Everybody knows Heihachiro Togo, from Japanese school children to Finnish businessmen. The commander of Japan Imperial Navy, home from Kagoshima but trained in Britain leading battleships built in Britain, destroyed in 1906 most of the Imperial Russia's powerful Baltic Fleet, that had sailed around the world from St. Petersburg on way to Vladivostok, in Tsushima strait between Japan and Korea. His flagship Mikasa is a museum in Yokosuka, he has a shrine with his name in Harajuku and a beer carrying his name was brewed in Tampere, Finland, some 20 years ago.

At the time, my Japanese friends never stopped to ask how a historical Japanese hero from 100 years before was given such special honor in today's Finland. They always got quiet when I told them that, in fact, Togo was just one of the many great admirals celebrated in the Admiral beer brand and that the list included also another famous Japanese admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. That time, talking about the strategist, who organized the attack on Pearl Harbor, that started the WW2 in Pacific, was a "no-no", especially when coming from a gaijin. Among younger people, the basic knowledge of WW2 history was maybe not that deep either in Japan with many school history courses leaving a blank between Meiji revolution 1859 and the glorious post-WW2 economic recovery. Imperial Japan's aggressive expansion to Korea and China followed by the war against USA was left out of focus - except the tragic war end with two atomic bombs and the dramatic speech by the Emperor followed by U.S. occupation.

Happily, things have changed and Japanese school kids are well taught about recent history, too, including atrocities in China and Tokyo trials as much as Pearl Harbor, Phillipines and New Guinea. They know, for instance, that Japanese ground troops never set their foot on Australian soil as storied in the recent historical spectacle made Down Under. The achievements of Isoroku Yamamoto, too, have been analyzed in countless books both here and in USA.

If anybody still don't know about this native of Nagaoka, Niigata, there's a good opportunity now to see a good, new Japanese movie about his life and career. As with Togo, there is even a Finnish connection: the lead role is played by Koji Yakusho, who doubles as Mr. Europe in hundreds of big Finnair posters around the town. Yakusho has over the past years become kind of new Toshiro Mifune or Ken Takakura, the epitome of Japanese "man of the mans", a strong, patient, experienced leader. (The Hollywood star and another Niigata native Ken Watanabe looks too young for this role.)

The movie is very nicely made and avoids most of the bloody war action and rather concentrates on Yamamoto, the man and his strong belief that Japan should never go in war against America and the irony that he then is chosen to plan and lead the attack, afterwards even trying to hold up the Japanese war effort that is crumbling against the powerful USA just like he predicted. You really get a good picture what kind of war fever and feeling of invincibility was growing in Japan through the end 30's and how impossible it was to talk any sense against it. Nazi Germany was hailed as the path Japan should follow and "peaceniks" were considered traitors.

In comparison to the rabid Army corps, whose officers largely came from country side and were running wild beyond government control in China, the Navy top guys were gentlemen often from aristocratic background. Yet, the war mood was catching among the younger members of its ranks, too. In one describing scene, Yamamoto points out to two young guys, who rage about Hitler and how Japanese are the "uber mensch" race of Asia, that in "Mein Kampf" all Asians, also Japanese, are described as lower cast, who were born to serve the world masters, so that there could not be any alliance between Germany and Japan on equal footing. Yet, that is exactly what the war crazy government signed for and started to prepare for taking over the whole Asia to serve Japan's economic needs.

The Pearl Harbor raid is portrayed short and sweet, not a high point of the movie at all, emphasizing correctly that it was only a half win as all U.S aircraft carriers escaped destruction. Soon they came back for revenge with a brilliantly organized Doolittle bombing raid, an unpleasant surprise for the war mongers and the populace, who, just like the Germans, had been led to believe Japan itself would never be touched by war. Later on civilians in both countries were put through enormous sufferings by city bombings. Before that, and only six months after Pearl Harbor, best ships of Japan's proud carrier force were destroyed in the battle of Midway. As true samurai, Yamamoto had searched for an opportunity to slog it out in a decisive battle "between the big boys" out in the open sea. The tragedy was that in Midway, as in Pearl Harbor, he was let down by the indecisiveness of the same man, his field commander admiral Nagumo. Yet, as great leader, Yamamoto never accused him of his failures. In the movie, the meeting between the two after Midway, both knowing that the fate of Japan had been sealed by Nagumo's failures, yet just quietly eating their bento, makes a heart breaking scene.

As a link to today's cyber wars, the loss at Midway was also caused by Americans breaking Japan' secret code to read all its internal communication without Japanese knowing it. Same secret proved fatal to Yamamoto one year later, when his flight schedule was caught by Americans, who sent a patrol of long range fighters to shoot down the plane he was travelling in. The Navy commander met his death going down in flames to jungle.

The great strategist's death was another nail in the coffin for Japan's final destruction three years later. Many studies have asked, that if USA knew the code, how come they could not prevent the attack on Pearl Harbor in the first place? One clandestine theory is that Roosevelt government needed the incident to get the peace loving Americans into war mood - until then, the nation had stayed neutral and non-committed from the battles raging in Europe already 2 years. Only after Pearl Harbor and president Roosevelt's historical speech about "the day of infamy", USA declared war against Nazi Germany.

The movie says much the same as many recent books: Isoroku Yamamoto's lasting life achievement was not Pearl Harbor attack - simply because it was not a full success - but his pre-war strong pacifistic stance to keep Japan out of war. The latter did not turn success either, but it was worth much more. He was a guiding light of reason in an storm of unreason blowing across the nation that time. Being one of the military, yet standing tall against the hotheads, even threatened to be murdered, makes his stand even more remarkable.

There's two small things that the director could have resisted not to do. One is to show off the Japanese air superiority over Pearl Harbor with young Zero pilots shooting down Americans in flames. Let's allow it as effort to balance out too many Hollywood films where brave young American pilots shoot down Zeroes - such thing never happened at all. Second is the long pacifistic monologue for peace at the end - noble ending but a bit too long. More pleasant way to say same is Yakusho's patient smile dishing out Yamamoto's quiet motto: "Use your eyes, your ears and your heart to understand what's going on, then act based on that."

Good advice for anybody today, too.