About this title: A company of Japanese troops are losing a desperate campaign against British forces in the tropical jungles of Burma. In the midst of the overwhelming challenges they face, they discover the power of music to make even the toughest situation tolerable.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: Later printing
Binding: Softbound
Publisher: Charles E. Tuttle,, Rutland:
Date published: 1977.
ISBN-13:9780804802321ISBN:0804802327
Description: Very Good, No Jacket. Pictorial paperback; clean pages; tight binding; former owner's name on half title page; 132 pages plus ads. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Date published: 1968
ISBN-13:9780804802321ISBN:0804802327
Description: New. New. No dust jacket as issued. BRAND NEW. Gift quality. Mint condition. No remainder mark. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 136 p. UNESCO Collection of Contemporary Works. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Tuttle Pub
Date published: 1968
Description: Very Good. Pages are clean, crisp and unmarked. Cover shows light wear.; 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed! Free Delivery Confirmation! Ships same or next business day! read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Rutland, VT. : Charles E Tuttle, 1985
Description: Good paperback. UNESCO Collection of Contrmporary Works. Translated from the Japanes by Howard Hibbett. Japanese soldiers in Burma. read more
Edition: First English Language Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Chuo Koronsha (Chu-o), Tokyo
Date published: 1950
Description: Gen-Ichiro Inokuma. Good. No Jacket. Silk cloth worn away at top and bottom of spine, tape marks on front endpaper where three scissored pieces of dust jacket had been taped down (these pieces are now laid-in); pages are clean and unmarked. A best-selling juvenile in Japan in 1948; "story of a young Japanese ex-soldier who remained volantarily in battle-scarred Burma in order to care for the bones of his former comrades which were scattered unattended in the deep interior of the country. " read more
Edition: First Edition.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: CHARLES E. TUTTLE CO., RUTLAND
Date published: 1966
Description: Fine in a priceclipped, otherwise very close to fine dj. (Shallow sliver of chipping at crest of spine on dj. ) Filmed as "The Burmese Harp" in 1956 by Kon Ichikawa. (O) read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Date published: 1968
ISBN-13:9780804802321ISBN:0804802327
Description: Good. Light shelving wear with minimal damage to cover and bindings. Pages show minor use. Help save a tree. Buy all your used books from Green Earth Books. Read. Recycle and Reuse! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Date published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780804802321ISBN:0804802327
Description: Good. Ships from store stock. We pull the best copy available. Used books may have highlighing and normal wear and may not have valid website pin codes, Web CT codes, or other supplements such as CDs. Satisfaction guaranteed. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Tuttle Pub
Date published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780804802321ISBN:0804802327
Description: New. Near the end of World War II, the Japanese are facing defeat in Burma at the hands of the British Army. After Corporal Mizushima's unit surrenders he attempts to persuade other holdouts also to surrender without a struggle, now that the war is coming... read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Date published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780804802321ISBN:0804802327
Description: Good in n/a jacket. Paperback. Sound & good copy, light to moderate rubbing/edgewear to wraps, stamped, prev. owner's name within. read more
Edition: Twentieth Printing
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Date published: 1988
ISBN-13:9780804802321ISBN:0804802327
Description: Near Fine. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. pp.132 The story of Japanese soldiers in Burma during WWII. clean tight copy gift inscription on back piece slight corner wear. read more
"Written by Michio Takeyama, Harp of Burma is a war novel taking place during World War II in Burma, which is now called Myanmar. Takeyama wrote the novel in 1946, and it was later translated into English in 1996. The novel demonstrates the significance of music in a soldier's life. The Japanese soldiers who were known as the "singing company", sang songs and played instruments to cheer themselves up during rough times, and also times of rejoice. The main character of the story, corporal Mizushima, was an inspiration to his company. He left to go on a mission and did not return, making his company think he was dead, until they later found out he had been disguising himself as a monk. Mizushima's disguise surprised me the most in Harp of Burma. I thought the whole situation was extremely ironic. His company had been seeing him everyday and did not know it, thinking he was dead the whole time. Although they made observations of recognizing the monk as Mizushima, they did not believe it was him. The company thought they lost their best corporal in a mission to retrieve soldiers, but all along he had been right there by their sides. I thought Harp of Burma had quite a few weaknesses. Some of the major ones were the gruesome details, the insignificant information, and the lack of description for most characters. Takeyama described some of the death situations with too much detail. I did not enjoy reading about the cannibals in so much detail. On the other hand I thought some other events were not described with enough detail. Some parts of the story that I thought were significant were brushed by such as the surrendering of the Japanese. That seemed like a major event to me, but it was only mentioned, not described. I also did not like how none of the characters had names. Mizushima was the only character with a name, and the rest of the soldiers were labeled as "the singing company." I thought more characters should have been individualized and given names. Although I thought the novel had weaknesses, Harp of Burma was the easiest war novel to understand. It did not go into chapters of unnecessary information like most books about war do. It was also fairly simple to understand, not using words from centuries ago. I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys a story about war, and also likes a book with plenty of symbolism. Overall I thought Harp of Burma was an exceptional book demonstrating the importance of music and leadership during war."
