Son of Japanese Soldier Who Died During WWII in Indonesia Cherishes Pebbles as Substitute for Remains

Yomiuri Shimbun

2 days ago

Mitsuaki Yoshino has few memories of his father, Kumazo, who died in Indonesia during World War II. He considers three pebbles to be the soul of his late father, as he collected them near where Kumazo is thought to have died.
'I will never forget my father and will never allow such a war to happen again,' said Yoshino, 87, of Machida, Tokyo, who attended the 80th Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead on Friday.
Kumazo was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army on Yoshino's 4th birthday in 1941. He was stationed in Western New Guinea – part of present-day Indonesia – where he was responsible for transporting supplies and personnel. He is believed to have died from an illness in 1944.
According to the Health, Labor, and Welfare Ministry, supply lines for the Japanese military in Western New Guinea had been disrupted, leaving about 53,000 soldiers to die from infectious diseases and malnutrition.After Kumazo's death, his wife avoided talking about him and burned nearly all letters and documents related to him.
'I think my mother didn't want to recall sad memories,' Yoshino said.
Yoshino found out about the existence of a video of Kumazo in his military uniform after he left for the front and obtained a photo taken from it.
'This keeps my father's memory alive,' Yoshino said.
About 20 years ago, Yoshino visited the town of Sarmi in Papua Province, where Kumazo is said to have died, hoping to learn what his father had felt when he went to the battlefield. Passing through the dense jungle, Yoshino was greeted by the sight of an emerald-green sea stretching out before him and thought, 'Why did they have to fight a war in such a beautiful place?'
Walking near the coast, Yoshino saw three round pebbles under a palm tree and instinctively felt 'They must be my father's soul.'
He brought the pebbles in place of Kumazo's undiscovered remains back to Japan, where he placed them his father's grave.
'He must have been longing to come back to Japan,' Yoshino said.
Over the last four decades, Yoshino has attended war memorial services to pray for the repose of his father's soul. Yoshino also is involved in the activities of a bereaved families association, organizing memorial events and study tours to battle sites and offering chrysanthemums he has grown himself at Yasukuni Shrine.
Friday marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, and the aging of the war victims' families has made it difficult for many to attend memorial services.
'I'm grateful that I have been able to keep attending the [anniversary] services,' Yoshino said. 'I will never forget my father and will continue to strive for peace.'