Thoughts on:

The Blossom and the Firefly

By Sherri L. Smith

The Blossom and the Firefly tells the story of two Japanese teenagers who meet in the waning days of World War II and fall in love despite the forces meant to keep them apart. Taro, seventeen, is a kamikaze pilot. He is ready to die to protect his country from the threat of the Americans. Hana, fifteen, is one of the Nadeshiko girls, whose job it is to wave goodbye to the pilots meant to fly to their deaths. “Nadeshiko’ refers to the delicate pink flower that symbolizes the perfect Japanese woman. But Hana feels far from perfect. She questions the demands her country makes for blind loyalty and sacrifice, but she worries even more about her own inadequacy to be so strong. 

There are many books written about World War II, and many of these focus on the tragedy of war. The Blossom and the Firefly stands out because it is told from the point of view of the loser. Smith deftly invites readers to consider these young people as just as idealistic in their own ways as the young men fighting for the Allied powers. Both Taro and Hana believe in the wisdom of their leaders and try hard to have the moral fortitude to save their homeland, no matter what they must give up to do so. They believe they are on the side of good. But as the tides of war drive Japan to more and more drastic responses, Taro and Hana are forced to give up their own dreams in order to serve their country. Every hope either of them had for their own future must be put aside. 

And then the unthinkable happens. Japan surrenders. Their choices are stripped away, and their world is shattered, turned upside down. Everything they held as true must be re-examined in the face of such loss. The end of World War II was not a celebration for Japan.

And yet, the war was crippling Japan’s people as well as their enemies. I once talked with a woman who survived the bombing of Hiroshima when she was seven. When she was asked if she hated the Americans for what they had done, she replied, “After the bomb, we had food.”

I’m not naive enough to think her answer is the complete truth. At the very least, she must have felt great sorrow over the loss of her home and the death of her sister. But she chose not to focus on blame. Hana and Taro, along with all the people of Japan, had to learn a new set of guidelines for life.

In fact, one reason why this book is so memorable is because Smith shows Japan’s decline and then the aftermath of the war. She shows how the losing country had to dig deeper and deeper for the resources needed to keep on fighting. She lets readers see Taro and Hana’s lasting pain after losing everything they ever thought was right, of losing their ideals, their faith in the moral strength of their cause. Beyond that, Smith shows the courage it takes to go on living after such a deep and lasting loss.

Smith’s prose is so lyrical, it might be called poetry. Her writing draws us in, creating a deep intimacy with the characters. Smith invites readers to care about Hana and Taro, to feel their pain, experience their emotions, and believe in their struggles. Smith challenges readers to recognize that even those we call ‘enemy’ have strong feelings and high ideals. They are equally brave and heroic as our own heroes. They struggle to protect their families. More than anything else, Smith never lets readers forget that the people on all sides of a war are human. 

That’s something worth remembering in the world today.