Japanese Destroyer Captain

Archival Summary & Scope

Known as "The Unsinkable Captain" after surviving over one hundred sorties, Japanese naval commander Tameichi Hara's acclaimed memoir offers crucial insights into the Pacific surface war from the Japanese perspective. A 1960s bestseller in both Japan and the U.S., Hara, who wrote Japan's torpedo warfare manual, exemplified highly skilled, aggressive leadership guided by a samurai code of honor. This treasured historical account candidly praises American courage while critically assessing himself and his senior commanders.