Stan. S. Katz

Author of The Emperor and the Spy

Have you ever wondered how US and Japan re-established their friendship and alliance following the trauma of WWII? Here’s a new biography that honors an amazing Japanese American statesman, Takashi Komatsu, who guided this major achievement.

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The Cherry Tree Weeps for Me: A Quest for The Dawn of Peace chronicles one man’s lifelong pursuit of peace before and after the Pacific War. Takashi Komatsu’s incredible story is told alongside Japan’s pre- and post–WWII history and the country’s remarkable rebirth as a vibrant democratic global economic powerhouse. Komatsu’s life journey from a 12-year-old immigrant living in New York City’s YMCA  to his delivery of Harvard’s 1911 commencement address—proves that real life can be stranger than fiction. His. Continue Reading...

Prince Tokugawa as President of the Red Cross Society of Japan, working with US Ambassador Joseph Grew and Jesuit Priest Jacquinot, helped save tens of thousands of Jewish European refugees fleeing the Holocaust and hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians.

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For decades, Prince Tokugawa Iesato (aka Prince Iyesato Tokugawa – 1863-1940) devoted his life to maintaining peace in Asia and specifically preventing Japan from coming into conflict with China. Tokugawa saw the clouds of war growing in Europe, as well as the militants in his own country pushing Japan towards conflict with China. He resisted these aggressions and wished to protect as many innocent lives as he could. As president of the Japanese Red Cross Society, Prince Tokugawa presided over the 1934 International Red Cross Conference in Tokyo (aka XVth International Conference of the Red Cross), where he urged the delegates to “Serve for Humanity.” It was at this gathering, where there was the first known example in history for the international creation of demilitarized Safe Zones, where civilians could find shelter, as outside warring armies fought one another. Continue Reading...

Prince Tokugawa’s Spirit of International Goodwill lives on thru the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan. During the late 1930s, Prince Tokugawa and Kanō Jigorō, the educator and martial artist who founded the sport of Judo, promoted the 1940 Olympics come to Japan.

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Prince Tokugawa and his allies vigorously advocated that the 1940 Olympics take place in Japan, hoping it would encourage peaceful international relations. Regrettably, that event was canceled due to the expanding conflict in Europe leading to WWII. Since then, the event was been staged in Japan several times, and Tokugawa would be delighted to know that 80 years after his passing, the Olympics is once again coming to his nation, to be shared with the world. Continue Reading...