Nakawaza Family in Sarawak.

 In this family photo,Ken is seen seated on his mother lap. The man at left was his father.That soldier was the father of Ken Nakazawa who was only a year-old toddler when the former left for Sarawak in 1942.Ken never saw his father before and all his life,he only heard about him but had no chance to talk to him.After the Japanese occupation, the four dark years of misery were quickly forgotten. Things changed with passing time as a new world order emerged from the ashes of war to reconcile victor and vanquished.In later years, the memory of his father brought Ken to Sarawak to live among the community that took his father’s life during the war. He came with good intention and genuine friendship.Today at 69, Ken Nakazawa is happy he has found a family at a longhouse in Kanowit District.He wants to die and be buried there.Ken was born in Tokyo in 1941. A year later, his father moved to Sarawak and became a general manager of a Selalang sawmill in what is now the central region. Little was known about the elde Nakazawa but Ken said his father fell in love with an Iban girl and they got married.In 1944, when the Japanese invaded Sarawak, his father was forced into the military to serve the emperor despite having no training. A year after joining, he was caught near a Roban longhouse in Betong. Both he and his wife were later killed by the natives and buried near there.It is said his wife was killed in defence of her husband. She had pleaded with their captors that he was not really a soldier.When the Japanese surrendered on Aug 15, 1945, Ken’s family in Japan received a letter about his father from the Japanese military, stating that he had died in Sarawak in service of the emperor.While in Japan, Ken had constantly thought about his father. He said if he could not see his face again, the least he could do was to pay his respects at his grave.
“I don’t know my father. My relatives tell me about him but I have never seen him before, so I decided to come to Sarawak to see his grave.Sixty-five years ago, my father died in this land.His spirit has brought me.”Ken was a university professor in Tokyo and on his retirement in the 1950s, went to live in Penang for 10 years. He was very active in community work,serving and helping the disabled there.

Jejak kasih Ken nakazawa membuah hasil bila terjumpa orang orang yang mengenali keluarga nya terdahulu.Menurut ken nakawaza ayahnya pergi berkerja meninggalkan mereka di Tokyo pada tahun 1941.Inilah gambar ken semasa kecil yang duduk diriba ibunya,menurut ken ayahnya berkerja di kilang sawmill selalang sebagai manager sawmill dan jatuh cinta dengan perempuan berbangsa iban yang membawa ayahnya terus berkahwin dengan perempuan tersebut.Semasa kemaraan tentera jepun ke sarawak,ayahnya telah menjadi rekrut tentera jepun secara paksaan tanpa latihan.Ayahnya menjadi tentera tidak terlatih,bila tentera Jepun mara ke Roban di Betong,ayahnya ditangkap di rumah panjang disana dan dibunuh oleh orang Jepun sendiri semasa itu oleh tali barut Jepun kerana di syaki memberi maklumat kepada ketua pahlawan Operasi Ant.Secara tidak langsung isterinya yang berbangsa iban terbunuh juga kerana mempertahankan suaminya iaitu ayah ken dari dibunuh oleh tali barut japanese.Selepas tentera Jepun menyerah kalah pada tahun 1945,keluarga Ken di Tokyo mendapat surat dari pihak tentera Jepun yang mengatakan ayahnya telah meninggal dunia di Sarawak dan memberitahu ayahnya telah dikuburkan di Sarawak.Kedatangan Ken ke Sarawak kerana ingin mengesan kubur ayahnya dimana dan mengatakan ingin mencari keturunan ayahnya yang telah mempunyai tali ikatan kasih dengan isteri ayahnya yang berbangsa Iban tersebut sebagai family baru nya di Sarawak.Ken menjadi seorang professor di salah sebuah university terkemuka di Jepun pada masa ini.Menurut Ken,dia ingin mati disini dan dikuburkan di Sarawak kerana ingin rohnya bersama roh ayahnya disini juga.Tanah air ku,tanah tumpah darahku,tanah tempatku mencari rezeki,tanah air ku yang tercinta,sanggup ku bergadai nyawa dari kehilangannya.