Toshihiro Mutsuda, center left, and USS Lexington Museum executive director Steve Banta, center right, hold the good luck flag of Mutsuda’s father, Shigeyoshi Mutsuda, at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo
![USS Lexington Museum executi...]()
USS Lexington Museum executive director Steve Banta, left, hands over the good luck flag of Japanese solider Shigeyoshi Mutsuda, to his son Toshihiro Mutsuda at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo
Toshihiro Mutsuda was five years old when he last saw his father, who was drafted by the Japanese Imperial Army in 1943 and killed in action. For him, his father was a bespectacled man in an old family photo standing by a signed good-luck flag that he carried to war.
On Saturday, when the flag was returned to him from a US war museum where it had been on display for 29 years, Mutsuda, now 83, said: “It’s a miracle.”
The flag, known as Yosegaki Hinomaru, or good luck flag, carries the soldier’s name, Shigeyoshi Mutsuda, and the signatures of his relatives, friends and neighbors wishing him luck.
It was given to him before he was drafted by the army. His family was later told he died in Saipan, but his remains were never returned.
The flag was donated in 1994 and displayed at the museum aboard the USS Lexington, a WWII aircraft carrier, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Its meaning was not known until it was identified by the family earlier this year, said museum director Steve Banta, who brought the flag to Tokyo.
Banta said he learned the story behind the flag earlier this year when he was contacted by the Obon Society, a nonprofit organization that has returned about 500 similar flags as non-biological remains to the descendants of Japanese service members killed in the war.
The search for the flag’s original owner started in April when a museum visitor took a photograph and asked an expert about the description that it had belonged to a kamikaze suicide pilot.
When Shigeyoshi Mutsuda’s grandson saw the photo, he sought help from the Obon Society, group cofounder Keiko Ziak said.
“When we learned all of this, and that the family would like to have the flag, we knew immediately that the flag did not belong to us,” Banta said at the handover ceremony. “We knew that the right thing to do would be to send the flag home, to be in Japan and to the family.”
The soldier’s eldest son, Toshihiro Mutsuda, was speechless for a few seconds when Banta, wearing white gloves, gently placed the neatly folded flag into his hands.
Two of his younger siblings, both in their 80s, stood by and looked on silently. The three children, all wearing cotton gloves so they would not damage the decades-old flag, carefully unfolded it to show to the audience.
“After receiving the flag today, I earnestly felt that the war like that should never be fought again and that I do not wish anyone else to go through this sadness [of separation],” Toshihiro Mutsuda said.
The soldier’s daughter, Misako Matsukuchi, touched the flag with both hands and prayed.
“After nearly 80 years, the spirit of our father returned to us. I hope he can finally rest in peace,” Matsukuchi said later.
Toshihiro Mutsuda said his memory of his father was foggy.
However, he clearly remembers that his mother, Masae Mutsuda, who died five years ago at age 102, used to make the long-distance bus trip almost every year from the farming town in Gifu to Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, where 2.5 million war dead are enshrined, to pay tribute to her husband’s spirit.
That is why Toshihiro Mutsuda and his siblings chose to receive the flag at Yasukuni and brought framed photos of their parents.
“My mother missed him and wanted to see him so much and that’s why she used to pray here,” he said. “Today her wish finally came true, and she was able to be reunited.”
With the flag on his lap, he said: “I feel the weight of the flag.”
