Month: August 2015

The Pacific War Ends 70 Years Ago Today: “There’s No Place Like Home”

It’s corny. It’s unrealistic. It’s moving nonetheless.

It’s August 18, 1945, three days after the Emperor of Japan has declared the war over, and for all to endure the unendurable. The Japanese troops are hiding from the British in a village in Burma. But to show appreciation for a meal and a place to stay, the Japanese sing songs for their Burmese hosts.

At 6’15 of this clip from the 1985 film, “The Burmese Harp” (ビルマの竪琴), the Japanese soldiers go silent and tense up when they hear the approach of other men. Are they British soldiers? Are they Japanese? The oncoming men are singing. It’s “Home Sweet Home” (埴生の宿), a song they know. And it hits them…the song is being sung in English, and the enemy is coming their way.

burmese harp 1985The soldier and hero of the film is named Private Mizushima, who is holding his harp as his fellow brothers in arms wait anxiously. So what does Mizushima do? He begins to play his harp, accompanying the singing of the British soldiers.

His brothers soon join in. Highly unrealistic and yet wondrous in its effect, they are enemies in the night, blending in English and Japanese, harmonizing in spirit, and feeling intensely that there indeed is no place like home.

The director of “The Burmese Harp” is Ichikawa Kon, the same director of the groundbreaking film called “The Tokyo Olympiad”. The film clip is from a re-make Ichikawa did of his own 1956 version in black and white. There are no subtitles in this clip, but you’ll get the gist.

On this day – August 15 – 70 years ago, the Japanese surrendered and the Pacific War ended

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Tragedy at Peru-Argentina Soccer Qualifier in 1964 Leave Hundreds Dead

Peru Argentina Soccer Riot on May 25

  • Eleven Israeli athletes and coaches were murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the Summer Games in Munich in 1972.
  • Dozens of protestors were said to have been killed by soldiers in Mexico City 10 days prior to the start of the 1968 Olympic Games.
  • But in 1964, no violence visited the Games of Tokyo, often cited as the last “innocent” or “pure” Games. Security was relatively lax, and athletes enjoyed freedom of movement amidst a population most friendly and cooperative.

And yet, a little over 4 months before the start of the XVIII Olympiad in Tokyo, an Olympic qualifying soccer match turned into a brutally bloody affair.

The match was in Lima, Peru, on May, 25, 1964. Argentina and Peru faced off, and the winner would go on to compete in Tokyo. With time running out and Argentina leading 1-0, Peru equalized. But the referee from Uruguay disallowed the goal, sending the 40,000 people in the stadium into an uproar. A mob rushed the field, police fought back with tear gas and dogs, people were trampled, fires were set – total chaos.

In the end, Argentina went on to compete in the Olympics in Tokyo, drawing once against Ghana as well losing to host Japan 3-2. But one could only imagine their psychological state after leaving South America, where some 200 to 300 people died on that terrible day in May.

Here is a grainy video report from that tragic match.

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Basketball Rules Explained – Japanese Style

From the booklet "Tokyo Olympic Basketball Games Guide 1964"
From the booklet “Tokyo Olympic Basketball Games Guide 1964”
Jimbocho in Tokyo is famous for dozens of stores that sell used books and magazines. One day I came upon a thin booklet called “Tokyo Olympic Basketball Games Guide 1964”. It’s a straightforward illustration of who the players on each of the national basketball teams , and what the rules of basketball are.

Youu can see here the wonderful use of illustration to explain the infractions. I find the tongue and cheekiness surprising and refreshing. The illustrated explanations for “Pushing” and “Technical Foul” show us a bit what the Japanese thought about themselves and Americans (perhaps).

See more below.

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Nick Symmonds, Who’s Your Daddy?

Nick Symmonds

There was a time when you could get kicked off your Olympic team for getting support from sponsors, an affront to the idealism of amateurism in the 1950s and 1960s. Today, you can get kicked off your team for not accepting support from sponsors.

Nick Symmonds is a USA Track and Field 800-meter champion, but will not be invited to the IAAF Championships in Beijing because he does not want to wear Nike gear outside of competitions, award ceremonies and press conferences. Apparently the sponsorship contract the USTF has with Nike includes “other official team functions.”

