In 1972, when discovered by local hunters on Guam, former tailor Yokoi was widely reported as a ‘no surrender man’ who survived, living up to the old Japanese military code of honour. This book is about the reality of such a man (and the ingenuity he applied to ensure his survival), which is very different from the stereotype. This book sheds a different light on the reality of the war in the Pacific while addressing some key issues concerning the nature of Japanese culture in modern times.
Soon after the end of World War II, a majority of the nearly 7 million Japanese civilians and serviceman who had been posted overseas returned home. Heeding the call to rebuild, these veterans helped remake Japan and enjoyed popularized accounts of their service. For those who took longer to be repatriated, such as the POWs detained in labor camps in Siberia and the fighters who spent years hiding in the jungles of islands in the South Pacific, returning home was more difficult. Their nation had moved on without them and resented the reminder of a humiliating, traumatizing defeat. Homecomings tells the story of these late-returning Japanese soldiers and their struggle to adapt to a newly peaceful and prosperous society. Some were more successful than others, but they all charted a common cultural terrain, one profoundly shaped by media representations of the earlier returnees. Japan had come to redefine its nationhood through these popular images. Yoshikuni Igarashi explores what Japanese society accepted and rejected, complicating the definition of a postwar consensus and prolonging the experience of war for both Japanese soldiers and the nation. He throws the postwar narrative of Japan's recovery into question, exposing the deeper, subtler damage done to a country that only belatedly faced the implications of its loss.
The opening days of World War II in the Pacific found the island of Guam in the Mariana Islands to be an isolated American possession that was nearly surrounded by Japanese territory. The island came under immediate attack with the start of hostilities. The small garrison of marines, navy personnel, and Guamanians surrendered to Japanese invaders after offering only token resistance. However, not all of the American servicemen capitulated. Navy radioman George Ray Tweed was one of six sailors who disappeared into the thick interior jungle. The Japanese occupiers quickly solidified control over the island and began a ruthless search for the missing sailors. Five of the Americans were eventually found and mercilessly killed. The sole survivor, Tweed spent the next thirty-one months on the run—sometimes literally running for his life—staying just one step ahead of his hunters. He continually eluded his pursuers through the use of his survival skills, some good luck, and the generous help of Guamanian civilians, often at great risk to their own safety. During the two and a half years the sailor remained in hiding, American forces were fighting their way across the Pacific. The events reached a crescendo in the summer of 1944 with the arrival of the American fleet in Guam. A major naval battle, an amphibious invasion, the rescue of George Tweed, and a brutal fight to liberate Guam all combine to bring this epic story to a close.
A study of the 1974 album Kogun by the Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Big Band, this book assesses not just its importance in jazz history but also its part in public remembrance of World War II in Japan. In 1974 a Japanese soldier emerged from the Philippine jungle where he had hidden for three decades, unconvinced that World War II had ended. Later that year, the Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Big Band released its first album, Kogun (“solitary soldier”), the title track of which adopted music from medieval Japanese no theater for the first time in a jazz context as aural commemoration of his experience. At a time when big band jazz was mostly a vehicle for nostalgia and no longer regarded as a vital art, the album was heralded as a revelation. Kogun elevated Akiyoshi's reputation as a brilliant composer/arranger and earned Tabackin acclaim as a compelling, versatile improviser on tenor saxophone and flute.
Forests and jungles are bursting with life, attracting many hikers, campers, and other adventurers. But spending time in a forest or jungle has potentially deadly risks. This title examines the experiences of people who have faced death in forests and jungles and survived. Readers will learn about the unique features and dangers of forests and jungles and discover how to prepare for and stay safe on an adventure in these regions. Features include a glossary, references, websites, source notes, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Essential Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.
With an experienced CIA officer as your teacher, you’ll gain the knowledge and necessary tools to protect yourself and the ones you love. No matter where we go, we leave tracks and clues of our existence without even knowing. Our electronic footprint becomes our invisible trail. In this day in age where the world seems to be at our fingertips and social media plays a huge role in our daily lives, it’s hard not to leave part of our digital selves for others to find. Whether you’re fascinated by the idea of disappearing, want to erase your digital footprint, or simply concerned about your safety and privacy, knowing how to become invisible is a survival skill that will come in handy. Through the easy-to-follow instructions, tips, tricks, and professional anecdotes in How to Disappear and Live off the Grid: A CIA Insider's Guide, you’ll learn to vanish without a trace from John Kiriakou, a former CIA counterterrorism officer and senior investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee responsible for the capture of Abu Zubaydah.
The stories in this book were supplied by squadron mates who served with the U.S. Navy's Airborne Early Warning Squadron One or VW-1, a squadron that supported the Seventh Fleet and also engaged in typhoon tracking. The squadron's existence spanned a nearly 20 year period that began with the Korean War and ended with the Vietnam War. This collection is titled “From Guam and Beyond” because the squadron was stationed on Guam but it also includes the authors’ experiences as they were stationed at or came in contact with populations at other sites in the Western Pacific, ranging from Yap in the Caroline Islands to Japan, Okinawa, the Philippines and Vietnam.
World War II was the largest and most costly conflict in history, the first true global war. Fought on land, on sea, and in the air, it involved numerous countries and killed, maimed, or displaced millions of people, both civilian and military, around the world. In spite of the alliances that bound many of the same participants, the war was essentially two separate but simultaneous conflicts: one involved Japan as the major antagonist and took place mostly in Asia and the Pacific; and the other, initiated by Germany and Italy, was contested mainly in Europe, North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic. This book focuses on the lesser known war, the war with Japan. It begins with Japan’s seizure of Manchuria from China in 1931 and covers Japan’s ambitious attacks on Pearl Harbor and other territories ten years later, the use of atomic bombs on Japan’s cities, and the end of the Allied occupation of Japan in 1952. Although Japan renounced war in its 1947 constitution, conflict continued across Asia, as former colonies fought for independence and civil war engulfed other areas. Historical Dictionary of World War II: The War Against Japan, Second Edition contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 500 cross-referenced entries on the military, diplomatic, political, social, economic, and scientific aspects of the war, in addition to the lives of the people who participated in and directed the war. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the war against Japan during World War II.
"With the ascension of a new emperor and the dawn of the Reiwa Era, Kenneth J. Ruoff has expanded upon and updated The People’s Emperor, his study of the monarchy’s role as a political, societal, and cultural institution in contemporary Japan. Many Japanese continue to define the nation’s identity through the imperial house, making it a window into Japan’s postwar history. Ruoff begins by examining the reform of the monarchy during the U.S. occupation and then turns to its evolution since the Japanese regained the power to shape it. To understand the monarchy’s function in contemporary Japan, the author analyzes issues such as the role of individual emperors in shaping the institution, the intersection of the monarchy with politics, the emperor’s and the nation’s responsibility for the war, nationalistic movements in support of the monarchy, and the remaking of the once-sacrosanct throne into a “people’s imperial house” embedded in the postwar culture of democracy. Finally, Ruoff examines recent developments, including the abdication of Emperor Akihito and the heir crisis, which have brought to the forefront the fragility of the imperial line under the current legal system, leading to calls for reform."
Big Mom’s hunger pangs have turned her into an unstoppable force of destruction and she has her eyes on the Thousand Sunny. The only thing that has any chance of stopping her is a giant wedding cake Sani is helping construct, but can they get it to her in time? Meanwhile, Luffy's battle against Katakuri heads to a climactic finish! -- VIZ Media