https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2023/07/31/2003804026?fbclid=IwAR1D2VbWcDAOsprKK-s-9in6yRzq2NbhZ2aCXeRftCzoDB4pgAI1luKe8Bw
![【読売新聞】令和５年７月２９日...]()
父の日章旗 米博物館から遺族に返還
８０年ぶり再会 靖国神社で
太平洋戦争でサイパンに出征し、戦死した岐阜県出身の旧日本兵、 陸田むつだ 繁義さんのものとみられる日章旗が米国の博物館で保管されていることがわかり、千代田区の靖国神社で２９日、遺族に返還された。約８０年ぶりに戻った父の遺品を受け取った長男の敏弘さん（８２）は「奇跡的なこと。うれしい気持ちで胸がいっぱい」と喜んだ。
日章旗には「武運長久」の文字や陸田さんと思われる名前のほか、家族や近所の人など数十人の名前が寄せ書きされている。敏弘さんらによると、陸田さんは１９４３年、２６歳で陸軍に召集され、４４年にサイパンに出征したといい、その際に日章旗を持参したとみられる。
今春、退役した空母を改装した米テキサス州の「航空母艦レキシントン博物館」にこの日章旗が展示されていることを知った敏弘さんの長男が、旧日本兵が戦地に持参した遺品の返還に取り組む米国の民間団体「ＯＢＯＮ（オボン）ソサエティ」に相談。出征前に撮影された写真に写った旗と、博物館に展示された旗の特徴が一致することが確認され、返還が実現した。
(A Japanese flag believed to belong to Shigeyoshi Rikuta Mutsuda, a former Japanese soldier from Gifu Prefecture who was killed in action in Saipan during the Pacific War, was returned to his bereaved family at Yasukuni Shrine in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on March 29. Toshihiro, 82, the eldest son of Shigeyoshi's father, who received his father's belongings back for the first time in 80 years, said, "This is miraculous. I am filled with happiness.
On the Yosegaki flag, there were inscriptions of the words "Bu-un Choukyu" (Long Live the Warrior), the name of a person believed to be Mr. Rikuda, and dozens of other names, including family members and neighbors. According to Toshihiro and others, Mr. Rikuda was drafted into the Army in 1943 at the age of 26 and went to Saipan in 1944.
This spring, Toshihiro's eldest son learned that the flag was on display at the Aircraft Carrier Lexington Museum in Texas, a renovated retired aircraft carrier, and consulted the OBON Society, a private U.S. organization that works to return artifacts brought to war by former Japanese soldiers. It was confirmed that the flag in the photograph taken before his departure for war matched the characteristics of the flag displayed at the museum, and its return was realized.)
２９日に靖国神社で行われた返還式には、敏弘さんのほか、長女の美佐子さん（８１）、次男の靖則さん（８０）も岐阜県から駆けつけた。来日した同博物館のスティーブ・バンタ館長から日章旗を受け取ると、敏弘さんらは頬をすり寄せ、父との「再会」に感激した様子だった。
２０１８年に亡くなった陸田さんの妻、まさ江さんは毎年靖国神社を参拝し、夫の遺品が戻らなかったことを嘆いていたという。敏弘さんは「最も喜んでいるのは母だと思う。墓前に父の帰りを報告したい」と話していた。
(In addition to Toshihiro, his eldest daughter Misako (81) and second son Yasunori (80) also came from Gifu Prefecture to attend the restitution ceremony held at Yasukuni Shrine on March 29. Toshihiro and his family rubbed their cheeks together as they received the Japanese flag from Steve Banta, the museum's director, who had visited Japan, and seemed thrilled to be "reunited" with their father.
Masae Rikuda's wife, Masae, who passed away in 2018, visited Yasukuni Shrine every year and lamented the fact that her husband's belongings had not been returned. Toshihiro said, "I think it is my mother who is most pleased. I want to report my father's return to the graveside.")
https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/.../news/20230729-OYTNT50200/
![USS Lexington Museum executi...]()
USS Lexington Museum executive director Steve Banta, left, and Toshihiro Mutsuda, the elderly son of Japanese soldier Shigeyoshi Mutsuda, hold together Mutsuda's good luck flag during the handover cer
USS Lexington Museum executive director Steve Banta, left, and Toshihiro Mutsuda, the elderly son of Japanese soldier Shigeyoshi Mutsuda, hold together Mutsuda's good luck flag during the handover ceremony of his good luck flag at Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, Japan, on July 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
USS Lexington Museum executive director Steve Banta, left, and Toshihiro Mutsuda, the elderly son of Japanese soldier Shigeyoshi Mutsuda, hold together Mutsuda's good luck flag during the handover ceremony of his good luck flag at Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, Japan, on July 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
TOKYO (AP) -- Toshihiro Mutsuda was only 5 years old when he last saw his father, who was drafted by Japan's Imperial Army in 1943 and killed in action. For him, his father was a bespectacled man in an old family photo standing by a signed good-luck flag that he carried to war.
