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"Các chiến cơ Zero thật sự rất đáng sợ. Zero nhanh đến mức không thể tin được. Sự chuyển động đó là thứ chúng tôi không thể dự đoán được, như ma trơi vậy. Mỗi lần chiến đấu, chúng tôi lại bị cảm giác yếu thế bao trùm. Thế nên, mới có mệnh lệnh rằng không để xảy ra không chiến với Zero.

Chúng tôi biết việc chiến cơ tinh nhuệ mới của Nhật Bản được đặt tên mã là Zero. Cách đặt tên mới kỳ quặc làm sao. Zero nghĩa là không có gì cả, ấy vậy mà chiếc chiến cơ đó đã bỏ bùa chúng tôi với chuyển động không thể tin được. Tôi từng nghĩa đó chính là sự huyền bí của phương Đông.

Chúng tôi đã từng nghĩ những phi công lái Zero không phải là người. Họ là ma quỷ. nếu không thì cũng là những cỗ máy chiến tranh."

Paperback

First published August 23, 2006

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About the author

Naoki Hyakuta

57 books14 followers
Associated Names:
* Naoki Hyakuta
* 百田 尚樹 (Japanese)
* 百田尚樹 (Chinese)

Naoki Hyakuta is a Japanese novelist and television producer. He is known for his right-wing political views and denying Japanese war crimes prior to and during World War II. He is particularly known for his 2006 novel The Eternal Zero, which became a popular 2013 film, his controversial period as a governor of government broadcaster NHK, as well as his support of Nanjing Massacre denial. Hyakuta has written a number of other books, several of which have been turned into films, such as Bokkusu and Monsuta.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
Profile Image for Lark Benobi.
Author 1 book3,724 followers
January 30, 2019
Every once in a while a book comes along that is not what I would usually choose to read, and I end up being captivated by it. This is one. The novel reads like oral history from a series of very old men looking back on their war experiences. Their personal stories interweave and repeat and support one another and they also allow the author to explore many points of view about the militarism of Japan, the wastefulness of war, and the nature of heroism.

There is so much detail here that is historically accurate and heartbreaking. Author Hyakuta is apparently a nationalist who denies the rape of Nanking but the novel itself is complicated and nuanced. The prose is workmanlike but totally works in context, given that most of the story is told by old men who were conscripted or volunteered for the military before completing high school. There is so much detail about the history of the aerial combat in the Pacific arena that I never thought about before, and yet found fascinating.

For example there is a conversation between a mechanic and a pilot where they mutually come to the realization that, even though the Zero is superior to any American plane at the time of their conversation, the industrial tools to make the Zero engines are all made in America, and so there will be no way to improve the design, and the planes themselves will be manufactured with increasingly worn manufacturing equipment.

And indeed by 1943 the US had developed a new plane to surpass the Zero, because of Japan's lack of access to new materials and equipment.

Also: Many of the men's remembrances praise the Zero for its ability to travel long distances over the Pacific, a huge advantage in the beginning of the war...but then they share stories of how this strength in the Zero led to overconfidence, and to increasingly long missions, where pilots regularly would run out of fuel and fall into the sea on the way back to base.

There are many details like this that allowed me to understand, better than before, the interconnectedness of culture, economics, geography, and the decisions of individual human beings, and how all these things worked together to determine the war's outcome.

In some cases the novel troubled me. In some cases I felt pulled in uncomfortable directions, or in need of doing research myself on what was being presented to me as fact (although the book is fiction, what is presented here is clearly meant to be taken as true). I've yet to research the claim made many times in the novel that the Japanese had meant to declare war before the Pearl Harbor attack but that a communications snafu led instead to the undeserved reputation that the Japanese had made a "sneak attack." But maybe because of these questions, more than in spite of them, I thought this novel was extraordinary.
Profile Image for Saeko.
4 reviews
March 19, 2014
At the moment, this book is only available in Japanese, but I heard that it would be translated into English soon. As a peace-loving person, I’m very happy to hear that. Please read it when published.

This is a very beautiful anti-war novel, and also a courageous one, throwing doubts on controversial issues about WW2. The author, through describing a life of a Japanese zero fighter (and his love, emotional turmoil etc.), who wanted to go back home alive but had to give up his life as a suicidal kamikaze attacker, shows sinfulness of mass media (propaganda) and high-up officials as well as incompetence of the Japanese hierarchical bureaucratism at the time. As a result, lots of precious lives were thrown away in the war.

