A Sub Lieutenant from Shikoko

Among my father's photographs is this intriguing image of Sub Lieutenant Sugar Mitsuaki Sato. On the back of the tiny thumbnail print is written: "Sub Lieutenant Sugar Mitsuaki Sato No 3-1 Igacko 2nd Tokashimo City Shikoku  Japan". The Sub Lieutenant is standing with an impressive looking sword (that may not be standard issue), and behind him can be seen the tail of an aeroplane camouflaged with cut branches.

I don't know if "Sugar" was a nickname given to him by the allied troops and if this suggests that he may have had a role following the surrender. I am assuming that he may have been the pilot of the plane or at least associated with it in some way because he seems to be wearing flying gloves and scarf. Or perhaps he found it for them, and that the "No 3-1 Igacko 2nd" was his unit (although my limited internet researched have so far failed to find it). Maybe he was asked to stand in front of the plane for the photograph after his surrender. With further research I think that it should be possible to work out the model of the plane (it has a very distinctive end to the fuselage that can be seen behind the Sun Lieutenant). It is possible that he is himself still alive.

Any information would be welcome but, in the meantime, it remains an interesting piece of history waiting to be further revealed.

Okayama Park, Japan, 1946

After a long and relatively turbulent history, by the time of the War Okayama had become one of the most important places in western Japan for transportation and education. When World War II began, Okayama city had a Japanese Army base camp. Strategic, incendiary bombing raids on Japan began in June 1944 and continued until the end of the war in August 1945. Thus, on June 29, 1945, the city was attacked by the US Army air force with incendiary bombs. Almost all the city was burned, and in the fire storm that ensued more than 1,700 people were killed. Overall Okayama suffered terrible damage in the war, losing more than 12,000 households.

My father visited the city in 1946; perhaps for intelligence gathering but equally possibly on leave with fellow officers. The above image shows Okayama after the 1945 air raid. Seeing this makes me wonder about a photograph labelled by father as "Hiroshima"; it is not a familiar image of Hiroshima and I wonder if he in fact took it when he visited Okayama? This might explain why there are figures that can clearly be seen walking in the streets and cycling on the nearer side of the bridge. This is my father's photograph below:

Apparently the park in Okayama (or at least part of it) remained intact and the following pictures show a number of scenes from it. The first labelled: "Ice cream stand":

The final three pictures show various scenes from the park (all labelled Okayama Park).

Mount Fuji, Japan 1946

Mount Fuji is one of the most iconic images from Japan. In my father's collection of photographs from 1946 there are five pictures of the sleeping volcano. They appear to have been taken from the North side of the mount, at various distances and angles. Given the perspective the lake is most likely to be Lake Yamanaka.

There is also a postcard sized photograph (the ones above are 6x9 cms in original size) of Mount Fuji shown below; but I believe that this is a picture that was given to troops to take or send home as a souvenir of their time overseas.

And, finally, when I was in Japan in 2011 I was able to take these from the Shinkansen train to and from Tokyo and from the plane back to the Netherlands.

Kyoto, Japan 1946

The following photographs were taken in and around Kyoto, Japan, in 1946. It was clear that my father and his companions visited a number of locations that were within a reasonable travelling distance of Hiroshima and Miyajima Island. The first is old Kyoto railway station (now very different):

The next two are of the famous Higashi Honganji buddhist temple in Kyoto built in 1895 after a fire burned down the previous temple.It has changed very little since 1946.

And finally there is a picture of a policeman standing outside the gates of Kyoto castle.

My father died two years ago today. His stories still echo in my mind and, in the end, on these pages. His legacy survives through his grandchildren. There will be more to come. The war in India, Africa and his childhood. Not to mention his time in England when he finally returned from his travels.

Nihama Officer's Mess, Etajima 1946

The officer's mess seems to have been called 'Nihama'. I have found a number of hotels with this name in modern Japan. Most of the captions written on the backs of the photos say "Nihama" but two say "Miyako Hotel". It has a swimming pool that also features in a number of the photographs.

The picture below says: "Officers Mess Nihama" and lists those in the picture as Major B. Jones-Walters (he is sitting in the middle at the front), Capt. W. Wilson R.A.M.C., Lt. S.L.S. Pullen, Lt. Timms, Lt. Avery N/Z Army.

There are a number of pictures of the building. In the second picture two officers can be seen through the open first floor window. Neither of these photographs have descriptions or captions. 

There are three photographs that show the women who worked in the mess standing in front of the same building. This one says: "Group of serving girls, ETA 1946". They wear a mixture of traditional and modern clothing.

The next one says: "Serving girls ETA-JIMA APR 46".

And this: "Serving girl ETA 1946".

The pool was obviously popular and there are a number of photographs of it and the officers using it. My father is on the right in this one looking slim, suntanned and fit.

The above picture had no caption but on the following it says "Bob, Frank, Stan, Stuart and self". I think my father is in the middle.

The next one says: "Frank Avery NZ and Doc. Wilson at pool Nihama.

Then there is a group by the pool which simply says: "Boyos Nihama".

The last two have "Miyako Hotel Swimming Pool" written on the back. They are either of a different pool or they are taken from a different angle.

Japan 1945-46: Hiroshima Images

Among my father's photographs from Japan 1945-46 I found these of Hiroshima. First the iconic  Hiroshima Commercial Museum; I took the same photograph more than 60 years later.  

The railway station.

Tortured steel, with "Hiroshima, worse bomb damage 1946" written on the back of the photograph.

The final picture is looking across a bridge onto the main city. I have never seen anything like this before. The damage to the buildings is clear but the perspective and angle of the photograph is new to me.