For whatever it's worth, I am amazed at how much of a rough time they gave usin WWII.

This isn't listed in trhe WWII forum because othwer circumstances and events enter the picture.

It is amazing to me, how a feudal nation that had zero ships and did not have a rifle when Admiral Perry in 1854 sailed into Tokyo bay and was forced into the modern world.

Fifty years later JUST 50 YEARS, their Admiral Togo sails into Port Arthur and destroy's the whole Russian fleet.

Thirty six years later their carrier based planes f*u*k* up our Navy at Pear Harbor an aquire all the land they controlled..

So in 86 years, they went from fighting with ninja s*h*i*t, bow n arrows an swords to attacking the USA.

Do you think that is amazing?

Not really amazing, actually...look at the advances worldwide in the same 86 years.

In 47 years the US went from having Horse Cavalry as a main shock force to nuclear weapons.

Henry viii was the last to use dogs of war as shock troops; dogs were cheaper than men.

The Japanese threw man after man at the soldiers on Bataan until they became a bridge of corpses and the Defenders were sickened. Japan valued dogs more than human life.
The last mounted Cavalry charge was lead by Lt Ed Ramsey, in the Philippines, in the defense of Bataan. The First Cav Div became dismounted and mechanized. The first atomic bombs were used. Timeline: 1941-1945.

My dad said to me, I would best understand the Japanese mind set by watching two films, in this order: Tora! Tora! Tora! followed immediately by Shogun (the multi volume film with Richard Chamberlain.)
Dad was right. I add Peter Parson's two documentaries to the list and Rainer Loeser's new Bataan Death March documentary.

'Secret War in the Pacific',
'Manila 1945: The Forgotten Atrocities' and
'Death March of Bataan', just beginning its trip on the film festival circuit.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: rainbowtrout,

Those are good ideas and things to watch, but if you really want to understand their way of thinking in the terms of Bushido, the way of the warrior, you should try and find a copy of "The Imperial Way" that was written by Baron Tanaka in the 20s.
It outlined and told the men what the Japanese tradition of the Samurai was and to follow that code without question. It also confirmed that the emperor was divine and it was the duty of the Samurai, especially the military, to die for the emperor and the country.
There was to be no mercy to the enemy and no surrendering of oneself to the enemy. Any person that surrendered to the Japanese was looked upon as not being a man any more and something to be reviled and villified.
Its very enlightening reading.

Soldiers of the Sun is the best treatment of the subject I have seen. It focuses on their Army and not so much on the specifics of why they were such a tough opponent at sea, but the transformation of bushido into a death cult and the decline of soldierly ethics is explained rationally and without bias.

Interesting to know (and this is not in that book but in others I have collected) is that Japan was the first country to standardize bore sizes on muskets during the 16th century and may have even had the first 'ironclad' at around the same time. This was before a 200 year dictatorship that eliminated a lot of creative thought and, in my estimation, was partly to blame for such a dangerous empire.

The reference you made to the book is very good. But Lord Tanaka's book is not just dealing with the Japanese Navy. Is the thinking and writing of the man who helped and GREATLY influenced the turn of Bushido into the hellish death cult it became. It deals with ALL of the areas of the Samurai and Bushido. Its the direct source from its most fanatical believer.

quote:

Originally posted by YankeeeSgt:
For whatever it's worth, I am amazed at how much of a rough time they gave usin WWII.

This isn't listed in trhe WWII forum because othwer circumstances and events enter the picture.

It is amazing to me, how a feudal nation that had zero ships and did not have a rifle when Admiral Perry in 1854 sailed into Tokyo bay and was forced into the modern world.

Fifty years later JUST 50 YEARS, their Admiral Togo sails into Port Arthur and destroy's the whole Russian fleet.

Thirty six years later their carrier based planes f*u*k* up our Navy at Pear Harbor an aquire all the land they controlled..

So in 86 years, they went from fighting with ninja s*h*i*t, bow n arrows an swords to attacking the USA.

Do you think that is amazing?

What amazed me was how we rebuilt Japan into what they are today.