I felt "courageous" because talking about any view, if not self-tormenting, related to the WW2 had been regarded as taboo in Japan. Therefore, old people in Japan, who experienced the war, remained silent all the time. Yet, the author seems to have felt someone had to keep their records, from which we can learn a lot. So, after a considerably detailed research, he wrote the story.

Personally I feel this is the novel not only for the Japanese but also for the non-Japanese, especially Americans (because it also depicts preciousness of American soldiers’ lives and sadness that those young people, regardless of their nationality, had to fight due to the situation at the time). When there's a war, people tend to condemn the other side, but all, both winners and losers, are victims. If we really want the peace, in my opinion, what we should do is to try to understand what brought the situation with a calm mind, to share the pain of the victims of either side, to resolve not to be fooled by propaganda and to pray for the eternal peace "together". I assume that's what the author aimed for.

By the way, this novel was turned into a movie last year. So, I’ll put its trailer here:http://youtu.be/gmMlWI5Z66I . However 2 hours is not enough to represent all messages in the novel, so I would like you to read it when published. :)

Profile Image for Yui S.
2 reviews
December 21, 2012
Have this compelling Kamikaze story been translated yet? If not, it better be soon. This historical fiction about WWII warfront Japan explores to reveal the humane emotions of suicidal bombers through a touching love story - my eyes got teary more than a few times, and I could not put the book down!

This fiction is also like a long research paper on one controversial topic often analysed but neither adequately backed by convincing facts nor delivered through much mainstream media. The author tackles to answer the question: did the Kamikaze young men wish to die? Did they really 'happily volunteer' as told later by the officials who lived? Many views are out there to answer those critical questions. Naoki Hyakuta's version is one that really speaks.

Profile Image for Kaz.
267 reviews44 followers
August 6, 2016
特攻隊で亡くなった祖父を知っている人を訪ねていき、祖父の人柄を知ろうとする孫息子と娘の話。と書けばシンプルですが、実際の太平洋戦争の激しい戦いの様子から実在のパイロットの話などもたくさん入り混じっています。長編でとても読み応えがありました。各章ごと、亡き祖父と戦地で一緒だったという人の話しを中心に展開していて、それぞれに違った時期&人格描写があって面白いです。語られる人格は、祖父を視ている相手の性格等で代わり、祖父もまた、戦争が苦しくなっていくあたりから実際に変わっていっています。

特攻隊が本当の意味の志願では無かった事、特攻隊員の遺書は検閲があった事、戦時中は英雄のように称えられていた特攻隊員の家族が、終戦後は戦犯として村八分のひどい仕打ちを受けた事などはあちこちで読んだ事がありました。この作品の中でもこのような話がかたられています。(ちなみに、逆に戦時中に兵役・特攻を逃れようとした人と家族はまた、非国民としてひどい仕打ちを受けたそうです。)中でも一番興味を持って読んだのは、第九章の戦前・戦中・戦後のマスメディアについてです。



西澤廣義や岩本徹三などの話しで興味をそそられ、ネット検索してみて、多数の太平洋戦争で亡くなった日本パイロットの事が英語サイトにも載っている事に驚きました。それを考えると、プロローグとエピローグが米兵からの視点で書かれているのも意義があるかな、と思いました。あの時代のパイロットは、敵味方を超えて同じ空で戦う者として、尊敬というか何か不思議な繋がりがあった様子。戦争当時と現在の日本人について、改めて考えてみるよい機会になると思います。


