If any rider who has never set foot on the Isle of Man deserves entrance to the TT Hall of Fame then it would have to be Kunihiko Akiyama. On May the 5th 1959 the established patterns of competition at the IOM were about to be broken forever by the arrival of a small team of enthusiastic young men from the other side of the globe in the form of the first Honda team. Although the story is well known, here is a brief synopsis. The team arrived with the RC 141 and RC 142s they were 125cc twin four strokes that revved to 14,000 rpm, driving through a 6 speed gearbox. There were four Japanese riders and one American; they finished the 125 TT held on the Clypse course, as follows: 6th Naomi Taniguchi (RC 142) Silver Replica 7th Giichi Suzuki (RC 142) Bronze Replica 8th Teisuke Tanaka (RC 141) Bronze Replica 11th Junzo Suzuki (RC 142) DNF Bill Hunt (RC 141) fell off. Note: the RC 141 had a two valve head, the RC142 had the four valve heads that were flown in just before the event. The young team, all under 30, who had never raced on paved roads before, won the Constructor's Prize and the rest is history. Kunihiko Akiyama was to be a member of that historic team but fate was to dictate otherwise. Tragically he lost his life during the filming of a scene for a biographical film on Soichiro Honda. Akiyama was the main stunt rider. Unfortunately a truck intruded onto the crowded location and Akiyama in avoiding the many spectators stuck the truck's windscreen and suffered a broken neck. It was April 1st 1959 just one month before the group he had trained with on the dirt circuit of Mt Asama left for the Isle of Man. It was with heavy hearts that they left on that voyage; however they have never forgotten their friend and fellow racer to this day. My story begins on a cloudless autumn morning in Tokyo in November 2006. I took the Odakyu line train to Gotokuji station then made the 15 minute walk to Gotokuji temple. Gotokuji is to the west of Tokyo and is famous for two things. Firstly it is the original home of the Maneki Neko or beckoning cat which you will see in many shops all over Japan beckoning customers to come inside. Gotokuji Secondly it is the final resting place of Ii Naosuke a forward thinking lord who was in favour of opening Japan to the West in the mid 1800s, he was assassinated outside the castle gate in Tokyo by reactionaries after he had signed a treaty with the Americans. However; my aim that morning was to pay tribute at the grave of Kunihiko Akiyama who was denied his participation in the 1959 TT. Although I was prepared to spend some time finding the grave it proved to be quite easy since his comrades have erected a bronze statue of him which stands above a marble inscription telling his sad story. As you can see from the photo the TT is clearly mentioned on the stone. The statue is really quite moving, he is clad in the old tight fitting leathers and minimal helmet which his confreres were barred from using on the Island. His right arm is raised in salute to his team members who did so well under the circumstances those many years ago. His statue is actually oriented so he faces the Isle of Man forever. Standing with him in that quiet resting place so far from the TT it was hard not to feel the sense of sadness of his being left out of that historic team. His team mates however never forget him and as the inscription says a lock of his hair was buried on the Island in 1998 the 50th anniversary of the Honda Company. A translation of the inscription is as follows: INSCRIPTION "This is a statue of Mr Kunihiko Akiyama who died by an unexpected accident during a film shooting of a race scene. He was 24 when he died; he was going to participate in the Tourist Trophy race in the Isle of Man in 1959. That Tourist Trophy race was the number one motorcycle race in the world. He couldn't realise his aim to participate in the TT race. He was very enthusiastic about this race however his dream about the TT race could not be realised. His kind friends took a lock of his hair to be buried at Balacraine Hill; this is where you can have a spacious view of the race course. This statue was erected with the wish that he will look far west to the Isle of Man forever, with this hope that he had in his younger days for his life." It is hard to read this without a lump in your throat. Atheist as I am I wrote a note to him expressing how all TT enthusiasts feel sorrow at his cruel fate and welcome him to the worldwide fraternity who share his love for the race he was excluded from. Don Simons