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	classical japanese martial arts

Our Japan Trip
or "What I did during my summer vacation"

As a martial arts practitioner, I've always been interested in Japanese swords. Unfortunately, I can't afford the price of the older blades, so I've had to be satisfied collecting some of the gunto, or WWII-era swords. About a year ago, I purchased a Japanese Naval officer's kai gunto on the Internet. It was basically a regular military style sword, but with a couple of notable exceptions. The original owner had replaced the standard military issue tsuba (sword guard) with an antique one.

The tsuba or sword guard

A surrender tag was also attached to the saya (scabbard) and listed the owner's name in kanji. Although it was soiled and in poor shape, I was able to translate the name and some of the former owner's street address. I decided to search for more information about the original owner. After contacting my judo friends in Japan, searching the records of Japanese Naval College graduates, and even checking with the Japanese Navy Alumni Association, I was able to determine the owner had lived in Sasebo, a city on the southern island of Kyushu. With the help of Miss Eriko Matsuo, a reporter with the Nagasaki Shimbun, I was able to locate the owner's widow.

Through some friends, Miss Matsuo arranged for my wife, Lynn, and I to stay witha host family in Sasebo. In addition, Miss Matsuo invited us to stay with her and her parents in Nagasaki during the Obon holiday to view the festival celebrations. Lynn was a little hesitant at first, especially after I described Japanese-style toilets, but eventually she became excited about the upcoming trip. After obtaining some very nice discount tickets from Japan Airlines (JAL), we were off on our adventure.

Lynn with her personal monitor
in the business class section

Departing from O'Hare International, we flew directly from Chicago to Narita, where after a brief layover and a visit of all the airport souvenir shops, we caught a domestic flight from Tokyo to Fukuoka. Miss Matsuo and her father picked us up at the airport and took us for the two-hour drive to Nagasaki.

Nagasaki Shimbun Articles

The Nagasaki Shimbun was instrumental in locating the widow of Lieutenant Junior Grade Mitsuji Katagiri. Born in January 1923, Katagiri grew up in Nagoya and attended Doshisha University. During WWII, he enlisted in the Japanese Navy and was stationed at the base in Sasebo. For a short period before the end of the war, Lt. Katagiri rented a room in the Ohta family house. Although he was only 10-years-old at the time, Kohhei Ohta remembered Lt. Katagiri and contacted his wife, Fumiko Katagiri. Unfortunately, Mr. Katagiri died of sudden heart attack in April 1996. However, his widow and daughter, Machiko Nagao, were happy to accept the tsuba for their family.

The following are three articles written about my search for Lt. Katagiri by Eriko Matsuo, a reporter for the Nagasaki Shimbun. These are reprinted here with the permission of the Nagasaki Shimbun.

Early May 1998	The first article appeared in early May 1998. It includes a photo of the tsuba and the surrender tag from Lt. Katagiri's kai gunto. Miss Matsuo described my search for the original owner and asked if anyone recalls any details which might help. A friend of Mr. Ohta saw the article and told him about it. Mr. Ohta's friend also remembered the street name which had since been changed. It took nearly four weeks, but he finally called the newspaper office and gave them Mrs. Katagiri's current address.
June 19, 1998	In the second article, Miss Matsuo reported about the conclusion of the search and some of the details provided above about Lt. Katagiri. A photo of Lt. Katagiri, wearing his Japanese Navy summer white uniform and holding the kai gunto, was provided by Mrs. Katagiri. This article was published on June 19, 1998.
Aug. 20, 1998	In the third and final article, Miss Matsuo described the return ceremony and provided some details about our trip to Sasebo. A color photo of the actual return presentation with (from left) my wife, Lynn, myself, Mrs. Katagiri, and her daughter, Mrs. Nagao, was also featured. This article was published on Aug. 20, 1998, the morning after the ceremony and luncheon.

Visit to Nagasaki

We departed from O'Hare International on Thursday, Aug. 13, 1998, but due to to the International Dateline, we arrived in Japan on Friday, Aug. 14. We flew from Chicago to Narita, then caught a domestic flight from Tokyo to Fukuoka. Miss Eriko Matsuo and her father picked us up at the airport and took us for the two-hour drive to Nagasaki.

	During our visit in Nagasaki, we stayed with Miss Matsuo's family. Pictured are (from left) Miss Matsuo, Suzuyo (mother), Tsuru (grandmother), Kazuteru (brother), and Shigeto (father). Her sister, Keiko, is not pictured.
	During the Obon holiday, the citizens of Nagasaki celebrate their recent dead by a strange parade. For each person who died during the past year, their friends and relatives build these huge lighted boats. Then on Saturday, Aug. 15, we watched as they rolled them through the streets of the city. The noise of firecrackers was deafening.
	On Sunday, Aug. 16, Eriko and Shigeto Matsuo drove us to see Shimabara castle and the nearby hotsprings. We ate eggs which had been hardboiled in wooden boxes set over the vents in the side of the mountain. They tasted great.

Visit to Sasebo

On Monday, Aug. 17, 1998, Miss Eriko Matsuo drove us to Sasebo. This was the first time we met our host family. A Shinto priest, Masashi Matsuse and his family had only briefly met any Westerners. My Japanese was rudimentary, and his 15-year-old daughter, Keiko, only spoke a little English. However, we quickly learned new ways to communicate. Masashi and his 14-year-old son, Hiroki, are both avid kendo players, so we shared a lot in common.

	During our visit in Nagasaki, we stayed with Miss Matsuo's family. Pictured are (from left) Miss Matsuo, Suzuyo (mother), Tsuru (grandmother), Kazuteru (brother), and Shigeto (father). Her sister, Keiko, is not pictured.
	An accomplished instructor, Fusako gave Lynn and me some informal lessons in the Japanese tea ceremony.
	The Matsuse family took us on various side trips during our stay. We toured the castle on Hirado Island and painted pottery at a factory in Imari. However, the most fun we had was just sitting around the dinner table and sampling the culture. Here Masashi attempts to teach me to play one of the ceremonial music instruments used in Shinto rites.
	Of course I practiced judo with the local judo club. Afterwards, I would watch as Masashi and Hiroki practiced kendo in the same community dojo where the judo club meets each day.

The Luncheon

The highlight of our trip was the ceremony and luncheon at a hotel banquet room on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 1998, in Sasebo.

	A group picture of all the attendees.
	Although Lt. Katagiri was unable to attend, several photos of him occupied the place of honor at the head of the table.
	After an absence of more than 50 years, the tsuba is finally returned to the rightful owners. Pictured are (from left) Lynn Cunningham, Don Cunningham, Fumiko Katagiri (Mr. Katagiri's widow), and Machiko Nagao (Mr. Katagiri's daughter).

Visit to Kumomoto

For our final couple of days in Japan, Lynn and I took a train from Sasebo to the famous castle town of Kumomoto. Here we visited Kumomoto castle and took several side trips to various places of interest.

	Here I am standing next to a statue of father and son Tanuki. Tanuki are wild racoon dogs. They are also legendary in the Japanese folklore. Notice the resemblance?
	Here I am standing in the cave where Miyamoto Musashi, the famous Japanese swordsman, lived during his later years and where he wrote his treatise on kenjutsu and strategy, "The Book of Five Rings."
	This park in downtown Kumomoto is designed and landscaped to be a miniature replica of the Tokaido highway, the road which linked feudal Japan. Lynn is standing in front of the central lake and next to the teahouse.
	Lynn and I stand at the volcano's edge while visiting Mount Aso.

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