2014年3月追記:
映画が作られるという事で興味を持っていたのですが、特攻隊を輝かしく仕立て上げ、戦争の醜さを排除した作品になっていると聞いて酷くがっかりしました。また、この作品の著者の問題発言などもニュースで伝わり、もしかして私はこの作品を支持するのは間違っているのでは、著者の意図とは違う読み方をしたのでは、と思い始めました。そういう意味で星を5から4に減らしました。この作品で私が評価するのは、戦争の愚かさと、軍隊の特攻隊員を始めとする自国国民への酷い扱いを描いているところです。特攻隊員には選択肢が無かったかもしれないが、それで全てが正当化されるわけでもなく、他国から見るとそれこそ怖ろしい戦犯には違いない。特攻隊が輝かしいとかヒーローだとか思うのでは、近い将来に同じ事がまた繰り返されるかもしれない。そこをしっかり考えないといけない。
Profile Image for Larry Olson.
136 reviews4 followers
February 26, 2016
A remarkable story of a Zero fighter pilot, his will to live and survive the perils of being a fighter pilot in World War II. The pilots grandchildren, by interviewing surviving service men who knew their grandfather begin to put the puzzle pieces of his life together. Some remembered him as one of the greatest pilots in the war and others branded him a coward. The power of the novel is the discovery of their truth and how his death as a kamikaze pilot ultimately brought life to those he left behind.
Profile Image for Richard Stuart.
169 reviews16 followers
May 24, 2016
This book is not so much a novel as it is a telling of war stories of Japanese Zero fighter pilots in WWII. It is also a very compelling characterization of a man, Kyuzo Miyabe, told by the survivors who knew him. And it is an indictment of the the IJN's top commanders as ignorant, arrogant, foolhardy, and monstrously cruel. Finally, the book discredits the notion that kamikaze pilots are akin to the fanatical suicide terrorists of today.

I loved this book because I learned so much from it, and yes, it also made me cry.
Profile Image for Zoey.
46 reviews
July 19, 2017
Rating: 3.5

"When I closed my eyes I noticed the buzzing of cicadas. It was the first time I found their cries beautiful. And I thought that seven summers later, the cicadas' offspring would sing in just the same way. When I wondered what Japan would be like then, I was filled with great sorrow."


The Eternal Zero is a rather unique novel in which it compresses oral history in the form of a narrative as the main character, Kentaro, attempts to learn more about his long deceased grandfather who died as a kamikaze pilot in the Second World War. The novel offers a set of fresh perspectives about the war, specifically regarding the suicidal operations of the kamikaze pilots. Hyakuta picks apart the reality of the war situation—from the structural issues of the Imperial Navy to the psyche of the pilots.

That said, The Eternal Zero falls short in terms of artistic expression. As Kentaro and Keiko interviewed person to person in documenting historical information about Miyabe, their grandfather, the words embedded a highly detailed, chronicled writing style which was tedious and uninspiring to read at times. Thus, I would recommend this book more to those who are interested in cold hard facts about the war. Less for leisure, recreational-seeking readers such as me.

Overall, I did still enjoy the book thoroughly and even cried a number of times. Seeing how small the lives of the pilots mattered to the Imperial Navy—easily discarded and constantly undervalued—broke my heart. The intestinal fortitude of Kyuzo Miyabe and the love he possessed for his wife and daughter, often portrayed as two sides of the same coin, stirred something in me. His tragic fate, in my opinion, seems to present the message that "War is cruelty and you cannot refine it."
Profile Image for Shawn.
Author 2 books57 followers
November 10, 2017
Every few years I find a novel that is truly astonishing. Of these rare finds, most are by authors that I have never heard of and many of the books are about subjects I had never explored through fiction. This was one of those books. Eternal Zero is the best book I have read in 2017. Originally written in Japanese, the English version was published in 2015. Eternal Zero by Naoki Hyakuta was amazing. It follows a clever storyline with a brother and sister researching their grandfather, Kyuzo Miyabe. Miyabe died a Kamikaze pilot near the end of the war. This book gives the reader some amazing insights into both the sensibilities of modern Japan and the motives and ambitions of the people who fought for Imperial Japan.

Many reviewers have thought that this book has whitewashed Japan's past in not connecting the characters to war crimes. Others have felt that this book is a simplistic anti-war novel. Actually, I believe the term anti-war book is overused. I would have a hard time identifying a book of general readership that is pro-war, but I am getting off track.

I have thought quite a bit about how I wanted to write this review but somehow I do not feel that I can do the novel justice. It is simply amazing.

The only thing that I could identify as a slight annoyance, and it is probably more an issue in the translation rather than the work itself, is the language and phrases seemed Americanized. A few examples; study their heads off, riled up, doing his damnedest, hanging out. I cannot imagine Imperial Japanese service men speaking like cowpokes from Dodge. I hope that more work is done on translating the text and take heart when I think of how many years and translations have been done on the works of Tolstoy and Hugo.

