Lana Belshe recently reconnected – via the Internet – with a Japanese exchange student she hadn’t seen or heard from in almost 30 years.
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Hiroyasu Inagaki stayed with Lana and Larry Belshe and their two sons, Michael and Chris, in June and July of 1981. He came to the United States through a 4-H student exchange program and lived at their farm home south of Gallatin for eight weeks. Hiroyasu was 12; Michael was nine; and Chris was six.
Strangely enough, Lana had been talking to a friend at work at the Gallatin Publishing Company about Hiroyasu the day before she heard from him. She wondered aloud to her friend about what he was doing and how he grew up. The next day she received the following e-mail at her computer at work:
Dear Mrs. Belshe: I think that it is surprised by sudden mail. Please forgive the impoliteness. Do you remember the Japanese boy who visited your sweet home in the summer of 1981? I clearly remember you families. Your name was found on the Internet. (When I goof off on the job) It prays that I not be mistaken identity. Regards, Hiroyasu Inagaki
Since that initial contact, she and Hiroyasu have written each other several times and exchanged pictures.
"He said he’d been going through his photo albums, so he was probably wondering about us the way we had about him," said Lana.
Apparently Hiroyasu found her on the Internet by simply typing in her name in a search engine. Her name popped up under information about the Gallatin Publishing Company.
Lana still has pictures of Hiroyasu from his visit. She also kept the gifts he brought from Japan. He gave the family a hand-painted fan, coasters, and illustrated rice paper.
"He enjoyed his stay on the farm," Lana said. "At that time we had hogs and cattle. He lived in a town in Japan and had never seen anything like that before."
In his second email, Hiroyasu wrote: I do not forget the summer. You gave to me many valuable experiences in your home and society. Last weekend, when I opened the old album, the photographs brings me back the happy feelings. I’d like to show my appreciation.
Hiroyasu, who would be in his 40s now and is still single, told Lana that after graduating from the Methodist University he became a businessman. He works as a coordinator in a construction company. He returned to his hometown "Nagoya" recently through a company transfer.
"His English wasn’t all that good," said Lana. "He didn’t always convey exactly what he meant."
From the e-mails, it seems his English has improved quite a bit.
Lana has even further evidence that it’s a small world. While Hiroyasu was staying with the Belshes they took him to a mall in St. Joseph. A lady was coming in the doors as they were going out. The lady stared at the young Japanese boy, and said "Hiroyasu?"
It turned out that the summer before this lady had visited Japan and stayed with the people who lived next door to Hiroyasu.
"It’s pretty amazing," said Lana. "In that split second of time while she was coming in and we were going out she saw him and recognized him from the summer before. I guess you call that fate."
Hiroyasu has expressed a desire to visit Missouri again in the near future. Lana is hoping fate will work things out so they can see one another again.