He had experienced the bombing of Osaka when he was only 14. I think that the readers should be told this information, if they are not familiar with it already. And, I'll bet that I am much in agreement with the author about what the better alternatives would be. I'm an absolute pacifist, and believe in equality for all, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, whatever. But equating militarization with masculinity is a sad, deplorable action which, ironically, is exactly the kind of thing that we peace and justice activists comment on all the time with regards to language and how that plays out in racism, homophobia, and other ills.
Masculinity is just as sacred and just as inherently worthy as femininity.
The Creator didn't create both male and female on this Earth with the idea that one would be the good gender or archetype and the other would be the bad one. It's all part of a divine balance which needs to be fully honored. Masculinity is not an equivalent to dominance, abusive power, and violence, any more than femininity is an equivalent to sugar and spice. The policies of dominance, abusive power, and violence are not masculine policies, they are militarized policies. The policies of nonviolence, equality, and cooperation are the notions of all of us in the peace and justice movement.