Shin’ichi Yamamoto’s spirit was on fire, but physically he wasn’t in the best condition. On May 8, he was scheduled to depart for Europe for his second dialogue session with renowned British historian Arnold J. Toynbee. Preparations for that meeting as well as his daily efforts to encourage members had left him exhausted. On his way to the group photo session with Toshima members, he suddenly came down with a fever and felt very weak. “I won’t let this stop me,” he murmured to himself, his hands balling into fists. ​