that the rise of the militarists which gives an insight to atrocities was given less than 100 pages when that alone could be the focus of the book. The other feeling I was getting was Edgerton was excusing some atrocities by saying the Allies committed atrocities as well. I'm sure they did but does Edgerton really need to use the excuse of why we looted, raped and destroyed the Pacific Rim was because the Allies did it second? It was a weak apologetic excuse and not acceptable.

Edgerton really needed to decide on a focus because he was all over the historical map.

At first he was trying provide evidence that the Japanese military was humane towards its treatment of prisoners and a shining example of humanity until the US denied any immigration from Japan to the US. If the argument was to show blatant racism in the US then yes at the time the US had racist policies but also in the bigger context the US had isolationist policies which were akin to an ostrich placing its head in the sand. Also the internal policy of immigration does not make the overwhelming cruelty that the Japanese military had in the thirties and the forties. It may have been a piece of the puzzle but not a complete puzzle.

In a larger context the racist attitude from the US and European powers did contribute greatly to a rise of cruelty in the Japanese military. However Edgerton barely scratched at the fact that there was a worldwide economic depression at the time affecting the world and that many groups of people found military life in Japan a comfortable way of living. He barely touches that this group came from underprivileged means and were brutal in trying to achieve greatness like other states around the globe such as Germany and Italy. These are major factors in the growth of the militarists in Japan and with the access to weapons and without oversight these young officers had a coup over a series of events. With unfettered in fact an Absolutist control over the government like an absolute monarch the military could do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. Yet another missed opportunity in the book is the civil war between the Japanese Navy and Army which included assassinations.

Edgerton's book is maybe at best an introduction to the topic but it should not be used as an authoritative text.

[Dergrossest · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the brutal Rape of Nanking, to the dishonorable sneak attack upon Pearl Harbor, to the human experiments conducted upon prisoners of war, this book is Exhibit A in support of the argument to drop the A-Bomb on Japan. The viciousness and racism of the Japanese is hard to stomach at times, but this book provides quite the insight into their collective mind. Not hard to understand why most of Asia hates their guts after reading this.

[Benjamin]

This book is an absolute treasure trove of information. It's not for the squeamish-atrocities committed by not only the Japanese, but their allies and adversaries are covered in detail.

It's a bit dry, however.

Still worth the time it took me to finish-more than a month.