A Forgotten Battle Taught One Man Everything About Humanity
He holds up a piece of Japanese shrapnel. 'You don't want to be hit by one of those. That will take off your arm or leg.'
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New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
Masaoki Sen, a Kamikaze Volunteer Who Later Promoted Peace, Dies at 102
Masaoki Sen, who volunteered to be a kamikaze pilot during World War II but survived the war and became the master of an ancient tea ceremony school and a vocal proponent of peace, died on Thursday in Kyoto, Japan. He was 102. His death was announced by the Urasenke school, which did not provide a cause. Mr. Sen was best known for serving as the 15th-generation grand master of the Urasenke, one of the three main schools of Japan's tea ceremony. After inheriting the role from his father in 1964, he used it as a platform to promote peace, often while speaking of his own experiences during the war. Traveling the world to engage in a sort of tea-ceremony diplomacy, Mr. Sen used the ancient art, whose roots lie in Zen Buddhism, to call for an end to all wars. He was known for the phrase 'peacefulness through a bowl of tea.' Following Japanese traditions, he went by several names during his lifetime. As grand master of the Urasenke, he was called Soshitsu Sen XV, a title that evoked his school's lineage back to Rikyu Sen, a philosopher of the tea ceremony who taught it to medieval warlords. After retiring in 2002, Mr. Sen took the name Genshitsu Sen, a move that allowed his eldest son, Masayuki, to become the next Soshitsu. In a statement released by the Urasenke, the son said Mr. Sen had weakened physically after injuring his hip in a fall three months ago. When his breathing stopped suddenly, efforts were not made to prolong his life, in accordance with Mr. Sen's wishes. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Camp prisoner marks VJ Day by decorating church
A former captive in a Japanese-run prison camp has helped decorate an East Sussex church in honour of fellow inmates that did not survive. Anne Bawden, 96, has provided and arranged flowers at All Saints in Hove ahead of VJ Day on 15 August. During World War Two she spent over three years in Lunghua Civil Assembly Centre - a civilian internment camp near Shanghai - after being imprisoned age 12. "No matter where I've lived I've done the flowers in church as a thank you for bringing me out alive and bringing my parents out alive too," she said. Ms Bawden told the BBC she was released from the camp aged "16, going on 25, because you grew up very quickly in camp". VJ Day was "extremely emotional", she said. According to Ms Bawden, prisoners soaked rations of soy beans to make milk for young children and babies, fed the remaining pulp to people with dysentery or malaria, and turned the skins into a "watery stew" for everybody else. She said in one incident a fellow prisoner answered back to Japanese guards, who "started to beat him up in in view of the whole camp". "There wasn't very much that we could do about it and he was taken away," she said. Pat Owtram, 102, was among the thousands to descend on Buckingham Palace to celebrate VJ Day. The capital "just felt the one place to be", she said. "I think we all went to the palace and shouted 'we want the King'." Her father was captured in Singapore although her family initially heard he was "missing in action", according to the Women's Royal Naval Service veteran. It was "quite a long time" until the family learned he was taken to a prisoner of war camp, Ms Owtram said, when "the Red Cross must have let my mother know that he was alive". According to the former Wren, deployed to the Kent coast during WW2, she knew her father was "having a very tough time" but that "his morale was extremely good". When they received a telegram to say the war was over and he would be released, the family "knew he was on his way home at last". "We could certainly celebrate that," Ms Owtram added. Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. More on this story King says VJ Day heroes will 'never be forgotten' VJ Day explained in 60 seconds PoW-signed flag is 'a piece of history'
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
County prepares to mark 80th anniversary of VJ day
Towns and villages across Northamptonshire are preparing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The Japanese surrendered to the allied forces on 15 August 1945, bringing to an end five years of devastating conflict. Church services will be held, flags will be raised and music will be played across the county on Friday. One council has arranged for lamps to be lit at all of its offices. The Japanese surrender came as a relief to many, but especially to the men of the Northamptonshire Regiment. They had taken part in one of the most gruelling campaigns of the war - the operation to halt the Japanese entry into India. The battles of Imphal and Kohima resulted in 16,500 casualties among the British forces while the Japanese lost more than twice that number. There were fears that the Northamptonshire Regiment would be forced to prepare for action in Japan, but Emperor Hirohito's surrender made such a plan unnecessary. It meant the war was now well and truly over. The town of Desborough near Kettering has already paid its tribute, with a picnic in the park on Saturday. Musicians, children's rides and refreshments were on offer at the town's recreation ground. The hot weather is disrupting some of the planned events - a beacon lighting ceremony in Long Buckby has been called off because of the risk of fire in local fields. A two-minute silence will be observed instead in the Market Place at 12:00 BST on Friday. North Northamptonshire Council's offices in Corby, Thrapston, Kettering, Rushden and Wellingborough will be displaying red Lamp Lights of Peace lanterns on Friday. Martin Griffiths, the leader of the Reform UK-controlled authority, said: "VJ Day reminds us of the immense bravery and resilience shown by those who served in the Far East and the Pacific. "Their contribution was vital in securing peace." Remembrance services are being planned in several places, including Brackley, where people will gather at the Piazza in front of the town hall at 08:45 BST. A service of remembrance and thanksgiving is planned for Daventry's war memorial at 19:00 BST on Friday. Rushden's service takes at 11:00 BST at the war memorial, and includes a talk by former merchant navy officer and TV extra David Hawker. There will be wartime music and further tributes at Hall Park from 20:00 BST. The people of HIigham Ferrers will share two minutes of silence at their war memorial at 12:00 and a peace lamp will be lit. A service marking the anniversary of the outbreak of peace will take place a day later at Holy Sepulchre Church in Northampton at 11:00 BST, while All Hallow's Church in Wellingborough pays its tribute at 15:00 BST on Sunday. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. More on this story Historic aircraft to take part in VJ Day flypast Towns plan VJ Day 80th anniversary commemorations A town remembers on 80th anniversary of VE Day Related internet links North Northamptonshire Council VE and VJ Day
