Special Attack Flotilla (1 results)

One of two editions of this very rare volume of Japanese propaganda, curiously published in English at the height of the war in the Pacific. Subtitled Bushido in the War of Greater East Asia on the front board and half title, it is a tribute to nine Japanese sailors who launched an undersea attack on the United States fleet at Pearl Harbor in a "Special Attack Flotilla" of two-man ko-hyoteki class miniature submarines. The sailors were treated as martyrs and the text waxes panegyric of the "deified heroes." The book includes a laudatory and detailed account of the "Battle of Hawaii," in which "the great task of annihilating the United States Pacific Fleet was.accomplished," biographies of each of the crew members (illustrated with their portraits as well as images of their homes, families, and even schools), the text of their final letters to their families (proof that there was no expectation of survival from the start), and an interview with the Chief of the Naval Press Section of the Imperial Headquarters by Japanese novelist Eiji Yoshikawa. The description of the battle assures readers that "The spirit of self-sacrifice and loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor and the State, which animated Japan's fighting men, and the temperament of American and British men and officers, who regard the quest for a happier life as the aim and end of existence, are as different as chalk from cheese," and the volume closes by advising that "the end of the War of Greater East Asia is still far off. In order to gain a final victory, the present total war must be fought with unflagging energy to a finish, and for this purpose the nation must form an even firmer resolution to gain complete mastery of all seas." The activities of the ko-hyoteki were meant to be a closely guarded secret, but one of the submersibles malfunctioned and was retrieved by American forces along with its officer, Sakamaki Kazuo. He was the only one of the ten members of the Special Attack Flotilla to survive. While it is not clear why this work was published in English and the colophon (printed only in Japanese) warns that it is not for sale, it seems possible that Sakamaki's capture made the Flotilla's actions more valuable as propaganda than as military intelligence. Notably, Sakamaki is never referenced even obliquely by the text, despite his submarine partner Inagaki (who drowned trying to escape the vessel) receiving full honors. OCLC records five copies of this edition, located at Stanford, the Library of Congress, the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the Pritzker Military Library, and the British Library. A 76-page edition with a different arrangement of illustrations is also recorded, with copies only at the Hoover Institute and University of Wisconsin in the United States. A very rare and interesting English-language look at the early war in the Pacific from the Japanese point of view. OCLC 3530134, 12420612. Half title. Quarto. Original green cloth boards and purple string ties, front board gilt. Edges of boards sunned, cloth fraying at corners, foredge, and upper portion of spine, approximately half of the spine cloth lacking. Very faint dampstaining to outer corners throughout, otherwise internally clean and bright. Contemporary ownership inscription on front pastedown. About very good overall.