PBS special - WRONG GOGGLES on SAKAI!!

[kaigunair]

I just caught the PBS special on the dog fight over Guadanal Canal. Was great, except the pilot playing saburo sakai was wearing something like MKII goggles.

Would have been ok, but then they did tons of close ups....the split angled lenses on the MKII look nothing like the IJN man cat eyes.

Bothered the heck out of me! That and the helmet was really black and shinny...

[kaigunair]

come to think about it, the helmet was also completely wrong...I don't know of an IJN flight helmet with fur on the bottom of the front hat flap. The fur was totally all over the front of the helmet on those close up scenes.

Why weren't they told which that the goggles and helmet, with all those close ups, were wrong? There are correct repros out there. The USN gear set up looked correct. Some one drop the ball?

[Dean Brock]

I saw that too. It just kills the otherwise great production.

[kaigunair]

Guess they were in a rush to film and didn't have time to get the proper gear...

Nice avatar Dean, but I can't make out who it supposed to be?

[Dean Brock]

No one special I don't think? Just a couple of photos on file.

[Dean Brock]

Kaigunair,
I see your avatar is the Kikusui insignia. Heres an interesting pocket hanger I found some time ago, Could it be Navy? I think the character is loyalty.

[kaigunair]

Ah, neat photos. I couldn't make out the details of the helmet, but I noticed that his gloves don't seem to have the name patches on the gauntlets. The float vest looks early, with the little side pocket.

The kikusui is actually from a minatogawa habaki. I really like the history of that crest, and was lucky enough to pick up a minatogawa blade a few years ago. With its samurai and navy connections, fits perfectly in my collection. Its also my only gendaito/gunto in my collection. I've been trying to pick up kikusi marked items ever since, and I do have a navy kikusui flight patch from Gary Nila which I also really like.

Love the pocket patch...I'm not sure if its japanese or army either, but there was a thread on these things recently? Please let me know if you ever decide to let it go....=)

Here's a recent kikusui marked item I got from eeeebay. Can't wait to see it in person:



I have no idea what it says, but I understand the scene.

[kaigunair]

anyone notice something different about saburo sakai's helmet as displayed in the nimitz museum?

I was also wondering how his helmet ended up here as opposed to a museum in japan.....

[zachb]

Here is a link with some more photos of the helmet. I'm pretty sure Sakai spoke at some symposiums at the museum but I don't know what his motivation was for donating the helmet...I could speculate:

http://www.pacificwrecks.com/people/...itz/index.html

[kaigunair]

Hi Zack,

I thought I heard somewhere (totally not sure, so please don't quote me) that the goggles and helmet were still held by Mr. Sakai's daughter. So, I thought that perhaps it was on loan to the nimitz.

But having seen this photo for several years, and then seeing the more recent post of the nimitz museum, it seemed that the Sakai display was a more permanent exhibit. I'd love to see this display in person someday, but was just surprised and curious to know how it ended up here.

Kinda like seeing the red barron gear end up in a museum in france or england as opposed to germany? (no other connection implied other than another well known famous ace)

I'll try to post up some pictures of my little saburo sakai display....

-Junichi

[Nick Komiya]

The Tsuba paper weight with Kikusui was a commemorative giveaway celebrating the completion of the buildings for the Tondabayashi Junior High School in Osaka. The school opened in 1947, so it's from that time. The second kanji on the front is a bit unclear in the photo, but it appears to read Sourin Kikusui To. What I don't understand is what a sword has to do with a junior high school, particularly in postwar Japan.

[Edokko]

Nick, the junior-high opened in 1901 and renamed the Osaka Municipal Tondabayashi High School (大阪府立冨田林高等学校）in 1948, so the paper weight is highly possible it came from during or before the war, unless it was made between 1945 and 1948.

[Nick Komiya]

Edokko
Just checked. You're right; I was checking on the history of the current Tondabayashi Junior High, not realizing that there was an earlier Tondabayashi Junior High that is now a senior high. So 1901 it is, but what does that have to do with Kikusui Swords, do you think? There has to be a logical connection with the school, I would expect.

[kaigunair]

Wow, thanks nick and takehiro! this research is awesome. are you searching japanese language sites? Still don't have the tsuba paperweight it in had yet, but when I do, will get better pics out of that too...

how I wish I studied harder for my japanese classes now! ah, well, japanese was always my worst subject, from elementary-college...shigataganai

Hoping to add some info, I looked up minatogawa jinja and found out the current shrine is in:
3-1-1 Tamon-dori, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo. Osaka is the next prefecture east to Hyogo.
According to http://www.k3.dion.ne.jp/~j-gunto/gunto_135.htm, the actual minatogawa wwii forge was called the Kōbe Minatogawa Jinja Kikusui Tantō Kai, and started manufacture of the Japanese sword(Kikusui-tō) of traditional blade making for naval officers in 1941. If Kobe is the city and location of the actual forge, then this is also the capital of Hyogo. I have the wallenga publication at home on minatogawa blades and will try to pull that out asap.


I don't mind this if this paperweight has no connection with the minatogawa shrine or forge, other than having the kikusui kamon. I had understood the kikusui mon as representing loyalty to the point of death, and being very militaristic, was a good propaganda tool for the showa gov't. Maybe this was used at the commemoration of the school to hope that the students would become good citizens/soldiers?

all conjecture on my part, since I can't read any of the kanji.....

[kaigunair]

here's what the seller thought about this piece:

The writing above reads SOURIN (Person's name?) KIKUSUI TOU (Kikusui Sword) and the back reads SHINCHIKU RAKUSEI KINEN (New Construction Completion Commemoration), OSAKA FURITSU TOMITA HAYASHI CHUUGAKKOU (Osaka Prefecture Tomita Hayashi Middle School). I was able to research the Kojigaho archives online and found out the completion was in 1937. Kikusuitou were swords used by some of the Imperial Japanese Navy personnel in the 1930s.

I didn't put much into the seller's description, since my main interest was that it had the kikusui mon and would look nice in a minatogawa blade display. But thanks to the research, I'm even more interested in figuring it out now!