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Excellent essay, remarkable how many problems were papered over. Especially interesting tidbit on how Tsushima impacted their naval doctrine in general. If you haven't already seen it you might enjoy this low budget but very high effort video recreation of the Battle of the Midway, also told from the perspective of the Japanese.

Could you add more on the Japanese public getting sick of the war with China? My impression is that while modern Japanese are mostly uninterested in most of the possessions of the Japanese Empire, there is still a strong nostalgic sentiment for Manchuria in particular.

So far, much of the essay is a summary of Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway (as the essay implies). Though I don't think the part about Japanese public opinion is covered. I would highly recommend the book if you are interested in this subject.

So far, much of the essay is a summary of Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway (as the essay implies).

Sorry, I should have been clear. This is 100% correct, it's mostly just that. But Shattered Sword is somewhat lengthy and has details only nerds would really care about. I'm trying to cut down on some of the things I think people would not be interested in, like the whole section on Japanese carrier-based aircraft. That section is necessary to understand later arguments, but not to the level Parshall and Tully imply.

Though I don't think the part about Japanese public opinion is covered.

It's a small snippet in that book, actually.

Excellent essay, remarkable how many problems were papered over.

Oh, we're just getting started. This is going to be like watching a train crash.

if you haven't already seen it you might enjoy this low budget but very high effort video recreation of the Battle of the Midway, also told from the perspective of the Japanese.

I have seen that! Montemayor is one of the greatest video creators out there, marred only by the fact that he doesn't upload a video a day for me at his usual quality! It was actually that video that led to me reading the book in question.

Could you add more on the Japanese public getting sick of the war with China?

They cite Pearl Harbor by H.P. Willmott, the 2001 version that includes an essay by Tohmatsu Haruo. I can't find this book via libgen, but if you can, they cite pages 178-80 for part of it, so I'd start there.

Thanks, and definitely looking forward to the next installment.