Tom Hiramatz

Cosmic Adolesapia Tom Hiramatz

The years following the end of World War II were hard on adults in Japan as they struggled to rebuild and recover from the devastation. For the children, however, such concerns were alien. Tom "Tombo" Hiramatz and his friends found plenty of opportunities to play games and get into mischief-exploits he faithfully recorded in his diary.



Cosmic Adolesapia chronicles Hiramatz's maturation into a thoughtful, inquisitive young man. Exposed to English at an early age, he readily absorbed the new language, especially after encountering the well-meaning, fervent Christian missionaries who flooded into Japan, eager to make converts.



Through insightful letters and essays written as a teen and young adult, Hiramatz recounts how he almost embraced Christianity, only to discover inconsistences in both the Bible and himself. Captivated though he was by the command to love thy neighbor, he nonetheless chose another path, one allowing him to prize the truth and beauty of science and art over the transient and often material nature of happiness.



The author of Ciphian Eyes, Hiramatz continues his autobiographical exploration of consciousness and values in Cosmic Adolesapia while providing a window into the world of a child growing up in a nation destroyed by war.