Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Viva! Kota Kinabalu!

　　Our flight to Kota Kinabalu(KK) was short, about a few hours, and the departure time was scheduled at 9.05 hours. We didn't expect a lot from our in-flight meal, but it was really filling. I shouldn't have had breakfast in Kuala Lumpur International Airport. By the way, the second pleasure next to the meal in flight was the scenery from the window. The sky was clear and we were able to see downward to the South China Sea. The flight route from Kuala Lumpur was roughly straight to KK. The Borneo Island was approaching us from the front right side. My heart began pounding with expectation and pleasure to see her again! ....HER?
　　Until last December, Malaysia was a far away country whether in distance or sensation to me and my family. I didn't even want to visit it. However, the circumstances had dramatically changed. A Malaysian schoolgirl stayed in my house for about a week last December. She was a what-you-call trigger for us to know about Malaysia and was just like a diplomat from Malaysia for my family. No Malaysian ambassador who ever came to Japan stirred us to visit Malaysia, but she did. That schoolgirl lives in Miri which is located on the north shore of Borneo Island and is adjacent to Brunei. One of the purposes of this trip was to see her again. She was supposed to wait for us in KK International Airport. We looked for Miri from the plane when it came close to Brunei, but it was too far for taking pictures.
　　Borneo Island came close. The picture was shot about 10 minutes before landing. Judging from my map, it shows the area of Kuala Penyu. We would visit Papar near the area by train. The second picture looked like an oil camp and I photographed it. Looking up the map, it was Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal, which reminded me of the Great East Asian War. Japan, which was imposed with a total ban on US crude oil imports, expelled Britain from Borneo Island to get oil and established its military administration on the island. They say that the condition of the island was peaceful while Japan was dominant in the war. The island has its several tribes like Taiwan. What history does it have? I wanted to visit some museums.

(Vocabulary)
establish a military administration  軍政を敷く

マレーシア旅行記：　コタキナバルへ向かう

９時５分発の数時間の短いフライト。食事は期待しておらず、空港で朝食を取ったが失敗だった。飛行機の中で朝食が出た。結構食べ応えのあるサンドイッチだった。晴れていて眼下にきれいな海が見える。飛行ルートはクアラルンプールからほぼまっすぐにコタキナバルへ向かっている。右手遙か前方に見えたボルネオ島が近づいてくる。『彼女』に再会すると思うと胸がどきどきしてきた。
　
昨年の１２月までマレーシアは全く知らない、縁の無い国だった。行きたいと思うこともなかった。しかし、昨年１２月、我が家にマレーシアから女子高生が１週間滞在し、そのことでマレーシアに興味を持つようになった。我が家にとってはマレーシアから派遣された外交官に等しい高校生だった。その高校生が住む街がボルネオ島北岸の中央部に位置するミリ。今回の旅の目的の一つは彼女と再会すること。その彼女は今、コタキナバルで我々を待っていくれているはずだが、彼女の住むミリはどの辺りかなと目を凝らす。モニターに映る現在位置から判断して、ブルネイのすぐ隣だからこのあたりかと飛行機から島を見下ろした。
　
コンパクトカメラでも撮れるくらいに陸地に近づいてきた。写真は到着１０分くらい前に取ったもの。手元の地図から判断するとKuala Penyuという街らしい。この近くまで実は鉄道を使って行ってみるつもりでいる。石油基地らしいものがあったので撮っておいた。地図を見るとSabah Oil and Gas Terminalとある。そういえば先の大戦時、アメリカからの原油輸入を止められた日本はボルネオからイギリスを追い出しこの地に軍政を敷いた。戦争前半の日本が優勢な時期には平和な時代だったと聞いている。ボルネオも台湾などと同様限られた面積に多くの民族が住んでいた。どのような歴史を持つのだろうか。歴史博物館も楽しみだ。

Royal Selangor and Malaysia Tourism Center

　　The last place we visited was the head factory of Royal Selangor. This company was apparently the biggest one in the world in the field of pewter products. The guide's explanation recalled the fact that Malaysia had developed with the production of tin, but unfortunately it plunged the country into the pit of misery as a colony of Britain at the same time. I walked along the sightseeing route, admiring the skillful work of craftswomen, and reached the souvenir shop. The items on the shelves were great. I wanted some, but I had a long way to go yet. I gave up buying them. When I got back to our hotel, our laundry was delivered as I show you below. The laundry fee of 59 Ringgit (1550 yen) was high or low? It was not dark yet, so we went out for a walk around the hotel.
　　There was the Malaysia Tourism Center behind our hotel. This colonial building was built as a mine operator's residence in 1935, but it was converted to the British Army's Office, then it was used as the Headquarters of the Japanese Imperial Army until 1945, the defeat of Japan. The center was out of service, but I was able to enter the facility and it was bigger than I expected. It had a theater and a restaurant inside. The KL Tower and my hotel were seen from the garden of the center. I didn't climb up the tower, but I would visit KL again. The last picture is the Petronas Twin Tower which was glowing with the setting sun. The area around the tower was swarming with people who were celebrating their Independence.

(Vocabulary)
Royal Selangor　ロイヤル・セランゴール
tin [U] ([化学記号] Sn) スズ, (金属元素) ブリキ

 

マレーシア旅行記：　ロイヤル・セランゴール本社工場　旧日本帝国陸軍本部

最後の訪問地はロイヤル・セランゴールの本社工場。この会社はピューター製品の分野では世界で最も規模が大きい歴史ある老舗だとか。そういえばマレーシアはスズの生産で発展した国だったと思い出した。そのために英国の植民地ともなってしまったのだが。職人の鮮やかな手さばきにほれぼれしながら、最後はお決まりの土産物コーナー。どれもこれも素晴らしく買って帰りたいのだが、残りの行程が長いため我慢した。ホテルへ帰ると洗濯物が届いていた。これだけで５９リンギット（１５５０円）は高いか安いか。きれいに仕上がっていた。まだ十分明るいのでホテル周りを散策した。
　
ホテルの裏手にマレーシアツーリズムセンターがあった。このコロニアル建築は１９３５年にスズ採掘業者の邸宅として建てられたもので、イギリス陸軍オフィス、そして大東亜戦争中は日本陸軍本部として使われた歴史上大きな役割を果たしてきた建物。時間外だったが中に入ることが出来た。シアターやレストランもある大きな施設だった。同センターから宿泊したホテルとＫＬタワーが見えた。結局ＫＬタワーに登る時間は取れなかったが、また来ることもあるだろう。最後の写真は西日に映えるペトロナスツインタワー。独立記念日のためだろうか、大勢の人たちで賑わっていた。

 

National Monument

　　We moved to the National Monument on foot. It was a few minutes' walk from Istana Negara. This monument was built for paying tribute to the departed who dedicated their lives to Malaysia to grasp the independence of their country. Seven soldiers were depicted on the base. It was a really good opportunity to visit the monument on their Independence Day.
　　This monument reminded me of the Iwoto Memoriall in Arlington National Cemetery, which had been built for the dead in the battle of Iwoto Island in the Great East Asian War. