Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Shiraume Student Nursing Unit

　　I'm going to write about the nursing assistants of military medics in this entry. The Japanese Government had quickly and newly produced nursing staff along with military medics during the war. They were recruited mainly from female teenagers. I visited one of the monuments for these nursing staff.
　　According to the information board, after the invasion of the Allied forces, they accompanied wounded soldiers and non-armed citizens, evacuating to the north of the island, where the enemy was sparse. However, the groups with wounded or exhausted people were slow. Almost all of them were killed or missing. The monument which I'll show you below was built by their juniors, relatives, and their school officials. Their places of death aren't even now identified.

The 22nd Infantry Regiment and Bombproof Caves

　　The 22nd Infantry Regiment was founded in 1884 and had been dispatched to the key conflicts in the history of modern Japan. I feel something special in this regiment, because it was made up from people from Ehime Prefecture, my home.
　　At the place where all the regiment were completely killed stands the monument which I was most wanted to visit. It was only 50 meters from the site where L.Gen. Buckner was shot and killed. Judging from several historical facts, the shooter might have been a member of the 22nd regiment, i.e., from my home. Honestly, I feel "That serves you right", but he was also dispatched to such a far place from his homeland probably against his will. He would also be a victim of the war. At the foot of the monument fresh tomatoes were offered and I was thankful for people around the monument.
　　Take a look at a picture of a bombproof cave at first, though I'm going to upload several pictures of other caves in the following entries. It was open to visitors who wanted to pray for the departed. The stairs were built after the war for such visitors. People were staying in the dark, narrow cave without enough food, water, and sewer. I couldn't imagine such a life. The inhabitants of the cave were mostly from Yamagata prefecture, and so the monument for people from Yamagata stands on the soil above the cave.

(Vocabulary)
陸軍歩兵２２連隊：　主に愛媛県出身者で構成された連隊。日清戦争から大東亜戦争まで重要な戦闘に派遣された由緒ある連隊で、昭和２０年６月１７日この地にて全員玉砕。
真栄里（まえざと）：　沖縄県糸満市内の集落の名。２２連隊玉砕の地。
infantry　歩兵
regiment　連隊
That serves you right　ざまあみろ！

Itoman City

　　Itoman City is located in the south of Okinawa Island. It is well-known as the place of fierce fighting between the Allied forces and Japan during the Greater East Asian War. There are no high mountains and no lakes in the city and its undulating ground is very unique. The most typical characteristic of the city is that there are numerous monuments set up across the city.
　　Generally speaking, it's the lowest class of soldiers who have the highest possibility of being killed in combat. Then, could you tell me who was the highest class of soldier in the U.S. ever killed in military combat? He is Lieutenant General Buckner so far, who was killed at the top of a hill in Itoman City. I visited his place of death too. The first picture shows the place where he was shot and killed. I'll also upload the picture of the roadsign for the memorial point. His former monument was built by Itomanees, but now it has been transferred into the U.S. camp.
　　If it were not for the combats here, lots of lives would have been saved. Irrespective of the nationalities, the departed due to the war are here in Itoman City even now commemorated.
　　Okinawa Island is formed on coral reefs and so it has lots of natural caves underground, which were used as bomb shelters during the war. I visited some of those shelters. I'll write about them in the next article.

(Vocabulary)
Lieutenant General 中将
undulating　《[名]の前でのみ》(フォーマル)  波打つ, (波のように) うねっている

Buoyant Economy

　　We got to Naha Airport. After picking our baggage up at the baggage claim, we headed for the car rental company. The first picture shows people standing in a line to wait for a free shuttle bus of their agents. There were several car rental agents and all the lines were long and crowded. It meant the high popularity of Okinawa. The next picture was shot at the office of my car rental, Toyota Car Rental. So many people were waiting. In the last fall, I heard that the capacity of the plates for rental cars overshot its assignment. I understood the popularity of the Okinawa tour.

(Vocabulary)
buoyant economy　好景気
overshoot
[他] 〈停止位置・目的地など〉 を行き［通り］過ぎる, オーバーランする；[自] 行き［通り］すぎる, オーバーランする
[他] 〈目標・限度など〉 を超過する, 超える；[自] 超過する

On The Way To Okinawa 3

Satamisaki Cape:
The picture shows Satamisaki Cape, the southern end of Kyushu. I was looking forward to seeing islands lying between Kyushu and Okinawa, but emerging clouds spoiled my pleasure. My new car is now being transported from Bremen in Germany. I wondered if I could drive it to the cape when I got it.

