一日の画像 - Picture of the Day : Koyasan Temple Welcomes Newlyweds

Seen here is our dear friend & resident Buddhist Clergy the Reverend Ryuzen Hayashi of the Los Angeles Koyasan Buddhist Temple in Little Tokyo and his new wife Asami. They were married in Japan earlier this last spring and were given an informal LA reception by members of the Koyasan Temple. We at American Mishima wish them many happy years together. おめでとう ございます!

一日の画像 - Picture of the Day - Japanese Sailors Paying Respects to Former Foes

Seen here are the training officers of the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force Ships JDS Kashima, JDS Setoyuki and JDS Asagiri at the HMAS Kuttabul Memorial. They were there on a three day port of call to Sydney Australia to salute the 9 Royal Australian Navy and two Royal Navy sailors who were lost when the ferry the HMAS Kuttabul was sunk by a IJN Midget Sub June 1st, 1942. Now that's respect!

Vietnam Book Kickstarter Campaign

We've run into some unexpected snags in producing our Vietnam book. While we are about finished, we need some help to complete it. To learn more please click our link to our limited Kickstarter project. We appreciate your consideration and support. Thank you. My Father's War In Vietnam Kickstarter Project

Political Statement or Bad Taste?

Seen here (in this Exclusivepix photo) are Chinese WWII re-enactors or mall employees at a shopping mall in the Chinese city of Taiyuan performing executions of Imperial Japanese Army Soldiers to mark the 77th anniversary of the Japanese invasion of the Chinese mainland. While this might have been done to promote sales this Anti-Japanese themed mock executions is clearly in bad taste. While this might not offend anyone in China who still harbor hard feelings about the war, it's not the way to move forward. While this is just one man's opinion, the fact remains that the war is over and mock beheadings are no laughing matter.

New American Mishima Audiobook Release!

We are pleased to announce the release of our new Audiobook version of our Samurai short story HATAMOTO produced by Bill Forchion. It is available on Audible.com and will soon be available on Amazon and ITunes. To Download your copy please visit: HATAMOTO Audiobook on Audible.com Thank you!

Hiroshima Hibakusha A-Bomb Survivors 2014

This last Sunday August 3rd three days before the 69th anniversary of the first atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki saw the annual memorial service held at the Los Angeles Koyasan Temple in Little Tokyo. We were pleased to see that Hiroshima Survivor Ms. Kazu Suyeishi and Nagasaki Survivor Junji Sarashina were able to attend as well as other members of the American Society of Hiroshima / Nagasaki A-Bomb Survivors (ASA), JACCC, & other Buddhist Clergy from other temples in attendance. This was the most attended memorial service we have seen since we started attending them five years ago. As with every year the Hiroshima Peace Flame was brought out and candles were lit. Incense and prayers offered. While it inevitable that the Hibakusha will be leaving us soon that their memory and the lessons learned by their experiences live on to educate future generations. 

 Hiroshima Peace Flame 2014

Obon - Some Personal Thoughts for the Future

A vision I had this morning; At the end of my life I will have succumbed to the effects of dementia from the Agent Orange I inherited from my father's exposure during the Vietnam War. I had been in bed for days in the company of one of my grown up daughters. Suddenly, I heard the unmistakable sound of approaching helicopters I had not heard in many years. A smile had come to my face. “What is it?” she asked. “That sound. I know that sound.” “What sound?” she asked. “That’s the sound of the Air Cavalry!” I exclaimed. I suddenly became excited the way I did when I would hear Military helicopters fly over our house when I was a kid. For the first time in days I got out of bed strangely wearing OD Green fatigue pants & t-shirt with my father’s dog tags around my neck. I stretched my legs and arms and walked outside into the knee high wild grasses of a tree lined clearing. I looked and felt young again as if I were in my twenties. I could feel the breeze of the rustling the leaves of the surrounding trees as the sound of the Hueys got louder and louder before coming into view. “You see them?” I asked. “See what dad?” “Up there!”I pointed. I looked up into the clear blue skies and pointed to a dozen Bell UH-1 B models circling around. I wanted to puff smoke and in my mind I did. As the Hueys circled in closer you could see the door gunners manning the M-60’s keeping watch as a lead ship came into the LZ. I stretched my arms into the clearing and waved down. The lead Huey came in and set down right in front of me. Like a young boy filled with excitement I raced to the chopper and there standing in the open side door was my father wearing a flight helmet, flakjacket, and his OD green fatigues with the patch of the 1^st Air Cavalry on his shoulder. He looked into my eyes and extended his hand as he smiled and said in his native Spanish: “Subir te’ Mijito,” (climb on board son). I took his hand and climbed into the chopper and sat in the middle seat as my dad shook his head to the pilot that we were good to go. As he sat down I clenched my father’s hand and smiled as we lifted out the LZ and into the heavens. The long shadow of the Vietnam War that haunted my father’s life and that of my own faded into the white mists as we passed over the Hon Cong Mountain and the Song Ba River content that we were now at peace. Until we meet again. 

Louis Edward Rosas III. 2014