a few ruminations on hiroshima, nagasaki and the empire of japan

 "Would it not be wondrous for this whole nation to be destroyed like a beautiful flower?"

- Korechicka Anami, Japanese Minister of War, right after the Nagasaki atomic bombing, making clear his intention of wanting to sacrifice Japan and the Japanese people as such, instead of suffering national humiliation and disgrace through surrender. 

In World War 2-era Japan, many senior officials and soldiers and ordinary civilian folk alike opined it was utterly unthinkable to surrender to any kind of enemy, be it a Chinese, a Soviet or an Anglo-American one. Until 1945, Japan had never, through its history thousands of years old, lost a war or even been successfully invaded. It was not to even to be bothered with, the idea of capitulation, many stressed. It was simply and soundly unjapanese; repugnant to the Japanese spirit. In the 1940's, military surrender was as Japanese as communism was American. It was considered an unspeakable abomination, and this idea was fully in accord with traditional Bushido ("Samurai") morality which had pervaded Japanese culture and society for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years already. 

And the Minister of war, Korechika Anami, was far from alone in this sentiment; most senior leadership insisted honor was the only thing able to save Japan, and they simply refused to surrender even as they themselves were absolutely positive they would lose the war. They were for the most part - mid-1944 onward - very unconfident about the war effort. The war was lost no doubt, and honor surely was not to be found in capitulation. Only sub-human races wilfully lose a war, it was said. The idea that a kind of "Japanese apocalypse" was the only reasonable way forward was widespread. As far as I know, and at the behest of my historical sources, there is not a single documented case of a surrendering Japanese soldier, although I find that extremely hard to believe; a bit sensationalist it sounds. What is nevertheless indeed true is that individual Japanese soldiers surrendering was practically unheard of, and unseen: an act of surrender would not only bring shame to the soldier, but to his family, his nation, his ancestors, his Emperor, and everything else that was Holy in the eyes of the Japanese.

Let us also note, for the sake of context and of historical anecdote, that the last Japanese warrior was honourably discharged by his commander in the Philippine rainforests in the mid-1970's; he had been actively continuing the war ever since 1945, killing many people in jungle before people understood what the fuck was going on. Japanese "hold-out cells" after the war was widespread, and many boldly defied their emperors' order of capitulation. 

I think never in history has old-age fervour, fanaticism, extremism and patriotism concocted with new-age weaponry, industry, logistics and technology to such a rabid, intense degree. And that is extremely fucking fascinating... and for this reason, Japan between ca 1860 and ca 1950 is a unique phenomenon in world history, and it is with that backdrop one ought to think about the atomic bombs and the ever-relevant discussion of ethics surrounding them. 

But we must understand that key figures within the Japanese military high command literally refused to stop even at the prospect of being effectively wiped off of the world map. They refused to stop even at the thought of their whole nation, their whole culture reduced to nothing but shards of history. Some of them opted to stop their ever-maddening imperial craze to no price. Literally to no price. Honor in victory or honor in death - nothing in between. Surely the atomic bomb is a cruel, heinous and diabolically destructive device but the Empire of Japan likewise was a cruel, heinous and diabolically destructive regime. The atom bomb was a very, very radical response to a very, very radical regime in a very, very radical time and it was, after all, in my view, an ethically justifiable military action, even though radical elements in the Japanese military high command still refused a surrender after the bombs. 

Just a few thoughts.