This is a tremendous work and would recommend it to anyone interested in the Japan or the War in the Pacific.
Profile Image for Ming Wei.
Author 12 books282 followers
April 6, 2019
What an emotion journey, switching between present day Japan, and the era of the second world war. Discovering that their blood-line grandfather was a fighter pilot in the 2nd world war, a story begins digging deep into history, while some former Japanese war colleges called their grandfather a coward, this did not turn out to be true. In the 1940s Japan was gripped by miliary rule with their ideology thrust upon all, Japanese miliary members were brainwashed into accepting a honorable death for their Emperor. They discovered that their grandfather did not agree with this, he was determined to stay alive for his wife and child, and to adapt that attitude in the miliary climate of the 1940s was actually very brave. unfortunately close to the end of the 2nd world war he died never seeing his wife or child again. A great story line, one of the best 2nd World war stories that I have ever read, cannot praise it enough, this stories shows a hummanity side to a Japanese person participating in the war, who loved his wife. Well written book, no editorial errors that I could find. Brilliant. can't say that enough.
Profile Image for Siu-on Chan.
20 reviews
July 10, 2014
I would like to make a few points about this book (I read the Chinese translation by a Taiwanese publisher)

First, though 90% of the book reads okay to good, the ending sucks; it introduces a cheesy twist, which kills the mood of the entire book. It is the anti-thesis of the book.

Second, unlike what some Hong Kong reviewers claim, the book isn't anti-war. The author shows no remorse for the Japanese invasion. He expresses his regrets in two aspects: (1) Japanese failure to seize the opportunity to defeat the Americans when Japanese fighters were dominating; (2) Japanese refusal to surrender and bringing in more sacrifices when the loss was certain.

Third, if you are a pro-China, anti-war type, don't pick this up; you will be pissed off by the rightist view portrayed in the book.
Profile Image for s.
184 reviews
October 20, 2012
Awesome. Amazing.
This story is about soldiers of kamikaze attack in WW2. Written by the view of soldiers who all didn't have a choice to refuse. They all had to face their death. I was simply astonished by their "samurai" spirit. I hate the word "samurai spirit" but I believe they were the "real" Japanese men: bushi.
This is fiction but still this story itself is based on history. Good story to know WW2 in Japan.
Profile Image for Chin Joo.
90 reviews32 followers
February 18, 2017
I had earlier introduced readers to the movie based on this book. I finally got down to reading the Chinese translation of the book and it did not disappoint. Unsurprisingly, the book surpasses the movie in terms sensitivity and nuance. Readers, unlike movie audience, have the opportunity to pause and reflect. And reflect they must for not only is this book balanced and thought-provoking, it also challenges the common image of the Kamikaze pilots, one of youths brain-washed and while absolutely courageous, were never able to consider the futility of their mission.

The story is simple. A pair of siblings found out from their mother that she was the step daughter of their grandfather and the real grandfather died in the Second World War as a Kamikaze pilot. She wanted to learn more about him and asked her children to see if they could find any about him. They tried and in the process managed to interview a few of their grandfather's old comrades who encountered him at different theatres and had diverse views of him. While they all agreed that he was an exceptionally skillful pilot, they were less consistent when talking about his courage.

The story is written following a rough chronological order with the siblings coincidentally first meeting people who came across their grandfather in the early stage of the Pacific War and then progressively finding people who knew him in the later stage of the war. Parallel to this is the narrative which started with accusations of him being a coward ending up with him looking more like a good husband and father who refused to die, only because he wanted to go back to his family. Yet he volunteered himself as a Kamikaze pilot, a vocation without hope of survival, and died just days before Japan surrendered. Why did he do this? His reason would be used by the author to try and draw the readers into the wider motivations of the people who became Kamikaze pilots.

While it is easy for people to fall under the spell of some 'isms', the Kamikaze concept takes things into the extreme. You are given a mission that guarantees death with or without success. It is impossible for any sensible person to imagine agreeing to such a mission, yet they did, so for a long time after the war, when historians consider the state of mind of these pilots, they could only conclude that they have been brain-washed and therefore volunteered for such a fanatical vocation. This book did not try to dispute that, but takes the reader through the experience of those who volunteered and the mental and emotional struggle they had to go through especially if their names appeared on the charts in the morning.

