New Article: The Killer WWII Dogs Of Cat Island

(Sentry dog alerts to movement outside the perimeter of Phan Rang Air Base. (U.S. Air Force photo), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons and www.nationalmuseum.af.mil)

During the Second World War, all the warring countries were looking for an edge in their war effort, be it through machinery and science, new methods of personnel training or, unfortunately, even experimental drug-use. While most military research and development funding went to the tried and true necessities, such as weaponry, tanks, airplanes and ships, the war-torn countries of the world were also open to investigating more abnormal methods of warfare. Looking for any and every way to win the war, some countries invested their resources into turning mankind’s furry, four-legged best friends into trained man-killers.

Continue reading about this odd canine program, HERE.

New Biography: The Action-Packed Life Of Japan’s Greatest Duelist, Miyamoto Musashi

Birth of a Legend

 (Miyamoto Musashi fighting Tsukahara Bokuden, painted by Yoshitoshi  (1839–1892), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

Around 1584 CE, a boy was born into the Hirata family of samurai in the village of Miyamoto, located in the Harima Province of Japan. The boy’s father, Miyamoto Munisai (or Shinmen Munisai), was considered to be one of Japan’s greatest swordsmen, and he ran the village’s local dojo. With such a skilled parent, many would have expected that the boy would grow to be skilled with a sword. Yet, few could have predicted the unprecedented martial prowess that the newborn child would soon show the world. The boy’s name was Miyamoto Musashi, and he would later claim to have fought in over sixty duels, many of which ended in the death of his opponents.

Although Musashi is best remembered for being the undefeated “Alexander the Great” of dueling, he was also a bit of a renaissance man. Besides being a duelist, he joined the military and fought in around six battles. He also was an artist who painted, sculpted and carved. As another occupation, he became a foreman or supervisor and worked in construction. Yet, his greatest contribution to his legacy was his writing career.

When he was around twenty-two (perhaps, 1606 CE) he produced his Writings of the Sword Technique of the Enmei Ryu (Enmei Ryu Kenpo Sho), which was his first known written work on swordsmanship. In addition to this, near the end of his life, he also wrote the Thirty-five Instructions on Strategy (Hyoho Sanju Go). All his earlier writing, however, were surpassed by the book he wrote in the years preceding his death in 1645—The Book of Five Rings, or Go Rin no Sho.

Nevertheless, Musashi’s careers in literature and construction are not why most readers are here, reading this article. No, the most interesting and dramatic events in Miyamoto Musashi’s life came about because of the decades he spent wandering Japan as a traveling duelist.

Continue reading about the unbelievable life of Miyamoto Musashi, HERE.

New Article: The Successful Failure of Pearl Harbor

Though Pearl Harbor was a victorious surprise attack for Japan, they missed their most vital targets.

Ascent Of An Empire

The Pearl Harbor attack, a day in which thousands of lives were tragically lost, will continue to ‘live in infamy’ within the hearts and minds of many citizens of the United States. The attack’s position of high notoriety has only recently been usurped by the horrendous terrorist attacks of 9/11. Like the al-Qaeda atrocity, the attack on Pearl Harbor first shocked the American population, and when their minds were cleared of the immediate grief, quickly unified the United States for war.

  (Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, just as the USS Shaw exploded, owned by the US government, [Public Domain-US] via Creative Commons)

Read our article on Pearl Harbor, HERE. 

Strange, But Successful, War Strategies—Japan’s WWII Bicycle Infantry

The Japanese literally pedaled their way to victory in the Battle of Singapore. Learn how the Japanese used the simple bicycle to create a sprawling empire at the outset of WWII.

Read our article about Japan's bicycle strategy, here, in our article (or click the above picture).

Warrior Monks of Feudal Japan--They Did Not Always Practice Peace.

Before the Tokugawa clan finally unified Japan around 1600 C.E., warfare was a constant reality of Japanese life. Even the Shinto Buddhist monks of Japan were not exempt from the endless battles. From the end of the 10th century to the beginning of the 17th century, the temples of Japan outfitted armies of warrior monks, ready to bring their religion out of the cloister and into the field of battle.

The armed monks of Japan fought other religious rivals and joined the armies of various Daimyo warlords. Populist warrior monks also set up camp in feudal Japan: the Lotus Sect and the Ikko-ikki became the bane of many a warlord. The age of the warrior monks seemed to only end when the powerful Daimyo, Oda Nobunaga, sieged and burned multiple warrior monk temples and strongholds.

Read more about the fascinating warrior monks  of Japan here at warhistoryonline.com.

Kakuei Tanaka: A Japanese politician whose rise to power was similar to that of Donald Trump.

 
Do you think Donald Trump's rise to prominence in the 2016 presidential race was one of a kind? If you thought yes, then you may be in for a surprise. Kakuei Tanaka was one of the wealthiest men in post-WWII Japan. His construction company made outrageous profits by rebuilding the heavily bombed Japanese homeland. Tanaka succeeded in gaining office on a platform of being a man-of-the-people. His political rallies were unlike any of his competitors and his oration was fiery and full of criticism of his competition. If a potential Trump presidency will be anything like his Japanese counterpart, the United States is in for a tough four years.

Read about Kakuei Tanaka's scandalous political career here at historybuff.com.