KOHA TAKEISHI 1884-1913 AKA Tonko Takeishi, Kono Takesh

Koha Takeishi      You can view the full size portrait of Takeishi by clicking on the name above. You will find yourself on the "Portraits of Modern Japanese Historical Figures" website, a service of the National Diet Library, Japan. On this page you will find the definitive biography of Takeishi available on the net.

 

Curtiss Flying School, Class of 1912:  1. Floyd E. Barlow  2. John G. Kaminski  3. Smith 4. W.A. Davis  5. Roy B. Russell  6. Mohan M. Singh  7. John Lansing Callan  8. Julia Clark 9. M. Dunlap  10. Kono Takeshi                                Curtiss Museum Photo, Callan Collection Editor's Note:

 

JAPANESE AVIATOR CRUSHED TO DEATH Tonko Takeishi, Trained in the United States, Killed While Endeavoring to Land His Biplane. The New York Herald May 2, 1913 TOKYO, Sunday.---The Japanese aviator Takeishi, who recently returned from the United States, was killed at Osaka this afternoon. He had a successful flight from Osaka to Kyoto and was on his return. His skull was fractured while he was attempting to alight.      Takeishi Was Well-Known in Pacific Coast Cities as an Aviator. SAN FRANCISCO, Cal., Sunday.---Tonko Takeishi, who trained in the United States, endeavored to land at the government reservation of Turkakusa, and his biplane struck the ground with such force that it was smashed to pieces and the aviator crushed beneath it.      Takeishi was well known in the Pacific coast cities, where he learned to operate a biplane. Courtesy of Roy Nagl, 12-26-05 TRUE TALES OF THE ANCIENT AVIATORS

 

ONLINE RESOURCES      If you search for "Takeisha" +aviation , using the Google search engine, (1-7-07), you will find about 423 links. The most helpful are the following.

 

Koha Takeishi      This is the website, referred to just below the thumbnail photo of Takeishi at the top of this page, which offers the full size portrait of Takeishi. This "Portraits of Modern Japanese Historical Figures" website, a service of the National Diet Library, Japan offers the definitive biography of Takeishi which I have found on the net. You can access the site by clicking on the title above.

 

Issei Experience in Orange County, California      On this page of the Calisphere website of the University of California, you will find a transcript of an interview in which the experiences of Takeishi in Orange County, CA, were recounted. That portion of the transcript was introduced as follows: 116 "Hansen This is the third and final session of an interview with Mr. Kiyomi Akiyama by Arthur Hansen and Yasko Gamo for the Honorable Stephen K. Tamura Orange County Japanese American Oral History Project. The date is July 27, 1982, and the time is approximately 1:30 p.m. This session is also being conducted at Mr. Akiyama's Westminster home. Last time we discussed your experiences in Orange County prior to World War II. And today, when we came over for the interview, you showed us a picture of an individual named Koha Takeishi. The picture was taken about 1912. Although he was here for a short while, Mr. Takeishi represents a very interesting story about the Issei in Orange County. Maybe you could relate this story for us, Mr. Akiyama. "      There follows an extended and fascinating interview in which Mr. Akiyama recalls the activities of Koha Takeishi in the Japanese community of Southern California. You can access the complete transcript by clicking on the title above.

 

Koha Takeishi died in a crash in 1913. Editor's Note: If you have any more information on this pioneer aviator, please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper   Back