About the Author

Yoshida Mitsuru ( 1923 – 1979) was a Japanese author and naval officer. He was the senior surviving officer on the battleship Yamato when it was sunk on 7 April 1945 during Operation Ten-Go, an attempt to support the defenders of Okinawa. His best known work is Requiem for Battleship Yamato, based on his personal experiences as a junior officer on Yamato's final voyage. It was made into a movie Senkan Yamato - Battleship Yamato - Shin-Toho in 1953. Another movie Otoko-tachi no Yamato was released in 2005.