On Saturday, when the flag was returned to him from a U.S. war museum where it had been on display for 29 years, Mutsuda, now 83, said: "It's a miracle."
The flag, known as "Yosegaki Hinomaru," or Good Luck Flag, carries the soldier's name, Shigeyoshi Mutsuda, and the signatures of his relatives, friends and neighbors wishing him luck. It was given to him before he was drafted by the Army. His family was later told he died in Saipan, but his remains were never returned.
The flag was donated in 1994 and displayed at the museum aboard the USS Lexington, a WWII aircraft carrier, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Its meaning was not known until it was identified by the family earlier this year, said museum director Steve Banta, who brought the flag to Tokyo.
Banta said he learned the story behind the flag earlier this year when he was contacted by the Obon Society, a nonprofit organization that has returned about 500 similar flags as non-biological remains, to the descendants of Japanese servicemembers killed in the war.
The search for the flag's original owner started in April when a museum visitor took a photo and asked an expert about the description that it had belonged to a "kamikaze" suicide pilot. When Shigeyoshi Mutsuda's grandson saw the photo, he sought help from the Obon Society, group co-founder Keiko Ziak said.
"When we learned all of this, and that the family would like to have the flag, we knew immediately that the flag did not belong to us," Banta said at the handover ceremony. "We knew that the right thing to do would be to send the flag home, to be in Japan and to the family."
The soldier's eldest son, Toshihiro Mutsuda, was speechless for a few seconds when Banta, wearing white gloves, gently placed the neatly folded flag into his hands. Two of his younger siblings, both in their 80s, stood by and looked on silently. The three children, all wearing cotton gloves so they wouldn't damage the decades-old flag, carefully unfolded it to show to the audience.
"After receiving the flag today, I earnestly felt that the war like that should never be fought again and that I do not wish anyone else to go through this sadness (of separation)," Toshihiro Mutsuda said.
The soldier's daughter, Misako Matsukuchi, touched the flag with both hands and prayed. "After nearly 80 years, the spirit of our father returned to us. I hope he can finally rest in peace," Matsukuchi said later.
Toshihiro Mutsuda said his memory of his father was foggy. However, he clearly remembers his mother, Masae Mutsuda, who died five years ago at age 102, used to make the long-distance bus trip almost every year from the farming town in Gifu, central Japan, to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, where the 2.5 million war dead are enshrined, to pay tribute to her husband's spirit.
The shrine is controversial, as it includes convicted war criminals among those commemorated. Victims of Japanese aggression during the first half of the 20th century, especially China and the Koreas, see Yasukuni as a symbol of Japanese militarism. However, for the Mutsuda family, it's a place to remember the loss of a father and husband.
"It's like an old love story across the ages coming together ... It doesn't matter where," Banta said, referring to the Yasukuni controversy. "The important thing is this flag goes to the family."
That's why Toshihiro Mutsuda and his siblings chose to receive the flag at Yasukuni and brought the framed photos of their parents.
"My mother missed him and wanted to see him so much and that's why she used to pray here," he said. "Today her wish finally came true, and she was able to be reunited."
Keeping the flag on his lap, he said, "I feel the weight of the flag."
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230730/p2g/00m/0na/011000c?fbclid=IwAR3LnJfdvxET2Q9I-kGojmJVVh83SFhL_P-J-Jfrvdbm2Y_vR-TlxzQ1h_Q
![【The Associated...]()
TOKYO — Toshihiro Mutsuda was only 5 years old when he last saw his father, who was drafted by Japan's Imperial Army in 1943 and killed in action. For him, his father was a bespectacled man in an old family photo standing by a signed good-luck flag that he carried to war.
