Japanese Physician In America Works To Repatriate Pacific War Relics

The Toledo Blade has an article up about Dr. Yasuhiko Kaji, a doctor who moved from Japan to Toledo in 1968, and has spent years collecting Japanese war relics in the hopes of repatriating them to the families of the soldiers to whom they once belonged. Here is an excerpt:

Barbara Dresslar, of Sonora, Calif., had planned to write a family history with her father, Frank Dresslar, when she visited him at his home in Mexico, but she ended up writing his war memoirs instead. Sifting through boxes of his old belongings from his time flying C-47 and C-46 transports for the U.S. during World War II, she came across an old, signed Japanese flag.

She lived in Japan briefly, so she realized the flag probably had some personal significance.

After searching for information online, she located Dr. Kaji and became the first person to reach him directly about a flag to return.

Dr. Kaji sent a photograph of the flag to the ministry. After 30 years of receiving his mail, the staff at the ministry knows his name and pays close attention to his photographs.

A year passed before Dr. Kaji was able to tell Ms. Dresslar the ministry had just located the family of Yoshio Tokumoto, a soldier who died in the Philippines.

His only son, Kenji Tokumoto, had been raised believing his grandfather was his real father. So when the Dresslars returned the flag, they were told that it became the only tangible link he had to his real father.

Through a translator, Yoshio Tokumoto’s sister, Machiko Ohkawa, sent her thanks to Ms. Dresslar.

“The time of 62 years has past since our family had got nothing which could be called as his relic or proof of Yoshio’s death. Kenji could also have such wonderful an opportunity this time to know about his own father and to feel his warmth,” she wrote.

[...]

Although Dr. Kaji has returned about 5 swords, 30 flags, and 20 notebooks, he still has 20-25 flags and more than 100 swords and other artifacts….

If you’re interested in Dr. Kaji’s story, read the full article here.