Almost everyone in the book, whether relating their own experiences or the experiences of others said that they would not volunteer for such a stupid vocation. But in many instances, they had to make the choice openly at the parade square when everyone else was there. Few would dare to say no for fear of immediate reprisals. Intriguingly, many of those who were given the chance to indicate their choices in a close ballot said yes. There appears to be a climate of fear that nothing was secret, their superiors would know their choice and the reprisals would be unendurable. However, it is certain death we are talking about, what could be worse?

This is where we gain some insights into the psyche of the pilots - volunteering does not imply certain call-up. Volunteering puts you in the 'eligible' list, if you were lucky, you might not be called up. Not-volunteering volunteers you for certain transfer to the most hopeless theatres as an infantry soldier where conditions were the worst, which was equivalent to certain death plus a period of suffering before the end comes. And so they took their chances. Those who did not find their names in the list in the morning heaved a sigh of relief and lived for one more day. Those who did tried to psyche themselves up by convincing themselves that their sacrifice would not be in vain, mostly without success. The pilots interviewed talked about to the letters written by the pilots before their missions (now kept in the Chiran Peace Museum) which convey a sense of loss, helplessness, frustration, and love for their families. This helps to humanise the Kamikaze pilots who would then go on to the most inhuman missions. There is always a contradiction in considering the plight of these pilots. In this book they appeared to understand the hopelessness of their cause and the uselessness of their death, yet many would have been documented to fanatically throw their lives away for their emperor. How should one reconcile the two contradictory sides of the Kamikazes?

I always think that the Japanese culture is a very nuanced and multi-layered one. It is easy to misinterpret them (although sometimes I suspect misrepresenting them serves some political purpose) and so as a nation they look really unrepentant, with the constant visits to pay their respects to Class A war criminals in the Yasukune Shrine and their irresponsible textbooks. Perhaps in trying to read their history, one should suspend our judgement for a while and then try and see if there are more shades than we know before we pass an overly simplistic judgement. The author himself displays some of this nuance in this book. As a one being called a right-winger, I was surprised that in the book he wrote (through one of the characters) that "A country that sends good people to their death like this might as well be destroyed."

This book serves the reader at different levels. One can take it as a simple historical fiction book, or a book that induces some reflection and contemplation, or even a book on the Pacific War from the Japanese perspective. Personally, I think the value of the latter should not be under-rated just because it is fiction. I believe that the author did his work in researching and interviewing when writing this book. I wish that it would be translated into English soon so that more readers can read it and make their own judgement.
1,624 reviews13 followers
January 3, 2021
This Japanese novel tells a World War II story from a perspective few of us on the other side ever hear. The story tells the story of two siblings in their mid- to late-20s who have decided to explore the life of their grandfather, a man they never met, as he died in a kamikaze attack at the end of World War II. Their grandmother had remarried, but recently died, and they had a close relationship with their step-grandfather. They set out to find out his story by interviewing people how had served with him in World War II. The book reads like an oral history of those who flew the Zero aircrafts during the air wars that constituted much of the Pacific portion of the War. The book, while fiction, is a fascinating history of World War II told from the Japanese side. On a more personal level, they find that each of these people that they interview saw their grandfather in a little bit different way. Well worth reading.
Profile Image for Lee.
69 reviews7 followers
January 5, 2018
Nearly everything I've read or watched about WWII has been about the European war—some about Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I knew nothing about this book but saw rave reviews on it and was lucky to find it at the library. The story had an interesting set up. Two young Japanese adults set out to interview vets who knew and served with their grandfather as pilots who flew the Zero, a nifty fighter plane. It was unsurpassed in the early part of the war for its maneuverability. As the war went on the Americans built better planes and developed radar which put the Japanese at a huge disadvantage. The book is fiction with factionalized characters in the setting of the actual history of the Pacific war.

It started being clear that Japan was losing the war but as we know from the atomic bombings they did not surrender easily. The Zero thus became expendable and so too did the lives of many of the soldiers. The Zero became the vehicle for the kamikaze missions. Theoretically men volunteered for the missions; in truth they were forced.

For about the first half of the book I felt like I was mostly taken on various missions, with some insight into the character of these 80+ year old vets and the deceased grandfather, Miyabe. The men talked about various battles, Midway, Guadalcanal and the Battle of Leyte Gulf off the Philippine coast. Leyte Gulf was when the first kamikaze missions were launched. But there was a turning point for me about midway through the book when one of the interviewees remembered watching a child's ballgame after the war and broke down crying thinking of all the soldiers who lost their futures. For many of the vets this was the first time they spoke of the war, all the death, the fear even though they all put on a front of bravery and the desire to die for their families and country—and their memories of Miyabe, the grandfather who controversially always expressed his wish to live and return to his family. He was often viewed a coward.

