Pathway to Japanese Literature

Discover Japan's stories—across time, across language.

Miscellaneous Notes on WarAuthor: Tokunaga Sunao

Original Title	戦争雑記
Author	徳永直
Genre	War & Social Literature
Author Type	Male Author
Summary	Through the eyes of a young boy in early 20th-century Japan, this poignant narrative unfolds against the backdrop of the Russo-Japanese War. The child’s world is shaped by fervent nationalism stoked by village leaders and schoolteachers, who glorify battle while his father departs for Manchuria as a low-ranking logistics soldier. Pride in his father’s service clashes with harsh reality: relentless poverty forces his mother to scavenge military leftovers, and classmates mock his family’s destitution. The war’s distant thunder echoes in village life—celebrations for victories like Jiuliancheng, somber telegrams announcing deaths, and captured Russian prisoners who defy expectations with unsettling humanity. When his father returns gaunt and hollow, bearing medals but no prosperity, disillusionment sets in. The boy navigates shame, fleeting childhood friendships, and encounters with scarred veterans like one-armed Mr. Kuma, whose haunting war stories unravel patriotic myths. A visceral portrait of innocence eroded by sacrifice and societal hierarchies, this tale probes the cost of blind allegiance to empire and the fragile resilience of those left behind.