A monthly newsletter

Issue No. 6 January 2015

月 刊 ニ ュースレター

第 6号

2 01 5 年 1 月

OBON 2015
Returning personal items to their families.
個人の遺留品をご遺族の元へ

ここE V E R Y O N E H A S A F A M I LY
誰でも一人一人に家族がいます

Seventy Years — 1945 - 2015
For the past several years OBON 2015 planned to participate in theceremony that recognizes the end of the war between Japan andAmerica. Our hope was centered on highlighting the peace andreconciliation between families of these two nations.

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Table of Contents
Page 2: Thank You
Page 3: MikawachiTo our utter surprise, after numerous conversations with JapaneseAmerican organizations, the American government, politicians andbusinessmen we learned there is no such ceremony or occasion
between the two nations.

Page 4: Mikawachi

OBON 2015 is working to organize some event between the peopleof America and Japan that acknowledges the 70th anniversary of theend of the destructive war and pledges peace and reconciliation for
the future through strong family connections.

Page 6: Scholar’s Corner

Page 5: Mikawachi ReturnPage 7: Contact OBON 2015

OBON 2015 January NEWSLETTER

Thank you for your Support
OBON 2015 apologizes for this late newsletter. We have been in Japan on business, but took
the opportunity to return back to Japan four flags that had been sent to OBON 2015.

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Soldier’s name: Mr. Toshio Shimoda. Returned tohis brothers and relatives in Aomori prefecture.

Soldier’s name: Mr. Yoshiharu Aoyama
Returned to his nephew in Aichi prefecture.

Soldier’s name: Unknown. Returned to thecommunity of Mikawachi in Nagasaki prefecture.

Soldier’s name: Mr. Akiyoshi Ito
Returned to his wife in Mie prefecture.
OBON 2015 January NEWSLETTER“MIKAWACH I”OBON 2015 received a very unusual flag several months ago. It was tiny, measuring
approximately the size of a standard sheet of paper. It seemed impossible for us to beable to trace this flag back to its home, especially since it lacked a specific soldier’s name.

“Mikawachi”
However the flag contained the name “Mikawachi” which gave our scholars
something to pursue. With nearly forty signatures inscribed on the flag we hoped ourscholars could find at least one person who would remember this item.
In the following months we learned that “Mikawachi” was a tiny village in theNagasaki Prefecture, located approximately 20 miles outside the city of Sasebo.
Eventually we connected via telephone with one citizen from the village. As news of
the existence of this flag spread around the town we were informed that many of thenames were known within this community and that they the would very muchappreciate having this item returned to them. Upon hearing of our visit to Japan thecitizens of Mikawachi invited OBON 2015 to personally return the flag.
To our surprise we found thisparticular village happened to be afamous enclave of porcelain
artisans. They became famous
hundreds of years ago for theirpure white wares, which areachieved by crushing special rockinto a powder, mixing this into
clay and then firing this material
at temperatures reaching 2,100°F.
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OBON 2015 January NEWSLETTER

MIKAWACHI

Mikawachi fills a narrow valley at the foot of several hills.
Their modern kilns are gas-fired, but a few 60 foot tallbrick chimneys remain from the era of wood-fired kilns.

The enormous porcelain kilns had interior dimensionsof 14 feet by 9 feet, with a ceiling nine feet high (photoabove) They averaged one firing every six weeks.

All work continues to be done byhand. These techniques have been
passed down from father to son forthe past 15 generations.

The porcelain artisans ofMikawachi are proud of theiroutstanding quality. This small
but famous village has
produced pieces of art acquiredby museums for theirpermanent collections. But, ahigher honor was achieved
three generations ago when apiece of their porcelain wasreceived by the Emperor’s son.

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MIKAWACHI

This unusual flag arrived in Mikawachi on January
8th and was received in the Community Center with agreat deal of interest. Ninety year old Mr. Imamura(above) identified practically every name, including
his two elder brothers. Three other local artisans (left)
were very pleased to see their father’s signatures.

The local media
from Nagasaki andSasebo were very
interested in thisstory. Two television
stations and two
newspapers sent
crews to cover thereturn.

The Yosegaki Hinomaru
was immediately framedand will be kept in the thelocal community center.
Adorned with names of somany local families thisflag instantly become acommunity heirloom.

The Mikawachi Community Center is adorned with enormous porcelain panels that illustrate theporcelain manufacturing process as it was first done by their ancestors in the early 1600’s.

For a Video go to YouTube, search OBON 2015 and then search “A Yosegaki Hinomaru Returns to Mikawachi” (Length 2:28)
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OBON 2015 January NEWSLETTEROBON
2015’s FUTURE
The Scholar’s Corner
This exceptional flag came to OBON 2015 from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. We were surprised to see asquare-shaped flag, which is exceptionally unusual. The lack of any obvious first and last name would
clearly make this a challenge that only our scholars could resolve.

The mention of a police station “Hachiya” was easily traced to the city ofFukuoka. However, the station no longer exists, replaced by a station
with the name Toyomae.
Here the scholars see what they think is
a first name…but not sure whether thename is “Shin-ichiro” or “Aki-ichiro”

The mention of “Kyushuu-man” gave the scholars
confidence this flag originated on the island of Kyushu.

The name “Nakajima” is being searched now within
the police department archives. He possibly
created this flag and was possibly a policeman.

The flag came to
OBON 2015 fromthe family of apilot who flew in
the U.S. Army Air
Corps, 43rd Bomb
Group of the 65th
Bomb Squadron.

The mention to“FollowIsoroku
Yamamoto”
suggests thisflag wascreated prior
to April 1943.

He had exchanged
it for a souvenir
rifle which hethought would be
too difficult tocarry home.
The family wrote:

The reference toChurchill andRoosevelt, andabout making
them crystronglysuggests theflag was createdbetweenDecember 1941
and Spring of1942.

“We, as his family,
wish to have the flag
returned to theJapanese Soldier’s
family, so that they
may have some partof him with them.
We hope that thiswill bring somehealing and peace tothe family.”

Here OBON 2015 scholars see a last name they had rarely
encountered. It appears to be the name “Aosa” and “Hibako”.
Archived records allowed the scholars to trace this name back to
the city of Fukuoka, and it appears to be grouped in the vicinity ofthe neighborhood of the former Hachiya police department. Furtherresearch will hopefully reveal a family member.

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OBON 2015 January NEWSLETTERContact OBON 2015
OBON 2015 needs your support. Please.
OBON 2015 is an affiliate of Astoria Visual Arts,a 501(C)3 non-profit organization.
Please send your tax-deductible contributions to:AVA/OBON 2015
P.O. Box 1004
Astoria, Oregon 97103
Your contributions will help us reach more families
and return more personal items.

If you have a flag, or know someone who does, please contact OBON 2015. We willgladly answer any questions and fully explain our process. It will give us great
pleasure to research the flag in your possession and return it to its proper family.

OBON 2015
P.O. Box 282
Astoria, Oregon 97103
contact@OBON2015.com!
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OBON 2015 January NEWSLETTER