Logo image
  • BookDragon
  • About
  • The Blogger
  • Review Policy
  • Smithsonian APAC
 
497
post-template-default,single,single-post,postid-497,single-format-standard,stardust-core-1.1,stardust-child-theme-ver-1.0.0,stardust-theme-ver-3.1,ajax_updown_fade,page_not_loaded,smooth_scroll

BookDragon Blog

03 Aug / One Man’s Justice by Akira Yoshimura, translated by Mark Ealey [in Christian Science Monitor]

One Man's JusticeOne Man’s Justice, the third book by bestselling Japanese author Akira Yoshimura to be translated into English, is all about perspective: One man’s justice proves to be his condemnation. Takuya, an officer in the Japanese Imperial Army, is on the run. World War II is over, and Japan is in shambles. Meanwhile, the occupying U.S. military forces are on a manhunt for alleged war criminals, and Takuya is on the wanted list. His crime? Decapitating a war prisoner – a downed U.S. fighter pilot. Was it cold-blooded murder or serving justice? In this gripping, remarkable novel, Yoshimura offers no obvious answers.

Takuya is a fiercely loyal officer, in charge of an air defense operation. He follows orders and acts responsibly. War is anonymous: Takuya’s “perception of the enemy had been limited to the airplane itself, and that somehow he had forgotten that there were human beings inside the aircraft.”

When a U.S. B-29 fighter plane is downed, Takuya is suddenly confronted with individual faces. “It shocked Takuya to think of the Superfortresses … being manned by young men scarcely past their teens.” In spite of their youth, the prisoners become for Takuya “the embodiment of an enemy who had slaughtered untold numbers of his own people.”

Indeed, as far as Takuya had experienced, U.S. bombers moved beyond incendiary attacks on military installations and destroyed urban areas, and then targeted medium-size and even smaller towns populated by civilians – many of them women and children. Not only were countless innocent lives lost, but the resulting destruction of shelter and food sources meant bleak conditions for survivors. …[click here for more]

Reviews: Christian Science Monitor, August 23, 2001

“Works in Translation,” aMagazine: Inside Asian America, October/November 2001

Readers: Adult

Published: 2001 (United States)

By Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese, Repost, Translation Tags > Akira Yoshimura, aMagazine: Inside Asian America, Betrayal, BookDragon, Christian Science Monitor, Historical, Mark Ealey, One Man's Justice, Personal transformation, Politics, War
No Comment

Post a Comment
Cancel Reply

Smithsonian Institution
Asian Pacific American Center

Capital Gallery, Suite 7065
600 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20024

202.633.2691 | APAC@si.edu

Additional contact info

Mailing Address
Capital Gallery
Suite 7065, MRC: 516
P.O. Box 37012
Washington, DC 20013-7012

Fax: 202.633.2699

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

SmithsonianAPA brings Asian Pacific American history, art, and culture to you through innovative museum experiences and digital initiatives.

About BookDragon

Welcome to BookDragon, filled with titles for the diverse reader. BookDragon is a new media initiative of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC), and serves as a forum for those interested in learning more about the Asian Pacific American experience through literature. BookDragon is inhabited by Terry Hong.

Learn More

Contact BookDragon

Please email us at SIBookDragon@gmail.com

Follow BookDragon!
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Looking for Something Else …?

or