Burial in the Clouds

Burial in the CloudsKumo No Bohyo

A powerful novel, it takes the form of the war-time diary of a young Japanese college student inducted into the Imperial Navy at the height of World War II. Trained as a combat pilot, he is transferred to one of the new "special attack" or "kamikaze" units when the tide of the war turns against Japan.

Like many young men of his generation, Jiro Yoshino, once a scholar of the humanities immersed in the study of poetry and philosophy, will offer everything he has to his country—his body, mind, and soul. By the age of twenty-five, Yoshino understands that his life, and those of his friends, will almost certainly be forfeit to the machinery of war.

This wonderful translation brings to life the harsh realities of war as it explores the personal stories of these young soldiers.