The other day, I attended a stage reading in New York.
The work presented there was the stage production Samurai of Blue Eyes.
The story follows a mixed-heritage young man born to an American mother and a Japanese father. After spending his early childhood in the United States until the age of seven, he moves to Japan with his parents and joins the Japanese air force, all while being subjected to curious and often scrutinizing gazes from those around him.
Through his perspective, the play depicts World War II.
Supported by his fellow soldiers, he grows into adulthood, only to eventually face the ultimate decision: becoming a member of the kamikaze unit. While he prepares himself to give his life for Japan, his American heritage leads others to suspect him of being a spy.
At the time, Japanese citizens were conditioned at a national level to hate the enemy nation, the United States. The inner conflict surrounding contact with Americans that arises from this environment is deeply moving, even when viewed from a different era.
As I watched, I found myself wondering:
How would the theme of the kamikaze be received in the United States?
In New York, it is sometimes said that al-Qaeda referenced the kamikaze when carrying out the attacks on the Twin Towers.
To be honest, it made me uneasy to think that kamikaze could be misunderstood as equivalent to terrorism.
But as if brushing away that concern, my American husband said calmly,
“Kamikaze missions were military operations during wartime, targeting warships. They’re completely different from terrorism that targets civilians.”
Indeed, in the play, kamikaze pilots are depicted ramming American military ships, and historically, these attacks did not decisively alter the course of the war.
The distinction may be far greater than I had initially assumed.
After all, this is a country where “Kamikaze” is known as the name of a cocktail.
Realizing that there is room in American society to view the concept beyond a simple binary of good and evil brought a sense of quiet relief.
Perhaps because the play weaves together so many layers, I found myself asking a very direct question to Ryuma Matsuzaka, who serves as the playwright and executive producer of the work:
“What was the single most important thing you wanted to convey with this piece?”
His response stayed with me.
“Among the many messages in this work, the one I most want to convey is the importance of acknowledging and accepting differences with others, as well as the ‘other’ within ourselves—the parts of ourselves we may not want to accept.
I believe that the inability to accept these differences is at the root of all conflict, and even within ourselves, it becomes a source of struggle and harm.”
Ultimately, Samurai of Blue Eyes goes beyond the framework of a ‘war story.’
It gently asks us to look inward, at the differences that exist within our own hearts.
The spark of conflict lies not in difference itself, but in the inability to accept it.
Matsuzaka’s words resonated quietly, yet with unmistakable weight.
Interview with Ryuma Matsuzaka
Playwright, Director, and Executive Producer
Q: Earlier, when speaking with the lead actor Gen, he mentioned that although he speaks Japanese, he is not of Japanese mixed heritage. The actor playing the lieutenant also doesn’t appear conventionally Japanese. It’s striking that a story centered on Japanese characters features so many mixed-heritage actors.
Matsuzaka:
To begin with my own identity, my father was born in Hong Kong and is Chinese, while my mother is Japanese and was born in Japan. I myself was born and raised in Japan. I don’t speak Cantonese at all, but growing up, I often heard it because my father frequently spoke with family members overseas for work. I also visited my relatives in Hong Kong many times.
Q: Why did you choose to focus on the kamikaze as your subject?
Matsuzaka:
There are several reasons, but the biggest one is that just before moving to the U.S., I appeared as a guest actor in a Japanese stage production depicting kamikaze pilots. It was the first time I had performed in such a work, and it became extremely meaningful for my career. Audiences responded very positively.
At first, I wanted to bring that same production to the U.S. with the same team, but due to budget and scheduling issues, it wasn’t feasible. That’s when I decided to create an entirely new story about the kamikaze myself.
Q: How did you encounter the original source material for this work?
Matsuzaka:
That process led me to the novel A Ship Without an Anchor. While the novel itself is not about the kamikaze, it depicts a Japanese-American mixed-heritage army officer. By combining that character with the kamikaze story I wanted to tell, this new work was born.
Q: Why were you so committed to portraying the kamikaze?
Matsuzaka:
I believe that in war, everyone is a victim—soldiers, civilians, people from enemy nations, and one’s own country alike. For me, the kamikaze represent a symbol of military sacrifice within Japanese history.
I wanted people around the world, not just in Japan, to understand the circumstances they were placed in and the emotional state that led them to carry out those missions.
Q: Does the protagonist’s background carry contemporary meaning as well?
Matsuzaka:
Having the protagonist carry the blood of the enemy nation creates profound internal conflict. It allows the tragedy of war to be portrayed from a different angle, one that connects directly to many forms of discrimination that exist in modern society.
Q: Do you feel this story resonates with the present day?
Matsuzaka:
As one line spoken by Major Iwama suggests, “In war, everyone in the enemy nation becomes evil.”
This way of thinking echoes the attitudes directed toward people in certain regions after 9/11.
And today, speaking purely from my own perspective, I sometimes catch myself feeling discomfort toward people simply because they belong to a place associated with ongoing conflict, without knowing anything about them as individuals.
By portraying these issues of nationality and identity—issues we still grapple with today—within a country that has renounced war since 1945, I believe this story can carry a powerful message from Japan to the world.
Matsuzaka also noted that while there were no mixed-heritage American pilots in the actual kamikaze units, the photograph shown on the wall in the play depicts a real mixed-heritage young man who served in the Japanese air force. Considering this, it is not impossible that a story like this could have unfolded in reality.
After the interview, I felt strongly that I wanted to experience this work on stage.
Through the breathing, pauses, and emotional shifts of live performers—not just through images or words—the weight of this story and its inner conflicts would resonate even more deeply.
Echoing that sentiment, Matsuzaka spoke about his future aspirations.
“Our goal is to stage this work off-Broadway. Beyond New York, we hope to participate in festivals such as the Los Angeles Fringe Festival to increase its visibility. To make that possible, we would be grateful for support in covering operational costs.”
(https://www.ryumamatsuzaka.com/about-1)
I hope this work reaches many more people as an opportunity to reflect on differences with others—across borders, identities, and perspectives.
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