Revisiting The Strange Saga of Miss Hamako Yokohama

Reported on the first day of April in 1937, police were called to investigate what was believed to be a strange case of vandalism. Responding officer Victor Spinner, known as “Jet” among his fellow patrolmen, arrived at the home of Beau and Barbara Tyes just after 8 in the morning. Upon entry, he discovered that the ground floor of the residence was covered entirely with what appeared to be flower petals. 

Investigation confirmed that they were indeed flower petals; more specifically, they were cherry blossoms from a Yoshino tree, a hybridized species of cherry tree native to Japan. The source of the flowers remains unclear. 

Loads of blossoms were hauled away for incineration by the Department of Sanitation. While it was ultimately written off as an elaborate prank, possibly perpetrated by local college students, there are several inconsistencies which make that seem unlikely. For one thing, there was no sign of intruders, nor any indication of forced entry. In addition, as far as anyone has been able to determine, there were no Yoshino trees anywhere in the Denver area, raising questions as to how a group of mischievous college students could have acquired the petals, let alone such a significant number of them. Finally, the Tyes had no children, and Mr. Tyes’ profession as the owner of a feedlot was unlikely to draw the attention of prank-minded juveniles.

One lone article appears to be the only remaining clue as to the next Hamako-related “event.” This article ran in the Denver Herald News, several years after the end of World War II. Given the nature of the incident described, and the prevalence of bamboo in Japan and Japanese culture, it seems likely that this event could also be linked to the Friendship Doll. However, as far as is known, there were no artifacts found at the scene in this instance. This is the only known record of the occurrence, and the Herald News was known for its salacious style and propensity to occasionally stretch the truth. As such, it’s very difficult to make a connection with any degree of certainty.

Scanning the original print allows significantly more details to be revealed, as illustrated in the image above. The callout on the right shows a much clearer view of the number, size, and density of the unexplained inhabitants. The callout to the left shows something only noticed recently, as the people studying the picture were invariably focused primarily on the fish. Barely visible on a table in the background is what appears to be an ornate Japanese tea set. Though the image is too blurry for confirmation, even with the enhancements it seems to be the same style as the set which initially accompanied Miss Yokohama. This set was confirmed to be missing during an inventory in 1976.