Hiburijima Island, My Spiritual Home

　　Our boat proceeded toward Hiburijima, the farthest island from Uwajima City, on slightly high waves. Hiburijima Island is located far out of the indented coastline and is directly hit by the rough waves from the Pacific Ocean. The bay of the island, however, is guarded from them and the surface is usually like a mirror.
　　After landing on the island, we climbed up a hill to see Sumitomo Memorial Park. It has been said for a long time that Hiburijima used to be the home of the pirate Sumitomo Fujiwara in the first half of 10th century. No evidence has been found that indicates the historical facts, but the tradition extends to the present. There's a roughly-made stone wall ruin, which must have been built by humans, and it is thought to be the ruin of the pirate's castle. I wondered why the educational board or a body like that doesn't embark on some exploration.
　　Sumitomo Memorial Park is located on the top of a small hill behind my primary school which I had attended from 7 to 9 years old. As the collateral evidence of its site of the pirate's castle, the prospect from the top was great! The scenery around the school has remarkably changed from that of 48 years ago, but the school stood in the same place.
　　Lots of trees prevented me from viewing the school itself, but I was able to see the playground. Numerous memories came up to my mind. Looking at the off-shore of the school, there were many fish farm tanks floating in the sea. Can you find two types of tanks in the pictures? Square ones are for yellowtails, sea breams, and other fish of such sizes. Circular or oval ones are for tuna up to middle sizes. Some of them will be transferred to another huge tank later. Thanks to the culture technique, the originally high-priced tuna became affordable fish.
　　I got back to the boat 10 or so minutes earlier than other members and took a short walk around my former playing sites. I felt that everything has become small and realized how long the 48 years were. I remembered that my 2-year-old brother had developed encephalitis in Hiburijima, but there was no clinic. He was immediately taken to Uwajima City by fishery boat and had a narrow escape without any after effects. He is now a known journalist.
　　Turning 9 years old, my family moved to another isolated place, Misaki Town, the western point of Shikoku. Misaki was also a deserted small fishery town. Thinking back to the old days, these two places seemingly made me start a new chapter of my life, i.e. I made up my mind to become a physician through the inconvenient and medically unsafe life in Hiburijima and Misaki. Hiburijima island and Misaki Town would be apparently called my spiritual home.

(Vocabulary)
spiritual home 　心のふるさと
collateral evidence 　傍証