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Preview — Letters from Iwo Jima by Kumiko Kakehashi

Letters from Iwo Jima reveals the true story of the battle of Iwo Jima. At the heart of this story is the maverick general Tadamichi Kuriyabashi, devoted family man, brilliant leader and the first man on the island to know they were all going to die.
Kumiko Kakehashi's heart rending account is based on letters written home by the doomed soldiers on the island, most family...more

Published February 8th 2007 by George Weidenfeld & Nicholson (first published January 1st 2007)

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Rating details

Books like these are always hard to comment on. This is a true story based on their very real letters. As I said before, I have a respect for the Japanese. Especially for the Japanese soldiers in WWII. Even though both of my grandfathers fought in WWII, I still can't help but respect and honor these men. I especially have a high respect for every man who fought in the Battle for Iwo Jima. It was one of the bloodiest battles out of the whole war.
The book only made me tear up a couple of times, mo...more

Mar 11, 2010La pointe de la sauce rated it it was ok

No matter how many times the writter tried to make Kuribayashi a maverick, genius general, I just found myself disagreeing even more. He divides his time in Iwo Jima between constructing a vast cemetary of tunnels to fight a guerilla war -which he was bound to lose- and writting numerous letters instructing his family in minutae on how to proceed with their lives. The number of letters he writes is really what's astonishing; and on totally irrelevant subjects. He writes a number of letters from...more

Nov 18, 2015Joselito Honestly and Brilliantly rated it really liked it

How must you live your life?
You can live normally for a while then lose it horrifically for a cause, like your country’s war, then after many years be remembered and turned into a film by Clint Eastwood or some such Hollywood guy looking for some nice stories they can recreate on screen and win Academy awards for.
Before the war, Lt. General Kuribayashi Tadamichi stayed in the US for about two years and had seen with his own eyes how nice, normal and likeable the average Americans are and how far...more

Oct 27, 2011Aly (Fantasy4eva) rated it really liked it

Shelves: boys-that-make-me-swoon, dark-and-gritty, i-ache-for-you, hilarious, movies

All I have to keep me company is my packet of Doritos *Tangy cheese flavour, hehehe*, and Strawberry flavoured water *which I must admit is pretty good*. Hey, what can I say. I'm experimenting :P
I just finished watching FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS *which is told from the Americans perspective*. I thought it was an ok movie. But I'm half an hour into this movie and I'm already loving it more! Sure, Ken Watanabe *gorgeous man* softened me up to the idea of giving it a go, but I was also very curious to s...more

203 pages which could have been whittled down to about a third of the amount. It's an interesting read but very repetitive. The author would have benefited from a good editor pointing out some of the clunky repeats of information. At the end of it I acknowledge the author's adoration of the subject, a Japanese colonel who fought the Americans at Iwo Jima, but I don't feel I really understand the colonel or his motivation. The fact that he knew they were beaten but still moved his men towards a g...more

Oct 02, 2017Chik67 rated it really liked it · review of another edition

La battaglia di Iwo Jima vista nel racconto degli ultimi mesi di vita del generale giapponese che comandava la guarnigione della terrificante isola del Pacifico. Senso del dovere senza fanatismo, serenità davanti alla morte, la tristezza là dove un'occidentale avrebbe messo la rabbia. Commovente e a tratti terribile.

Dec 04, 2017Tom rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Very interesting to learn of the Japanese side of the battle for Iwo Jima. This book should be read along with 'Flags of Our Fathers'.

Feb 26, 2018Alexander Curran rated it really liked it

'For our homeland. Until the very last man. Our duty is to stop the enemy right here. Do not expect to return home alive.'

The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.
Ken Watanabe: General Kuribayashi
(Review of film, which was similar to the book, although obviously more detail provided...)
A film with powerful, historical significance. Told from the side of the Japanese as they pr...more

...but it isn't the letters. It is Kakehashi's analysis of the battle, with extracts of some letters. With her analysis, the language is rather colloquial. There's tautology and lots of 'When you read this letter, you can really feel etc ...'. Can I? It's probably the translation. I also felt that it requires more than translation for non-Japanese readers. All the stuff about digging up the bones needs some context. Otherwise it just seems unnecessarily morbid.
I think I'd rather have just read t...more

