U.S. Congressman Mark Takai of Hawaii lost his battle with pancreatic cancer at his home in Honolulu Hawaii. He represented Hawaii's 1st District January 2015 to his death on July 20th 2016. He had served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army Reserve and served in Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom.On May 19th, 2016 he announced he would not seek re-election having discovery of his pancreatic cancer but vowed to serve out his term. Takai is said to have embodied the Aloha spirit and worked hard to the improve the lives of people. His career included notable efforts to benefit the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and
Pacific Islander community. This also included efforts to reunite Filipino World
War II veterans with their loved ones, secure treatment for veterans
suffering from service-related radiation exposure, and commemorate the
patriotism of Japanese Americans during World War II. He leaves behind a wife and two children.
This past Sunday July 17th we went to the Tokyo Nebuta show at The Avalon Theater in Hollywood California. This fun free event bought to Los Angeles was the brainchild of Tech Guru Shinichi Temmo who seeks to spread this festival around the world. We really didn't know too much about this show other than it's origin and popularity in Aomori City Japan. And from what we could see from the preview videos, this looked like this was going to be fun and it was!
Going into this, we knew little about the show's founder or many of the dancers that would be performing. However one local favorite that being LA Taiko Project was set to perform. They brought an electrifying performance that elevated traditional Taiko into a unique innovative style that spans the centuries and carefully crafted 21st Century blend of beats with masterful choreography to become it's own modern equivalent to what the Yoshida Brothers have done for Shamisen. We have seen them several times before and they never disappoint.
These colorful characters seen here are the famous Nebuta Dancers. From this point forward
the show became interactive as the leader of this group would lead the audience into "Haneto" or what we Hakujin call "The Nebuta Step" which after a couple hours wore this author out! In Haneto, the leader would shout “Rassera Rassera!" Everyone responds with “Rasse Rasse Rasse!” All this while jumping twice in the right foot and twice in the left foot alternately. Sounds like fun right? Just you wait!
This little known free event that had initially had two dozen people (mostly Japanophiles and some Nisei) quickly became a packed house. We met dozens of people wearing summertime Yukata such as the ladies seen here with my wife. With $6.00 Asahi Beer and $1.00 Ramune the place was pumping! From this point on came a strange marriage of Traditional Nebuta Festival dance and a mixture of freestyle, ballet, and hip-hop. And at the conclusion of each act the Haneto came out and each performer along with the Nebuta dancers had everyone jumping “Rassera Rassera! - Rasse Rasse Rasse!”
This was a lot of fun but these guys were killing me! Next time more Asahi to keep my feet going! We sure hope Tokyo Nebuta comes again to Los Angeles. They do have a Facebook page so look them up! The video you can see us in the opening shots. Keep your eyes out for this event! You'll have fun as well as sore happy feet! “Rassera Rassera! Rasse Rasse Rasse!”
Japanese media sources have recently reported that the Heisei Emperor is looking to abdicate the Chrysanthemum Throne in order to pass it to Crown Prince Naruhito while he is still alive. This hasn't been done in over 200 years but the fact is the 82 year old Monarch is getting old. He makes this decision based on his ability to carry out his duties as Emperor. While no specific date has been set, the Imperial Household Agency say the Emperor plans to address the public in which he will discuss his future plans and that for the Japanese Imperial Household. They say his decision has been accepted by both Empress Michiko and the Crown Prince. In our humble opinion, he has been a kind, gentle, uplifting symbol of Japan particularly during times of crisis. While we certainly hate to see Emperor Akihito step down after his long 28 year reign, we understand and accept his reasons for retirement. We at American Mishima wish nothing but the best for the Emperor and Empress Michiko.
Seen here is the PRC's newest Type 025D Destroyer Yinchuan (DD*-175). This advanced vessel said to rival the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyers was commissioned in the port of Sanya, Hainan Province hours after the PRC soundly rejected the Hague's International ruling against the PRC's claims in the South China Sea. The official statement reads: "With regard to the award rendered on 12 July 2016 by the International
Tribunal in the South China Sea arbitration established at the
unilateral request of the Republic of the Philippines…the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China solemnly declares
that the award is null and void and has no binding force. China neither accepts nor recognizes it." As if things could not be more tense, Beijing further threatens the disputed region with establishing a Air defense Zone to defend its man made island bases built atop coral reefs in international waters. Clearly this is not helping de-escallate growing tensions.
While the International Court has no way to enforce the ruling dismissing China's historical claims to economic zones as it's own sovereign territory consuming 90% of the South China Seas, this does look bad for the PRC. But this has been a crisis of their own making which goes further than annexing a small land locked country as its own province based on an old map. In the end this is all about business and how far will one country will push its neighbors and the International community at large to the brink of war to gain an economic advantage over its competitors. As it stands, fishermen from Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia have clashed with Chinese vessels and there has been bloodshed.