Takeshima Island:
This island is different from the same name island in the Sea of Japan, which is hotly disputed between Japan and South Korea, and was the last island I could detect from the sky. Just after passing over the island, dense cloud had covered over the sea.

 

The Northern End of Okinawa:
The clouds got sparse and when I looked down, I saw the northern end of Okinawa through the break in the clouds. I looked the map up and knew the name of the area, Oku.

(Vocabulary)
ruin someone's fun / spoil someone's pleasure ［sport］ （人）の楽しみに水を差す
a break in the clouds  雲の切れ目

On The Way To Okinawa 2

The Bay of Mitsukue:
I'll write about a Japanese historical fact which is not well-known even to Japanese people. You see the Bay of Mitsukue in the picture. Several months before the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Imperial Japanese Navy, a training camp started at this bay. 10 young men were chosen and trained here on how to handle the special purpose submarine to invade Pearl Harbor from the sea. This bay is near the military port, Kure, and away from view at the same time. 9 of 10 were killed in the attack, and now a memorial service is conducted every December 8th, the day of the attack on Pearl Harbour.

Ibusuki City:
My plane flew over Ibusuki City in southern Kyushu, which is famous for its characteristic hot spa and one of the popular destinations of hot spa enthusiasts. One more hour's flight will take me to Okinawa. Here occurred an idea about Kamikaze, special attack corps in the Greater East Asian War. The display in front of me showed that my aircraft's velocity was 800km/h, which was twice as fast as the Zero fighter. That is, the Zero fighters took 2 hours from Kyushu to the battlefield around Okinawa. They soared near here with one-way fuel and an enormous bomb to kill enemies along with themselves. What did they think for TWO hours viewing the scenery which they would never see again.

　

(Vocabulary)
special purpose submarine 特殊潜航艇
away from view 目に付かない

On The Way To Okinawa 1

I'll upload pictures through the window of my plane on the way to Okinawa:

Old Matsuyama Home:
Shooting with digital cameras during take-off and landing had been prohibited up until quite recently, but now it is permitted. The hazy view by yellow sand was regrettable.

My Working Village:
Just after taking-off, the plane headed southward. The plane went down to the south along with my commuting route. The picture shows a small village in which my office is located.

Hiburijima Island:
My parents were primary school teachers in their younger days. They worked in a small school on the remote island of Hiburijima, when I was 9 to 11 years old. Newspapers were delivered on the next day. Blackouts often occurred. When the sea was stormy, the supply of daily necessities was stopped. No amusement park, no movie theater, no game center, no, no, no, ,,,but there was plenty of natural playgrounds for kids. All the ground, all the seashore, and all the mountains were my fun places. However, everything was inconvenient there. Especially, there was no clinic. It was when I was on the island that I decided to become a doctor. I saw the island in the distance.

Ikata Nuclear Power Plant:
I was born near the plant, though the plant was built decades after my birth. This plant is now suspended due to the 3.11 Tsunami disaster in eastern Japan, but the reactor will be open after further intensifying of its security.

(Vocabulary)
Old Matsuyama Home  ふるさと
up until quite recently　つい最近まで

Crash of Germanwings

　　I knew about the accident of Germanwings in France. There are many airline companies in the world and naturally its credibility would be graded. I believe that German airliners are relatively safer on a personal basis and the news surprised me. I felt a shiver of fright. Germanwings is a subsidiary of Lufthansa and Lufthansa is one of my three best airline companies, if that helps, Lufthansa, All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Air Canada.
　　My daughter, now in London, will come back to Japan by Lufthansa in April. I hope that the authorities will identify the cause of the crash as soon as possible.

