"Sakano Ueno Kumo" is a really famous novel, which deals with the Japanese-Russo War (1904-1905). Three young men are the heros in the novel, and they were born and grew up here in Matsuyama in the Meiji era. One of them is Shiki Masaoka, the founder of modern haiku (a kind of Japanese literature), and the others are the Akiyama brothers, who were the heros of the war. This war is estimated to be the first war in which colored people defeated white people, who were invading Asian and African developing countries in those days. If Japan had lost it, all the Asian countries would still be slave countries even now. Naturally, most African countries would still be under the control of the superpowers now. Hence, the war is extremely important for colored people. If the Akiyama brothers hadn't been born in this era, what would have become of Japan?
By the way, this novel was dramatized into a trilogy and started airing last year. It will be on air at the end of this year and next year too. The scene of the first episode was Matsuyama City. On this account, Matsuyama City is under the spotlight now. The drama appears to have been shot in the castle.
I'd like to have explained this drama and the war to our guests, but I was too busy listening to the English guide at that time. I'm going to write about Saneyuki Akiyama in the next entry.
See also http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2009/07/bridge-of-mikas.html
(Vocabulary)
be in/under the spotlight 注目を浴びている
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