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| The Gardens at the Glover House, now a place a beauty and peace. |
A couple of weeks ago, Sam and I went with my office to Nagasaki. We left Shintomi at 3 a.m. and arrived at the western coast of the island at about 8 a.m. At which point, we began a whirlwind tour of every tourist sight you could possibly see in one day. (Quite a change from the usual sloth-like behavior Sam and I have become accustomed to on our excursions.) If I had a choice - some kind of happy medium would be preferable.
We visited the Dutch Village (an odd theme park re-creating the Netherlands) and the Glover House and Garden, built by a Scottish trader who played a key role when Japan opened it's doors to the outside world in the mid-19th century.
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| Sam and I at the Dutch Village, as usual, attracting attention. |
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| A view from the Glover House overlooking Nagasaki. |
We were having a wonderful time, mind you, but I often felt that even though our Japanese companions were looking at everything, they weren't really "seeing" anything. Except, that is, for our visit to the Atomic Museum and Nagasaki Heiwa Kōen (Peace Park).
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| A sober moment at the Heiwa Kōen (Peace Park). |
As you'll remember from your history lessons, Nagasaki was the unfortunate, second recipient of the atomic bomb. Early on the morning of August 9, 1945, the "Fat Man" was dropped on this coastal city, instantly killing some 73,000 people and injuring (let's be honest, slowly killing) about 74,000 others. That's nearly 150,000 out of a population of 240,000.
Nagasaki wasn't the original target, either. But due to bad weather, the choice was made to drop it here.
Shiroyama Elementary School was ground zero.
At one end of Heiwa Kōen, sits a giant buddha-like statue. His left hand extends out to the world, palm facing down in a gesture calling for peace among all people. His right arm points to the heavens, to the clouds from where the bomb was dropped. His eyes are closed - not to the death and destruction, but in a prayer to end all wars and to offer all victims a prayer for eternal peace.
At the opposite end of the park lies the Fountain of Peace honoring all those who died when the bomb was dropped and to the many who died afterward from the contaminated waters they drank to quench their thirst and cleanse their wounds. The fountain sprays its water upwards, in the shape of a dove's wings and all are welcome to drink from it.
The place is lovely.
Yet somber.
And overlooks Nagasaki, now an incredibly charming city on the East China Sea.
It's hard to imagine what this very spot looked like 46 years ago.
After the "Fat Man" paid a visit.
The museum, however, drew a graphic, horrid, painful picture.
The subject of nuclear war is certainly not new to me. Afterall, I have a B.A. in "How We've Screwed Things Up on Earth" (aka Sociology). I was even an organizer and the Master of Ceremonies at an anti-nuclear protest in college. But god almighty. I was standing in the very same spot where just a few decades ago, thousands lay burned and mutilated.
Weeping and screaming.
I was also standing beside two colleagues who had been children when their country's challenge to the world was met with atrocious consequences.The museum had black and white pictures enlarged to life size showing scenes of charred bodies which looked like nothing more than sand figures eroded by the wind.
Of a city flattened in seconds.
Of chaos and confusion.
One picture in particular will stay etched in my memory for many years to come - a mother, badly burned, holding her infant child to her breast. The baby, also burned, trying desperately to find nourishment from his mother's battered body.
Over 20 million lives were lost in WWII, but it was the babies and children I saw that day and the haunting similarities of my students' faces in theirs that made me ache. There was no doubt about it...
at exactly 11:02 a.m., on August 9, 1945, hell fell from the skies of Nagasaki.
With spirits deflated, we made this the last stop of the day and headed to our hotel where we could wash off the film of sadness and gather together in peace and friendship.
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| Relaxing with Sam and my Shintomi family after an emotional day in Nagasaki. |
That night, we lifted our moods with an elaborate dinner, good company and lighthearted conversation.
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As for the rest of happenings here, Monbusho (the National Education Office) finally gave the go ahead for renewing my contract and so we've been busy planning next year's schedule. It looks like everyone here is pleased with the decision and another year's employment takes a load off my mind as well.
Sam and I will be heading to Korea in a few weeks, after which I'll be heading back to Chicago for my brother's wedding. I haven't heard from Raymond lately, so there go my plans for having a handsome date for the event - or, for that matter, a steamy romance with a Hong Kong police officer. I knew it was going to be difficult to make this baby fly, but I hoped it would've at least gotten off the ground. I must admit, however (she says as she blushes), the male situation has picked up a bit here.
Maybe it's due to my ever-increasing grasp of the language, my always effervescent personality, or maybe a few of the men here have simply become tired of waiting to get their hands on my big, American breasts. Whatever it is, I'm enjoying the attention.
No... I haven't exactly ended it with Kyoto.
No lectures, please!
We hardly ever see one another and the blow-off speech I translated is really geared to that kind of relationship. Anyway, he has tickets to Keith Jarret (no, not Leif Garret!) in Miyazaki this weekend.
In my own defense (inspired by reading a recent article about the dating scene in Japan), there is a serious lack of dateable females in Japan. According to this article (and I certainly believe EVERYTHING I read) women here are often finding themselves with several different boyfriends - each suited for different purposes: expensive dinners, running errands, buying presents, etc. The article goes on to say that dateable men are expected to have the following: the basic, nice car, good fashion sense, money, a good job and... (wait for it)... a smooth complexion a razor simply can't offer. That's right ladies, young, single Japanese males are now expected to have facial electrolysis in order to please their women.
Who says Japanese women have no power?
It does, however, makes me wonder how Japanese men feel about female facial hair (being still unwaxed and fire-free)? In light of this new information, I figure it's okay to continue going on the occasional weekend excursion with Kyoto.
All I Can Say Is....
- A few weekends ago, I spent great sums of money and an entire day in Miyazaki City searching for the proper ingredients with which to make Chicken Cacciatore for some friends I've invited over from the office. I managed to find everything down to the mushrooms, borrowed a carload of pots, pans, dishes and silverware, set a beautiful western-styled table and cooked all day Sunday. All I can is... if that dinner was a reflection of my outer beauty, I'd be Grace Kelly and Marilyn Monroe all rolled into one!
- Speaking of food. I'm always amazed by the amount of food the average Japanese can put away. They claim that it's ALL good for you and won't make you heavy. All I can say is... why then, after a year of eating the exact same food, do I trigger the local earthquake siren when I jog?
- Locally and nationally, elections are currently taking place in Japan and the campaigning is fierce. Strapping concert-sized speakers to the roofs of little, white cars and vans, candidates scour (or should I say scurge) the cities of Japan. My town's mini, mobile daises (which menacingly roam the streets at all hours) have, on several occasions already, jerked me from nightmares of a strangely similar ilk. From the bowels of their gas propelled soapbox, the candidate and his wife call out unending campaign promises, followed by an absolute overindulgence of "Arigato Gozaimasu," delivered by a voice that causes one to question when it was that Minnie Mouse became a helium addict. All I can say is... if the Japanese had used similar tortures on Allied prisoners in WWII ("Make it stop!! For god's sake, MAKE IT STOP!!"), the Japanese would now own ALL of our major corporations, instead of just 95% of them.
I hope this letter finds friends and family in excellent health and good spirits, with love in your heart and peace in your mind... and maybe a tranquilizer gun at your shoulder, aimed at all extraordinarily loud and irritating politicians.
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