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!