Truth is Definitely Stranger than Fiction

From the Senile, er, Sentinel, this morning:

Composer of first Japanese national anthem traced to Santa Cruz

“A two-decade-old mystery that spread across the United States, Japan and Great Britain was recently solved within the boundaries of Santa Cruz.

“Toshio Akiyama, former president of the Japanese Band Directors Association, had been searching for information about the composer of Japan’s first national anthem, the late John William Fenton. Akiyama wanted to know how he died and where his grave was.

“According to a story on news Web site telegraph.co.uk, Fenton was considered the father of band music in Japan. Fenton composed the first version of the country’s national anthem in 1870, and set to the historic Japanese poem, “Kimi Ga Yo,” according to Santa Cruz historians. The official version was composed by Japanese court musician Hiromori Hayashi 10 years later.…”