Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Yashima Hill

　　Utilizing the opportunity of my business trip, I dropped in at the medieval battle field of Yashima Hill. A famous battle between the then most powerful political powers and a war genius took place there in the 12th century.
　　My late father took me there in my childhood. He was a primary school teacher and told me about the old battle. I remember that I wasn't able to fully understand his words at that time, but I remember that I had felt that numerous people had lived before my time and I had realized the stream of time. Now I'm interested in history. Small talk from people around me might exercise influence on my character.
　　Few families had their own car in those days in Japan and we climbed up the hill by the cable car, but the cable car was abandoned a few decades ago due to the decrease of passengers. Family cars became common in Japan. I visited the abandoned cable car station. The cable car was there as is. I got the sense that my father and I were there with happy faces. Time goes by securely.

Bando POW Camp Ruins

　　The Bando POW Camp Ruins isn't so far from my hometown, but I've never been there. I dropped in at the ruins on the way home from my business trip. The about 1000 of POWs who were accommodated in this camp were German who had been captured in the battle in Qing dynasty in China during World War I. The camp was run from April in 1917 to March in 1920.
　　What images do you have for the PWO camp? I read several experience documents written by Japanese people who had been confined into POW camps after the Great Eastern Asian War. I often wanted to avert my eyes from their description, but the Bando POW Camp was utterly different.
　　The POWs fought Japan on the behalf of Germany, not from their personal hostility against Japan. The authorities felt sorry for the POWs and allowed them to spend leisurely and free hours without any labor. Some of the POWs started to bake bread for their fellow POWs who wanted to eat German fresh bread. Some played Beethoven's Ninth Symphony for fellow POWs and Japanese camp officers. This fact made the site the birthplace of the Ninth Symphony in Japan. They were allowed to go in for sporting and artistic activities. At present, a nearby museum with regard to the camp collects a steady stream of visitors. I've visited the museum before, but dropped in at the real ruin for the first time. Climbing up the backside hill, I found two monuments along the path, honoring German who passed away during detention. I felt sorry and paid a short silence. One of the monuments was built by the German Government.
　　I had been reading Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Emil Frankl (Holocaust survivor, Austrian psychiatrist) by chance. According to Frankl, the way a prisoner imagined the future affected his longevity. The book intends to answer the question "How was everyday life in a concentration camp reflected in the mind of the average prisoner?" It's not easy to express my opinion precisely in English, but anyway, we've had enough of war.

(Vocabulary)
Bando POW Camp 坂東俘虜収容所
Man's Search for Meaning（邦訳：夜と霧）

The Awa Earth Pillars

　　The Awa Earth Pillars, which is called one of the three biggest scenic beauties the world over "by the local people". The other two scenic beauties are apparently the Earth pyramids of South Tyrol and the Hoodoos in Bryce Canyon National Park. Is the story of the three biggest scenic beauties true? I've long been skeptical about this story. I visited the Awa Earth Pillars for the first time and I was disappointed at the scene. Actually there was a strange terrain, but in my opinion, it can't be paralleled to the other two spots. I favorably understand the locals' passion for the Pillars, but this description isn't acceptable for me.

(Vocabulary)
scenic beauty 奇勝、名勝
bizarre 奇妙な, とっぴな
hoodoo
((米))縁起の悪い人［もの］，疫病神；不運の連続
((米西部))《地学》（浸食作用による奇形の）岩柱
((米))＝voodoo 《宗教》ブードゥー教（◇西インド諸島や米国南部の黒人に信仰されている多神教）
[動]他…を不運にする；魅惑する
skeptical 疑い深い, 懐疑的な

A Business Trip

　　To be charged with an easy task in a tiny island, I'm here in a small shabby unassuming hotel along the coast. Through the window I can see the island which I'll visit tomorrow morning. A ferry will take me to the island in only 6 minutes. The following picture shows the scene which I'm viewing. You might take this channel as a river, but actually this is the genuine sea which even connects to the U.S.A. There are so many islands in the Seto Inland Sea and those islands became hot spots for scenic photo opportunities. If I have some free time tomorrow, I'm thinking of wandering around my workplace.