This is the groundbreaking story of Japan's World War II intelligence agents, an elite cadre of approximately 2,500 men who trained at the Nakano School in western Tokyo, established in 1938. They were involved in a diverse range of missions in various theaters throughout the war, and some of the survivors continued to ply their craft after surrender. One of them, Hiro Onoda, became famous when he emerged in 1974 from the Philippine jungle where he had continued to wage war and fulfill his duty as a servant of the Emperor. Upon his return, this Rip van Winkle became so disenchanted with what Japan had become, he relocated to Brazil.
Stephen Mercado, a former CIA analyst, notes that the Nakano School was started too late for Japan's good, because by 1941 its graduates had not yet risen to powerful positions in the military. Lacking top-level sponsors who appreciated the benefits of integrating intelligence into military planning, the Nakano graduates contributed far less than they might have. Instead, the potential contributions of Japan's intelligence neophytes were routinely squandered during the war, because the Army ". . . failed to look beyond immediate, tactical uses of intelligence to grasp its strategic value." He cites Japanese observers who argue that Japan may not have gone to war with the United States had the Nakano School been established in the 1920s, since military leaders could have benefited from good intelligence and a better understanding of German, Russian and American intentions and capabilities.
By design, the Nakano training and ethos was out of sync with the prevailing army culture. Mostly in response to the hazards of waging war in post-1931 China, and the surge in anti-Japanese nationalism, intelligence students were explicitly taught to act and think differently than typical army recruits. They were told not to sacrifice their lives and to surrender if necessary in order to carry out their missions -- grounds for treason, according to contemporary military doctrine. Mercado notes, "In an army that inculcated unquestioning execution of orders and a fiery patriotism, the Nakano School began encouraging its shadow warriors to think creatively. They were to know the enemy, not simply fight him. . . . He must be able to imagine himself in the shoes of the enemy." Lax discipline, relaxed rules on clothing and haircuts and an education aimed at thinking outside the box ensured that graduates encountered skeptical and hostile senior army officers who preferred yamato damashi (Japanese spirit) and blind devotion.