During elementary and middle school years, I went to school after delivering newspapers. Once school was done, I tended to chicken and rabbits plus farm work after I had returned home. Then, I went around the neighborhood to collect beer and liquor bottles, and after washing them well, I sold them back to the liquor shop. I continued to work like this to help our family finance. Once I entered middle school, everyone was participating in an afterschool activity, so I joined the baseball club. But only about two weeks later, I was scolded by my seniors for leaving practice earlier than them and was punished.

Next, I joined a table tennis club but was kicked out because I was talking too much with the girls from the volleyball club. Later it was the track and field club, and on and on it went. For some reason, the music teacher came to me and asked if I was interested in choir. So I joined, but it was clear that my vocal talents were not there. That was when I was told to play the piano. I had never touched a piano before in my life, but once I started, I found it interesting. After continuing to practice the piano in the music room, I eventually became good enough to perform at contests.
Although I had no time to study because of my work and afterschool activities, for some reason I had good grades, being number one in 5 subjects during third year at middle school. Maybe it was because I was working alongside adults and thus became more resourceful, or that I always enjoyed learning new things. Or maybe I focused really well during classes.

<<The Music Teacher Pushed Me Forward at a Crossroads of Life>>

Once I entered third year in middle school, it was finally time to decide what to do after graduation. Although I was told that I had a good chance at moving on to Chiba Prefectural Tokatsu Public High School, which was one of the best in the region, I was in doubt, since my family was poor and I was in no place to pay the tuition or the train fee. The school eventually told me that if I had no intention of going to high school, I should let a girl who had the second best grades to be accepted to Tokatsu. And just like that, the chance of going to high school was gone. Since I enjoyed breeding animals, I was thinking of finding employment at a ranch somewhere in Hokkaido. But it was at this time that the music teacher introduced something interesting.

My dream was to be a fighter pilot ever since I was about to turn 4 years old, when I saw a bright red F-86 Sabre fighter jet flying at low altitude during my father’s funeral. The music teacher, who knew about this, happily told me the following. He said that if I wanted to be a pilot, there was the Japan Self-Defense Forces. He even pushed this further by saying that I will be paid, and could polish my skills. And handed me an application to join a student platoon of the 4th Technical School of Japan Air Self-Defense Force, stationed in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture. Although my odds were 37 to 1, I passed and won a place in the platoon.

<<A Path Towards the Dream of Becoming a Fighter Pilot Opens>>

Although I saw a red Sabre flying on the day of my father’s funeral, later, my friends told me there was no way a F-86 could have been flying in the north-western part of Chiba Prefecture. I saw the fighter jet in February of 1956, which was two and a half years after the end of Korean War, where the Sabre saw a lot of action. But since this was a memory from my childhood, my confidence in whether I actually saw a Sabre started to shake. However, a few years ago I met former Commander Harris of the United States Pacific Fleet when he visited my SUSHIZANMAI Okunoin shop. He also brought a picture of the Sabre that was stationed in Japan to tell me that it existed. So, it was not a mistake! That made me happy.

Anyway, after graduating from middle school, a path had opened toward my dream of becoming a fighter pilot. I was now fully committed on being appointed as a great fighter pilot. I entered the platoon full of hopes and dreams, but of course, reality was not as sweet.