LA Eigafest 2013 Photos

Seen here is Actor Yuki Matsuzaki (Letters From Iwo Jima) at the US Premiere of "Unforgiven" starring Ken Watanabe at this year's LA Eigafest 2013.

Also seen here is Consul General of Japan Jun Niimi and Ms. Misako Ito of Japan Foundation Los Angeles.

Yuki Matsuzaki with Cultural News Publisher Shige Higashi.

Ken Watanabe & Director Sang-il Lee at audience Q & A.

Messing With Perfection? A Preview of the new live action Kiki's Delivery Service

Eight years before anyone had even heard of Harry Potter, there was Kiki's Delivery Service. Best known as the 1989 Studio Ghibli Classic by renown master Anime director Hayao Miyazaki, Kiki's Delivery Service had prior been known from Children's fantasy books about a young teenage girl who leaves home to as what Spectrum News called an "Alternate Europe of the 1950's where WWII never happened" to study how to become a witch on her own. While this may sound like a familiar premise, all comparisons to any other teenage witch in training stories end there.

Enter actress Fuka Koshiba as Kiki who will star in the upcoming live action film that is slated for a March of 2014 release date. As live action films based on animated films go, there is always apprehension for potential disappointment. As one can expect or at least deduce from the trailer, the live action will be set in Japan for practical reasons. You would need a Walt Disney sized budget to recreate a fantasy Europe let alone what your special effects budget will run you. All that aside, there may still be story people of all ages can enjoy in this. While we have never read the original books, we know that most opinions that have been put out on reviews and other blogs will base it on the Studio Ghibli Anime Classic which for many will be unavoidable. As part of a unique promotion, Miss Koshiba will personally deliver meals to 20 lucky students in Japan as part of a contest. We know that winning audiences with such a build up can be tough if not done right. Just look at the Warner Brothers disastrous attempt to mess with the 47 Ronin story. While we don't foresee that level of delineation from the original Kiki's to the live action story, we'll keep an open mind and hope for the best. Until that time, please enjoy the trailer we have included below.

A Prime Minister's Message of Hope

We came across this calligraphy earlier this month that was created by the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that expressed the word Yume or Dream. While we ourselves are having a difficult time this holiday season, it is important to remember there are others who have it far worse which brings us back to PM Abe's message of hope he composed for the children of Fukushima in which he is quoted in saying: "Some people have set up indoor playgrounds for the children of Fukushima who are unable to play amply outside. Others have created salons where pregnant women and mothers of small children can candidly share their anxieties and troubles with each other. I want to cheer on those people who are assisting families bringing up kids or raising young children. With that thought in mind, I have sent them a commendation, together with a message from me. Children are a national treasure. In this piece of calligraphy, I wrote the character “Yume,” which means “dream.” I will continue to push forward in creating a country in which children can walk down their own paths, living their lives with dreams." - Shinzo Abe

A Solemn Testament To Wars Past: The Death of Admiral Yamamoto

As seen in the photo above is the last known image of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto of the Imperial Japanese Navy taken hours before his doomed flight would be intercepted by American P-38 Lightning fighter interceptors. It has been often theorized that the Imperial Japanese Army bungled the message carrying his itinerary over an open code that tipped off the Americans where the head of the Imperial Japanese Navy would be next. Despite the desperate urging of the Army commanders to call off the flight and knowing his itinerary had been compromised, the Admiral chose to continue with minimal fighter escort. A decision some would say ended Japan's hopes of settling for peace with the United States. A peace that would only come after two more years of deadly war ending in Japan's catastrophic defeat. Whatever really happened, the reluctant admiral ( and we say this knowing he openly opposed the war with the United States ) perished with his staff and flight crew of the Mitsubishi GM4 "Betty" bomber that carried him into history on April 18th, 1943.

We thought much of the Admiral who was featured in the 2012 movie by the same name as we looked upon the solemn display recreating the wreckage that killed the best of Japan's Naval Leadership. The broken wreckage sits silently in a hanger in Chino recreating what one would have seen had they sifted through the thick jungle to recover the bodies of those aboard. While we have read many Blog Posts about this display with a degree of post war prejudice, we did not find it there. Rather, the display sits without any gloating or war time propaganda. It sits like a silent memorial to lives lost to a moment of time. As most wartime aviators will tell you, it was war and war is often impersonal ugly business. It is a sad reminder that there are human costs to war. The consequences of such which few can understand who have not seen combat. We appreciate the Planes of Fame Air Museum for recreating this display with a manner of dignity and respect.  While we are not here to re-fight WWII, it is our hope that such a war will never happen again.

To see this display please visit:
Planes Of Fame Air Museum
To learn more of the Admiral Movie please read our earlier blog post:
Isoroku Yamamoto 

A Tale of Two Komets

Aviation War Historians have long written much about the famed Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet rocket plane and its role in the defense of the German Reich during the final months of WWII. But what few people know is that same piece of German technology that took down fourteen American heavy bombers made its way to Japan and almost saw combat in the Pacific. 

 

Enter the Mitsubishi J8M Shūsui. Licensed by Messerschmitt, the J8M was ordered in anticipation of the American B-29’s that would soon fill the skies over Japan. The agreement between the two Tripartite nations called for a working prototype, rocket engines, and blue prints to be sent by U-Boats to Kobe Japan. But as the U-Boats were sunk en route, the Japanese were forced to make unforeseen adjustments that cost them critical time in the J8M’s production.  

Using a surviving operational manual recovered from the Japanese submarine I-29 that was docked at Singapore, engineers tried to reverse engineer a working prototype.  This was to be a secret joint project between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Army. While the Japanese variant Ro.2 rocket engine did not have the operational thrust of the ME 163, they still used the same volatile propellants of T-Stoff oxidizer and C-Stoff fuel (hydrogen peroxide/methanol-hydrazine), known in Japan as Ko and Otsu which killed many pilots on the ground in Germany.

The first flight of the J8M was on July 7^th 1945. But at an altitude of 1300 feet, the engine stalled and was forced to be glided back to the ground clipping a small building that resulted in the death of the pilot the very next day. As a result, all J8M test flights were suspended until the technicians could find the cause of the accident but as history recalls, time had about run out for Japan. 

Today there are only two of these J8M’s in existence, one at the Mitsubishi Komaki Plant Museum and the other at the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino California. We were lucky to see these rare planes, now you can too. Please enjoy!

To see both the ME 163 and the J8M in one place:

Please visit: Planes Of Fame Air Museum