On Saturday, when the flag was returned to him from a U.S. war museum where it had been on display for 29 years, Mutsuda, now 83, said: "It's a miracle."
The flag, known as "Yosegaki Hinomaru," or Good Luck Flag, carries the soldier's name, Shigeyoshi Mutsuda, and the signatures of his relatives, friends and neighbors wishing him luck. It was given to him before he was drafted by the Army. His family was later told he died in Saipan, but his remains were never returned.
The flag was donated in 1994 and displayed at the museum aboard the USS Lexington, a WWII aircraft carrier, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Its meaning was not known until it was identified by the family earlier this year, said the museum director Steve Banta, who brought the flag to Tokyo.
https://www.npr.org/2023/07/29/1190933123/japan-soldier-flag-world-war-ii-returned?fbclid=IwAR0BtR0oSZ0CavhzBWYxUqpZabus6FQsEwzpVWZKi-OT27ogdlujiIl1VH8
![USSレキシントン博物館に展示...]()
USSレキシントン博物館に展示されていた日章旗を見せる、同館のスティーブ・バンタ館長（右）と、遺族への返還の橋渡しを務めるNPO「OBONソサエティ」のレックス・ジーク共同代表＝東京都千代田区の日本記者クラブで
東京都千代田区の日本記者クラブで27日、これまで600枚近い日章旗を遺族に返還してきた米西部オレゴン州のNPO「OBON（オボン）ソサエティ」と、退役空母を改装して太平洋戦争にまつわる品などを展示する米南部テキサス州の「USSレキシントン博物館」の関係者が記者会見を開き、返還を明らかにした。
博物館によると、日章旗は開館2年後の1994年から額縁に入れて展示しており、入手経緯は不明。敏弘さんによると、博物館で日章旗を見かけた人が写真を撮影、専門家の分析を経て父・繁義さんの遺品ではと連絡があったという。
敏弘さんから今年4月、出征前の繁義さんと署名入り日章旗を写した写真などを受け取ったオボンソサエティが、博物館に協力を依頼。博物館が日章旗を額縁から出し、文字の見え方を確認したところ「完全に一致」し、返還を決めた。
◆「旗の意味を知り、私たちの手元にあるべきでないと理解した」
会見したスティーブ・バンタ館長は「（展示していた）29年間、旗に込められた意味が分からなかった。その意味や家族が返還を希望していると知り、私たちの手元にあるべきでないと理解した。あるべき場所に返すことができ、光栄に思う。返還を通じ、日米の平和友好関係を促進できることを願っている」と話した。
敏弘さんは「父が出征したのは、私が4歳くらいの時。父の印象はあまり残っておらず、日章旗があることは知らなかった。旗が残っていたこと自体奇跡で、父の帰りたいという願いがずっとあったのだろう」と話した。
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/265938?fbclid=IwAR0BsN9PC3Ik9aTNljS_amxwcDS9xKG-kPC0-vINyhKZ9J40nAg5fSMe3vs
【松前】太平洋戦争末期に多くの住民を巻き込んだ１９４５年（昭和２０年）の沖縄戦で戦死した鈴木秀二さん（享年３８）が戦地で持っていた日章旗が、戦後７８年を前に町内在住の遺族の元に返還された。旧日本兵の遺品返還に取り組む米国のＮＰＯ法人「ＯＢＯＮソサエティ」の仲介で実現した。長男の一弘さん（８６）は「父親の形見がひとつもなかった。うれしい」と話した。
