Another Noteworthy Passing: Don Yamagami

Throughout the great journey that is life, it's fortune that one should meet such remarkable people if even for a short period of time. We can say this of our dear departed friend Don Yamagami who passed away June 15, 2013 at the young age of 62. We met Don and his lovely wife Shelley three years ago through our Japanese Language class at the Koyasan Buddhist Temple in Little Tokyo. He was a funny guy and one of the nicest people you could ever meet. It was always a joy to have them in class. Always an optimist, he shared a wonderful life with his wife Shelley Yamagami who he married in 1981. Don & Shelley Yamagami were participants in our surprise baby shower for my wife Tina at the Koyasan Temple. It truly was a fun event and we were thankful for everyone at the Koyasan Temple who helped make that special day happen.

We will always remember such good memories with Don & Shelley. It came as a sudden shock to show up at this last month's Goma service to discover that he had already passed away and worse as unprepared as we were to discover his funeral would be taking place in two hours without hearing any prior notice. Our hearts go out to Shelley Yamagami and their daughter Noel. Rough day indeed but paled in comparison to that of his grieving widow who we pledged our support to. From his Bio we can share that Don was originally born Nisei in Colorado grew up in Los Angeles. His family has ties to the Koyasan Temple going back to 1937. Don was a successful Graphic Designer by trade who made the 100 Year Anniversary Logo for the Koyasan Temple. He was an avid volunteer in the Japanese-American Community and all around stand up guy who his friends say epitomized the wartime "Go for Broke" motto. He is survived by his loving family; wife, Shelley Yamagami; daughter, Noelle Yamagami; brother, Mark (Gail) Yamagami; sisters, Shirlee Yamagami and Julie Thompson. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews, and other relatives. We can't praise this man enough for whom we knew for such a short three years. He will be missed by so many including us. 

さよなら!

In Memory,

Don Yamagami

1951-2013

Japanese Self Defense Force Invades California?

Japanese Invasion? No, not really! The above photo is of a Japanese GDSF Chinook Helicopter participating in military exercises in close coordination with US Navy & Marine forces off the coast of California. Some 250 GDSF along with three large warships including the Helicopter Carrier JS Hyuga are participating in these military exercises here in the United States. While many debate the relevance of Article 9 of Japan's War Imposed Constitution, we feel it is good to see Japan's Defense Forces expand their training missions to include amphibious warfare training outside of Japan. Of course not everyone is going to agree with this move. While some may see this as an aggressive move on the part of Tokyo, it is the reality that with recent instability in the region that has included recent provocations by both China and North Korea that Japan must increase it's defense capabilities.

Let's face it! WWII is over and it's a new dangerous world out there and for that reason Japan will need to step up its game and take a greater role in it's defense. And to do that Japan's military will have to re-learn how to take islands from hostile forces if they are to take the lead in any potential future island crisis. The combined Japanese Forces of all three branches of her military are participating with the 1st US Marine Expeditionary Force in Dawn Blitz 2013. This exercise includes troops and observers from Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. It is said that for the first time Japanese Helicopters will from hosterate from their own ships in beach landings and live fire exercises. According to the Time Magazine article that first reported this, Beijing has called for an official protest. Evidently, they have not forgotten the last time Japan practiced amphibious warfare. While this is only the first step in upgrading Japan's military capabilities, they still have a long way to go. In the face of US Forces and budgetary resources spread so thin, it will be up to Japan to take a larger role in both providing regional stability and for her own defense of her home islands.

一日の画像 - Picture of the Day

Samurai Blue fans erupt in celebration Japan's Qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.

Next Stop Brazil!

一日の画像 - Picture of the Day

 

Japan's Samurai Blue have just been confirmed as the first country to qualify for the 

2014 World Cup in Brazil!

おめでとうございます!

 

Fitting Tribute. US Navy Names New Destoryer after Japanese-American Hero.

On May 23rd, US Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced the naming of one of two new Arleigh Burke-class Destroyers (DDG) after the late US Senator Daniel Inouye. We celebrate this as a high honor upon many honors bestowed upon the late Medal of Honor recipient and former US Senator of Hawaii. DDG-118 will bear the name of this most distinguished Japanese-American who fought bravely in the Legendary All Nisei 442nd "Go for Broke" Regimental Combat Team who saved the Lost Battalion of the 141st Infantry who were surrounded by the Germans. After leaving the Army he would go on to have a successful political career first with two terms in the House and then the rest of his career until the time of his death in the Senate. It is said that the Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer is one of the most formidable and advanced surface ships in the world. A fitting tribute to the late Distinguished Senator and war hero that inspired so many.