While the Vietnamese Navy has done little to protect its fishermen, the Philippines have taken the PRC to court and won. Score one for the little guy right? Morally this stands as a victory for the sovereign rights of a small country that's been violated by a larger power but this is far from over. As Beijing plays both victim and aggressor, further rights of navigation passage flights will continue.We hope that someone in Beijing pulls back on this and cooler heads prevail. Nobody wants a war. But you wouldn't know that with the talk coming out of China. Let's hope this doesn't get further out of hand resulting in the loss of life and prosperity.
The following is a message from Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe translated from Japanese on June 23rd, 2016.
Seventy-one
years ago, Okinawa was the scene of a dreadful ground battle, with some
200,000 people losing their precious lives. I express my sincere
mourning for the souls of those who fell on the battlefields and those
who died suffering the ravages of war. The peace and prosperity we now
enjoy exist atop the sacrifice of the war dead and Okinawa’s history of hardship and suffering. Reflecting on this, we will continue our ceaseless efforts to bring about a peaceful world.
At the same time, we will alleviate the burden of the United States
military bases and work to ensure that tragic incidents and accidents
never happen again. I will work to resolve one by one the various
issues surrounding the United States military bases. I will also invest my utmost in the promotion of Okinawa so as to carve out a bright future there.
It was a year ago that I embarked on my famous journey to participate in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund's Memory Day Ceremony held across from "The Wall" in Washington D.C. I had never been on a more significant journey filled with both awe and sorrow. It was there on that hot steamy Saturday morning that I inducted my late father Luis Eduardo Rosas-Luca Sr. into the VVMF Virtual Honor Roll. As the sole family representative and only son, it was a duty of utmost importance that I attend and bestow this honor for my late father who had served in Vietnam from 1965 to 1966.
It has been year this weekend since I stood on that grass when I took this photo of the 300 families that were in attendance. It was very hot & humid with rain appearing here and there. In a sense, the overcast during the ceremony was fitting for in a sense it reflected both my happiest times and the complicated relationship I had with my father. The war in Vietnam had long passed yet the echoes of the war lived on through him and in unexpected ways through me.By accepting the connection to Agent Orange linking my father's death and my own health problems and thus further by extension that of my children's complications, the truth has set us free. There is no longer blame or the "Why Me?" or the fists waving at some unseen god's indifference to our sufferings. Both the problem and the responsibility is entirely man made and man owned. The important thing to know is that it was not our fault nor our fathers who were exposed to this toxin that damaged their genes before they brought us into the world after their tours ended. For the time being, there is no medical help or proper way to connect the toxin to our own complications that any government agency or medical insurance company will validate thus we are on our own. And while there is nothing that can be done for those of us carrying the multitude of ailments inherited by Agent Orange, we must all find our way to soldier on. In one sense I am grateful to know this community of sorts comprised of Vietnam Veterans and their families. I am grateful to know that I was not the only one who had a complex relationship with a war we did not fight that raged within our father's psyche. Knowing the truth has given me the freedom to learn, and to respect the man like I never knew before while he was alive. While much of the war may be never truly understood and its lessons lost on future generations, it is up to us the children of this war to carry on the legacy and honor our fathers who fought bravely on behalf of the unqualified against the unfortunate for an ungrateful nation. In this task, we shall never waiver nor shall we ever forget.
With so much sabre rattling going on in the South China Seas, we're happy to continue the follow the remarkable career of Japan's newest Captain of the Asagiri Class Destroyer JS Yamagiri (DD-152) Captain Miho Otani. As previously blogged here and elsewhere, Captain Otani is the first female Captain of a destroyer in the JMSDF. She commands a crew of 220 people including ten women sailors. She's come a long away since her days as a university student watching the Gulf War on TV wondering how she could make a difference. She is the mother of a twelve year old daughter and wife to another JMSDF destroyer Captain.
Captain Otani is described as being both friendly and fair to her crew particularly to the concerns for her crew's families. Make no mistake, she sails into some troubled waters in the South China Seas and we believe she is more than up to the task. Hence, we at American Mishima wish Captain Otani continued success and to continue to make a difference out there. がんばって ください!
“American Mishima” is the work of Louis Rosas, the son of Mexican Immigrants, whose father served in Vietnam for the US Army and who grew up on glamorized war films and military aviation in the sleepy seaside plains of Oxnard, Calif. With an early fascination of the Second World War embedded in his young mind during the post-Vietnam era, it was his exposure to Akira Kurosawa's samurai epic Ran (Toho, 1985) that changed his views of war while creating a lasting impression of Japanese culture and history. Further inspired by the works of Japanese writer Yukio Mishima, Rosas would go on to study Japanese language and swordsmanship, which led him to the practice of Shingon Buddhism and Shinto. Rosas is also a former student of Shinkendo, the ideal and practice of the samurai code of Bushido in the modern world, which helped shape the creative force that is “American Mishima.”
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