同団体や遺族によると、秀二さんは留萌市出身。旧陸軍第２４師団輜重兵（しちょうへい）として、武器や弾薬などの運搬を担当していたという。旧日本軍が組織的な戦闘を終えたとされる６月２３日の２日前の２１日に死亡した。最期の様子は分かっていない。
今月２６日に町役場で行われた返還式には、遺族７人が出席した。一弘さんと妻の玲子さん（８３）が石山英雄町長から日章旗を受け取った。縦約６５センチ、横約８０センチの旗には「必勝」「大和心」などの寄せ書きが記され、出征時に渡されたとみられる。一弘さんは「優しい父だった」と在りし日の姿に思いをはせ、玲子さんも「夢のよう」と涙ぐんだ。日章旗は自宅の仏壇に供えるという。
日章旗は、沖縄戦に参戦した元米国陸軍大佐が持ち帰った。その後、孫が旗に込められた思いを知り、２０２０年に同団体に返還を依頼した。直後に連絡を受けた札幌在住の同団体スタッフの工藤公督さん（４８）が留萌市内などで調査を開始。６０年ほど前に松前町の企業に就職し、現在も町内で暮らす一弘さんの存在を知り、１カ月ほど前に連絡した。
一弘さんは小学校入学前に秀二さんと別れ、「連絡が来た時はびっくりした。工藤さんや団体には感謝しかない」と話した。
https://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/article/884427
【松前】第２次世界大戦末期の１９４５（昭和２０）年６月に沖縄戦で亡くなった留萌市出身の陸軍兵士、鈴木秀二（ひでじ）さん（当時３７歳）の日章旗が２６日、米オレゴン州のＮＰＯ法人「ＯＢＯＮソサエティ」を通じて松前町在住の遺族に返還された。日章旗は米国の元兵士が長年保管していて、７８年の年月を経て長男の鈴木一弘さん（８６）の手に渡った。一弘さんは「ありがたい。うれしい」と喜んだ。
同法人によると、秀二さんは日本陸軍第２４師団に所属し、食料や武器の輸送などを担う輜重（しちょう）兵第２４連隊第五中隊の伍長だった。激戦地だった沖縄本島の糸満市真栄平（まえひら）で、６月２１日に亡くなった。
秀二さんの日章旗は米国の元陸軍大佐、エイドリアン・リンジー氏（故人）が戦場から持ち帰り、長年保管していた。リンジー氏が他界した後は孫のジョージ・ヘルムスタッター氏（アイダホ州在住）が受け継ぎ、２０２０年９月に同法人に所有者、遺族の捜索と返還を依頼していた。
遺族探しを担当したのは、同法人スタッフで、札幌在住の工藤公督さん（４８）。日章旗に「留萌土木現業所 鈴木秀二君」などと書かれていたことや、日本遺族会の情報などから秀二さんが留萌市礼受（れうけ）出身と特定。工藤さんはさらに礼受の地域住民などから鈴木家の足跡を尋ね、松前町の一弘さんを探し出した。
２６日は松前町役場で返還式が行われ、一弘さんら遺族７人が出席。一弘さんは石山英雄町長から日章旗を受け取り感慨深げに旗を見つめた。同法人共同代表のレックス・ジーク氏、敬子・ジーク氏のメッセージが動画で紹介されたほか、石山町長も「故人の家族への思いと関係各位の平和と友好を思う気持ちが実を結んだ。町としても平和の尊さを次世代につないでいく」と述べた。
秀二さんが出征時、一弘さんは小学校入学前だったが「父はマージャンが好きだった。温厚で優しかった」と懐かしみ、「連絡を受けた時はドキドキした。感謝の気落ちでいっぱい」と話した。一弘さんの次男、修二さん（５０）は「日章旗が戻ってくるとは思ってなかった。祖父が眠る沖縄にお参りしたい」と話した。
https://hokkaido-nl.jp/article/30215
7月26日、午前11時から約30分間、山田賢司外務副大臣は、旧日本兵の「寄せ書き日の丸」を始めとする戦時遺留品の返還活動を行っている、レックス・ジーク及び敬子・ジークOBON SOCIETY共同代表（Rex and Keiko Ziak, co-founders of OBON SOCIETY）、スティーブ・バンタUSS Lexington博物館館長（Steve Banta, Executive Director of USS Lexington Museum）他の表敬を受けたところ、概要は以下のとおりです。
レックス・ジーク氏及び敬子・ジーク氏、またスティーブ・バンタUSS Lexington博物館館長から、日章旗の返還や最近のOBON SOCIETYによる戦時遺留品返還活動等について説明がありました。
