Japanese Destroyer Captain

Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Midway - The Great Naval Battles Seen Through Japanese Eyes

By: Captain Tameichi Hara

Narrated by: Brian Nishii

This highly regarded war memoir was a best seller in both Japan and the United States during the 1960s and has long been treasured by historians for its insights into the Japanese side of the surface war in the Pacific. The author was a survivor of more than one hundred sorties against the Allies and was known throughout Japan as the Unsinkable Captain.

A hero to his countrymen, Capt. Hara exemplified the best in Japanese surface commanders: highly skilled, hard driving, and aggressive. Moreover, he maintained a code of honor worthy of his samurai grandfather, and, as readers of this book have come to appreciate, he was as free with praise for American courage and resourcefulness as he was critical of himself and his senior commanders.

©1967 Tameichi Hara (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

A thrilling war memoir

This book really made me want to break out one of my World War II wargames. Come to think of it, I don't have a good WWII wargame simulating naval combat in the Pacific...

Tameichi Hara was, as the title indicates, the real deal — a Japanese destroyer captain who saw intense combat in the Pacific theater and was present at some of the biggest battles in World War II. (The subtitle is a bit misleading, though; he was not at Pearl Harbor, and he was only peripherally involved in Midway.) He was bombed, torpedoed, and wounded, lost men, he sunk allied ships and submarines, and his own ship got sunk from beneath him and while bobbing in the waves, he watched the Battleship Yamato go down in one of the last battles of the war.

This war memoir is fascinating and thrilling, as Hara gives an up close and personal account of many of the great battles of the Pacific War. He describes the precise movements of ships and the ranges at which they fired their weapons with the memory of a go player playing back a game, and he really brings to life the fear, tension, uncertainty, and fog of war that plagued both sides, as well as providing a fast education on naval warfare and the different classes of ships. (I will no longer be confused about the differences between a destroyer, a cruiser, a battlecruiser, and a battleship.) This really is a great book for wargamers for whom torpedoes and submarines and air support is usually just an abstraction. Commander Hara describes in great detail how Japan won its share of battles, but lost the war.

For the latter, he places a great deal of blame on the high command. Of course — when do the front-line warfighters not blame the admirals and generals back home for being out of touch? But Hara's open criticism of Japan's leadership, including the revered Admiral Yamamoto, was almost shocking when he first published this memoir. Yamamoto, the architect of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, who feared that the Empire had "awoken a sleeping giant," was, according to Hara, a great leader of men, but a very poor strategic commander of ships.

He also criticizes his country's leadership for not negotiating for peace sooner and, like, I suppose, all defeated military officers, claims to have thought the war was a bad idea from the beginning.

The insight into Hara's state of mind was quite interesting to me, and while he talked candidly at times about how he felt, I could not help suspecting that he was being a bit opaque, if not perhaps glossing over his perspective in hindsight. He describes feeling sorry for American sailors he saw floating in the open ocean, calling for help, and radioed his fleet to send another ship to pick them up as he couldn't stop. (Supposedly, they were later rescued and became POWs.) He also tells his crew to respect the enemy they have killed, he forbids physical discipline on his ship, and he altogether sounds like a great officer, an honorable man, the quintessential good soldier fighting for a bad cause. On the other hand, he dismisses the rape of Nanking as "much exaggerated," and while he seemed to respect the enemy and bear no personal animosity towards them, he never once examines what Japan was actually doing in the territories it conquered, outside his limited domain of naval warfare.

No doubt he had feelings about that which he kept to himself. If he was inclined to defend his country, he wouldn't have looked too good in the post-war years, and if he were more critical, he might have been seen as disloyal. Supposedly Hara did become a pacifist, and he interviewed other former officers (Japanese and American) while writing his book. He was a national hero for a losing cause; a difficult situation for any man to be in.

I highly recommend this memoir for anyone with an interest in World War II history.

The narration by Brian Nishi is top-notch, with flawless intonation on the Japanese names.

Other side of the hill

Well written personal story, does not hold back on mistakes.

Well worth the read for anyone interested in the Pacific War

Excellent eyewitness account

I had read Hara's account back in the 1970's and enjoyed it immensely. I am very glad that audible is offering this audio version for a new generation. This account should be of interest to anyone interested in the war in the Pacific.

Realistic account by outstanding destroyer captain

Would you consider the audio edition of Japanese Destroyer Captain to be better than the print version?

