Obon 2017

Those who have passed on in 2017 at the Koyasan Temple.

Back from the Dead: Texas Flying Legends Zero Restored

It was in 2016 that a taxiway accident involving an F-4U Corsair and the Texas Flying Legends A6M2 Model 21 Japanese Zero nearly cost the Zero community another plane. The Corsair crashed into the tail section of the Zero nearly obliterating it with its propeller.

We are happy to announce that the Zero has now been fully restored with a new tail. It is expected top take back to the soon.

Great Job Restoration Team!

New Lost Earheart Evidence Debunked

Earlier this week, the History Channel aired a special claiming that lost aviatrix Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan were captured by the Japanese. The show alleged that they were taken to Saipan and died in there captivity. Further, they show claimed that the United States Navy knew about it and covered it up! Their big evidence came from the above photo that through recognition software was able to establish the identities of the doomed aviators. But it took a Japanese blogger by the name of Kota Yamano to dig deep and find the truth that this photo was taken in 1935 and not 1937 as the History Channel show concluded. The one thing that troubled us here at American Mishima was that if the above photo had merit to a capture by Japanese military forces of the Empire of Japan, then why were Earhart and Noonan not under guard by the Kempeitai of the IJA? And if Japan had indeed captured her and held her as a spy, then why didn't the Japanese use her as a propaganda tool like they did with some many captured airmen during the war? Why? Because it didn't happen that way!

It's widely believed that Earhart ditched her Lockheed Electra just short of Nikumaroro Atoll aka Gardner Island. It is uncertain how they wound up off course but this is where they believed this tragic tale ended. Based on bone fragments matching a Caucasian Woman and other items such as a woman's compact and a women's shoe sole, it is believed that she survived the crash. It's likely Noonan did not. The evidence suggests she likely held out for five months and ultimately succumbed to exposure and dehydration. Such a tragic end to a brilliant career but not at the hands of the Japanese. We are ever thankful to Kota Yamano for debunking this poorly researched story. It is an embarrassment for the History Channel to have aired this without further research. Mr. Yamano said of this: "I find it strange that the documentary makers didn't confirm the date of the photograph or the publication in which it originally appeared," he told The Guardian, "that's the first thing they should have done."

Kaga: Then and Now

Here's a comparison view of the Imperial Japanese Navy carrier KAGA from 1928 and her modern day descendant the JS KAGA (DDH-184) today. They've come a long way!

American Mishima Remembers Kaz Suyeishi 1927-2017

There are few opportunities in life to meet such an extraordinary being. It is said when such people leave us, they leave their burdens behind for us to carry in their memory. Last night, it was learned that our long time resident Hibakusha (Atomic Bomb Attack Survivor) Kaz Suyeishi had quietly passed away at the age of 90. The Atomic bomb dropped on the City of Hiroshima that had forever changed her life had finally claimed her. She was a kind gentile soul and an advocate for peace. We will be forever grateful for generosity, kindness, and message of peace and forgiveness. Her personal story helped inspire our Children's book Ichiro Dreams in Color and became the subject of the animated film HIBAKUSHA. The annual A-Bomb Rememorial Service held every year at the Koyasan Temple will not be the same without her. We at American Mishima will forever treasure her memory and sincerely wish Miss Suyeishi safe passage to the land of liberation. May her legacy continue on so she may smile upon us who remember her from heaven. 

Arigatou & Sayonara

Mary Kazuye Suyeishi

1927-2017

Former Princess Becomes Supreme Priestess at Ise Jingu Shrine

Mrs. Sayoku Kuroda formerly known as Princess Nori (daughter of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko) is said to have assumed to post of Supreme Priestess at the Ise Shrine in Japan this past Monday. She replaces the 86 year old sister of Emperor Akihito Atsuko Ikeda who had held the position for the last 29 years. This is an important position that serves as the representative for the emperor. 

We at American Mishima wish her great success.

South Korea's Moon Renegs on Japan's 2015 Comfort Women Settlment

South Korea's new President Moon Jae-in recently stated in an interview that he wants the reject the 2015 Settlement Agreement made by his predecessor and the government of Japan. In the Agreement, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe formally apologized for Japan's wartime mistreatment of Korean women who were forced to work in Imperial Japanese Army Brothels during WWII. As part of that agreement, Japan has paid 1 Billion Japanese Yen (Equivalent to 9 million USD) in compensation to the few aging survivors and their families. As part of that agreement, the government of South Korea had declared the matter settled and agreed to end once and for all calls for any further apologies from Japan. So what happened? Japan has met its part of the deal disbursing the agreed funds into a South Korean fund and the PM has expressed his apologies and remorse for the suffering of these women. But then South Korea impeached their former President Park Geun-hye over corruption and now the new president feels the agreement made under the former president is not enough. This of course opens a whole new can of worms and both countries have been down this road before. The past cannot be undone but Japan has taken responsibility and settled the issue with South Korea. New demands for greater compensation and more apologies may impact bilateral relations. On the course of greater instability by the DPRK, South Korea will need Japan as an ally. No dollar amount cannot erase the crimes of the past. From our perspective, the dollar amount in the 2015 settlement does not adequately compensate for the scale of the crime. But that's what South Korea Agreed to. When you consider how few elderly Comfort Women are still alive, it is not within reason. That being said, call for new apologies will serve no purpose. We hope Moon will find a way to back down from his own campaign rhetoric and either agree to the terms of the 2015 settlement or find a better solution to a problem he chose to champion.