"Toshiro is still in the doorway when I pass, and I remember another doorway, another brush of cloth, one year and a lifetme ago. Any doubt leaves my mind. I may be the one for Toshiro, but he is not the one for me." (Hana in year 1946, page 280)
Taro and Hana, hmmm where do I even begin? First of all, welcome back to my blog, I'm glad to have you here. I hope you're comfortably lying in bed, ready to read my review of another historical fiction book that both inspired and moved me to tears.
As you can see, I started today's review with a paragraph in the book that really touched my heart. Hana was a humble girl who first worked in the fields. On March 18th 1945, American planes known as Hellcats startled the Japanese, killing numerous civilians in the village. Hana barely survived that day in the field. The soil buried her and she was barely pulled out of it. Hana has never been the same since. But when one day she heard Taro playing the violin, she finally saw the light. Her love for Taro grew stronger with each passing day, which saddened her deeply because she knew Taro and his friends would have to die for Japan. Taro felt the same way about Hana and, as expected from the boys to be a real men, kept his emotions and sadness to himself.
Taro was a young boy who alongside other young boys trained to be a pilot in order to defend Japan from the Americans. While all of his friends have died since they all flew down on their enemies's ships and "committed suicide," Taro "failed" three times, which means he didn't die. Hana was of course unaware of it, but despite everything, she refused to give her heart to other boy. What disturbed me the most was Taro's sense of failure because he did not die alongside his companions. On the one hand, I understand because other young guys died, but on the other hand, I tought "You did not die for purpose Taro."
I underlined the passages that were essential to me while reading, as I always do when I read, and I'd want to share them with you.
PASSAGES THAT MADE ME LAUGH:
These were usually phrases spoken by Taro's best friend Nakamura. I was very sad when he died, he was one of the better characters in the book :(
The old man shrugged. "Same as always. We lose some ships, we send some palnes. They lose some ships, they send some planes. All I really know is my wife is hungry, and she's unpleasent when she's skinny. Marry a fat woman, I say. The best insulation in a cold, uncaring world." (page 123)
He held up the toy he'd been fiddling with. It was a bride doll. "Meet my wife!" Nakamura said, sitting up. "Her name is Nobuko - at least that's what my mother said. She's going to serve me in the afterlife." Taro felt a pang in his stomach. "It's ... I mean, she's beautiful." "Eh she's okay. Not fat enough to guarantee happiness, like that old guy said. But's she'll do. So that's what you missed out on. A slap, a hangover, an angry sister, and you could be married to a doll, too." (Nakamura's and Taro's chat, page 157)
***
PASSAGES THAT MADE ME SAD:
"He did not know what lay ahead for him when he went to join the war, so he told my mother, "Think of me as already dead." That way, the pain would not be unexpected should the worst happen, and the joy would be a hundredfold should he return. On that day, his koto would make music once again." (Hana about her father, page 135)
"Inoguchi Taro." "Benkan Hana," I reply. "A pleasure," he says softly. Only when I hear the engines growl and rev do I rise from my own bow. I hold the black case to my chest like a newborn and watch the planes take off one by one, dark birds against the brightening sky. For the first time, I am unable to wave goodbye." (Hana, page 148)
"He wrote to Ayugai-sensei, telling him what he could not tell his parents. He would body-crash in honor of his teacher, he said. The Americans would suffer for the crime of stealing his music. He told him of the moment in the garden and sked his old teacher to beg his parents' for forgivness on his behalf. Not telling them was cowardly, but he could not bear to see his mother's pain." (Taro, page 154-155)
"If ... if you should meet a young woman Taro, I would like to meet her. It would be good to have company. To know someone else out there cares for you. There is so little happiness in this world, it would be good to find whar you can" (Taro's mother, page 155)
***
I also noticed that Japan took a lot of risks at that time, which is the most terrible thing when we think that someone would rather die for the country than live. The worst thing is also that there are people in higher positions above us (=ordinary citizens) who play with us. In the book, I came across quite a few phrases that made me think, like for example:
"If youe hands are broken, fight with your feet. If your hands and feet are broken, use your teeth. If there is no breath left in your body, fight with your spirit. Lack of weapons is no excuse for defeat." (Lieutenant General Mutaguchi Renya, page 118)
"Taro imagined rooms full od generals in impressive uniforms, somewhere in Tokyo, moving chees pieces along a great board the size of the Estern World. When they were ready, they would push their knights into position. And Japan would be preserved." (Taro, 159)
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There are also many things I didn't know about, such as the difference between Shinto and Buddhism:
"Shinto tells us there is a spirit in every living thing. Buddhism teaches us that life is suffering and death is not the end." (page 183)
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To be honest, I already thought that Hana was taking her mother's advice and was going to give her heart to Toshiro, and then this paragraph appeared. I admit, I would be really sad if Hana chose Toshiro. Nothing wrong with him, but still.
"Attachment leads to suffering, Oka-san said. But perhaps that is the price of joy." (Hana, page 181)
"And this is when I understand my mother's warning. With attachment comes suffering. With joy, sorrow. With peace, war." (Hana, page 221)
***
Sooo ... I will end my blog post here and I can tell you that the ending was happy. I didn't expect a happy ending. I assumed that Hana would marry someone, and always live with fondness and the thought of Taro, who died so young and innocent in the war.
My guess was wrong, and I was happy at the end of the book, so I recommend it to everyone! I had A LARGE number of sentences marked and I didn't write all of them here, because this post would be quite long then. Take the time to read this book and you will know what I am talking about.
I wish you a nice summer 2023 and see you in my next post!
