Someone Will Conquer Them

Mary Ogata, the American wife of a Japanese scientist, finds herself under house arrest in a mountain village during the Second World War with her steadfast and stubborn servant Suzuki. Enduring suffering at the hands of the sadistic Captain Tanaka who is tormented by desire for the woman he hates, Mary's miserable existence is suddenly disrupted when she helps to conceal a wounded American airman in her cottage. Mary, Suzuki, and the easy-going black market trader Ludi Hoffer, must now elude the investigations of police officer Noguchi in order to protect the airman and themselves. But will Noguchi's beguiling daughter unravel their secret? And how will their fortunes change in the aftermath of the atomic bomb and the destruction of Hiroshima? In Someone Will Conquer Them, first published in 1962, Kata draws on her own experience of life in wartime Japan, and brings to life a dynamic cast of characters, each unique yet united by a common humanity in spite of cultural differences and the hardships of war. The defeat and subsequent occupation of Japan serves as a backdrop to Mary Ogata's own journey to understanding friendship, love, and, ultimately, herself.