Journal 7 by Zach Baker

The character that strikes me as the most interesting is Father Kleinsorge. He was a German priest at The Society Of Jesus in Hiroshima. Father Kleinsorge is a very interesting character in the sense that no matter what is going on to Father K. he is always thinking about the people he can be helping. He was helping as many people as he possibly could after the bomb was dropped and took genuine interest and intent of helping these people even though he was hurt and sick himself. He also wore a military uniform when the sirens went off in order to look more professional and have more freedom to help and direct people. Father Kleinsorge has many memorable moments in the book thus far, but my favorite quote that really speaks for his personality is on page 28, the end of the second paragraph "We have lost all of our possessions but not our sense of humor". This quote gives us a good insight on Father K s personality in the sense that he is witnessing so much death and destruction, but does not hold onto hopelessness or depression, rather he turns up his good attitude and faith in God to give him strength to help and encourage the people around him and give them some light in those dark times.

Father Kleinsorge

The question that I had decided to research was what was the mindset of the Japanese people during WWII? What I found was that the Japanese people and culture has capitalized on the importance of honor and serving the emperor like their samurai ancestors before them. The code that the samurai lived by is called Bushido which means "the way of the warrior". The main concept of Bushido is to revere the emperor as a god and serve him as such even unto death. To die in the name of the emperor is the highest honor a samurai  could achieve, and because of this warrior lifestyle and heritage the Japanese people during WWII were willing to follow there emperor even unto death. The warrior lifestyle and roots are so strong to the Japanese that the emperors call to loyalty did not cause them to question because the motto had not changed from the samurais all the way to WWII. The motto and mentality is simple "Do not live in shame as a prisoner. Die and leave no ignominious crime behind you". Ignominious means deserving or causing public disgrace. Honor and family honor is another very important part of the mentality of the Japanese people, but that topic is so huge it would take more then a few sentences to describe it. So here is a good starting point about honor. http://www.pbs.org/mosthonorableson/shame.html . In conclusion the Japanese were willing to die for the emperor and cling to every word he uttered due to their strict and disciplined warrior lifestyle.

Japanese WWII propaganda poster of a samurai

Sources:
Japan: No Surrender In World War Two - http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/japan_no_surrender_01.shtml
Most Honorable Son: Shame, Honor, and Duty
- http://www.pbs.org/mosthonorableson/shame.html