これに対し、山田副大臣から、日米の友情と絆を強固にするOBON SOCIETYの活動は大変貴重なものであり、同団体の引き続きの御活躍を期待したい旨述べました。また、日章旗の返還にあたり、USS Lexington博物館の協力に謝意を表しました。
（参考）OBON SOCIETY 米国オレゴン州を中心に活動する非営利団体。主に第二次世界大戦時に連合軍兵士が戦場から持ち帰った「寄せ書き日の丸（日章旗）」を始めとする日本兵の遺留品を日本の遺族の元へ返還する活動を行っており、日本遺族会からも委託を受けている。平成27年外務大臣表彰を受賞。
太平洋戦争の沖縄戦で戦死した留萌市出身の男性の日章旗が、終戦から７８年となるのを前に、道南の松前町に住む遺族の元に返還されました。
返還された日章旗は、昭和２０年６月に太平洋戦争の沖縄戦に従軍し、３８歳で戦死した留萌市出身の旧日本陸軍の軍人、鈴木秀二さんが所持していたものです。
松前町役場で行われた返還式には、鈴木秀二さんの長男の鈴木一弘さん（８６）ら遺族が出席し、石山英雄町長から日章旗を受け取りました。
日章旗には秀二さんの名前とともに、「必勝」などの文字が寄せ書きされていて、手に取った遺族は時折涙を浮かべ生前の記憶に思いをはせていました。
日章旗は沖縄戦に参戦したアメリカ陸軍の元軍人が戦地から持ち帰っていましたが、その孫が、戦没者の遺留品を遺族の元に返す活動をしているアメリカのＮＰＯ「ＯＢＯＮソサエティ」に依頼し、遺族を探し出したということです。
一弘さんの妻の鈴木玲子さんは「夢のようです」と話していました。
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/sapporo-news/20230726/7000059478.html?fbclid=IwAR19sUCjzSPPEUdxhjpp53TFkwSzhUqOZU6iLE0lTM9C9IZiwdQxrT2sylI
We are off to Japan now! Getting ready for our big event with USS Lexington staff!
いよいよレキシントン博物館に展示されていた日章旗を持参して日本へ向かいます！
無事にご遺族へお返しできますように-
ーＯＢＯＮソサエティはこの度、米国テキサス州に係留され、現在は海洋博物館としてその任務を継続中の「航空母艦レキシントン」に長年、戦争展示品として飾られていた「日章旗」を元の持ち主であった日本兵のご遺族へ返還する橋渡しをさせて頂きます。７月２０日に「レキシントン博物館」にて、日章旗を展示から外し、OBONソサエティに返還を託す式典が催されました。今月末にはレキシントン博物館の館長らが、OBONソサエティ共同代表のレックス＆敬子・ジークと共に来日し、自らの手で日章旗をご遺族へ返還します。つきましては、「記者会見」及び「日章旗返還式」を下記日程にて執り行いますのでご案内申し上げます。 ー
※経緯
https://www.facebook.com/OBONSOCIETY/posts/pfbid02NKmuLHD3dtc2GyiVjXXVGKHE5G3NUuuHcB5FQK4q6Wmhn8eKGs4xhW15Py1FFF5Kl
On July 20, Consul General Murabayashi attended the Japanese 'Good Luck' Flag Repatriation Ceremony held at the USS Lexington Museum in Corpus Christi. Consul General Murabayashi stated that he was honored to be present at the ceremony and that the return of the flag is a symbol of the friendship between the U.S. and Japan. The flag will be handed over from the museum to the bereaved family in Japan on July 29 with the support of the OBON SOCIETY(https://obonsociety.org/eng ), an Oregon non-profit organization.
