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Kaito Akiyama VS. Taketatsu Memorial
By: Athena K. McLovin, Sumi Ishida, and Keio Akori
By: Athena K. McLovin, Sumi Ishida, and Keio Akori
If you weren’t aware, or don’t pay attention, there’s a pillar outside of Karakura Highschool and Community College in memory of Taketatsu Highschool, right at the entrance. As students gather in, it stands tall as a reminder of the past. What is that past, though? And what's Taketatsu Highschool? Journalist Athena K. McLovin spoke with Mei Miura, a Karakuran History expert, to find out.
According to Miura, “Takashima City, located in Japan, was a rather small town that focused [only on its] high school, Taketatsu Academy, paired with Shinotaketatsu College as a small community college located in the corner of the town. Taketatsu High School’s surrounding streets were lined with residential areas and restaurants which were open 24/7. The school itself was founded on July 18th, 2016 by Principal Taketatsuan Xavier, a descendant of Akio Taketatsuan.” But, things took a turn for the worse not too long after the school’s commencement.
“Principal Taketatsuan Xavier ran the school from its foundation until renovations were held on November 4th, 2017. A wrecking ball accidentally slammed into the second floor of Taketatsu High School, leading to the permanent closure of the school. It was eventually revealed that students of Taketatsu and residents of Takashima would be moving to an island located southeast of Tokyo called … Izu-Karakura. Takashima thus became abandoned as a majority of the student populace moved to Karakura City.” Following the accident, there was a storm that required non-student citizens to move to the new island as well.
These student’s memories laid in rubble, citizens forced to abandon their homes due to a natural disaster. Can you imagine that? For only a year did the youth of Takashima get to enjoy high school in their hometown—a fundamental part of growing up. To think that not too long after that, a storm came and forced the residents to evacuate to Karakura. It was a great travesty and devastated the residents who had to pack up and move their entire lives. That’s what this pillar is a reminder of. An honorance to what was lost not too long ago.
Now imagine someone wanted to remove that homage, turning it into a giant easter egg.
Vice-Principal Kaito Akiyama wants to do just that; and he may be further along than you may think.
On March 1st of 2026, a conversation of past, present, and future brewed near the gates of Karakura High School and Community College. Vice-Principal Kaito Akiyama, reminiscent of a discourse months prior in which he wished to replace the Taketatsu High School monument with a Christmas tree, now motioned for a giant Easter egg to decoratively take its place. As before, he faced the vocal opposition of Karakuran court judge and author of “Modern History of Karakura”, volumes 1 and 2, Dr. Katsuhito T'sien Saiky-Akihito. As their discussion weaved through the school, it reached the doors of the Occult Club, a student-led and school-supervised organization that prides itself on the study and preservation of Karakuran history. Members present were tasked with proving that students still care enough about the history of the Taketatsu HS memorial monument to ensure its preservation by collecting 100 signatures in favour of the pillar before the easter holiday arrived.
Over the course of the following 5 days, with collectivized effort, 103 signatures total found their place within the pages of this petition. Not only did these students express support for the memorial’s preservation, but many also verbalized that they wish the monument was better maintained, as it has seen much weathering over the years. They furthermore asserted the belief that a supplementary budget should be allotted to cleaning and restoration efforts. This petition was directly handed over to Vice-Principal Akiyama who, upon receiving it, remarked surprise at the quickness of the signatures’ procurement and stated he would verify each of them personally. As one of our journalists, Miss Ishida, witnessed the signing of these, their validity can be assured with certainty. However, as cherry blossoms have bloomed in the transition from March to April, so too has the monument fallen in sync with their petals, despite the petition’s submission.
Exactly a month following, on April 1st, 2026, VP Akiyama had a construction crew move the Taketatsu Monument into the school pool and replace it with a water fountain. “I have been meaning to [remove it] sooner, really,” he reported in a private interview with journalist Keio Akori.
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While never mentioned in the interview, the removal of the monument is supposed to have been an April Fools’ Day prank, as the statue was brought back shortly after the official end of the holiday and many of the Vice-Principal's comments on the day were outlandish. This includes claims that he would implement “50 Education Decrees,” containing the “removal of sports teams, clubs, and class games … performing arts and art in general” alongside the gymnasium, pool, and basketball field. Of course, none of these things came to fruition, as his reign was over by April 2nd.
However, this is not to say that the issues caused by this tantrum are notwithstanding. VP Akiyama utilized the monument and the tragedy it stands for as leverage for his “prank.” This isn’t his first time making light of the serious situation, and by the looks of it, it won’t be the last.
Even during his interview on April 1st, some of his comments reflect his beliefs. “I don't even know what that Taketatsu school was about—I only applied for a job here last year.” While Akiyama has made attempts at replacing the monument before—namely the aforementioned Easter egg and Christmas tree—this is the furthest he’s ever actually gotten: fully uprooting the monument, only putting it back a day later. What’s to come?
The students and staff for which this memorial stood are now alumni of this school. They are members of our community, neighbours, workers, valued citizens. The monument represents not just the strength of what they have endured in the past, but the strength that they have brought to Karakura; that they contribute to this town every day. Their stories are a pillar of resilience that should not be overwritten, but looked up to. While the desire for modernization is understandably present in any society, it is precisely in places such as educational institutions that we must be careful not to create palimpsests in the wake of progress.
