KaleiWorks

This revisit to my favorite city outside of the continental 48 had a pretty significant reason: Reconnecting to my roots. 

There’s a very good reason I have such a strong affinity for all things Kyotoan, and that is because my grandfather was one of the people who helped rebuild it culturally and spatially post WWII. Not only was Grandpa the Military Commander in charge of Kyoto Prefecture’s restoration post WWII, he designed and built the Kyoto Kamigamo Golf Course along with

Japanese Construction Specialist Sadaichi Adachi, whose grandson’s I’ve been partying with during these past 30 days.

One of the busiest architects of this amazing trip has been the Kyoto Golf Club’s Auditor and Historian, Tetsuo Yoshimi. He is a living encyclopedia of insight, and thanks to his natural affinity for history, has been finding tons of hidden gems and esoteric factoids about my Dad’s Dad and his relationships and accomplishments between 1945 and 1950. We also had a meeting with Kyoto’s current Governor  Takatoshi Nishiwaki, and took a photo in front of the Kyoto Prefectural Office in the exact same place as Maj Sheffield and Governor Atsushi Kimura over 75 years prior.

There’s too much to list here, about my family history in Kyoto AND the last 4 weeks or so, but I think the majority of my experiences can be summed up by the short video that I produced prior to executing this monumental historical reunion along with Yoshimi san and the Adachi family.

Please enjoy for the first time in public, this recovered footage taken by my Grandfather, Army Major Harold C. Sheffield, during his time as the Commander of the Kyoto Military Administration of the Occupation Forces. Set to music by the phenomenally talented Joe Hisaishi, and originally presented on the occasion of the Sheffield and Adachi family’s 
historic reunion at the Kyoto Golf Club this past April.