TOMOYUKI YAMASHITA'S BINOCULARS AND PHOTOS OF HIS SURRENDER
Extraordinary grouping includes 16 photos and what are possibly a personal set of miniature binoculars owned and used by Yamashita and then given by him to an Army translator. On Sep. 2, 1945, Yamashita commenced surrender negotiations with Gen. Spencer Percival - the same man who had surrendered Singapore to Yamashita only a few years earlier. The photos, which range from 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" to 4 1/4" x 3 3/4", originate from a translator/interrogator on the scene. Images include ten original photos of interrogations and the surrender proceedings, most showing Yamashita, Gen. Jiro Shimizu, and official Army interpreter for the Baguio surrender and Yamashita's trial, Lt. Kay Sakamoto and are captioned on verso by a fellow translator/interrogator. Larger photos are second generation images of the same proceedings, captioned in another hand. All of the photos originate from the estate of Lt. Sakamoto, and he identifies himself on one of the smaller images as "Me". The miniature field glasses, 3 1/2" wide, are marked "TOKYO YAMAFUJI 6X15" and are of pre-war construction. It is believed that Yamashita gave these binoculars to Sakamoto shortly before the latter's execution. Finally, there is a 2 1/4" x 3 1/4" photo of Yamashita at the time of his surrender, laminated and no doubt carried by Sakamoto as a souvenir.