Burial in the Clouds by Hiroyuki Agawa (Tuttle Publishing)

This original title of this book is Kumo no Bohyo and was first published in Japanese in 1956 by Shinchosha. It was translated into English by Teruyo Shimizu in 2006. The story is set at the height of World War II during Japan’s military expansion. Although the story is fiction, it is written in a diary-form by a young Japanese college student, Jiro Yoshino, who was inducted into the Japanese Imperial Navy. 

Jiro starts writing his diary from the first Sunday after joining the Navy. He is sent to the Otake Naval Barracks in Hiroshima Prefecture. We follow his progress from being labeled as flight-worthy for pilot training before his official enlistment which will determine the course of his military career. He knows that he will be chosen as a member of the tokko-tai which is the shortened form of tokubetsu kougeki tai and translates into English as the “Special Attack Force”. They are more commonly known to Americans as kamikaze which translates to “Divine Wind”.

Jiro writes and lets us know that the Student Reserves are separated by the schools they attended such as Waseda Division and the Tokyo University Division. He also notices that there are divisions from Chuo University, Hiroshima Higher Normal School, and of course his own school, Kyoto University. Jiro also finds that three of his good friends are here which gives him a sense of calmness. 

Jiro gives us a first-hand account of his training. Starting off with his taking of the Student Reserve Officer Examination. We follow his progress from those humble beginnings to choosing to become a pilot. He writes about the many hardships throughout his training, including getting accustomed to Navy life, flight training on planes that use a highly volatile alcohol mixed fuel and he also voices his doubts about Japan winning the war.

However, I get a sense of Jiro’s change of attitude after a few months in the navy. Some of his first entries are about his lack of courage and his questioning of the righteousness of the war. But in his later entries, he begins to believe in the ideology that he must be willing to die to protect his country. He even writes, “I must sink all impertinent thoughts to the bottom of my mind and try to become a man.” 

As the war progresses and fuel becomes a valuable commodity, the Student Reserves are grounded and must practice maneuvers on the ground simulating flying in the air, while the Naval Academy graduates continue to be able to practice in the air. But when it's time to set out against the enemies, the Student Reserves are the first to be called upon while Academy graduates “..stay behind on the pretext that they have to conserve their crews and aircraft.” 

This is a powerful novel about war and sacrifice. I couldn’t help feeling sadness as I read Jiro’s last two entries - his “farewell notes” knowing full well he would not be returning from this last sortie. Sometimes I forget the book is fiction as Jiro’s last letters are dated July, 1945 - just one month before the end of the war. This books spawned mixed feelings in me as quite a few years ago, I went to the War Memorial Museum at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. The shrine that is at the heart of controversy whenever a sitting Prime Minister visits it because this is the shrine where fourteen Class “A” war criminals are enshrined. On the day I went, there was a special exhibition of the Tokko-tai. Real final letters to family, friends, and loved one from young kamikaze pilots. I was able to read a few with my still limited knowledge of kanji characters. Trying to put myself in their place, thinking what would my final words be if I knew I was flying to my death, never to return. ~Ernie Hoyt