Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945 (The Pacific War Trilogy Book 3)

by Ian W. Toll

The Meiji emperor’s “Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors,” issued in 1882, was Japan’s official code of ethics for military personnel. It was one of two founding documents of Imperial Japan. (The other was the “Imperial Rescript on Education,” 1890). It does not go too far to say that the two Meiji rescripts were tantamount to scripture in World War II–era Japan, and the “Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors” was held to be the singular basis of all Japanese military authority. Every man in uniform was required to memorize and recite it. The most famous line, often quoted in Western histories, is: “Duty is heavier than a mountain, while death is lighter than a feather.” More noteworthy, however, is the following passage, included in the Rescript’s third article: