Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Ichiro Dreams In Color Merchandise
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
一日の画像 - Picture of the Day
Thursday, August 8, 2013
いずも型護衛艦 Introducing Japan's Newest JMSDF Flagship DDH-183 IZUMO
With a 27,000 tons displacement when fully loaded, she can carry up to 400 troops and 14 Helicopters. She will have a top speed of 30 knots and will be capable of deploying V-22 Osprey but for the time being she will be slated to carry 7 ASW & 2 SAR Helicopters for her initial installment. While bigger than a British Aircraft Carrier, she is not intended for fixed wing aircraft despite the international rumors of her potentially carrying F-35 aircraft in the future.
We at American Mishima wish her yet named Captain and future Otoko tachi no Izumo
much success!
Monday, August 5, 2013
Hiroshima / Nagasaki Memorial
Every 1st Sunday in August,
a memorial service for the victims of the Atomic Bombings of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki is held at the Los Angeles Koyasan Buddhist
Temple in Little Tokyo Los Angeles. As with every year, what few surviving Hibakusha of the ASA
American Survivors of Hiroshima / Nagasaki A-Bomb Survivors that are
still with us attend and share their stories. In the last five years
that we have attended these memorial services, we have always found
it troubling to hear people throw in the age old argument as to the
necessity of the bomb to end the war, but never from those who have
ever encountered these few survivors who have had the opportunity to
hear first hand what it was like to have walked through a burning
hell on earth and live to tell about it. We assure you that while it
is easy to arm chair quarterback history from a distance, seeing,
meeting and shaking the hands and in some cases hugging these aging
survivors presents a human face and a reality not one of us could
possibly imagine that in our opinion would mute any argument in favor
of the bomb. 
As with any post war debate here in the
United States, the mention of the bombing of Pearl Harbor is thrown
around carte blanche in the same old “well they started it”
mentality. We could argue this point all day long but that's not what
we are here for. There is no point in re-fighting WWII for argument's
sake. While the attack on Hawaii was focused on attacking Military
installations and personnel (part of the risk of being part of the
military), the atomic bombings on civilian population centers simply
do not equate on the same level. While tragic and unfortunate it
might have been to have been a serviceman at Pearl, to have been a
primary school student forced to search for bodies of your dead and
dying classmates under the rubble and ash of your grade school is not
the same thing. They didn't volunteer for that nor could they imagine seeing inner city canals clogged with dead bodies and
rivers of blood amidst the burning skies and blackened smoke to the
screams and cries of those who could no longer be helped. And you think you had childhood trauma? Imagine what these grade school children when through! Compared to these people, we've got nothing to complain about. The United
States was so fortunate to not have its cities bombed during the war,
it is likely for this reason people could not grasp the concept of
total war hence the realities of such war can not be understood
leading in some cases to the level of arrogance by those who have
never experienced war yet out of ignorance, champion it.
I could not imagine on any level seeing
people walking about so burned beyond recognition you could no longer
tell if they were male or female or if they were facing you or if
their back was turned to you. Yet, these events did happen and must
never happen again. When I look into the eyes of these people and see
their scars and the humbleness in their voices, it evokes a level of
hurt and disappointment that 68 years later, the world has not
learned from these events. Selective memory I call it. We as a
society choose to remember only what happened to us and ignore the
suffering of those civilians who by no fault of their own had been
swept up by tragic events beyond their control both in Japan and here
in the United States. Like the old people who showed me their tattoos
force ably inked onto them in places like Dachau, so too are the
scars and haunting looks carried on by these survivors. And what many
do not know here is what became of them after the war as they became
known as Hibakusha – a people sometimes shunned within their own
country as if they were responsible for what happened to them. As
said many times by ASA member Kazu Suyeshi – No more Hiroshima's – No more Nagasaki - No more Hibakusha.
Undeniably, War is an ugly business in
which there are always casualties be it intended or unintended of
consequence. While 68 years have passed, we can not allow these
tragic events to be forgotten or written off like some disconnected
grainy black & white photograph accompanied by a two sentence
footnote in history. You can't say it's a Japanese problem not our problem. War is a
world wide human problem that stems from the failure to communicate.
We live on such a small planet, it makes no sense why parts of the
world still fight like cavemen over tiny scraps of meat or act
irresponsibly by threatening the world with nuclear war if they do
not get what they want. Such war must never happen again. Such horrible weapons should never be used yet they still exist. Those who have not learned of what took place those terrible days of August 1945 have no concept of what such weapons can do. Therefore it is important to
hear the stories of these few remaining survivors for we have such
little time left as the WWII generation leaves us in ever greater
numbers. We at American Mishima would like to thank Mr. Junji
Sarashina, and Ms,Midori Seino for their continued work sharing their
stories so that future generations will learn from their experiences.
No more Hiroshima's – No more Nagasaki - No more Hibakusha.
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