Feb 10, 2019OK Dad rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Received this book in a box sent to me by my Stepmother. She had been collecting some of my Dad's belongings in boxes to send me since his death in August 2015. When she fills a box, she sends it on.
This time it was filled with books, including this one. My father wasn't an avid book reader, so for him to have bought this book (inside the cover he wrote where he bought it and when) and read it cover to cover, is an important clue to how much he enjoyed the subject matter.
I have recollections of...more

Dec 11, 2018Kay rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

In our modern era, it's good to read a book about a true hero, even if he fought for the enemy, the Japanese, in World War II. The word 'hero' in our modern culture has been so loosely applied that it's about equivalent to 'friend' on Facebook. This is a breath of fresh air about a real hero, who did the hard things he had to do but was also a considerable person when not fulfilling his military duty.
This book is written by a Japanese journalist, yet is elegant in expression while being well re...more

Feb 04, 2018Peter rated it liked it

'The are two sides to every story' goes the old adage.
Books like this are there to remind us that there are actually several.
The letters of Lt. General Kuribayashi are not included in there entirety but rather quoted as inserts into the main text as it tells it's story. Alongside interviews with survivors and family members, these add to a well researched book about a very singular, a-typical Japanese officer and a 'quality human being' to boot, and therein lies the authors' aim.
Obviously writte...more

Nov 22, 2017Mary Johnson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I loved this book. It gave me a new perspective on WWII and it was about a wonderful man of great character.

Jan 09, 2018Lindsey Stout rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I loved this book. During WW2, Americans hated the Germans, but they dehumanized the Japanese. The racism with which the Japanese people were regarded often blinds us to the actual actions of Japanese generals and the like. This book takes a very personal look at General Kuribayashi's life and legacy, one that is often overlooked. His love for his family was heartbreakingly tangible, and his desire to stay by his soldiers side often resulted in rebelliousness. He was quite a guy. This is a fast...more

Those who have heard of the small island off the coast of Japan known as Iwo Jima have more than likely seen the famous Clint Eastwood film 'Letters from Iwo Jima' that depicts the epic thirty-six day confrontation between Japanese and American forces in 1945. While the film version itself is a masterpiece in it's own rights, I was most inclined to read the actual memoirs of the Japanese defenders who courageously fought and endured untold hardships thousands of miles from home. From her first b...more

Oct 14, 2016Carl rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This was probably the saddest thing I've ever read. Worth every tear.

Apr 12, 2011Arminzerella rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: world-war-2, iwo-jima, japan, japanese, war, 1940s, letters, nonfiction, history, book-club-selection

General Tadamichi was given the responsibility for organizing the defense of Iwo Jima in WWII. It was, for a time, considered to be of strategic importance, as enemy troops could use it as an airfield/refuel/launch point for attacks on Japan. Others higher up in the military chain of command later decided it was not worth protecting, but by then they had already committed over 20,000 troops to the cause – almost all of which lost their lives keeping the American invaders at bay for as long as th...more

Feb 14, 2016Sarah Crawford rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is the book based on General Tadamichi Kuribayashi's letters from Iwo Jima. It's an excellent book to read. It is not a dry history of the terrible battle; instead, it shows the soldiers as realistic, writing home to loved ones. It shows how advanced Kuribayashi's thinking was, also.
Instead of doing a defense of Iwo Jima in the traditional way, he did it his way, literally, and his way produced far more American casualties than if he had followed tradition. The book reveals a lot about the...more

Jun 22, 2009Tintin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Saya membaca cerita pertempuran Iwo Jima sewaktu masih kelas 1 SMP, dari edisi khusus majalah Hai yang judulnya Iwo Jima. Sampul depannya bergambar seorang Jepang (mungkin itu jenderalnya?) dan beberapa kapal serta B-29 Amerika. Isinya tentang pertempuran di pulau belerang milik Jepang itu. Sama seperti membaca Citizen Soldier edisi Bahasa, terjemahan dalam edisi khusus itu juga 'belepotan' sehingga cukup menyesatkan. Misalnya, dalam edisi khusus disebutkan Batalyon Marinir 21. Ternyata setelah...more

Mar 17, 2010Rowan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I very much enjoyed reading this book. It recalls and retells in a biographical format the letters and life of General Kuribayashi Tadamichi during his time in command on the island of Iwo Jima which was the scene of some of the fierest fighting in WW2 in pacific.
The real of strength of this book is the personal and direct insight it gives of the mentality of the Japanese Imperial Forces at the time. It certainly fills in alot of gaps in my own understanding as to why they were so brutal at tim...more