Added impact for me personally is that my now 91 year old Dad served in the Pacific as a sailor on the USS Santee. He was at Midway and he was at the Battle of Leyte Gulf where his ship was struck by a kamikaze plane, followed by a torpedo. He lost a number of his friends in the battle. A year or so ago he was interviewed, being one of the few remaining WWII vets. I was awed to learn his experiences as he had previously just told me he had never been so scared in his life as he was then. This is the article: https://donmooreswartales.com/2016/09... I'm sorry to say that Dad used the word Japs instead of Japanese. I guess he went back to his WWII state of mind.

This book is a story but the plot didn't really become intertwined till the last 50 pages or so. Whereas the first part of the book was interesting, the ending was very emotionally profound and impacted me deeply both by the rich humanity of its characters and by my Dad's experience.
Profile Image for Dan.
494 reviews4 followers
March 23, 2018
The Eternal Zero by Naoki Hyakuta features old men reminiscing about their experiences as World War Two pilots—a topic that would usually not attract me to purchase and read any novel. But I happened across the estimable Lark Benobi’s comments: ” Every once in a while a book comes along that is not what I would usually choose to read, and I end up being captivated by it. This is one.” Lark is correct: this is a surprisingly and unusually engrossing story of Kentaro and Keiko, two adult siblings’ search for the character of Kyuzo Miyabe, their long-dead biological grandfather, known by the siblings only as a name. Their search occurs through their interviews with a series of his war-time comrades-in-arms, pilots of Japanese Zero fighter planes, ”a magnificent fighter” and ”truly a heaven-sent warplane”. The recollections of these very old men—presumably all in their late 70s or 80s—refracts the image, personality, and actions of their grandfather: coward, hero, or both?; patriot, recreant, or both? Miyabe’s personality unfolds slowly through the interviews, perhaps too slowly for some readers, and ends with the siblings understanding better their biological grandfather, their beloved Grandpa who became their grandmother’s second husband, themselves, and Japan’s war-time military culture.

This is a 3.5 star read for me, due especially to the lengthy digressions about World War II aerial warfare and warplanes. I may reconsider my assessment of The Eternal Zero if after several months it remains vivid in my memory, as did J. G. Farrell’s The Singapore Grip and J. G. Ballard’s Empire of the Sun, both of which I also approached with great skepticism and both of which have remained with me many years after I read them.
Profile Image for Brendan.
118 reviews4 followers
March 14, 2024
This book is either a 3-star or a 5-star book depending upon how much history you like in your books. If you're not that interested in hearing about Zeroes and F4Fs dogfighting then you'll enjoy the story but gloss over a lot of the (admittedly) repetitive details. If you're a history nerd buff like me then you'll love every bit of it. The translation is very good but the prose is still in a Japanese-ish style. I have to admit though that Japanese storytellers do emotion very well and there must have been four or five instances in the book when I suddenly found that I had gotten some kind of dust in my eyes...

A basic synopsis of the story is (no spoilers past the first chapter) that a female journalist and her under-achieving little brother are urged by their step-grandfather (after the passing of their grandmother) to investigate the history of their real grandfather, who died as a kamikaze pilot at the end of WWII. In order to do so, they track down other veterans who shared a past with their grandfather and listen to the stories. In their first meeting, they're shocked to hear the old man speak of their true grandfather with disdain and call him a coward. But as they meet more surviving veterans they realize that their was more to their grandfather than his passionate desire to return home alive.
Profile Image for David Haws.
865 reviews16 followers
December 22, 2017
I tried reading this in Japanese five years ago. Since my kanji hadn’t been up to the task, I was glad to finally find an English translation.

