Your article reminded me that we all have our histories and our reasons that make us the people we are and that forgiveness or perhaps acceptance is crucial to spiritual survival as I believe Yamashita practiced. His endurance was amazing. Everything we do in this life affects those around us no matter how simple those actions may seem at the time. Thank you for taking the time to research this and for caring enough to tell the story so beautifully. And the story should be told not to incite but rather to educate.
Genuine education is the only remedy for such treatment.
No one will ever know what the world lost because of this action. If Yamashita suppressed the tale, be assured that this incident preoccupied varying degrees of his time and energy, permanently altering his life negatively. The rage, which so many in our society silently feel and fewer openly express, has its roots in such demeaning, dehumanizing behavior, which says some individuals are less than others despite having met the same requirements. Though Yamashita is dead, some of his descendants know the story and thus will keep it alive. The best cure for discrimination lies with persons in administrative positions who see the error and then do whatever is necessary to correct it.