The Breaking Jewel by Makoto Oda, translated by Donald Keene, is a WWII novel that recounts an historically fictionalized account of the 1944 Battle of Peleliu, a small coral island within the island nation of Palau. The novel follows the Japanese garrison’s preparations for battle with “the American devils” and the hard-fought, harrowing loss by the Japanese. In Japanese, the word for “breaking jewel” is “gyokusai,” which is also known as banzai, or suicide, attacks. Early on, the commanding officer cautions his leaders to engage in gyokusai for the sake of victory, not as an alternative to surrender. The main character, Sergeant Nakamura, is moved by this “Warrior” and takes this message back to his men, who affectionately refer to him as “Momotaro-san, meaning he was strong but gentle.” Following the Warrior’s speech, Nakamura never asks his men to die in a gyokusai, though he leads his men through a series of orders that repeatedly demand (remind) them to be “bulwarks of the Pacific.” To carry out the island’s defense, Nakamura relies on a subordinate, a non-commissioned officer by the named Kon, who is of Korean ancestry, but who insists he is a “Japanese from the peninsula.” Kon risks his life more than once to retrieve information from the island’s headquarters and, even more than his comrades, wears his loyalty to Japan on his sleeve. While the first part of the book focuses on the Japanese fortification of the island, the novel peaks when the Americans finally launch their amphibious attack on the island. Nakamura receives a letter from headquarters that orders the garrison to “obliterate the enemy.” Though, just as Nakamura learns the definition of “obliterate” for the first time, he experiences the meaning of this word at the hands of the American forces. By the end of the novel, Nakamura has watched his squad die off one by one and, tragically, proves himself to be the most loyal of them all.

For a WWII novel that tells the story of a strategic battle, The Breaking Jewel is a slow-paced, and deeply personal war novel. Despite its third-person perspective, the book reads something like a monologue. The scenes are written in such a way that there is an ever-present feeling of isolation and vulnerability. Late in the novel, I was surprised at the mention of thousands of soldiers, when it seemed that there were no more than the ten or so Japanese military that were named. While most of Nakamura’s superiors remain obscure in name, referring to them as “warrior” or “Captain Centipede,” there are a number of subordinate soldiers who are named in concert with their familial circumstances—such as Kaneshiro who was a fisherman who joined the army when his wife and two daughters were killed in an American air raid.

The Breaking Jewel provides an opportunity to talk about the WWII Pacific Theater and this battle, in particular, to talk about the battle between America and Japan over the Philippines. Additionally, this battle resulted in “the highest casualty rate of any amphibious invasion in terms of men and material in the entire war in the Pacific” (Williams, militaryhistoryonline.com) and is controversial in terms of its questionable strategic location. It also provides opportunities to discuss the history between Japan and Korea, as well as aspects of Japan’s culture such as social hierarchy and loyalty to the Emperor.

The Breaking Jewel could be appropriate for high school or college history courses about WWII or East Asia, though the pace may be too slow to ensure student engagement. This book is, however, well suited for teachers looking to improve their own understanding or as a jumping off point for further research. Teachers might also read passages with students to provide additional Japanese perspective of WWII.