TALES FROM HISTORY
The Takarajima Incident — Tragedy on Treasure Island
English whalers’ demand for beef has dire consequences
My dear friend’s father, Ed, was an American officer involved in training Japanese pilots in the 1950s for the nascent Japanese Self-Defense Force. During his years in Japan, he became friends with the descendent of a well-placed samurai family, Mr. Takahashi. This gentleman had been spending his retirement making scouting trips to the Philippines, searching for the bones of his fallen countrymen to bring home. He strongly felt that their spirits deserved to rest in their native land.
Perhaps inspired by his missions, one day Takahashi invited Ed to visit his family’s ancestral home where his elderly mother still lived. They bowed to his family’s matriarch, and then Takahashi sought her permission to present something to Ed.
She consented.
Takahashi pulled out an antique wooden chest. He opened the heavy lid and lifted out a cloth-wrapped bundle.
He entrusted the bundle to Ed, asking him to please bring its contents back to the West. Takahashi told Ed that he felt the fallen man’s spirit within should be returned to his homeland.