Click here to see a live video by the museum:
https://youtube.com/live/4dzMq2FlyLk?feature=share
![ＵＳＳレキシントン博物館から家...]()
ＵＳＳレキシントン博物館から家族の元に返還される「寄せ書き日の丸」＝２０日、米テキサス州コーパスクリスティ（共同）
【コーパスクリスティ共同】米テキサス州のＵＳＳレキシントン博物館に２９年間展示されていた「寄せ書き日の丸」と呼ばれる日章旗の持ち主が判明し、日本の家族の元へ返還されることになった。太平洋戦争に出征したまま帰らぬ人となった岐阜県出身の睦田繁義さんのもので、博物館で２０日、米海軍や日本総領事館の関係者らが出席して記念式典が開かれた。
旗には「武運長久」と大書され、「睦田繁義君」の文字とともに約９０人の氏名が日の丸を囲むように記されている。長男の敏弘さん（８３）は取材に「奇跡のようなことがあるのかと思い、感激している」と話した。繁義さんは２８歳の時に岐阜県からサイパン島へ向け出征した。
Funeral postponed until flag aboard USS Lexington returns home to Japan
John Oliva, Corpus Christi Caller Times
July 21, 2023·3 min read
After being apart for about 80 years, a husband and wife will finally be reunited and buried together in Japan. The process began with an emotional ceremony Thursday on Corpus Christi's waterfront aboard the USS Lexington.
The ceremony was held aboard the floating museum to repatriate a good luck flag from World War II back to the Mutsuda family in Japan. It will be delivered Saturday, July 29.
The flag had hung aboard the USS Lexington Museum on the Bay since 1994. Initially, the museum staff thought it was a "meatball flag" with kamikaze pilots' names written on it.
Japanese soldier Shigeyoshi Mutsuda's "good luck" flag had been aboard the USS Lexington Museum on the Bay since 1994. OBON Society, a nonprofit that repatriates flags to Japanese families, visited the museum to retrieve the flag Thursday, July 20, 2023.
A family member of Shigeyoshi Mutsuda, a Japanese soldier who died during World War II, discovered the flag and realized it belonged to Mutsuda, his grandfather.
The family member reached out to OBON Society, a nonprofit that repatriates Japanese soldier's "good luck" flags, or yosegaki hinomaru, to their family, in hopes of retrieving his grandfather's only remains.
Good luck flags went to war with Japanese soldiers
A good luck flag was common for Japanese soldiers to have during World War II. They were Japanese flags signed by family, friends and neighbors and served as a memento to the soldiers of their loved ones. Unfortunately, good luck flags are often all that remains of their loved ones who were killed in action.
Rex Ziak, co-founder and president of the nonprofit, said the organization has repatriated more than 500 flags back to Japanese families. Normally American, Australian, Canadian or British veterans contact OBON Society wanting to give back the flags, Ziak said.
Donald E. Larson, former junior past national president of the Fleet Reserve Association Corpus Christi branch, holds a program of the Japanese "Good Luck" Flag Repatriation Ceremony at the USS Lexington Museum on the Bay Thursday, July 20, 2023.
But for the first time, the nonprofit received an email from a man in Japan asking for help.
When Ziak reached out to the USS Lexington Museum on the Bay with the information, Steve Banta, the museum's executive director, said he knew immediately he had to return it.
"We knew the flag did not belong to us and we endeavored to return it home," Banta said.
Ziak said his nonprofit is currently working on more than 900 items that will hopefully be returned to Japan. He said Mutsuda's family is looking forward to finally being reunited with their grandfather.
Hirofumi Murabayashi, consul general for the Japanese Consul-General Office in Houston, said he was honored to witness the repatriation ceremony and said Mutsuda's wife died this year at the age of 102.
"His family members have postponed the funeral until the only remain of her husband will come back to Japan so they can be buried together and be reunited," Murabayashi said. "He will not only be reunited with his family, but also his wife in heaven."
