ABSTRACT
The effort to understand the mind of the army by reading what soldiers write is hampered and often baffled by the Japanese propensity for veiling actions and intentions in misty phraseology and cloudy imagery. It is not conscious deceit or hypocrisy. It is inseparable from Japanese ways of thought, and these have been conditioned by a language which specializes in indefiniteness. It is not a case of devious approach before coming to the point. The point is there and the Japanese see it, but it is wrapped in wool. The difference between words and things is so great that what the soldier says often seems to have little relation to what he means.
