Overall Thoughts
Like the rest of the “Killing” series, Killing the Rising Sun is a page-turner. If you’re someone who enjoys reading fact-based information but doesn’t particularly want a long read, you’ll want to pick this book up. The story follows the events leading up to America deciding to drop atomic bombs on Japan. I knew this happened (we were all taught this in school), but I never took the time to read the facts. The war in Japan lasted for 4 years and lead to many deaths.
Much of this can be contributed to the fact that citizens literally believed their Emperor was a God, and he didn’t want to surrender. In the end, he was forced to surrender with the use of atomic bombs.
Impactful quotes
“Their [the Japanese] strongest belief of all is in the samurai code of Bushido, which stipulates that surrender is a form of dishonor. ‘The man who would not disgrace himself must be strong,’ reads a line from the Japanese army’s Senjinkun, a pocket-sized code of behavior issued to all servicemen, ‘Do not survive in shame as a prisoner. Die, to ensure that you do not leave ignominy behind you'”.
The Japanese army fought ruthlessly, and a lot of their style of fighting came down to the fundamental belief that surrender was the most shameful act of a man. This is where kamikaze practice stems from as well.
“It has taken the marines an average of 1,500 rounds of ammunition to kill one Japanese soldier. More than 13 million bullets were fired by the Americans, along with 150,000 mortar rounds. [In the battle of Peleliu]”
The Americans came to Japan thinking the fight wasn’t going to take long. In this particular battle, they thought it would take 4 days. It took 12 weeks. This sluggish pace continued for the entirety of the war in the Pacific due to the Japanese using their terrain to their advantage. They hid in caves, along hard-to-reach coves, and other clever places. This made it extremely difficult for the Americans to take control.
“Japan is made up of 6,852 islands, of which just 430 are inhabited. The four largest and most populous are Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu.”
Again, this made it extremely difficult for the Americans to invade. They essentially had to hop from island to island trying to take control.
“Emperor Hirohito tours the burned-out portions of Tokyo on March 18th 1945. His caravan of vehicles and his own maroon Rolls-Royce carry the official chrysanthemum crest, signifying that a gyoho-a blessed visitation-is taking place. Hirohito does not stop the cars to engage his subjects, nor does his facial expression display sorrow or regret. Japan’s elite will decide to not surrender. It is their belief that the Japanese people will become used to the bombings and grow closer together in the process.”
Let me paint the scene for you. General LeMay just got done bombing the city of Tokyo. In fact, he literally stated the goal was for Tokyo to, “be burned down and wiped off the map to shorten the war.” One fourth of Tokyo was destroyed. 100,000 people are dead; 40,000 people are badly burned but alive. 1,000,000 Japanese are homeless. The following day, the emperor tours the city in his Rolls-Royce and decides that the people will get used to living like that. Let that sink in.
“Then comes the blast as the explosion rockets outward with the force of 20,000 tons of TNT, followed immediately by a billowing mushroom cloud that rises more than 50,000 feet into the air, sucking up dust, dirt, and bodily gasses from the vaporized remains of those killed at the hypocenter. Within seconds, 70,000 people are dead. Almost every person and building within a 1-mile radius of the hypocenter has vanished.”
This is what the impact of the atomic bomb was on Hiroshima. No bomb had ever been dropped like this before, and still hasn’t do this day. The destruction was horrific.
“Three months later, on January 1, 1946, at MacArthur’s urging, Emperor Hirohito repudiates his divine status, admitting to the people of Japan that he is not a god.”
So, citizens of Japan literally thoughts their Emperor was a god. Then, after Japan surrenders, General MacArthur takes a photo with the Emperor. MacArthur is much taller than the Emperor, and he tells the press to release the photos. The citizens of Japan were shocked at how small the Emperor was compared to MacArthur, which contributed to the Emperor’s decision to admit he wasn’t a god after all. Incredible. Look at the photo below.
These are just a few quotes from the book. There is a lot more to the story, and it’s definitely worth a read. Here are a few other random facts.
- President Truman ultimately signed-off the use of the atomic bomb on Japan, but the plan was laid out long before by Roosevelt and his team.
- The plane that carried the bomb to Hiroshima was named “Enola Gay.”
- The crew of the “Enola Gay” each had cyanide pills to take just in case the mission failed.
- Before dropping the atomic bomb, the US airforce dropped pamphlets in Hiroshima warning people of the bombing (to leave and surrender).
- There were 2 bombs dropped. The first was on Hiroshima, the second was on Nagasaki.
- The second bomb wasn’t supposed to be dropped on Nagasaki, but low-fuel made it necessary.
- Japan surrendered five days after the second bomb was dropped.
You can buy “Killing the Rising Sun” at this link – “Killing the Rising Sun”.