"The Harp of Burma was written by Michio Takeyama and a World War 2 story told from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers in Burma, now known as Myanmar. The novel follows a group of soldiers known as the singing company because they always sing to keep their spirits up. A soldier in the singing company named Mizushima plays the harp to accompany all of the company's songs and he uses the harp to save the company from death on many occasions. The Japanese eventually surrender and the singing company is taken prisoner. Mizushima is asked by the captain of the singing company if he will briefly leave the company to help the British convince a group of die hard Japanese to surrender. Mizushima agrees and sets off on his mission. He never returns to the POW camp and the singing company is left filled with doubt about what happened to Mizushima. One day a monk appears around the POW camp that resembles Mizushima and the company hears harp music playing while they are out working. Finally, when the company is about to be released and sent back to Japan, the monk reveals himself as Mizushima, but refuses to rejoin the company. He later explains in a letter that he has decided to remain in Burma to give all of the dead and forgotten Japanese a proper burial.
The characterization is the novel was very well done. Mizushima was the only character with a name and the author did a great job showing how he was split between staying in Burma as a monk or returning to Japan throughout the novel. The author also did a great job of portraying the company's feeling about Mizushima's disappearance, especially the captains feelings. Besides the expert characterization, the author did a great job weaving a deep plot that didn't just involve Mizushima deciding that he liked Burma better, but deciding that the dead needed to be honored, which came as a total surprise to the reader. The author did a great job describing the contrast of Japanese and Burmese culture.
I found that a major weakness in the book was that Mizushima's adventures could have been described in a more exciting way. The way the author spoke of him sitting in the middle of the battlefield playing his harp as bullets whizzed by didn't capture Mizushima's fear or how tense the situation was at all. I also felt that the author could have used more descriptive language. Although I found that the descriptions of the Burmese culture were great, more descriptive language would have allowed me to imagine what Burma looked like, not just what the culture was like.
Overall, I thought that the novel was a very enjoyable read because its lack of description of setting and action was easily made up for with the authors descriptions of Burmese culture. I thought the plot was very entertaining and although it was not unthinkable that Mizushima decided to remain in Burma, his reasons took the reader completely by surprise. I would recommend this book for anyone because I found it interesting and none of the topics covered in the book appeal to my interests, so anyone, no matter what their interests, could find this book enjoyable."
"The Harp of Burma was written by Michio Takeyama and was published in 1946, translated into English in 1966. The Harp of Burma takes place in Burma, now called Myanmar, during WWII. It is about a Japanese War Company, who sing to help them get through their hard times. Corporal Mizushima is the soldier all the other soldiers in the company honor and adore, and they all hope to someday become just like him. After the company surrenders because the war is over, Mizushima is sent to tell another company of Japanese who are fighting against British soldiers and trapped in a mountain to surrender. The rest of the Japanese are transferred to a P.O.W. camp, in Mudon, where they wait eagerly each day for Mizushima's return. I found the novel very intriguing and informative. It was not one of those boring, informative, and monotonous war novels, like The Killer Angels, but it was a short, mellow, and easily understandable novel. I enjoyed how a person could be able to understand very easily as to what exactly was going on in the novel. The amount of symbolism that was used in this novel I felt was very unique because in most novels there is not that much amount of symbolism, and this caused me to really appreciate and enjoy symbolism. I also liked the way the novel kept comparing Japanese culture to Burmese culture and how you got to learn about to different cultures at the same time. Reading about WWII from the viewpoint of the other side I think also put a lot into perspective because it made you understand that even if they were our enemy, war is the same on both sides, soldiers struggling to go by day by day. Although the novel was a pleasure to read, there were some parts of the plot I did not like. I think the author could have shortened the part of the novel about what the soldiers lives were like as POW's. The ending could have been more interesting because I would have liked to learn more about how the soldiers were after they came back to Japan and if Mizushima was able to perform his monk duties and bury all the dead Japanese soldiers. I think the story might have been more interesting if we had known the narrator's name or more names of various members of the company. It was quite nerve racking throughout the novel reading about only a few selected members of the company, it made it seem as if the other troops in the company were not important. Although I disliked a few things with the plot, I found this novel to be a light, easy, and enjoyable read. It is informative about the Burmese, Japanese, and the war, yet while it still remains some what fictional and story like. I would recommend this novel to people who are curious to find out about other cultures, interested in learning more about WWII, or entranced by tails of war."
""Harp of Burma", a captivating novel written by Micho Takeyama (1903-1983), is an overall interesting read. Takeyama was a Japanese novelist and German scholar, who known for translating German works into Japanese. "Harp of Burma" is one of his more prominent writings, which explores a world into the life of a group of P.O.W's after the Second World War. This novel was chalk full of interesting details. I liked how the author portrayed the conflict between the modern, westernizing world, and the traditional and religious Burma. Throughout the book, there was a quest to find out the fate of Mizushima, one of the Japanese prisoners. It kept you wondering and trying to predict what was to happen next. During the novel, I found that there were many parts that were dull, and slow, and did not contribute to the story. It felt as though these parts were filler pages between the main points. If the author cut these parts out of the book, or even made them more interesting and lively, it would have made for an easier read. Despite its weaknesses, "Harp of Burma" is an intriguing story that kept me on my toes. Anyone who enjoys learning about history or culture will appreciate this novel."
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