Awakening the Past: Takeyuki Maruyama has an aunt

Today started out like a typical Saturday...rolled out of bed, stumbled around the house for a little while and then commenced the running of errands. After a good workout at the gym, I headed home and hoped to find a package on the doorstep from Google with some good techno-toys, but instead, I found another letter from Japan in the mailbox. The letter was different than the previous three - it was much thicker. I could hardly wait to get inside out of the rain and open it up, anxious to read the results of the agency's investigation.

The contents of the envelope did not disappoint.

Inside were several pages, each covered front and back with copies of the photos from my web site - photos of the items that belonged to Private First Class Takeyuki (or Takeshi as some of my earlier posts reported) Maruyama. Included were the letter from Renko, the talismen and charms, the wallet and all of its contents. The Maruyama family, more specifically Takeyuki's aunt, had finally been located and still lives in the same city/prefecture as the return address from the letter.

This coming week I will make the familiar trip to the post office down on Memorial Drive and send my fourth package back to Japan. Hopefully Mike is working on that day - he has helped me mail each package and always asks how the search is going and whether any of the families have contacted me (they have not...and I think I am ok with that).

All that remains in my collection are a single photograph, a prayer flag, dog tag and the paper fan. While it saddens me to lose these mementos that have been in our family for more than 65 years, I am happy that they are finally finding their way home. I am grateful to all of the hard work of War Victim's Relief Bureau. And I am hopeful that the families of the few last remaining items will soon make their own journey back to Japan.

Addressed to Takeyuki Maruyama at the post office in Suga, 27, 5893 Western Division/District Troop. From Renko Maruyama, Saitama-Ken, Saiwaite-machi (located north of Tokyo). "Ken" means prefecture and "machi" means town. ...Another translation for the address is: Satte Machi (Satte City), Saitama-ken

Letter from Renko Maruyama: Please pardon me for starting the letter without formal greetings. As I read your letter, Sir Takeyuki (means "brave man"), you seem to be healthy and working diligently on your military duties. In the countryside, I'm very healthy and as on of the participants in the effort to encourage/support the war, I'm working diligently as well. So please feel relieved. Also, our old father and mother are doing well. Father is trying to catch/trap/hunt sparrows at home every day for food. Mother commutes to the middle school, which is located behind the sanae factory (nursery for young rice plants, grown and then taken to the fields for planting). Mother leaves home around 6:30 in the morning and comes home around 5. Please feel relieved in this way that your mother is working very engergentically. Also, the family Okada who lives in Hirasuga are all doing well.

Letter from Renko Maruyama (page 2): Also the Kobayashi family who live in Sunaba are doing fine. In addition, the Kakinuma family in Takasuga are doing fine. Your older sister in Tokyo is also well. Shoichi (Shiochi) is also extremely well (this is the young boy wearing a sweater in one of the photos). Grandma is well too. Whether you are on the mainland (Japan) or the battlefield, it's all the same now. In the countryside each day something happens. But let's do our best until the day we will win. Well then, it's becoming increasingly cold, so we are praying for your health. Good bye. Signed "Renko" on the back of the letter.

Shoichi (little boy mentioned in the letter from Renko to Takeyuki)

Renko Maruyama on the left, unknown on the right

Maruyama family - Saitama-Ken, Kitakatsushika-Gun, Saiwaite-cho, 952 (house number) ...Another translation for the address: The Maruyama Family, Satte-machi 952, Kitakatsushika-Gun, Saitama-ken, (Japan)

Calendar made a company that makes fountain pens - Pilot. June 20, 1944 is circled (maybe Grandpa did this - 6/20/44 is Zeke Day). Date is based on the 19th year of the Showa emperor - Hirohita reign began in 1925 (1925 + 19 = 1944 - the year is the 2nd character in the 2nd group of characters at the top of the calendar). The Imperial calendar year is 2604 (2600 was a big celebration year), based on the legendary 1st emperor.

Label from an ammunition box - "type 99 light machine gun ammunition, 15 rounds"

Talisman - "for your protection". From the shrine at ?Mount Kousui?

Talisman - "for your protection". From the shrine at Mount Narita

Talisman - "protection for happiness and luck/luck and long life". The characters on the paper inside the wrapper include various deities. The middle set of characters is for Michizane Sugawara - for scholarship. The far right set of characters is for a good harvesting of the rice. This talisman is from the Shinto Shrines - Yukimiya Shrine.