Harp of Burma (Tuttle Classics)

Takeyama, Michio; Howard Hibbbett, Translator

ISBN 10: 0804802327 / ISBN 13: 9780804802321

Published by Tuttle Publishing, 1982

About this Item

Type: Ex-Library Paperback in Good Condition, Library of Japanese Literature. Translated from the Japanese by Howard Hibbett. Ex-Library book with minimal marks. Green and yellow wraps clean and unmarked, Fore-edge of page block has pale brownish stains, with some of the rear pages having this on their edge, otherwise pages clean and unmarked. This is a story of a company of Japanese soldiers in the jungles of Burma during World War II who determine that they need to keep their spirits up somehow--and they discover that singing together does just this. Their story provides insights into the inner thoughts of Asians as citizen soldiers in conditions of severe hardships and danger. 132 pages. 4.25 x 7.25 inches. First printing 1966. This is the 15th printing, 1982, Tuttle Publishing, Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo, Japan. Seller Inventory # 024214

Bibliographic Details

Title: Harp of Burma (Tuttle Classics)

Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

Publication Date: 1982

Binding: Paperback

Condition: Good

Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket

About this title

Synopsis:

Harp of Burma is Japan's classic novel of pathos and compassion in the midst of senseless warfare.

Winner of the prestigious Mainichi Shuppan Bunkasho prize and the basis for the critically acclaimed film The Burmese Harp by Ichikawa Kon, Harp of Burma shares a powerful human story about Japanese soldiers on the front lines in WWII. Losing a desperate battle against British forces in the tropical jungles of Burma, the young soldiers discover that the trials of war involve more than just opposing the enemy.

Distressed and disoriented by the alien climate and terrain, strange behavior of foreigners and the emotions stirred by the senselessness of war, their commander's ability to lead them in song helps them discover music's power to make even the most severe situations more tolerable. Even though they face the inevitability of defeat, singing the songs of their homeland revives their will to live.

Through the story of these men and of the music that saw them through the war, Takeyama presents thought-provoking questions about political hostilities and the men who unleash them. Harp of Burma is Japan's classic novel of pathos and compassion in the midst of senseless warfare.

About the Author:

Michio Takeyama (1903 - 1984) spent his early years in Seoul, Korea, then a Japanese colony. Primarily an essayist and a scholar of German literature, he was for a time professor of German at elite universities in Tokyo. Takeyama won the prestigious Mainichi Shuppan bunkasho prize for the Harp of burma, and its publication propelled him to fame.