Japanese Woman's Tragic Death A Tale Stranger Than Fiction

Every so now and then, you come across one of those stories that are stranger than fiction. In this case, we discovered this one by purely accident while watching one of our favorite films from the 1990's FARGO. If you are familiar with the 1996 film by Joel & Ethan Coen, you'll recall the plot in which a bumbling car salesman Jerry Lundegaard (brilliantly played by William H. Macy hires a pair of thugs to kidnap his wife in order to extort money from his wealthy father in law. As the plot thickens, Jerry's plans go horribly wrong and bodies begin to pile up before Carl Showalter (played by Steve Buscemi) buries the million dollar ransom in a briefcase in the snow along a desolate snow covered highway. That is where the movie ends and the tragic true story begins.

We had seen FARGO dozens of times and amused ourselves with the Minnesota accents of Marge Gunderson (played by Francis McDormand) but it wasn't until one curious uneventful night that we bothered to watch the special features portion that came with the movie did we encounter this strange and tragic tale now associated with this film. Talk about pure accident! Normally, we would have been all over this but we had no idea that this even occurred much less had since elevated to urban myth and semi-legend. But there it was!  It was revealed that on  November 15th 2001, five years after the successful premiere of Fargo, the body of Tatako Konishi 28 of Tokyo was found dead in the snow near Detroit Lakes North Dakota. The story which had buzzed around the internet for sometime and drew some international attention then somewhat forgotten had caught our attention. As revealed this poor office worker flew from Japan to Minnesota with little English skills, a useless pocket translator, and a hand drawn map which she showed Police of a road with a tree indicating that she was after the fictitious ransom money from the movie Fargo. The Police tried to convince her that the movie was pure fiction but she had flown halfway around the world to find this money. Or did She?

Evidently this story and it's connection to the Oscar Winning Coen Brothers Film drew the fascination of others such as film maker Paul Berczeller who sought to document the strange tragic tale of Tatako Konishi and perhaps shed some light on what really happened. Paul Berczeller went to great lengths to solve this mystery and in the end managed to produce a fine documentary film that loosely borrowed it' title from Fargo's opening disclaimer entitled "This Is A True Story."

What Paul Berczeller found was indeed a true yet tragic tale of a young Japanese girl who moved to Tokyo from the countryside to work at a travel agency. When that agency went out of business, the girl slid into deep depression and isolation ignoring the local men who sought to befriend her. So far so sad? Not yet! As it turns out this girl had been seeing an American Businessman. A married one at that who left her to go work in Singapore. According to her passport, she had visited the United States three times prior to her death and each time to the same Great Lakes Region. Now why she told police she was looking for the fictitious ransom money from the movie is anyone's guess. As this story circulated around the internet, it had been billed as "Death by Fargo." Instantly, people made the knee jerk reaction assuming Miss Konishi had come to North Dakota under some delusion unable to separate reality from the fictional tale of the Coen Brother's invention. But after reading Paul Berczeller's article posted in the UK Guardian and seeing his short documentary, we can conclude that Miss Konishi's death had little if anything to do with the film. Anyone who says the blame lies with the Joel & Ethan Coen are jumping to conclusions. We appreciate the hard investigative work of Paul Berczeller and his actress who recreated the last days of Tatako Konishi's final days and going so far as to follow her final footsteps in the snow. If you are a fan of the movie Fargo or have heard of this sad tale of a heartbroken woman who allegedly came to North Dakota in search of a fabled treasure only to be found face down in the snow. It was sad to hear of her final letter home to her mother in which she wrote "By the time you receive this I will be dead. Please forgive my disloyalty." Such poetry, so Japanese and yet so curious. If you agree, we believe you will be most interested in Paul Berczeller's documentary. It is not available on YouTube so we can not embed this but you can view this by the following link. This is a True Story. We at American Mishima found this fascinating and well worth viewing this final tribute to a broken heart lost in the snow.

If the above link fails to load please visit: 

http://www.4docs.org.uk/films/view/18/This+is+a+True+Story

Abenomics or Better Polices for Working Families?

In Japan, they are calling it Abenomics. On our side of the Pacific we would just call this smart. The focus of the embedded video is on Prime Minister Abe's call for more women in the work force bypassing Japan's age old cultural norms of women being forced out after childbirth. What we see from this is a change for the better where companies have become more friendly towards women or parents in general who have children providing them better work options in which both childcare and productivity can still be achieved something we have little of here. As a parent, we would like to see more companies in the US learn from this Japanese model and take a more pragmatic approach to the issue of childcare and working families. While Japan has not solved all of it's economic problems with better childcare for it's workforce, it's new found approach by the Abe Government to encourage more parent friendly work situations is most encouraging and if successful will help Japan and perhaps one day inspire to change the draconian policies that exist here in the US where it's the company or nothing. Perhaps given the hostile bipartisan divide in Washington that is asking too much of our dollar oriented society where we have right wing politicians who fight for the rights of companies over the rights of it's workers on the ridiculous and highly abused notion by TeaPublicans  of preserving "freedoms." But one can only hope that they could someday learn.