Steve Banta, executive director of the USS Lexington Museum on the Bay, shakes hands with Hirofumi Murabayashi, consul general of the Japanese Consul-General Office in Houston, at the USS Lexington Museum on the Bay Thursday, July 20, 2023. Banta gifted Murabayashi with an American flag and a certificate of authenticity.More
Ziak said Mutsuda's wife longed for her husband and talked about him every day. She died before the news of finding his good luck flag could reach her, never knowing it still existed.
Mutsuda's family was not present in person, but Ziak said they were watching via a live stream of the event.
Along with Ziak and the OBON Society, Banta said he will be visiting Japan to give the Mutsuda family their grandfather's flag. A high-resolution photo of the flag will be displayed at the museum where the flag once hung, along with a placard describing the yosegaki hinomaru, the ceremony held Thursday, and information about where the flag is now.
For more information about OBON Society, visit obonsociety.org.
OBON SOCIETY is happy to be here in Corpus Christi Texas! If you would like to watch the live stream tomorrow (20th) of the flag return event please click the link below. The program starts at 9 AM CST.
日本時間では7月20日23:00より、レキシントン博物館で行われる返還式の様子を下記YouTube動画リンク先を通じてライブでご覧いただけます。歴史的な瞬間をどうぞご覧ください！
We are about to take off from Portland airport to get to USS Lexington in Texas!
Hope to see you all either in person or live streaming at 9:00am on 7/20!!
当団体が今夏7月29日へ向けてレキシントン博物館と共に準備中の歴史的なイベント「80年の時をこえて奇跡のストーリー:USSレキシントン-未亡人-OBONソサエティ」日本語の動画が完成しました。是非、皆さんご覧ください！
https://youtu.be/PV5Biz8ecaM
このストーリーは現在に至るまでの経緯をご案内しておりますが、ご遺族のお手元へ届くまでの奇跡を順次、皆様へもご報告して参ります。
多くの方々にシェアしていただけましたら幸いです。
本日令和５年７月１４日、来たる７月２６日に北海道松前町にて執り行われます「鈴木秀二」命日章旗返還式に関するプレスリリースを北海道内各記者クラブへ配布いたしました。
This ceremony is open to the public, if anyone who would like to attend, there is invitation card to sign up! For more information, please click link below:
https://usslexington.com/uss-lexington-museum-a-wwii-era-aircraft-carrier-will-return-japanese-flag-to-reunite-generations/?fbclid=IwAR0iWMNU1tSr86YBjT3KxU3UdyL6ABfPlJBk9GFCHoUdZGuN4u2-9roUaNQ
We look forward to meeting anyone who can attend at the USS Lexington Museum!
Please click the link below to read about this amazing event happening on July 20th at the USS Lexington Museum in Corpus Christi Texas! OBON SOCIETY is honored to participate! 😊
https://usslexington.com/uss-lexington-museum-a-wwii-era-aircraft-carrier-will-return-japanese-flag-to-reunite-generations/
![Help wish Ed Johann a Happy...]()
Help wish Ed Johann a Happy 100th Birthday!
Please click the link below to read our latest newsletter about our friend Ed Johann and his 100th Birthday!
https://mailchi.mp/8262593b06ca/obon-society-needs-your-help-6283058
![The USS Lexington helps a Ja...]()
The USS Lexington helps a Japanese widow find eternal peace.
Please click the link below to read our latest newsletter about how the USS Lexington helped a Japanese family obtain closure.
https://mailchi.mp/5e6ed0628785/obon-society-needs-your-help
- ブログルメンバーの方は下記のページからログインをお願いいたします。
ログイン
- まだブログルのメンバーでない方は下記のページから登録をお願いいたします。
新規ユーザー登録へ
USS Lexington Museum executive director Steve Banta, left, hands over the good luck flag of Japanese solider Shigeyoshi Mutsuda, to his son Toshihiro Mutsuda at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo
