Requiem for Battleship Yamato
Memoir Intermediate Primary Sources
🌍 Multi-Perspective
A young ensign survives the suicide sortie of the largest battleship ever built, sent to Okinawa with fuel for one way.
The Verdict
The death of the Imperial Japanese Navy, described from the bridge of its greatest ship by one of the few who lived. In April 1945 the battleship Yamato — the largest ever built — was sent toward Okinawa with fuel for a one-way suicide mission, and destroyed from the air before she arrived. Ensign Yoshida Mitsuru survived, and rendered the sortie as spare, almost classical tragedy: the end of a navy, a doctrine, and a generation of young men, witnessed and set down with terrible clarity. Short, grave, and unlike any Western account.
Who Should Read It
Read it if you want
- The Yamato's last sortie from a survivor
- Readers who want the Japanese navy's end
- A spare, tragic first-hand account
- The war's close seen from the losing side
Look elsewhere if you want
- Operational naval history
- Readers wanting a broad Pacific narrative
- A long or detailed treatment
Why We Rated It 4.5
Historical Context
The battleship Yamato was sent on a near-suicidal sortie toward Okinawa in April 1945 and sunk by American carrier aircraft with great loss of life. Yoshida Mitsuru, a young naval officer aboard, survived and wrote this account; it was published in Japan in 1952 and later translated into English.
Events Covered
Editions & Reading Notes
English translation (University of Washington Press)The standard English edition.
Later reprintsWidely available.
Read It Alongside
Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944-45 Max Hastings · 2007 · ★ 4.5
Popular History 
Embracing Defeat John W. Dower · 1999 · ★ 4.6
Academic 
Hiroshima Diary Michihiko Hachiya · 1955 · ★ 4.6
Memoir Collector's Corner
English editions are collected by enthusiasts; reprints are inexpensive. Check current listings. → Check listings on AbeBooks.
Where to Buy
ISBN: 978-1557504487
Read This Against
The same events seen from a different vantage point. The fullest understanding often lives in the space between accounts that don't agree.
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Popular History With the Old Breed Eugene Sledge · 1981
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Was the Yamato's final mission really a suicide sortie?
- Effectively yes — she was sent toward Okinawa with limited fuel and little air cover, and was sunk before reaching her objective.
- Who wrote Requiem for Battleship Yamato?
- Yoshida Mitsuru, a junior naval officer who survived the ship's sinking and recorded the sortie as tragedy.