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`Giants of Japan' focuses on people who made waves

The people in a nation's history are like stars in the night sky: most are invisible; some are bright, shooting streaks of light fated to disappear; and a few are supernovas that shine forever. Mark Weston trains his eye on the vaulting sky which is Japan's 25 centuries of history and perceptively sees the several dozen leaders, writers, actors, artists, and industrialists of lasting importance, describing their personal lives and achievements in clearly written mini-essays.

In Giants of Japan, published recently by Kodansha International, Weston writes of one of the brightest stars -- the warrior Hideyoshi, who unified war-torn Japan in 1592. When he was still warlord Oda Nobunaga's deputy, Hideyoshi demonstrated his loyalty by holding Nobunaga's straw slippers against his chest to warm them up.

Then there is the tragic Isoroku Yamamoto, a reluctant hero of the Japanese empire during WWII. Weston shows how the moderate Yamamoto became the unwilling strategist behind Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, even as he prophesized that America would destroy Japan. Mixed in with his characterization, Weston provides details that show his intimate familiarity with the subjects profiled, such as a story about how geishas who manicured Yamamoto charged not the full 100 yen, but only 80 because he had only eight fingers due to a war injury.

Kakuei Tanaka is projected as a quasar politically, but a black hole ethically. He was surely the most corrupt leader in Japan's post-war history. As a poor but driven youth, Tanaka would fight off the demons of exhaustion during night classes with a small knife, which he poked into his drowsy forehead. As a warm but scheming man, Tanaka amassed an estimated US$110 million in personal wealth. Weston explains how Byzantine factional politics led to Tanaka becoming the prime minister in 1972, and how he fell on bribery charges.

Of the several women featured in the book, Fumiko Hayashi is perhaps the most interesting and influential. After WWII, millions of Japanese women saw their tired eyes and frowning lips in the mirror that was Hayashi's writing. With painful realism, she described her struggle against poverty in a bitter, cynical world, drawing her stories from teachers like her abusive boyfriend, who once beat her to the floor, stuffed her into a sack and then threw the sack under the floorboards.

Other luminaries Weston includes are Sadaharu Oh, a baseball player who surpassed Hank Aaron's record for career home runs in 1977. As a coach, Oh sometimes encountered resistance from players who resented his half-Chinese background.

A hilarious anecdote is told about Mitsui, the tycoon who started his business empire in the 17th century. People loved his original policy of "cash only, one price for all", and Mitsui convinced the public to associate his corporate logo with the policy. He was embarrassed, though, when brothels sported the same logo because they had an identical policy.

Weston claims that his book is an introduction for the non-expert. True, the novice will learn much from most of the essays; however, the detailed chapters on Tanaka, Hideyoshi and other leaders will overwhelm most beginners.

Experts will find that every essay provides a short, but serious review; in addition, they can debate Weston's very thoughtful inclusion of the feisty Shizue Kato, a pioneer in birth control. Weston's bibliography, itself a valuable research tool, indicates that he based his summaries on many core works about each subject.

The book, unfortunately, is weakened by its neglect of intellectuals. Japan's seminal thinkers include Dogen, the 13th century Zen philosopher; Motoori Norinaga, the Tokugawa-era scholar; Tenshin Okakura, the Meiji-era pan-Asianist; and Masao Murayama, the post-war social scientist. One also wonders about the absence of great humanitarians: medical scientists, champions of the oppressed and philanthropists.

Weston invariably depicts his subjects positively. Even when judging the violent war lords, he emphasizes that they secured peace or national unity. His reasoning is usually sound. However, surely he could fault Hideyoshi for cruelly hacking off thousands of Korean noses and ears when he invaded in 1592. Only Tojo fails to garner any accolades, but he is far from the only major villain one could pillory. Take, for example, Yoshio Kodama, the slave trader who exploited Manchuria.

In a preface, former US ambassador to Japan Walter Mondale bemoans that even well-educated Americans know shockingly little about Japan. It's true. They often consider Japan too complex, remote or intimidating to warrant the attention that, say, China gets. Often, the Japan hand returns home eager to teach others, but finds himself communicating with other isolated Japan experts.

One hopes that this book will get more people interested in Japan. Weston has adroitly applied the old journalistic adage that the story, especially an abstract one like "history," comes alive when it is told through people.
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