My family and I have just returned from a two year Navy tour in Okinawa, Japan. I was fortunate to be able to find some interesting porcelain pieces, some nice bottles, and start a collection of Japanese glass fishing floats.

The insulators in use today are all porcelain, and relatively new. The poles are big, cement types that usually stand up to typhoons. I didn’t see any evidence that glass was ever used. Many of the porcelain pieces are white, with a bold orange stripe around the skirt. There is also a white fog bowl, with the orange stripe, which was used on some of the lines near the coast. I was also able to collect some green and some blue pieces similar to pieces I’ve seen here in the United States.

Obtaining these pieces was no easy task! The language barrier was a problem of course. It was hard to explain to the Okinawans why anybody would collect these things. I tried showing pictures of American collectors with their collections, along with a few Hemingray 42’s that I had brought along as traders.

Our first big find was a “dump” not too far from the base that we lived on. It looked as though a whole substation had been torn down and left in a pile. It turns out that the materials were to be recycled. We had fun picking through the piles. There were some pieces with the orange stripe, but mostly huge power items with no special color or markings.

Sometimes I would come across a utility truck, with men up on the poles. I managed to acquire a few blue pieces after many attempts to communicate with my English-Japanese dictionary.

As our two year tour was coming to a close, I started to get concerned. They were still several types up on the poles, that I hadn’t been able to find at the dump, or in the back of any utility truck. I especially wanted one of those fog bowls! Luckily I was able to make a contact in the last few weeks of our tour. A Okinawan friend took me to a power and electrical company, where I was given permission to dig through their barrels of used insulators. I was able to find everything that I wanted there, except those fog bowls. Finally I was able to explain what I was looking for. Since they didn’t have any used ones, they were reluctant to give me any. I explained that I would be more than happy to pay for them. They finally gave me two (I was trying to get one for Marilyn Albers also) and wouldn’t take any money. I have a feeling that they had no way to handle a sale of insulators in their books. They probably buy them in large quantities, and use them, not sell them.

As I was leaving, I noticed that the power lines in their parking lot were extremely low, even for the short Okinawan people! Upon inspection I realized that there were only three poles, connected only to each other. Up on the poles was a sample of every type of insulator, wire, and gadget that I had seen on Okinawa. Fortunately I was able to confirm that I had collected at least one of every type.

My other BIG find was two insulators used in World War II Japanese defense caves. The Japanese Imperial Army had fortified huge caves for use in the expected clash with the Allies. The Battle of Okinawa raged on for three months in the spring and early summer of 1945. Over 100,000 Okinawan civilians (1/3 of their population) were killed in the crossfire. Some of the fortified caves were used as military headquarters, some were hospital caves, and others used as shelter.

I made friends with an American who had retired from the Air Force and had made his home on Okinawa. He spends all of his time searching the caves and jungles for war artifacts.

He has opened a fascinating museum loaded with artifacts, photos, and information on the Battle of Okinawa. He explained to me that the Okinawans had run great pottery kilns near the city of Naha before the war. The Imperial Army ordered the Okinawans to make insulators for their communication network. The insulators were mostly small spool type pieces, handmade of course. They were usually white, but sometimes brown. Sometimes they were stamped with the seal (like a family crest) of the potter. He was kind enough to give me the two pieces that he had in his possession at the time.

He also gave me about a dozen small bottles, assorted shapes and colors, that he had recovered out of defense caves. Many of them are partially melted from the flame throwers used by American forces to rout the enemy. I also found a 1945 Coca-Cola bottle outside a tomb that had been fortified as a bunker. This abandoned tomb was in a jungle area about 50 yards from our house.

I also started collecting Japanese glass fishing floats while in Okinawa. They are glass balls encased in netting, which are used to keep fishing nets in place. The balls range in size from a 2" ball to bigger than basketballs. The most common color is aqua, but they can be found in many other colors ranging from clear to amber to bright blue or even the very rare purple. Some are embossed with the name of the glass blower on the seal of the ball. They are not made anymore, so have become collectable. Today the floats are made out of plastic, rubber, or styrofoam. The glass balls still wash up on the beaches, especially after big storms. It is not easy to find them on Okinawa, but easier on some of the less populated outer islands.

I plan to have a display of my Okinawan insulators, bottles, and glass balls at the Western Regional in September. I will also have a sales table for the duplicates that I have. I will bring my photo album from Okinawa, and would love to share it with any of you who are interested. See you then!

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Collector Heidi Parfitt and the secretary of the electrical company holding 
the “coveted” fog bowl. The secretary was the only one who spoke English.