Niihau zero

[feoffee2]

Hi

I am wanting to complete my airfix zero in the markings of the famous niihau zero. I was wondering if anyone know if any decals for this aircraft have ever been made as I cannot find any. 

Thanks 

 

 

[JackG]

 

Maybe Printscale's 1/72 A6M2-A6M3 "Zero" Part.2

You would have to replace the number 4 for with a 0, but the latter digit that best matches the typeface on the sheet is slightly smaller.

 

 

regards,

Jack

Edited February 7, 2021 by JackG

[feoffee2]

Thanks. I will have a look online. 

[Jackson Duvalier]

I only very recently learnt of the Niihau incident and its relation to WWII US policy toward Japanese residents; I suspect it's largely been memory-holed to suppress xenophobic badthink, which is not merely xenophobic and bad, but ungood, not to mention xenophobic.  

[Rick Tsujimura]

Just another aside for you all.  Niihau is and was owned by the Robinson family who tightly controlled access to the island.  Even today access is restricted.  Hawaiian is still spoken there. 

Xenophobia in Hawaii goes back decades if not further, but there is a story:

1. The Kingdom of Hawaii sought a confederation with the Empire of Japan.

In 1881 King Kalakaua of Hawaii undertook a world tour. He had tried to protect the Hawaiian culture, identity and population from extinction at the hands of foreign powers by importing Asian or Pacific labor forces. When he visited Japan, he met with Emperor Meiji and signed a bilateral agreement on immigration.

King Kalakaua also offered the emperor a plan to put Hawaii under the protection of the Empire of Japan. He wanted to arrange a marriage between his niece Ka’iulani and Japan’s Prince Yamashina. The offer was declined because Tokyo feared such a confederation would infuriate Washington.  https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2020/02/10/commentary/japan-commentary/japan-former-kingdom-hawaii/

Likewise Washington was complicit in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, a wound which is still a deep cultural issue here in Hawaii.

2. The U.S. waged a coup and took over Hawaii by force.

In 1887, King Kalakaua was forced to sign a new constitution that was drafted by white businessmen and lawyers. The new provisions reduced the authorities of the king and the rights of native Hawaiians and immigrant non-white workers. The king passed away in 1891 and his sister, Queen Lili’uokalani, succeeded him.

The Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown in a coup that began on Jan. 17, 1893. U.S. citizens and other foreign residents residing in Honolulu waged the coup against the queen, with 160 U.S. Marines called in to “protect U.S. interests.” The revolutionaries eventually established the Republic of Hawaii in 1894.

The rebels’ ultimate goal was the annexation of Hawaii to the U.S. After repeated bloodshed in Hawaii, the islands were finally annexed by the U.S. in 1898.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2020/02/10/commentary/japan-commentary/japan-former-kingdom-hawaii/

There are many more books about the overthrow.  One interesting sidenote as well.  There was a "plebiscite" of sorts in the form of a petition to Washington to undo the overthrow signed by the majority of Hawaiian citizens, which excluded Japanese and Chinese immigrants.  Much is made about how the numbers of Hawaiians who signed the petition outnumbered the revolutionaries [US citizens, and businessmen], but less reported is that the asian immigrants far outnumbered both groups even if combined.  If a "true" vote was held would Hawaii have become a part of Japanese Empire?  Just food for thought, how that might have changed the complexion of the Second World War if Pearl Harbor was a Japanese outpost.

What ifs are an  interesting thought process, if only to have us think through our own ingrained attitudes.