During my 20s, one of my favourite Japanese authors was Takeshi Kaikou who wrote 'Into a Black Sun'. The book covered his experiences as a correspondent in Saigon between 1964 and 1965, and how he tagged along with a recon patrol into the jungle and got ambushed by the Viet Cong. Very powerful book. In fact I want to make it into a film one day, but that's another story.
Kaikou was a bit of an inveterate adventurer in the Hemmingway mold and so would write about his adventures in the guise of correspondence, eventually fashioning them into 'novels'; but really he was just a crazy person willing to try anything as part of human experience. He claimed to have drunk more types of alcohol (and hence as many types of hangovers) than any one else in Japan, purely by dint of his travel. He was a gourmet who wrote an amazing book, 'The Last Supper', which covers his experiences in eating, and then there are a whole bunch of books about fishing in exotic places.
In his last few years, Kaikou made it his last major work to participate in the search and archaeological exploration of Genghis Khan's lost tomb and to write about it. Unfortunately he passed away in 1989 before he even set foot in Monoloa for his search; but obviously the spirit of the expedition lived on. Today, academics in Japan have announced that they have uncovered Genghis Khan's palace and expect to find his grave site nearby.
In 1993, I was in Tokyo with the aim of optioning the book, 'Into The Black Sun'. Through the help of many people I got in touch with the widow of Kaikou, Yoko Maki. Yoko Maki was a well-known poet in her own right, but by this time, she was a cantankerous old lady, who lectured me over the phone about the difficulty of doing business and that I should go out and learn how to make films before I even thought about attempting to film this book (I'd just finished film school, for whatever it was worth). She also said the Vietnamese were very proud, and that she didn't want it to go to just anybody to be made into some weird kind of soft-core porn as the sequel book which had more sex-scenes had become. She ranted at me for 45minutes without a full stop as I just said, 'yes, yes, but... yes, yes... but... err... excuse me but... uh... I was calling because..." Eventually I gave up and let the rant wash over me. I realised that I was dealing with an irrational force of nature, and that there was a very good reason why the great author had wilfully spent so much time away from home. It wasn't because he liked the tortuous, hellacious adventures, it was because he wanted to get away as often as possible, for as long as possible from this woman; and no matter what hardships he faced, they had to be better than sitting at home with this woman ranting.Genghis Khan built the palace in the simple shape of a square tent attached to wooden columns on the site at around 1200, Kato said. The researchers found porcelain buried among the ruins dated to the warrior's era, helping identify the grounds, Kato said. A description of the scenery around the palace by a messenger from China's Southern Tang Dynasty in 1232 also matched the area, he added. Genghis Khan's tomb is believed to be nearby because ancient texts say court officials commuted from the mausoleum later built on the grounds to the burial site daily to conduct rituals for the dead.
Kato said his group was not aiming specifically to find the grave. Still, he said finding it would help uncover the secrets of Genghis Khan's power.
"Genghis Khan conquered Eurasia and built a massive empire. There had to have been a great deal of interaction between east and west at the time, in terms of culture and the exchange of goods," Kato said in an interview. "If we find what items were buried with him, we could write a new page for world history."
Genghis Khan's grave site is one of archaeology's enduring mysteries. According to legend, in order to keep it secret, his huge burial party killed anyone who saw them en route to it; then servants and soldiers who attended the funeral were massacred.
Kato said an ancient Chinese text says a baby camel was buried at the grave in front of her mother so the parent could lead Khan's family to the tomb when needed.
- Art Neuro
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