00:00 The question was something about the chrysanthemum emblem.
00:05 The chrysanthemum is the sign of Japanese emperor, I believe, and most of the warships actually carry chrysanthemum emblem on their bows,
00:13 indicating they were a property of the Imperial Majesty.
00:16 So you see that on all Japanese warships.
00:19 Kind of coming into view now.
00:22 Symbols of royalty on warships go back centuries.
00:27 The Imperial Japanese Navy chrysanthemum crest on the bow, and there it is.
00:32 You can see it.
00:34 That is the symbol of an Imperial warship.
00:39 This means this belongs to the emperor.
00:42 To add a little historical context, our King Kalakaua visited Japan in 1881
00:50 and was personally presented with the royal order of the chrysanthemum.
00:55 And so there's a long history of relationships between the Hawaiian kingdom and Japan.
01:03 Mike, Hans?
01:06 Yep.
01:07 One of the, as we just went past that, the outline of the crest is there, but the crest is not here to see today.
01:17 What that likely means is that this was a gilded piece of carved wood and that it has been consumed,
01:27 but the location of it is still clearly defined there.
01:31 When we get around to take a look, I think we'll see it clearly.
01:34 Hans or Mike, would you folks be able to explain to the viewers and to those of us in the control room
01:39 the significance of this vessel as a flagship?
01:43 But the flagship means that it carries the admiral and is the lead ship in the fleet.
01:49 Yeah, I think Jim's correct that the actual seal has been deteriorated.
01:53 It was probably made of wood.
01:55 I don't know. I can convince myself it's still there and just covered, but it probably isn't.
02:02 Actually, it still might be there. What do you think?
02:06 Hard to tell. I'm wondering why it's reflecting like that.
02:11 Because I can see the ridges in it.
02:14 Yeah, you know if there was a protective surface over it that has now got some growth,
02:20 but I see a flower shape inside there.
02:22 Yeah, it's definitely there. I do see it.
02:24 So there may have been some sort of surface over it protecting it from weathering.
02:28 It may still be wood and behind that, but yeah, closer inspection, I see the petals.
02:36 And that's what's making the reflection, whatever protective surface they have.
02:39 I think it was painted gold.
02:41 Yeah.
02:43 That's...
02:46 Yes, it was painted by gold color, I think, originally.
02:52 You can see the radiating lines of the petals.
02:55 Yeah. Thanks, guys. That was worth the patience.
03:00 Absolutely incredible.
03:05 You know, we can understand this as Native Hawaiians, and the depth and the reverence that we hold for this place,
03:13 and for those who lay in the realm of Kanaloa, the god of the sea.
03:19 You know, I just wanted to share this olelo no eau.
03:22 It's a Hawaiian proverb, and it says, "Lu'u lu'u hanakahi, i ka ua nui, weighted down is hanakahi by the heavy rain."
03:33 And this expression was much used in Hawaiian laments for the dead,
03:38 to express that heaviness of the heart as tears that pour like rain.
03:44 And so we honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, whether you were American or Japanese,
03:52 we honor those that lay in the realm of Kanaloa, our sacred 'aina akua,
03:57 and we are in reverence as we view this, the akagi.
04:04 That's very beautiful. Mahalo, Malia.
04:10 It's rare when a ship actually tells you its name.
04:15 So this is a pretty important moment in this exploration.
04:20 Again, for those tuning in, we're looking carefully and closely at the support side of the stern of the ship
04:26 to see if perhaps some of the markings on the side of the ship could be the Japanese characters, the kanji,
04:31 identifying this as the Aiji ana kagi.
04:34 I think it's backwards from what she said, but I think I can make out the embossed A on the right one.
04:40 Yeah, almost like the paint is eroding.
04:42 Yeah, so I can see...
04:44 We agree with the shapes in the paint, below the paint.
04:48 Yeah.
04:49 Oh, yep, I see it.
04:52 It's coming in at just the right angle when the lights produce that little shadow.
04:56 Yep.
04:57 Wow.
04:59 This feels especially sacred and important, and I just want to honor the vessel
05:07 and all of those who sailed on this vessel and the lives they lived on this vessel
05:12 as it's revealing its name to us, although not totally deliberately.
05:16 It looks like the story might be that there was an attempt to paint over the name,
05:21 but such an honor to bear witness to this.
05:24 Hi, this is Jun Kimura from Japan.
05:27 Yes, if it's a hiragana character, not kanji, then it has three characters.
05:33 One of the squares is not a real square.
05:36 I have a curiosity about it.
05:39 So if it's kanji, it should be two characters.
05:43 Yeah, thank you.
05:44 So it should be the hiragana?
05:47 Yes.
05:48 You can see the A, you can see A, and then Gi.
05:53 So the double mark, yeah, so A, A, Gi.
05:59 So the most left side that has a little bit awkward shape must be Gi, pronounced in GI.
06:08 And there's a small square notches sticking up because of the sound that has something two dots on pronunciation of Gi.
06:20 So I think from right side to left side, Akagi, in three characters in hiragana.
06:27 Thank you.
06:28 Arigatou gozaimashita.
06:30 Thank you very much, Mahalo Nui, for joining us.
06:34 Arigatou.
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