Far East Cynic

Watching old movies…..

Finally  , got my man-cave put together . So rather than blog,  I watched old movies as I cleaned it up. My plaques are up, shadow box mounted-I’m still hunting for a place to put the table I got from my squadron, a long time ago in a galaxy far away-and also some of my precious souvenirs from the Japanese are in place. One of which I really treasure-it is a gift from Saburo Sakai. I had the privilege of meeting him several times in 2000.  Sadly that same year, he passed away right after a Navy dinner we hosted, and had invited him to as an honored guest. As fate would have it- I got to be the American Naval Officer who delivered a message of memoriam at his funeral and subsequent public memorial service. It was one of several things I found as I unpacked the last “office” box. I’m glad it survived the move intact.

The gift is two things actually-a framed picture of his helmet. (It can be seen in the link).  And a paper with this inscription on it:

It means : Never give up!

Good words-his words. 

Read his book sometime. That picture now hangs proudly in my new “study”.

Domo arigatou, Sakai-sama.

  1. What is the significance of the red in these works of art? I was gifted with a drawing from the man who sat next to me on a flight from Narita to SFO and he had the flight attendants (JAL) hunt high and low to get him a red pen to make significant final notations on the drawings.

  2. The red mark is a Hanko. That is a mark of authenticity on the art. In Japan people usually don’t sign important documents they affix their personal mark or Hanko. You have it made for you as an ink stamp. Sakai’s name is on the left.