Senso: The Japanese Remember the Pacific War by Frank Gibney

Senso: The Japanese Remember the Pacific War Reviews

• 
  Raymond Pang

  Compared to Oral History, definitely more diversity of opinions & experiences. Felt less compelling though. Also, not all were from wartime experiences or eyewitnesses. Primary value not in sheer number of stories, but as a whole comprising as many voices as possible military & civilian, officials & ordinary citizens.
• 
  Morgan

  Remember.
• 
  Glen

  All too often the Western history books have painted the Japanese as a maniacal enemy, of single mind and single emotion, without accounting for the many who were cowards (not wanting to die in battle for the Emperor), conscientious objectors or just plain folk trying to exist during the times that were thrust upon them - people who had no desire for war but were obligated to do their part. This book brings some balance to our understanding of wartime Japan by reveling their thoughts and experiences.
  
  I rate this 5 stars, not due to its literary content but due to its value as a true account of what the Japanese witnessed at home and abroad and how it helped shape their thoughts on the war both before if erupted across the Pacific and post-defeat.
  
  It is nicely divided into thematic chapters, focusing on such topics as the war with China, life in the military and as a Manchurian colonist (to name a few).
  
  This book makes no bones about the horrible crimes committed during the war by Japan(it does not side-step the matter), and many of the Japanese who witnessed or committed these crimes openly reflect on them, and more importantly, what they think lead them as a people down such a dark path. And one quickly concludes that it was not something "wrong with the Japanese," but man as a species - we are all capable of acting horribly under the right conditions (there are plenty of cases in recent years and during WWII of Allied forces acting brutally, both against the enemy and civilians - things that are quietly swept under the victory rug. But not all of us do succumb to the madness of war, some of us are stronger, and such people were very much present within the Japanese population, but as with all nations in times of war, they are often the few.
  
  It is, in so many ways, a lesson for humanity on the dangers of hubris. Man has all too often been blinded to reality through his own sense of superiority and patriotic duty; getting swept up in the emotions of the time without being critical of those who rule over him - this was the error that the Japanese people subconsciously made. Many of those interviewed come to this conclusion. And as such, we all have much to learn from it.
• 
  Bob

  This is a must read for anyone interested in the Pacific theater in World War II. The letters give a feel for what Japanese civilians and Japanese solders thought about their experiences and what they saw during the war. This is not a book about strategy or tactics but about the thoughts and feelings of people involved in the war.