Oct 06, 2014Doug rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It was an interesting experience to read about a WWII battle in the Pacific from the point of view of the Japanese. So Sad to Fall in Battle is an account of the battle of Iwo Jima based largely on the letters of the Japanese commander, LTG Tadamichi Kuribayashi and written by a Japanese author. The Japanese were 'demonized' to my generation (born 1941) and few books published in the west deal with them as people. This account points out that on a certain level, the Japanese soldier thought and...more

Mar 12, 2008J.C. rated it liked it · review of another edition

A good account of war. the writing is not the best and there is a lot of repetition for such a short book. But overall I really enjoyed it. It is a short history of General Kuribayashi, who is the equivalent of General Patton or Douglas MacArthur in his popularity and contribution to history.
Written by a Japanese historian, there are a few small areas where the American military is lambasted, especially in regards to the fire bombing of Tokyo, and this writer did fail to mention some of the muti...more

Jun 16, 2009Karen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

As the title suggests this is a collection of stories about the individual stories that are written by the Japanese soldiers to their loved ones back home. I have not read this book yet though the movie is very moving. Again I chose this book as a Japanese pick because I thought it would be a great pick for the Asian arts. ANd I would use it in the classroom to depict the fact that even on the Axis powers(Germany, Russia (for a while), Italy, and Japan) even their soldiers had the same hopes, fe...more

Perhaps I approached this book with the wrong mindset. Going in thinking of it as a secondary source of history, I was quite disappointed to find that there was no clear argument or narrative running through it. Kakehashi clearly adores her subject matter and his life, but I found it quite repetitive when she constantly goes back to how much of a family man he was or how much he cared for his soldiers, compared to the other officers of that time. Obviously, he was not like 'other people' who mig...more

Dec 07, 2011Cameron Faison rated it it was amazing

I thought this book was a wonderful story about the Japanese side during the Battle of Iwo Jima during WWII. I thought it was also a very dramatic story because it was mostly centered on a young Japanese soldier who is sending letters to his wife in Japan who is pregnant with his child. It is sad how everyday is a constant battle for survival for him in one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific Theater of War during 1945. This story is also one of my favorite books because I love WWII stories...more

May 26, 2012Lana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Before beginning to write this review, I read many of the reviews that others posted. Some were positive, others not so. Some were middle of the road. I speak English, Japanese, enough Spanish to live in Spanish-speaking countries and enough Hebrew to get from here to Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem. I do not dislike anyone except those who preach violence, hatred and spread lies. I try not to judge others except that I always speak out against hatred and discrimination of ANY kind. I wonder, given the...more

Oct 14, 2013Sophie rated it liked it

I very much appreciated the subject, especially the author showing what an unusual Japanese the general was (he spent some time in America before the war) and a few things about the chain of command in Japan at the time.
What I liked most were the examples of 'last letters', which had to be patriotic and stoic else they were censored, and the demonstration of the general's manipulative 'kindness' - only the soldiers' loyalty to him, and not only the emperor, would have kept them from suicide. He...more

Letters From Iwo Jima is a tremendous book that opens your eyes to seeing the Japanese's point of view during war. We are usually exposed to stories about how the Japanese and Germans behave brutally but this book has brought new perspectives, especially to me, to see that not every Japanese were inhumane. There were some that did not want the war, but for the love of their country, and their loyalty to the emperor, they went ahead doing so. Such fierce discipline and culture the Japanese people...more

Jul 23, 2016Natalie Rooney rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Growing up, I had never been interested in learning about war. I didn't like the idea of war, fighting or violence, so I never really took an interest in reading about the wars that happened throughout the world. However, I really enjoyed reading these letters from a Japanese general in Iwo Jima. From the limited information I learned about Iwo Jima in school, this book expanded on that and really illuminated the atrocities that occurred during World War II at Iwo Jima. Thanks to this book, I've...more

Very gripping story of the Japanese defenders of Iwo Jima, pieced together primarily from letters and despatches sent back by the general who was in command there. It is sad that many details of the actual war there, particularly of the last days, are lost forever as the Japanese army was wiped out almost to the last man. The spirit and resolve of General Kuriyabashi, and the soldiers there is admirable all the more as they planned and fought even knowing it was a lost cause. This is one of very...more

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