Tora ! Tora ! Tora ! Essay, Research Paper

Tora ! Tora ! Tora ! was the attack code name given to Japanese fighter pilots to use to signal the green light to commanders in prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It is also the title of one of the beset films I ve ever seen. Tora ! Tora ! Tora ! is a film that describes the events leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. This film unlike any other I ve ever seen, presents a thorough balance of these events as seen by both the Japanese and United States side.. Most films, especially films about wars are projected through one set of eyes, usually with a slant towards the filmmaker s nationality of choice.

Tora ! Tora ! Tora ! allows the enemy to be seen as reasonable humans ( as much as war will allow) with calculated decisions to make from their point of view as opposed to a people marching throughout the Far East with reckless abandon.

The Japanese were reeling under the U.S. and Britain oil embargo and were looking to seize the opportunity of their perceived Asian nationalism as the western powers were busy in Europe. The Japanese signed the Tri-Partite pact which in a sense put in motion Japanese aggression towards the U.S.

From the beginning of the film, the directors allow the viewer the many clues to the historical acuteness of the film and the fair and balanced directoring. The film starts off with a changing of the guard of Commander s in Chiefs ( Incoming Yamamoto and outgoing Yoshida). While the film does not go in to background, this was due to the Japanese navy and army constant difference of military opinion. The actual changing of the guard also offers some clues to Japan s rise to worldwide prominence. I m assuming the uniforms and protocol of the Japanese navy was somewhat authentic. If so, one can easily see striking U.S. and British military influence on the Japanese as they emulated these two powers as Japan was nation building. The dress whites worn by the Japanese officers during the changeover ceremony, the striking of the band and even the style of salute given by non officers to officers present strongly of United States influence. A few scenes later in the film, the viewer sees similar scenes where the band is struck on a U.S. warship in almost the same manner as the Japanese down to the commands given via trumpet fanfare and whistle to signal the conductor.

The U.S. is shown in this film has being almost nonchalant during this time. In one scene the military is shown having trouble obtaining a permit for a radar. To top it off, the men assigned to the radar have neither experience nor communications. The U.S. in all of it s military intelligence (in both senses of the word) seem to be ambivalent to considerable shortcomings of Pearl Harbor. The fact that the depth was shallow ( 40 feet; about as shallow as the Oakland Harbors) where a ship could be sank at the mouth of the harbor and effectively trap the fleet in the harbor rendering them ineffective for battle and make them sitting ducks for enemy attack.. In an earlier battle, the British had sank two Italian ships in Toronto in a similar battle. A fact not lost on either the U.S. or Japanese.

Japanese and U.S. diplomacy is shown to be going through motions with the U.S. intercepting Japanese code and deciphering it even before the Japanese ambassador due to a lack of a skilled typist The U.S does seem to have an air of condescension towards the Japanese and their abilities to pull off an attack. There are critical scenes in the film where outright U.S. arrogance will later become a problem for the U.S. again defying military common sense ( at least looking to hindsight) as essential aircraft are moved from strategic areas to vulnerable areas clumped together in the middle of an airfield. In the hours leading to the attack we again see the Japanese prepare and the U.S. partying and passing the buck. The Japanese are engaged in spirited drills of stretches, ship identification, and sharp (prayers to Buddha ?). The U.S. on the other hand are enjoying a lazy Sunday morning as is tradition of North Americans. There are minimal patrols, officers are recovering from a night out, some are out horseback riding, men patrolling communications and radar are not concerned and when they do become concerned noone takes their warnings seriously, Japanese scout subs engaged just outside the harbor. All of these should have served as sufficient warning to the U.S. that am attack was not only planned which they already knew, but imminent.

During the actual attack of Pearl Harbor both the U.S. and Japanese are given time to shine. The Japanese are shown calculating and executing precision strikes on the vulnerable U.S. fleet and aircraft. The Japanese are depicted having no mercy as is needed in a warlike setting. The Japanese, who were trained on identifying the ships in the harbor did not waste time on targets deemed not important. The U.S. on the other hand are allowed to show what Americans are made of. After initially being stung by the attack and the subsequent confusion, the soldiers find their bearing and try to defend their posts. In on of the best movie scenes I ve ever seen, the film shows what appears to be random scenes of heroism. You see a black kitchen helper take off his apron and man a battle gun after another soldier is killed there; never mind the racism that relegated him to the kitchen. Pilots are shown jumping in to planes in a state of confusion and instead of the usual expected heroic takeoff, one sees the plane crash into another before it gets off the ground.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable film that was for the most party historically accurate to the tee. While we see the emperors aides discussing diplomacy and stressing the emperor s wishes to abide by rules of the Geneva Conference and not attack until an official declaration is made, We see very little of U.S. diplomacy. The film instead chooses to focuses on Naval intelligence and there efforts to decode Japanese messages. Much Monday morning quarterbacking has been done in subsequent years. Depending on whom you talk to, the Japanese are depicted as cowards for attacking in the manner they did; at dawn, without protocol of a declaration of war although the film attempts to explain this by explaining that the Japanese ambassador was kept out of the loop by Japanese officials for fear of him tipping the hat of the Japanese. A clearer reason for this is shown in the fact that the Ambassador was not able to crack the Japanese code in time due to a lack of typist as mentioned earlier. When in fact, the Japanese had every intention of warning the U.S. and from my view of the film were only trying to scare the U.S. into further negotiations concerning Japan and it s need for resources. At the end of the film, Yamamoto utters his famous words I fear all we ve done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve

The U.S. on the other hand has been criticized for many including local historian Robert Stinnett who conclude that the U.S. could not have been so careless and that FDR wanted this war for the excuse of pulling the U.S. out of a recession and that the attack on Pearl Harbor was just the collateral damage that he needed for a declaration of war. This in my opinion is compounded by the fact that we do not see FDR in the film. Also the fact that the carriers were out to sea, which coincidentally was the Japanese main target and the U.S. s main stalwart.

This is one of the best films I ve seen and the historical accurateness and balance is well worth viewing this film in any American history class.