From Mitsuhiro Iwamoto
This year, I have done a few offshore races and a lot of weekend races in San Diego bay mostly on Nelson Marek 43, B’Quest II of Challenged America. I wanted to do more blind sailing, too.

HIRO

Photo Caption: As Team TAKION III (owned by Kazumasa Nishioka) prepared for the Transpacific Yacht Race in San Diego, Mr. Mitsuhiro Iwamoto sailed with the team.  “The greatest thing about sailing is that one can feel the power of nature through all my senses including the sixth sense,” says Mr. Iwamoto

In the Southern California seaside town of San Diego, there’s a Japanese blind sailor brimming with energy – Mr. Mitsuhiro Iwamoto, 42 years old.  He moved from Japan to this part of the country roughly three years ago with his wife Karen and daughter Leena, who is currently four years old.

Mr. Iwamoto was born with weak eye sight, became fully blind in middle school and says that he cannot even sense light anymore.  He faced the harsh reality of blindness during his formative teenage years and suffered through a period of fear and pain not commonly experienced by a typical teenager.  But Mr. Iwamoto pulled through this tough period and began to lead a life that did not see blindness as a handicap.

After studying Acupuncture, Manual Therapy and Eastern Medicine at Kumamoto Prefectural College for the Visually Impaired, earning a scholarship to study abroad in the United States and completing the Acupuncture and Physical Therapy Teacher Training School at Tsukuba University, Mr. Iwamoto became a teacher at Tsukuba University’s School of Acupuncture, Manual Therapy and Eastern Medicine for the Visually Impaired.  Mr. Iwamoto met Karen at the English Conversational School that he attended in Japan so as to not forget English.  The two overcame differences in nationality, the visual disability and vehement opposition from both sets of parents before marrying when Mr. Iwamoto was 30 years old.

Karen had been fond of sailing since her childhood days spent at Lake Michigan, and one day she found out about the existence of “Yacht Aid Chiba,” which supports sailing for disabled people.  She thought that it would be a place where they could both enjoy sailing, and it was where Mr. Iwamoto was introduced to sailing.

“My father was a commercial boater in Amakusa (Mr. Iwamoto’s hometown).  When I was young and could still see a little bit, my father would take me to ride on the boat,” said Mr. Iwamoto.  Perhaps the boater’s blood coursing through his veins called him to sailing, but ever since his first introduction, Mr. Iwamoto has been captivated by the wonders of sailing.  He participated in the 2006 World Championship (of Blind Sailing) as one of the helmsmen of the Japanese National Team assembled by the Japanese Blind Sailing Association.

Mr. Iwamoto and his wife decided to move to San Diego from Japan to provide their daughter a good education.  It was a big decision considering that the move meant foregoing a stable position and salary as a lecturer at a national university.  Mr. Iwamoto put in a tremendous amount of time and effort to eventually gain approval for the opening of his San Diego clinic that is based upon his unique massage style called “Shishinjutsu,” which is essentially acupuncture using his fingers and not needles. 

His passion for his job was a given, but his passion for sailing also intensified.  At the local sailing club, Mr. Iwamoto sails with non-disabled sailors and hones his skills by actively participating in races. 

“Even though I cannot see, I can move around on the yacht like a regular person.  It takes a little bit of time to construct an overall image of the boat in my head and build a mental map of the boat, but once I’m done with that, I’m fine.  I can do tasks at the bow, and I can even climb up the mast too,” says Mr. Iwamoto. 

Mr. Iwamoto’s ultimate goal is to sail across the Pacific Ocean.  The challenge would involve one visually impaired person teaming up with a person who can see and sail from San Diego to Japan.  It would be the first such attempt by a blind sailor. 

“It’s not just about personal achievement – I want a lot of people to be inspired through this sailing voyage.  A person of disability teams up with a non-disabled person to navigate a yacht safely to accomplish a task – that would be the greatest example of a barrier-free society.  A person who can see communicates to a person who cannot to make the impossible possible.  I want to communicate the meaning and value of living from the standpoint of those of us who cannot see to those who can see.  I believe that sailing across the Pacific Ocean is the first step in communicating that message.”  Mr. Iwamoto’s firm belief is slowly but surely moving people’s hearts.  However, to make his trans-Pacific sailing expedition a reality, he still needs a lot of support financially and otherwise.  We ask for your support from all over Japan.