A Novel.
A provocative historical novel, written in Yoshimura's typically understated yet powerful style.
In the immediate aftermath of World War II, Kiyohara Takuya, a former officer in the Imperial Army, is on the run from the occupying American soldiers. Amidst an atmosphere of national shame, poverty and revilement, Takuya becomes a fugitive in his own country. Yet, in the wake of Nagasaki, he doesn't consider himself a criminal for following orders to execute an American pilot.
This is a haunting, suspenseful, psychological read. With the lightest of touches we are transported into the inner voice of a Japanese survivor - humble, assured and remarkably devoid of vindictive sentiment - which juxtaposes the arrogance of the victors of war and their cultural imperialism against the traditional values of the Japanese sensibility and one man's sense of humanity.
