>> how were they trained in the chosen? ..

what. >> it really was the point* of no return. >> host: where did you find their diaries? >> the diaries were first published by their father, brother privately. because they felt that their death was meaningless but then they did not want to them and to be forgotten. so when i started to contact them, i was afraid that they may not the been give me the permission and but have no

mistake be grateful that i am introducing to the international leadership. >> host: one myths do we have about kamikaze pilot said that you dispel in your new book? >> i think there is a tremendous method from 9/11 i started to say the kamikaze pilots wear for the jihad it was very difficult for americans in 1944 with if they were very scared for people who really did risk their lives. it was nothing the north americans and germans told the soldiers to kill the enemies but then this particular symbolism of the

cherry blossoms given to the japanese is to die. >> host: explained it cherry blossom connection because you do put those on the front of your book also. >> guest: were they given to the pilots? >> no. as a devout christian worked with madame curie and einstein and all of those for the league of nations wrote to the warriors way first in english and he said the japanese sole and the cherry blossoms are indigenous to japan. so for the japanese soul which enabled them to die without hesitation this was symbolized by the cherry blossom. so at the end of the war in

1944 adopted a the cherry blossoms symbolism saw all of the kamikaze planes one becerra blossoms. on this side in peak said it is a historical process sees where by the end of the 19th century when japan realized that every other country in east asia was colonized and that is how major restoration took place sleeping with our realizing to politics. some of the 48 seed 89 imperial constitutional japan was drafted and actually except article i

was written by a german they call scholars. but anyway, they started to use the following cherry paddle as the model for warriors and soldiers to die for japan. >> host: are there any surviving did you talk to any surviving kamikaze pilots with rising your book? >> yes. there was one the very well-known historian was being trained and he was on the base. he was absolutely helpful and telling me what the morale was at the end and it would qualify year comrades because nobody believed in

the patriotism or been named the war any more. >> host: they thought it was over? >> guest: yes. it is very clear in 1942 there's no chance of winning the war. >> host: 1942. >> they started to give all kinds of a rationalization i think not many not know about that. some of them would say if i die with advanced capitalism is destroyed with the u.k. and the u.s. maybe there is some meaning from my death. >> host: how did you find

out about these diaries are get interested in this topic? >> that is part of the reason my book was very welcome to japan because people just forgot. they never connected the military, military's a sinn of dead cherry blossom a static two other meetings of the cherry blossoms after going to the viewing but the interesting part about this of this symbolic is one end is a symbol of international friendship which was started out buy mrs. taft. so last year this the very

time i was the distinguish sheriff modern culture at the library of congress. i gave a talk when the cherry blossoms was full bloom. so mrs. taft and iger rated the custom of japan giving cherry blossoms or sending cherry plants all over the world. >> host: 1911? >> yes. >> host: where were you born? >> guest: japan and i came to that united states in the stone age. [laughter] >> host: real alive during world war ii? >> i was little i remember anything but they never had to do anything they started to go to the black market so

when they were to be in the shelter we would not be scared with all of the good food. >> host: do you remember the shelter? >> guest: yes i was nearly shot one time. to ban could not afford a a lot for the school's two pronounced the end of the warsaw my elementary school kept opening. every day there was the air raid. then we would run home one time i was running home and american plane came and started to shoot to me so i ducked into the ditch and the bullets went about 10 inches and vista but my mother came looking for me. >> host: did you lose your

big house after the war? >> guest: my house was not but 75% of the japan had a the carpet bombing so many of them were bombed. it was the third biggest city to be carpet bond. >> host: what was your father's profession? >> guest: he was a businessman and what is interesting is because he was saved by to america in san 1923 earthquake they brought my eighth father in their ship then these two americans were captured as war prisoners and guam sell my mother started to sell clothing and we helped them, not only these two fellows but the others. >> host: you had to do it

very quietly? >> guest: my father y s chased by the police. one time the kids are fascinated and my father disappears because the police were following us. >> host: they thought he was disloyal to the emperor? >> guest: anybody having much to do with the foreigners was a suspect. >> host: how do you get to the u.s.? did you ever think you would come here after being bombed >> guest: these two fellows who were prisoners of war left a will that his widow has to take care of one of us. but that did not materialize because i think the business didn't do as well. so that prompted the idea

but i was just raised to bep&ñ housewife. [laughter] i never ever had any ambition to be professional my parents even switched to french when they talked about money because we were to be kept innocent. [laughter] >> host: did your parents come over with you? and no. i cable loan. but none of us had any idea. i think it was so nice that i was so a deron. [laughter] ignorance save sell-offs because you don't anticipate. also it was wonderful not to be raised to have ambition. >> host: really? >> guest: then you don't suffer if you don't try to achieve. >> host: what ever you get

just happens? >> guest: i was not interested in domestic. [laughter] >> host: kamikaze diaries published in japan when? >> guest: and was not a translation. it always has to be adjusted to the japanese readers. >> host: what does that mean? >> guest: certain things i have to explain more for their readers outside but some of the things i don't have to explain to the japanese readers. i believe it came before or right after. right after this week i am still going to japan. i will be giving a lecture at the international house of japan 57 emiko

ohnuki-tierney book, cause the diaries reflection published by the university of chicago press. who was on the cover? >> guest: a student at the university of tokyo. the day before his death and his brother was a professor who gave for mission. >> host: his brother is still living? >> guest: yes. we corresponded. >> host: was his kamikaze mission successful? >> guest: no. none of them are. other than an the first attack, the kamikaze missions were all failures materially. >> host: thank you for sharing a few minutes with us. >> guest: thank you. thank you. washington

