Yokohama Gaijin
Memoir of a foreigner born in Japan
by
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The first sixteen years of Yokohama Gaijin are set in the picturesque, cosmopolitan port city of Yokohama, gateway to Japan's capital Tokyo, and now the second largest metropolis in Japan. During that time, Yokohama was a much smaller and, more compact city, where you could still travel a short distance and soon be in the countryside. Today, Yokohama's numerous old canals with their barges are long gone, having been replaced with modern freeways and bridges. Still, since I am a Hamakko, a native of Yokohama, a little bit of charming old Yokohama remains forever in my heart. I was born there on March 5, 1941, a time of impending war in the Asian and Pacific areas. My mother, Daria, gave birth to me at home, with the assistance of a Japanese midwife-- a common practice in those days. While the Pacific war started on December 7th, 1941, with Japan's undeclared attack on Pearl Harbor, the winds of war had been gathering for a long time. Foreigners, called gaijin by the Japanese, were departing Japan in order to avoid the inevitable catastrophe that everybody knew was coming. At the time, Imperial Japan was ruled by militarists with expansionary ambitions. Their goal was to expand the Japanese Empire not only in Northeast Asia, but to points far beyond. It is into this dark and dangerous geopolitical environment that I was born, but that was my fate. My one consolation was that I was only about four and a half years old when the tragic war ended with Japan's unconditional surrender in August, 1945, and I did not have to endure most of the horrors and tribulations my parents and older siblings experienced during the difficult war years.
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About the Book
G e o r g e L a v r o v
George Lavrov was born and raised in Yokohama, Japan, where he attended St. Joseph grade and high school. He is a graduate of San Francisco State University, with a major in international trade management with area specialization in Japan and the Pacific Rim. He is the author of The Pacific Rim--Threat or Promise, as well as various other articles dealing with Asian and international business. Being trilingual, he speaks English, Russian and Japanese.
During 1975 to 1986, Lavrov was based in Tokyo where he represented American insurance interests. Since returning to the U.S., he has continued to work in the international arena, especially related to Asia and the Pacific Rim.
Yokohama Gaijin is George Lavrov's personal story, told from his own eyewitness account. It recounts the horror of WWII carpet bombings of Japanese cities, including the tragic loss of his elder brother, Konstantin, who was killed instantly when a bomb from an American B-29 bomber made a direct hit on the Lavrov residence in Yokohama, Japan, on May 29th, 1945, the harsh wartime treatment of gaijin (foreign) residents of Japan and much more. It is the true story of a stateless White Russian and his family, as they coped through some of the most difficult times of the 20th century--the WWII period in Japan and the postwar years that followed. But it's also a story of faith and hope in the future--a future that spelled A M E R I C A and a successful career in the international business world.
About the Author
G e o r g e L a v r o v
George Lavrov was born and raised in Yokohama, Japan, where he attended St. Joseph grade and high school. He is a graduate of San Francisco State University, with a major in international trade management with area specialization in Japan and the Pacific Rim. He is the author of The Pacific Rim--Threat or Promise, as well as various other articles dealing with Asian and international business. Being trilingual, he speaks English, Russian and Japanese.
During 1975 to 1986, Lavrov was based in Tokyo where he represented American insurance interests. Since returning to the U.S., he has continued to work in the international arena, especially related to Asia and the Pacific Rim.
Yokohama Gaijin is George Lavrov's personal story, told from his own eyewitness account. It recounts the horror of WWII carpet bombings of Japanese cities, including the tragic loss of his elder brother, Konstantin, who was killed instantly when a bomb from an American B-29 bomber made a direct hit on the Lavrov residence in Yokohama, Japan, on May 29th, 1945, the harsh wartime treatment of gaijin (foreign) residents of Japan and much more. It is the true story of a stateless White Russian and his family, as they coped through some of the most difficult times of the 20th century--the WWII period in Japan and the postwar years that followed. But it's also a story of faith and hope in the future--a future that spelled A M E R I C A and a successful career in the international business world.