Another Letter from Iwo Jima

The name Tadamichi Kuribayashi, a Japanese military officer, may be familiar among many Americans, especially moviegoers. He is a protagonist in the 2006 film, Letters from Iwo Jima, which took Best Sound Editing at the 79thAcademy Awards. Kuribayashi was the supreme commander of the Japanese garrison in the Battle of Iwo Jima. He was a real threat to the U.S. Marine Corps and even influenced American opinion on war until the very last moment, when he died in battle in March of 1945. Lieutenant General Kuribayashi is a hero respected by even the Americans in the military.

This August marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the Pacific War, also known as the Greater East Asia War. In order to reassess the historical meaning of the war on this significant year, Master Ryuho Okawa of Happy Science recorded and compiled an interview with the spirit of Lieutenant General Kuribayashi. This is how The Battle of Iwo Jima - A Memoir of Japanese General Tadamichi Kuribayashi came to be. The author, Ryuho Okawa, has already published more than 350 books of spiritual messages.

China recently completed a series of controversial land reclamation projects in the South China Sea, which have brought tension between China and the United States. People’s Republic of China, which was established after Japan and the U.S. fought 70 years ago, is getting more aggressive with its expansionism in the Pacific. The spirit of Kuribayashi speaks in this book about both his memoir on the battle and the current international affairs. As Kuribayashi was well-versed in American affairs and was one of the main figures during the Japanese-American struggle, his voice has significant meaning when considering the peace and stability of the current Asia-Pacific region from a historical standpoint.

Letters from Iwo Jima is based on the actual letters from Japanese soldiers to their families that were found in Iwo Jima, 61 years after the battle. This book is, in a sense, another letter from Iwo Jima written by Lieutenant General Kuribayashi, 70 years after the Greater East Asia War. The letter is addressed to not only Japanese people but to everyone who seeks peace on the Pacific Rim and all over the world.