journal. and at eight thanks 30 during the program, meet the students who made them and for a preview of all of the winners, visit studentcam.org. jon jeter and robert pierre are the co-authors of "a day late and a dollar short" high hopes and deferred dreams and obama as opposed racial america. facebook recently in washington for a little more than an hour. >> okay. i and a director of the washington center of politics for journalism which is pleased to co-sponsor the event to night. i have the honor of having brought robert pierre to washington under the semester program he was in the very first inaugural class in the fall of 1989 and robert daschle represents all alumni on the operating board of directors the joints mike and issue the end a number of others

who run to i have to answer to the board of directors at the center. robber came to our program has a two-year to edit the school paper and then for awhile he thought about getting a master's in business administration but "the washington post" saved him from the fate of personal wealth by recruiting him as a writer for "the post" now he labors under the slave wages of journalism and what is left of journalism. thankq'z goodness "the washington post" or kaplan testing or there may be more problems right here in washington d.c. with journalism. i am not only pleased to introduced robert s. jon jeter but i am jealous because i have not written a book and i am pleased he has done so. the only thing i asked if i

get to ask the first question after the presentation. by the way with the exception of been a few represent-- exception never present all white people. [laughter] you say what do black people think? you can ask me what white people think. thank you. robert? and john? [applause] >> good evening. first of all, we have no need to other for about 20 years our sell and started together at the post january 1993 and we did not know each other at the time we both came to the post and both of us were skeptical of the other because what brother was to work for the

post at? [laughter] we became friends. but we cover politics and a number of things i started off and that semester i could cover officials washington like ron brown and got to go to the by house and to see what official washington looks like. the goal was to become political or journalist who would not have one ideology or another to cut through that to say here is what the democrats say republicans say and introduce you to all of those polls at the same time. budget not a lot of it felt real because i did not know whether i was talking it almost did not matter

because everybody was talking about the people and when did go out been to america is doing the iowa caucuses as opposed to knocking on the doors. that is the reporting jon and i have done over the years. that it is just where we come from. this book, two years ago or one year ago when barack obama was elected president there was a lot of themes of hope and change and other things but they would talk about when we talk about black people in the discussion was black people think this and it was one black people as terry talked about the white people. this was meant to turn the camera lens other bracing and look at the crowd to say

who are these folks? but we came up with four different things so we talked to union workers and ex offenders and business owners and a lot of people who have a lot of different opinions about the work. one of the chapters, the first chapter that i will read from. my personal chapter four is about my family but centered on my grandmother daisy mae francis. our family moved off the plantation and 1975. that is not a mistake. 1975. i was seven years old when we moved away from the plantation. so we talked about to come with that his men to to

serve s slavery and i will read a little from the chapter. >> free expression was not an option everybody understood the rules on the plantation and white peoplesoft and black people did with ever told. the plantation was named for the life of the man that wants on the property and the slaves that worked in the field. the plantation is the 1850's greek revival structure for pratt the back was a sweeping lawn that role dried up and stately oaks negative shaded my grandmother and me as children we all hid from the sun under those trees and rolled in the desert. state your repairs was home

to 15,000 more about any of the parish in this day. my grandmother was born november 22, 1929. there are no records of her birth she knows that to be her birthday because a family friend remembered her own daughter was born on the same day. and she was two months old she was given away by her mother for a family moving to new orleans. the second wife of papa remained at a source of contemned more than half a century later and the old double and she was mean prepare she never had children of her own. if she felt she wanted to be done them she did it. poppa did not know that i did not tell him. i do not blame him. poppas house was down the path from slavery from the

slave quarters the house had to rooms the catchall room and the bedroom where daisy mae slept on the sofa bed and eight the meals and socialize. the raised a little bit of everything mustard greens, okra, a chicken, turkey, most of the time we had me to go with rice and gravy. schoolchildren walked one hour each way to attend school and my grandmother went to be a nurse and october through january and tell it was dismantled it was to bring in the crop and it may have been out what after civil war but after the plantation with the same cyclical rhythms and the plantations but they pay no

doctor they would go see it at the plantation who would take it out of their pay and the bad of time. the store clerk would announce when the undetermined credit limit was reached workers were not expected to know or care about politics. not until 19683 years after but four days the may and free choice the overseer would say there is an election coming up and this is who you are supposed to blow to four so in 1975 and of my uncles was drafted and he got a contract and ended up playing nine years but two years after he was drafted the put a down payment on a house in town

and this was led grandmothers reaction from moving into town from the farm. >> the one thing i appreciate it was that you could have hot water. before you had to heat up your water. she would no longer be isolated and still did not drive but now she could walk places. one of those places across the street she was hired as a coke and i never dreamed of that. she was a black woman. i will stop there. that is to represent where we came from in this country and why there was euphoria about a black woman per and my eight did grandmother battling of varying cancer for four years and she died on wednesday and we just had

buried her to day actually. but she was the reason this book came about. >> guy first one to think everybody coming out with the rain last week we were in new york and had snow. we're thinking of renaming this the biblical book tour. [laughter] but robert give say brett -- climes of the excerpts his grandmother was the inspiration for this book. it is the first chapter of where we began. it is where black america begins in america began three did in the deep south on this plantation. one of the things i first met robert we were suspicious of each other

because you both work for "the washington post" but remember him telling me he was born in in the slave quarters on the buy you. i was raised in indianapolis and i just could not believe that i thought he was lying. i cannot conceptualize being born in the slave quarters but anyway we could hear from his reading it is not preoccupied with the barack obama that i really want to tell the story of us and what does it mean to be black in the age of obama? he seems to be peripheral to that process of asking who we are or what is race and i came upon this recently doing somedi