Yes. The narrator did a very fine job reading the story, varying the intensity of speech well according to the flow of the book. Also, his pronounciation of Japanese words seems very correct.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Captain Hara of course, not simply because he's the main character but also because he epitomizes a person driven by duty to his country and fellow human beings while at the same time being a human being with respect for human lives and suffering, among both friends and foes.

What does Brian Nishii bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His pronounciation brings a deeper sense of reality, as if spoken by the Japanese author himself. It provides for a very vivid and realistic narration.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Combatting an inevitable fate

Any additional comments?

I thouroughly enjoyed this book. Having listened to several accounts of the Pacific Theatre of WWII, this account from a Japanese gives provided me with a more balanced view of the war situation. It has a very nice pace, not repeatedly getting into nitty gritty details of warship technical aspects and logistics. Some battles are described in detail, yet the overall development of the Pacific war toward an inevitable defeat of the Imperial Navy is clearly outlined. I warmly recommend this audiobook to anyone interested in the Pacific part of WWII, especially the trials of the Japanese naval forces.

Its very interesting

I vary liked this book. Anyone who have interes in World War II will enjoy this lecture.

A good look at Japan’s perspective

I’ve listened to loads of books about WWII in the pacific, but this was the first time I listened to one from Japan’s perspective. I thought it gave just enough backstory before the war, and the book did a good job with giving enough detail without overdoing it.

Enjoyed this book.

This book was a good perspective from the enemy's view point. The author was very fair and his assessments of the battles in situations in which the Japanese and the US were in.

A different perspective on the WW II in the pacifi

I definitely enjoyed this book. As a former US Navy tin can sailor , I found there were more commonalities between the IJN and the USN. A lot of phraseology is also commen, but I think that may be sure to the translation from the original Japanese. I would have preferred a more literal translation, though idioms may have been more difficult to understand.
the book illuminates the many smaller surface Naval actions that took place in the south pacific, western pacific and Indian oceans involving both fleets workhorses- the destroyers, which have largely been forgotten in history.
Capt Hara's narrative seems candid and pulls no punches concerning strategy, tactics, execution, results and suitability for leadership positions on both sides. He may have been a little self serving in that the views he expressed were not necessarily in line with the common perception of hard core japanese warrior whose emperor was infallible and the enemy subhuman, but the more I delve into the history of WWII, the more I can accept that his feelings were not that unusual in the Japanese Navy.

Amazing

beautifully written and read. I found this specifically because I enjoy the readers other titles. I'm so happy they chose him for this book as he was a perfect fit. the story is both compelling as it is educational. It is always important to look at both sides of the story and as Americans love to sing praise to their own victories it was refreshing to hear a more neutral opinion.

A must listen/read for naval history buffs

tldr; do you like naval history? Did you like band of brothers? You will like this. Also narrated by the spectacular Brian Nishii, which alone makes this worth the buy.

If you are not familiar with the naval and geopolitical situation of the world leading into world war 2, there may be portions of this book that are a bit confusing as they may not make too much sense. A good amount of naval terminology and names of prominent Japanese naval officials are thrown around, so it may be hard to keep track of. Naval battles can also be hard to visualize, although I will not say that is bad, as most battles are confused melees.

BUT, if this book hooks you, good lord... is it spectacular. Brian Nishii makes me feel as if I am sitting on the front porch of Cpt. Hara's house enjoying a beer as he retells his war time stories. There are intensely emotional events in this book akin to that of Beyond Band of Brothers and Band of Brothers. The perspective brought forward by Hara is incredibly interesting, as Imperial Japan has not received the same amount of criticism that the Third Reich or even the Soviet Union has seen, or even the same level of attention. Most post war documents either were destroyed, remain untranslated, or have faded into obscurity.

Due to this books publication date (late 50s I believe) and due to the fact that Hara was a patriot serving under the rising sun, there are some takes that are... dated to say the least. But, that is generally a trend among these earlier post war memoirs. And it is important to realize that this man's life was the Imperial Japanese Navy. We are listening to the flawed recollection of a man who witnessed the thing he stood so proud for crumble before him. The fog of war presented in this book is very refreshing and not an annoying revisionist take. Hara's criticism of fellow vessels, captains, and admirals is amusing to say the least.

tldr; do you like naval history? Did you like band of brothers? You will like this.