(Vocabulary)
if that helps 　ちなみに

German Chancellor

　　The German Chancellor Merkel made the third visit to Japan the other day after 7 years' interval. The last two visits were for attendance at international meetings and not for bilateral talks with Japan, though she had visited China more than five times. This time, however, she came for the talk with Japan's prime minister and other political figures. No concrete statement was made and it has triggered a flurry of speculation about the content of the meeting.
　　Aside from the content, anyway, it is said that she had asked Japan to apologize to Korea about "Comfort Women" issues. It might be a fiction by a vicious politician, but she surely left a poor impression. She had been praised as well as Thatcher up to today in Japan, but actually,,,. I was surprised that she also had been brainwashed by Korean rumors.
　　Do you know about the IWG report by the U.S. Government? It was examined and submitted at great expense, as well as 7 years' time and labor. They couldn't find any evidence of Japan's abduction of Korean women. The report is a massive document and you'd better conduct a search using the key "comfort women". Japan's abduction of Korean women is only a distortion by Korea. I'd like to advise her not to step into the issue and to take care not to be trapped by groundless Korean stories.

(Vocabulary)
aside from 〈米〉～はさておき、～は別として、～はこっちに置いといて、～を除いては
vicious 悪意のある, 意地悪な

Cooking Class

　　The Matsuyama-Freiburg friendship association, which I belong to, offered citizens the opportunity to cook German cuisine of "Frikadele" and "Himmel und Erde" under the instruction of a local famous Chef. Frikadele is a hamburger patty in English, and I thought it was from the German city of Hamburg and naturally all German people should know that. However, "hamburger patty" seemed not to be understood in Germany. One more thing I admired. "Himmel und Erde" means "Heaven and Earth" in English. Can you tell what the dish is cooked from. The ingredients are apples and potatoes. Both are staple food for German people. "Himmel und Erde" is braised apples and potatoes. I wondered about the naming of the cuisine. The crops on and under trees are compared to sky and soil. Their way of thinking is great.
　　The ingredients were portioned to every 6 persons. When I noticed that, I was a little tense, because I'm not a good cook. I decided not to be directly involved with the part which has an influence on the taste itself. It might be good for me to be away from the important part of cooking and the dishes were delicious. On the way home, I dropped in at a supermarket and got some seasonings for my own next trial.

(Vocabulary)
Frikadele ドイツのハンバーグ
Himmel und Erde ジャガイモとリンゴの蒸し煮
a hamburger patty ハンバーグ

Nipponmaru Cruise Ship

　　My office is located in the small fishing-and-farming village of Nagahama, which is serene and safe from crime. In this town a sensational topic has been in the air these days. That is, Japan's cruise ship, Nipponmaru, is to call at Nagahama port on Mar. 5th., carrying 400 passengers. I've not seen the ship, and I came to the office rather earlier than usual and went to the port.
　　When I arrived at the port, passengers were moving into buses to go sightseeing around here. I tried to shoot the whole of the ship, but I was too close to the ship. One of my colleagues climbed up the hill and took nice pictures. I got some pictures from him and I'll post them.
　　Getting back to my office, I promptly did a search about the Nipponmaru cruise ship on the net. I've not experienced any cruise ship tour. Consequently, in the next moment, I found myself to have applied for a four-day tour to Sakhalin in autumn.
　　My booked room is the lowest-priced one and I was put on a waiting list at the third place for cancellation. If I could get the room, I'll put up pictures of Japan's northern island of Rishiri and Rebun, and the autumnal scenery of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
　　By the way, the upper-classes weren't fully booked, but they were too expensive for me, and I decided to wait for cancellation of the lowest class.

(Vocabulary)
in the air　（話・うわさなどが）話題になって
call at　（船が）～に寄港する
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk ユジノサハリンスク

"My Boom", Special Interests

　　Special interests? I don't mean something political with it. I'll write about a Japanese word "my boom" originated from English. Every language will have its own specifics and one of these of Japanese is its ease of adopting and using foreign words as Japanese words. Someone who recently started jogging could say "My boom is jogging, or jogging is my boom. Taking the meaning of "boom" out and adopting it into Japanese.
　　Now, if you ask me what my boom is at present, it's dry fruits! They are always on my desk in my office. The following picture shows dried mangoes, papayas and prunes. When I'm a bit hungry, I snack on them. I wonder how much their nutritional value is. Is it the same as fresh ones?

(Vocabulary)
ease of something  ＜…＞のしやすさ
The ease of access to information is increasing. 情報はますます簡単に手に入るようになっている．
for ease of something  ＜…＞しやすいように
The pictures are numbered for ease of reference.  写真には検索しやすいように番号が振ってある．
snack  間食する, 軽食をとる
snack on sth  間食に＜…＞を食べる
nutrition value; nutritional quality/value; nutritive quality/value 栄養価