The Momotaro statue was stolen from its downtown San Jose location behind the Center for Performing Arts. The San Jose Police Department wrote to the Nichi Bei News that Oct. 15, they “responded to a report of grand theft and vandalism at Veterans Memorial Park in the city of San Jose. An unknown suspect cut down and stole a bronze statue located in the park.”
The police said the investigation is “active and ongoing.”
According to the Japanese folktale “Momotaro,” a woman finds a giant peach floating along the river while doing laundry. She brought it back to her husband and they discovered a child inside of it. They named him Momotaro (momo meaning peach, while “-taro” is a common suffix for boys in Japan).
He grew up big and strong. He learned of demons living on Onigashima Island. On the way to the battle, Momotaro befriends a dog, a monkey and a pheasant, and together, they defeat the demons.
photo courtesy of City of San Jose
San Jose and the city of Okayama have a nearly 70-year sister city relationship. The relationship began in 1957 after former President Dwight D. Eisenhower installed the “citizen diplomacy movement” in 1956, the San Jose Okayama Sister Cities Website states.
Okayama gave the statue to the city of San Jose.
Kathy Sakamoto, the San Jose Okayama Sister Cities nonprofit founder and president, wrote to the Nichi Bei News that the “theft/vandalism is not to be condoned.” She said it’s “reprehensible, disrespectful and sadly disappointing.” Sakamoto called it “shameful and embarrassing” for the City of San Jose that this incident occurred.
Nichi Bei News staff writer Derek Tahara is a Yonsei or fourth-generation Japanese American born and raised in Sunnyvale, Calif. He earned his B.S. in Journalism at the University of Oregon. He is a lifelong fan of the Golden State Warriors and San Francisco Giants.
Leave a Reply