Wonder Man
~ A Memoir of a Craftsman Who Is Recognized as an Artist ~
~Tops by Masaaki Hiroi~
“Can you imagine what you will see…?”
Written by Hannah K
Text copyright ©2013 Hannah K, The Author of the book. All Rights Reserved.
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-1956-5
Photos in the book are provided by Masaaki Hiroi and the author of the book. All the contents in the book are all copyright reserved material. All the personal figures in this story are not fictional. The personal figures, photos, letters, signatures and documents are not fabricated. All the contents in the book must not be reproduced, scanned, copied or diverted for unauthorized commercial purposes and for any other purposes without authorization by the author of the book and Masaaki Hiroi in the written form.
Acknowledgements:
Above all, I feel very fortunate to meet Masaaki Hiroi, who brought fun moments to my life, some 28 years ago… I, the Author of this book, sincerely appreciate Mr. Masaaki Hiroi’s kindly telling me his personal stories and achievements he made throughout his life.
My acquaintances, both Dr. Harold R. Rowe and Dr. Hessel H. Flitter, were recognized first class medical researchers in the United States. When I met them, Dr. Harold R. Rowe retired from the position of professor of Pennsylvania State University, known as Penn, and Dr. Hessel H. Flitter also retired from the position of Dean of the University of Hawaii.
They corresponded with me for years, providing me with fun stories, told me about American culture and history. They both passed away but I still keep countless letters and essays they wrote and gave to me. Some of them include his personal essays of Dr. Harold R. Rowe’s childhood stories. They devoted themselves to the research field of their study and, at the same time supported charity funds and contributed to charitable activities to sponsor those who became the victims of the wars and political turmoil.
One time, I took several tops which Masaaki Hiroi made to them. There is one top, which looks simple but requires extremely high skills to take balance. I spun it in front of Harold and Hessel. I used to called them Harold and Hessel. The top which I spun for them is called Daimyo Koma made by Mr. Hiroi. Looking at Daimyo Koma, the top, spinning, Harold mentioned, “This top is not made by an ordinary man. This is really the product of a man of genius.” The top spun in front of them for a long time as if it were not moving. I remember Harold quietly but curiously looking at the top. Harold and Hessel were both amazed at Masaaki Hiroi’s other tops.
A while ago, when I was looking through their letters and essays, I accidentally found a note, saying with a sense of humor, “You should write a story, not only to us.” I could not believe that I came across such a note which Harold wrote to me years ago in my childhood and reading their other notes and letters reminded me of a lot of memories with them. I sincerely appreciate both Dr. Harold R. Rowe and Dr. Hessel H. Flitter providing me with opportunities to learn American culture and corresponding with me in English.
This book is written for those whom Masaaki Hiroi lost during the war, who are all important parts of memory in his mind, for those whom he met inside and outside Japan and for those who are interested in Japanese play culture. There are stories of war experience Masaaki Hiroi went through. However, as the Author of the book, I have to say that my primary intent to write this story is not to tell his war experience. As the Author, owing to his wish, I wrote that part of the story which he saw through his eyes as a child. At the same time, his childhood memories, which he has cherished throughout his life, are something he can never forget and the reason why started making tops has a lot to do with his experience when he was ten years old. He still cherishes his memory he had with his mother, younger brother and friends he had lost during the war. However, my primary intent to write this book is to tell of his life-long dedication to making extraordinary tops.
Rather than discussing the war, my primary intent, as an Author, is how Masaaki Hiroi feels about losing his mother, brother and his classmates. And, his life-long pursuit to please people through tops started when he was ten years old.
At the same time, by showing the process of making tops, Masaaki Hiroi met a lot of people through his visits both in his home country and in many other countries. Things were not always easy but he met nice people in foreign countries and he cherishes his memories with them throughout his life. I sincerely hope that you could share his experiences of achievements and good time with those whom Masaaki Hiroi met in this book. He took time answering countless questions I asked and it took him quite a while to dig up memories especially as to his experiences visiting foreign countries as he had been to more than 30 countries invited by various governmental and private organizations.
Not all the stories which Masaaki Hiroi experienced can be written in one book. He would often stray off and wonder around the places like the famous films “Road to…” series during his official visits. The interesting episodes that he encountered then cannot be written in one book. Also, there are countless unknown background stories of the births of more than 3,000 kinds of tops he has revived and developed out of his imagination and challenges. And, I would like to write his stories of his journeys and numerous kinds of Masaaki Hiroi’s original tops which make intricate movements in other series of the books in the future.
Masaaki Hiroi’s original wooden tops and toys are not just fun. Masaaki Hiroi’s tops themselves make interesting movements and the movements of his hidden tops also make his trick tops move in many unexpected ways. Various mechanisms in the field of physics could be applied to in the movements his tops and toys make. And, it is impossible to predict how his tops will move until you spin them.
Even Masaaki Hiroi does not know what he will make until he finishes his final products. Masaaki Hiroi comes up with an idea from scratch and tries experimenting to turn his imagination into one product. He often says, “Such a thing often ends up with a disaster. Then, I keep trying and trying for days. When I make a final product, I feel a sense of achievement even though the final product is completely different from the original idea I came up with. I often stray off from the main idea as I often do on the trips which I make.” Masaaki Hiroi’s tops attract world famous scientists and lovers of wooden decorative artworks, tops and toys worldwide.
The war experience written in this book does not reflect the political views of the Author and Masaaki Hiroi. At the same time, the experience of World War II written in this book does not represent the political stance of Japanese government and United States government. The war experience, which Masaaki Hiroi told the Author, was solely written as part of his personal memoir which he cannot forget and he thinks he should not forget.
Lastly, I appreciate my mother, who always provides me with the best she can.
“Daimyo Koma” ~ by Masaaki Hiroi
Chapter 1: Prologue
“My mother, my younger brother, and my classmates were all gone on March 10th, 1945. Where are they? I couldn’t even say good-bye to them. What happened that night? All traces of part of my family and friends ‘disappeared’ in one night. They are all gone. Those who were playing with me the day before are almost all gone. The only thing left for me about my family and my classmates is ‘memory’ in my mind. I want to build up the same kind of good relationship with people as I did before I lost all of them… And, what can I do for it? First of all, I need to live my life. And, I need to do something for the loved ones, my mom, my younger brother, and my classmates who were almost all gone… What should I do for them? I loved them. I miss them so much. I wanted to have fun with them and to share happiness. I made tops for them and they