Symmonds is personally sponsored by Brooks, and believes he should be able to wear Brooks gear when not competing, accepting awards or talking with the press. “I deserve the right to know what an official team function is,” Symmonds said in a New York Times article. “They haven’t defined that yet.” the article continues to quote Symmonds as saying “the federation apparently wants him to wear Nike gear for the world championships from the time he leaves his apartment in Seattle. That’s absurd.”

According to Runner’s World, Symmonds had to sign a document saying

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Abe apologizes for costly Olympics stadium fiasco, design rethink | The Japan Times

Abe apologizes for costly Olympics stadium fiasco, design rethink | The Japan Times.

American rowers are ill after competing in polluted water set to hold Olympic events next year

Oh no.

Soviet Weight Lifters Vlasov and Zhabotinksy: An Olympian Psych Out in Tokyo

Vlasov looking downcast whle Zhabotinsky basks in golden glory.
Vlasov looking downcast whle Zhabotinsky basks in golden glory.

“The Strongest Man in the World” – that is the unofficial title given to the gold medalist of the +90kg weight lifting competition, where men lift total weights that measure over half a ton.

In 1964, it came down to two massive men from the Soviet Union – Yury Vlasov and Leonid Zhabotinsky.

Vlasov was the champion, winning gold in Rome and becoming one of the Soviet Union’s most popular people. According to the book Rome 1960 by David Maraniss, Pravda described him in 1960 as a man not only possessing superior strength, but brains as well. “He is a young man, very cultured, very well read,” Pravda boasted of the engineering student. “Vlasov is the best example of the harmonical physical and mental development of the Soviet athletes.” Vlasov was expected to succeed in Tokyo as well.

Zhabotinsky was a 2-meter, 160-kilogram giant, who had never won head-to-head against Vlasov prior to Tokyo. While Vlasov, who wore glasses during his competitions had a reserved, scholarly look, Zhabotinsky was boisterous, and perceived to be crude in manners, according to this analysis of the weightlifters from 1964.

As American champion Norbert Schemansky faded, it came down to a battle between Vlasov and Zhabotinsky. In the second to final attempt in the clean-and-jerk finals, Zhabotinsky failed his second attempt, and according to this explanation, actually went up to Vlasov and conceded defeat. So when Vlasov made his third attempt, he went for a world record at 217.5 kg thinking that it didn’t matter whether he got it or not, thinking Zhabotinsky had emotionally given up. But since Zhabotinsky had the last attempt, and knew his second “failed” attempt was a ruse, he did his best, broke the world record at 217.5 kg, and won the gold medal.

This is reportedly how Vlasov felt at the time: “When Vlasov realized that he had been the victim of a dishonest trick, he was furious. ‘I was choked

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Survey finds only 20% willing to work as volunteers for 2020 Games | The Japan Times

Survey finds only 20% willing to work as volunteers for 2020 Games | The Japan Times.

US Swim Team May be Swimming Upstream in Rio

From upper left clockwise: Johnny Weissmuller: 5 gold medals in 1924 and 1928; Don Schollander: 4 gold medals in 1964; Dara Torres: 4 gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze in 1984, 1988, 1992, 2000 and 2008; Mark Spitz: 9 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze in 1968 and 1972; Jenny Thompson: 8 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004; Michael Phelps: 18 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze in 2004, 2008 and 2012
From left to right:
Johnny Weissmuller: 5 gold medals in 1924 and 1928; Don Schollander: 4 gold medals in 1964; Dara Torres: 4 gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze in 1984, 1988, 1992, 2000 and 2008; Mark Spitz: 9 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze in 1968 and 1972; Jenny Thompson: 8 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004; Michael Phelps: 18 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze in 2004, 2008 and 2012

Except for Katie Ledecky, who won five gold medals and set world records, the US swimming team had a relatively weak World Championships. Despite the fact that the Americans were atop the medal standings, they had the lowest totals in an Olympics or Worlds in the past 50 years.

Americans have been dominant in swimming. At every Olympics since 1964, the American swimming team won the medal count, often overwhelmingly. There was one bump in this relatively smooth ride through the past 50 years of international competition, when the East German team had the largest medal haul, led by Kristin Otto, the first female to win 6 gold medals in a single Games.

But according to Michael Phelps in this NBC OlympicTalk blog post, the American swimming team finds itself in unfamiliar territory: “Honestly, I really don’t know what to say about what I’ve seen over there,” said Phelps. “An interesting place

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Katie Ledecky completes unprecedented World Championships sweep

Amazing!