Kingo Nonaka
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2 December 1889
Kingo Nonaka | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Nonaka, December 1915 | |||||
| Born | Kingo Nonaka 2 December 1889 | ||||
| Died | 1977 (aged 87–88) Mexico City, Mexico | ||||
| Other names | José Genaro Kingo Nonaka | ||||
| Occupation(s) | Nurse, combat medic, photographer | ||||
| Spouse | Petra García Ortega | ||||
| Parents |
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| Military career | |||||
| Allegiance | Mexico (revolutionary forces) | ||||
| Battles / wars | Mexican Revolution | ||||
| Japanese name | |||||
| Kanji | 野中 金吾 | ||||
| Hiragana | のなか きんご | ||||
| Katakana | ノナカ キンゴ | ||||
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José Genaro Kingo Nonaka (野中 金吾, Nonaka Kingo; 2 December 1889 - 1977) was a Japanese-Mexican combat medic during the Mexican Revolution and later became the first documentary photographer of Tijuana.[1]
Nonaka was born in Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu in 1889. In Japan he worked in the field and as a pearl diver.[1]
He emigrated to Mexico at age 17, accompanied by an older brother, Yinkuro and uncle, Shiotaro. They settled in Oaxaca on a coffee plantation.[1] After tiring of the harsh work, Nonaka embarked on a three-month journey to the United States. In Chihuahua, he was taken in by a local family who eventually adopted him and had him baptized.[2] Later, he learned nursing from a nearby hospital and acquired a license to work at the infirmary.[2]
Military career
In March 1911, Nonaka was visiting another Japanese immigrant when the Battle of Casas Grandes broke out. Nonaka treated the wounded Francisco I. Madero and was subsequently recruited into Madero’s army.[4] Nonaka would later become nursing chief of the civil hospital in Ciudad Juárez, where he was in charge of attending wounded soldiers.[4]
He participated in 14 combat operations during the Revolution: two with the forces of Francisco I. Madero and 12 with the Northern Division commanded by Pancho Villa.[1]
He attained the rank of captain in the Batallón de Sanidad de la División del Norte.[1] In September 1967, he was awarded an order of merit for his service by Secretary of Defense Marcelino García Barragán.[1]
