Ken

by on February 20, 2022 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

We really don’t know how many New Japanese fought in The War. The Los Angeles census was badly mangled when Yosemite turned the entire city into a crater. We know millions died, but millions more survived. Best estimates suggest that as many as several hundred thousand survivors took the opportunity to just disappear so they could volunteer to fight under false identities without bringing shame on their families. Ken Banno was not one of them. He accepted the dishonor of war in public, for all to see. And after War’s End, he spent decades traveling throughout known space, hunting down the scattered survivors. He tracked down those who lived in self-imposed exile, bringing them letters from home, and helping them come to terms with what they had done. Helping them live with it, and bringing them home again.

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Ken

by on February 19, 2022 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

The Japanese Defense Force could not go to War. It was not in their cute and friendly nature, so Ken Banno and those who followed him volunteered to join the American military. Most followed their Japanese traditions of painting their weapons in cute colors. Ken often had some pretty anime pop idol, a smiling Pokemon, or some other utterly ridiculously cute and brightly colored thing painted on his fighter. And he usually based his fighter or weapons in bright pink or yellow, just to drive home the point that he was a warrior against his better nature. There was one thing in all that time that he demanded of the American military. Something it never would have considered if he had not spoken up. The American military kept the records of their Japanese volunteers sealed against all requests. Ken wanted his people to be able to return home without their deeds being known to all.

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Ken

by on February 18, 2022 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

The Japanese Defense Force was not a fighting force. Yes, they could fight, and they defended Los Angeles from a great many threats before Yosemite, but true honor was found in deescalating a situation so that no fighting would be required to conclude it. Their units were painted with cute anime characters, or in parade colors that could not possibly be considered aggressive. They were cute and friendly, always seeking understanding and peace. For that was the height of honor in New Japan. Ken Banno trained with the JDF long before Yosemite, as many Japanese celebrities did to bolster JDF membership. His training was one of the reasons the Empress asked him, personally, to volunteer to fight in front of the public eye of all her people. He always sought to follow the JDF path, so when Charles started wearing business suits in the Hyades Cluster, Ken was very quick to echo him.

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Ken

by on February 17, 2022 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

I learned many strange and amazing things from Ken Banno over the years we fought together. The strangest was that he did not want to fight at all. He considered fighting to defend his home to be a loss of honor that he would have to redeem when his part of The War came to an end. He grew up in a culture that had foresworn war altogether, that taught that fighting was beyond the last choice of a rational and honorable man. But when the Empress called the survivors of her murdered city to set aside their honor and fight for the future, he was one who answered her call. He was one of their most famous citizens, and he became an example to all of them. Tens of thousands of New Japanese followed his example and volunteered to fight. It took him decades to overcome the shame he felt at having brought dishonor on so many of his people.

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Ken

by on February 16, 2022 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

I never thought that Ken Banno would end up flying off my wing. He was a worlds famous surfer from New Japan. I was a nobody from Northern Minnesota. But life is strange and he was an amazing person to have on my wing. Kenichi Banno was his full name, and he was a rarity in Los Angeles before Yosemite fell on it. He was a full-blooded Japanese raised up in the California-Surfer-New-Japanese fusion culture that dominated the city and its surroundings. He could Hang Ten on the waves in the morning and attend dinner with the Empress at night. All that changed after Yosemite turned his home into a water-filled crater, of course. It’s why he volunteered to serve. Though he was never as militant about his service as many of us were. And that was a good thing for all of us.

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