The “family research” frame was awkward—like it was only there to give the narrative a modern context—and made the work feel more revisionist than it probably was. For example, it seemed that many of the characters were only there to voice something the author wanted to make explicit. This became particularly heavy-handed in the Simplicio utterances of Takayama. The introduction of material on the Ohka and Kaiten were unnecessary digressions (it’s understandably hard to throw away some of your research, but sometimes this is what you need to do). However, while there was an over-abundance of Japanese sentimentality, the individual survivor-narratives were fascinating. The quality of the English prose was poor, but this is more of a negative reflection on the translators, than on Hyakuta-san. Anyway, I think it will make a much better film than novel, and am looking forward to getting a copy this afternoon.
Profile Image for Valencia.
23 reviews
December 13, 2020
5 keywords
War Japanese Kamikaze Zero survival

What did I not like about the book
- it is NOT anti-war
- provides reasoning/ justification of war
- subjective perspective of Japanese pilots
- poor execution of writing : how is it possible that everyone they managed to find could tell the story in the timeline that fit so nicely, without overlapping of information? It just don’t make sense.
- too much specific details on fighter planes
- the prologue and epilogue of the book is from US soldiers POV; no linkage to the entire book which was entirely from a number of different JP soldiers’ POV

What I like about the book
- can tell that the writer did in-depth research on Zero before writing this book
- the last 2 chapters were the saving grace of this book
Profile Image for Mitsuru.
31 reviews
December 13, 2012
This story was most impressive in the modern japanese novels. While I was reading, tears welled up in my eyes.

The story began to inquire Kentarou's grandfather. His grandfather died in Kamikaze attack before the end of WWⅡ only couple days earlier.
He was the excellent zero fighter from the Pearl Harbor attack, and always said to return home alive. So his colleagues and subordinates said that he was a coward. Going on the inquiring, Kentarou was known for him to save many subordinates to teach how important was their lives. Kentarou had a question why he eventually volunteered the Kamikaze attack. The end of this story was very surprising.




3 reviews2 followers
January 26, 2018
This is one of the book that I loved most in my life. This book is written by Japanese, but the purpose of the book relates all of the countries.
This book is the story about the Zero-Fighter during the WWII. It tells us about the brutality of war, throughout one Zero Fighter's experience during the war.
If you know Japanese and like history, this is the book that I recommend the most,because when you start reading, I'm sure that your eyes can not look away from the book.
Profile Image for Taveri.
644 reviews81 followers
June 18, 2020
The story is presented in the first person perspective of Kentaro who is overly self-deprecating, mentioning numerous times being lazy and unworthy which made me be suspect as to the intent of the novel.  At the behest of his sister, Keiko, he begins to research Miyabe, his maternal Grandfather, who died as a KamiKazi Pilot in WWII.  Not having any family background he seeks out surviving Japanese vets and tells the story through their recollections.

The first provides the perspective that the grandfather was a coward.  Being that is presented early in the novel one suspects that is not the truth.  As more vets are interviewed it becomes a Roshomon like storytelling, each providing a different outlook.  The author also uses these tellings to give history lessons on the war and is very generous to the hated Americans who are portrayed as brave and sacrificing.  We get the Japanese take on Pearl Harbour, Midway; Guadalcanal, Saipan, Leyte and other battles and it is not complimentary to Japanese command.

The reason stated for not delivering the formal Declaration of War to Washington on time was the Japanese Embassy staff had been partying the night before and were tardy decoding their instructions.  Several [western] versions I have read about that was that Roosevelt kept the Japanese delegation waiting, knowing full well (through decoding of their own) their intent to officially declare war before the bombing of Pearl Harbour, so at to exacerbate the dastardly deed.  Thus the presented perspective here was a generous outlook.

Another interesting tidbit, I had not been aware of before was that a Japanese Zero almost landed on an American Aircraft Carrier (at night) having mistaken it for a Japanese one, because it was roughly now postioned where he had taken off from.  That little "error" led to revealing where the American fleet was located.

Also mentioned was that the U.S. spent as much developing the proximity fuze as developing the Atomic Bomb.  This "magic fuze" was deadly effective in having bombs only going off when close anough to do damage.  It may be the forerunner of the backup alarm in some vehicles.

Part of the narrative dwells on the debate whether KamiKaze Pilots were similar to the 9/11 Jihadists.  I was surprised at the comparison as the former were military actions in war (akin to suicidal attacks of WWI) and the latter were attacks on civilians in Peacetime.  This is dealt with later in the book.


One of the Japanese Veterans was noted to have taken a second honeymoon in Hawaii.  I can't imagine that happening.  I had been against the Vietnam War, was never in any fear of being drafted, yet I wouldn't go there on a vacation, perhaps my guilt for not having done enough to oppose it.  So I can't see someone having been involved on an attack wanting to take a honeymoon at the same location.  Perhaps that is what the novel explores the difference in different Cultural views.

As noted in Tom Clancy's "Debt of Honor" the Japanese accepted an apology for the downing of a 747 but the Americans couldn't provide forgiveness for deaths from a car crash.

In addition to berating Japanese high command decisions the novel is very much about questioning the whole notion of Kamikaze sacrifice.  With each additional veteran's interview we learn more about the Japanese side of the war and a liitle more about the life-loving Miyabe character as the mystery of why he volunteered to be a KamiKazi pilot deepens.

SPOILERS
The following doesn't give away any plot lines but has to do with criticism of the book and suggest your not reading these next two paragaphs. If you have not yet read the book.  You may not pick up on this nit picking.  Other than the first and penultimate characters the dozen or so veterans interviewed were pretty much the same - there was no flavour to their telling.  It was if the same person was narrating each time, telling their part of the story in the same way - long accounts with little bits about Miyabe.

It took away from the supposed purpose of the interviews to inquire about their grandfather.  A better ploy might have been to have gone on a quest to learn about the war and incidently pick up aspects of the Miyabe character.  It also seemed unrealistic that they found so many old veterans that knew Miyabe when maybe 1 in a 100 survived.  I doubt I could find six of my high school classmates who could recall much about me and most of them (~1700) are still around.  So its as if they found every single person that knew their grandfather, and they recalled every conversation with Miyabe.

Well the book wasn't written for me, nor for western audiences.  It was a Best Seller in Japan.  The purpose seemed to be two-fold - to familiarize Japanese with the Pacific part of their World War history and to show war in an unfavourable light, or at least that the individual was not valued by Imperial Japan.  I am not convinced it has an anti-war message.   It may be saying if you are going to go to war then do it like the Americans: promotions based on merit and value skilled personnel.

Hyakuta, the author, illustrated how the Japanese high command emphasized equipment and the Allies valued human skills and pointed out that they couldn't get better performance because they were throwing away their skilled cadre to the war effort.  The meaningless of throwing away of life for the war effort was a recurring theme through the book.





Profile Image for Masatsugu Kamimura.
1 review
December 26, 2013
You can't read this book without tears. I recommend younger generation to read it. I got more knowledge what happened during the World War II, especially kamikaze. I strongly think that We should avoid any WAR.
3 reviews2 followers
January 12, 2016
This is an impressive book exploring WWII from Japanese eyes. I picked up the book after enjoying the movie on an airplane -- both the book and movie are excellent, although I can imagine that the book is disconcerting for American citizens who see the world in black and white.
Profile Image for Hung-ya.
145 reviews1 follower
June 17, 2016
Even No Zero may be a fiction for readers from the outside but it actually manages to deliver much reflection on World War II period, patriotism, honour, duty for country and self-sacrifice and all. The story is very well organized and structured, too. You do not want to miss the book!
Profile Image for Carrie.
48 reviews3 followers
December 29, 2018
神風特攻隊,自小從教科書上都耳有所聞,即使不是在戰時出生,但只要是華人聽其名,浮起的都不會是好印象。百田先生將這支神秘的日本軍隊的背後故事細膩地重現眼前。拜讀完畢,留下的只有歎息、沉默。雖然這只是小說,故事內容虛構,但反映的國家間爭地之事的殘酷卻是真實的,最悲哀的莫過於是國家內部因為軍方高層的無知、只為爭名奪利而行的軍事政策,而使前線士兵白白送死之事。

到了二十世紀的現在,在華人社會,感覺戰爭離我們好遠,有的可能演變成所謂的貿易戰;然而其實戰爭並不算遠,敍利亞、阿富汗依然每日活在戰火當中,從未停止。但不管如何,我都被故事中的宮部先生所感動,無論如何,都要努力活下去啊!
Profile Image for PeterO.
129 reviews5 followers
June 26, 2013
第二次大戦の太平洋の紛争が詳しく書かれて、ちょっと勉強になった。
終わりの方は少し馬鹿っぽくなって残念だ。
Profile Image for Ben 'sagod.
1 review
February 16, 2017
This book is like no other. iT is not just a sad book but emotionally touching. i read this boo mtwice and cried both times
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