By Mack Trapp
Upon my graduation from college in 1956, for reasons unclear to me, I was made a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and sent to the Military Intelligence School at Dundalk Maryland, and after six months in Maryland I was assigned to a CIC unit in Tokyo Japan. In Tokyo I became a part of a very prominent family headed up by Teruo Godo. Teruo was President of a large steel company, and he was like a father to me. The Godos had six children, one of whom was named Hideo. Hideo, his brother Mitsuo, and I were like triplets. Hideo was then graduating from the Imperial Peers school, where the crown prince of Japan also was a student.
A 2008 reunion of Mack Trapp and Hideo Godo.
The Godos owned a summer house in Karuizawa Japan, and the Godo boys and I would visit it in the summer.
“Here is my photo of Prince Akihito entering the Karuizawa tennis court on August 10, 1957. In my youthful enthusiasm at that time I misspelled his name.” |
“Please note that in my (then) youthful haste, I misspelled Akihito as Akaihito.” |
On August 10, 1957, Mitsuo and I were invited to attend a tennis matches at the Karuizawa Tennis Club, to see Hideo play. Hideo was playing a fine match when suddenly everyone paused as a large black limousine drove right up next to the tennis court. The door opened and out stepped Prince Akihito, the Crown Prince of Japan. Complete silence, everyone bowed. Akihito was in tennis shirt and shorts and rushed over to greet Hideo. They were joined by two more men (pros?) and enjoyed a fun match. After the match Hideo and Akihito walked our way and Hideo introduced the Prince to several young friends, one of whom was Michiko Shoda. (I later could see that this all was informally arranged in no small part by Hideo.) Michiko became the Crown Princess in November of 1958 and Empress of Japan in 1989, the first “commoner” to hold those positions.
I believe I was the only U. S. person to be present at the introduction of the couple who became the Emperor and Empress of Japan.
Mack Trapp in 1958 off Matsu Island with Chinese Army.
In 1958 I was assigned to an intelligence post in Taipei, Taiwan, and got an all-inclusive paid trip to what was then the most dangerous place in the world, the islands the Matsu off the coast of People’s Republic of China. That I survived.
My time in Japan completely changed my life, and I have become a dedicated student of Japanese arts and history.
In those days my hangout was Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece, the Imperial Hotel:
