Talk:Isoroku Yamamoto

On "...to awaken a sleeping giant...."

This line was invented for the movie Tora Tora Tora to give it an upbeat ending for American audiences. There's no historical proof he actually said that.

• Yes, and the "sleeping enemy" quotation is presumably the correct one. Also, this Tokio Jokio wartime cartoon at the 3:23 mark illustrates the propaganda value to America of the "terms in the White House" quotation <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvA1zphaeTQ>. 76.92.125.160 21:19, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

"Unsourced" versus "Misattributed"

Is there a real reason why these two sections - each containing only one quotation - should not ride under the single heading of "Unsourced"? The term "misattributed" is more properly applied to a remark that is associated with one particular speaker when it is known that the comment comes from another specific individual, and the correct source is supplied as an aspect of calling the statement "misattributed."
In the case of the "rifle behind every blade of grass" lines to which Mr. Jackson takes such vehement objection, there is a failure to discern the source of the remark, or even speculation on the possible reasons why it had ever been so widely attributed to Yamamoto Isoroku. Merely that there is no positive documentation proving that said person ever uttered the words. Better to call it "Unsourced," nu?

—This unsigned comment is by 72.73.198.156 (talk • contribs) .

"Unsourced" headings, which were previously used for sections of quotes without any citations are being gradually phased out from being in the main articles, but the appropriate heading on that particular quote would be "Disputed" as it is widely quoted, but it's authenticity is very dubious, but not perhaps, as yet disproven. Misattributed sections are for quotes where clearly there have been either errors or deliberately false attributions made. ~ Kalki 00:39, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

Is Jackson's claim of the "rifle behind every blade of grass" quotation having been misattributed substantiated by anything? In plain fact, I see nothing on the cited Web page that properly attributes the quotation to anyone. Merely an assertion that Jackson had not been able to find anywhere any evidence positively tying it to anything that Yamamoto Isoroku had written or said. Consider first that Jackson himself may not be an objectively reliable source for reasons of manifest political prejudice. Get a look at his work on that Web site. Second, remember that simply because a particular individual with Daltonism cannot differentiate between the colors red and green doesn't mean that these are not distinctly different colors. If Jackson - or anyone else - were to track down the "rifle behind every blade of grass" remark to a specific originating source (and in the process almost certainly explain why it had been attributed to Admiral Yamamoto), I would be wiling to see it called "Misattributed." Otherwise, you'd do better to move it into the "Disputed" category, wouldn't you?

Seriously? Factcheck.org is the only source we have disputing the quote and we take it this seriously? This would be like Glenn Beck disputing a quote from one of the founding fathers and us giving it the same undue credibility. Factcheck.org is a political website with an obvious agenda, and Jackson is extremely biased. I take him no more seriously than Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh. I don't think he or Factcheck.org should be referenced, especially when reading the first line of the article makes his intentions obvious. I can understand a note stating that no official record of the quote exists and it is disputed by some people. But please remove the reference to Jackson and Factcheck.org... Until a reputable historian/scholar publishes a dispute to this quote, we have no reliable source and can only tell the truth: there is no official record and no proof either way, thus the quote is disputed by some. My two cents.

On the "rifle behind every blade of grass" quotation

While digging around online, I discovered another Web poster's remark to the effect that he'd found in Christian News (a Lutheran journal published in New Haven, Missouri) published on 4 February 2002 the following:

In 1960, Robert Menard was a commander aboard the USS Constellation when he was part of a meeting between United States Navy personnel and their counterparts in the Japanese Defense Forces.
Fifteen years had passed since VJ Day, most of those at the meeting were WWII veterans, and men who had fought each other to the death at sea were now comrades in battle who could confide in each other.
Someone at the table asked a Japanese admiral why, with the Pacific Fleet devastated at Pearl Harbor and the mainland U.S. forces in what Japan had to know was a pathetic state of unreadiness, Japan had not simply invaded the West Coast.
Commander Menard would never forget the crafty look on the Japanese commander's face as he frankly answered the question.
'You are right,' he told the Americans. 'We did indeed know much about your preparedness. We knew that probably every second home in your country contained firearms. We knew that your country actually had state championships for private citizens shooting military rifles. We were not fools to set foot in such quicksand.'

This might have something to do with the attribution of the "behind every blade of grass" quotation to Yamamoto Isoroku.

of course, but then you realize who runs and dominates the edits in Wikipedia and then it all becomes clear why the main article reads the way it does. These editors and administrators have created or savedTM between 100 and 1,000,000 articles! 68.84.6.98 12:40, 4 March 2010 (UTC)