Description
This is a privately compiled memorial book dedicated to Imperial Japanese Army Corporal Michimasa Onaka, a Japanese soldier who was wounded during wartime service and later died in an Army hospital.
Before entering military service, Onaka graduated from the Printing Department of Tokyo Higher Technical School of Arts, giving this book a particularly personal dimension: it preserves the life of a young civilian whose path eventually led into the Japanese Army and the war in China.
The book includes his military service history, personal writings, photographs, and memorial essays written by friends and associates. Rather than an official military manual or mass-produced publication, this was created to preserve the memory of one individual.
His service record includes duty with the China Expeditionary Army, and the volume traces his military career through to his death from wartime wounds.
What makes this piece especially interesting is the inclusion of his own writings. Official records often preserve units, dates, and casualties, but rarely the personal voice of an ordinary soldier. Here, military history becomes the story of a specific person.
Books of this type were generally produced in limited numbers for family members, friends, former classmates, or other people connected with the deceased, rather than for ordinary commercial sale.
There is age-related toning, staining, wear, scratches, folds, and other signs of use. The original outer cover or case may be missing. Please refer to the photographs for condition.
A deeply personal surviving record of one Japanese soldier’s life, service, and death during the wartime period.
Own a Piece of History.
Before entering military service, Onaka graduated from the Printing Department of Tokyo Higher Technical School of Arts, giving this book a particularly personal dimension: it preserves the life of a young civilian whose path eventually led into the Japanese Army and the war in China.
The book includes his military service history, personal writings, photographs, and memorial essays written by friends and associates. Rather than an official military manual or mass-produced publication, this was created to preserve the memory of one individual.
His service record includes duty with the China Expeditionary Army, and the volume traces his military career through to his death from wartime wounds.
What makes this piece especially interesting is the inclusion of his own writings. Official records often preserve units, dates, and casualties, but rarely the personal voice of an ordinary soldier. Here, military history becomes the story of a specific person.
Books of this type were generally produced in limited numbers for family members, friends, former classmates, or other people connected with the deceased, rather than for ordinary commercial sale.
There is age-related toning, staining, wear, scratches, folds, and other signs of use. The original outer cover or case may be missing. Please refer to the photographs for condition.
A deeply personal surviving record of one Japanese soldier’s life, service, and death during the wartime period.
Own a Piece of History.