Fires on the Plain

Tamura, a writer with tuberculosis, is rejected by the military hospital and sent away. He is effectively ordered not to return and to continue consuming scarce supplies, with the grim instruction that suicide would be preferable to another attempt. The episode sets up his precarious fate and the dehumanizing war bureaucracy.

Taken from the hospital, Tamura wanders into a jungle where the Japanese army has begun to collapse, living off yams and scavenged food. The ranks crumble as discipline falters and the front line dissolves into the jungle. The scene establishes the harsh, food-driven struggle for survival.

Tamura scavenges for food, stealing from local Filipinos while observing the army's collapse. He witnesses widespread suffering as the army's structure breaks down further. The foraging sets the tone for the moral ambiguity of survival.

A despondent soldier blows himself up with a grenade, and others lie injured along the path from malnutrition and battle wounds. Tamura witnesses the brutal cost of the campaign's collapse in real time. The scene underscores the human toll of failure.

Tamura encounters two soldiers, Yasuda and Nagamatsu, who try to trade cigarettes for yams with passing troops. He declines the cigarettes but gives Nagamatsu a yam out of pity. The exchange foreshadows later tensions among the survivors.

At a seemingly abandoned church, Tamura discovers a cache of salt hidden beneath a floorboard. Two Filipino civilians catch him soon after, escalating danger. The salt becomes a coveted resource driving further risk.

Tamura is confronted by the civilians and shoots one of them in a panic. He flees, leaving his rifle behind as reinforcements close in, escaping with the stolen food. The incident marks a turning point in Tamura's moral descent.

Tamura links up with a different group of soldiers who expect a retreat to Palompon. They joke about cannibalism as a grim survival rumor, though Tamura remains unsure of its veracity. The weary camaraderie hints at the dehumanizing choices to come.

To reach Palompon, the unit must cross an open road under threat from American and Filipino forces. They attempts cross are thwarted by gunfire, turning the road into a deadly gauntlet. The failed crossing accelerates their retreat back into the jungle.

Tamura fashions a white flag to surrender, stepping into the jeep-lit road. Just before he acts, another Japanese soldier is shot by a vengeful Filipino woman, shattering any hope of a safe surrender. Tamura realizes crossing the road is futile and retreats back into the jungle.

Delirious and starved, Tamura is found by Nagamatsu, the soldier he had helped earlier. Nagamatsu provides bark, water, and monkey meat, offering a rare lifeline amid the chaos. This rescue rekindles a fragile trust between them.

Tensions over scarce meat escalate as Nagamatsu and Yasuda clash. Tamura is coerced into surrendering his grenade, and a deadly confrontation ensues when Nagamatsu shoots Yasuda. Tamura then shoots Nagamatsu as he tries to devour him, confirming the brutal price of survival.

The scene shifts to post-war Japan as Tamura writes a memoir about his experiences. He claims to awaken in an American field hospital, yet the memory of the killings haunts him as he dry heaves at the recollection. The act of writing becomes his coping mechanism for trauma.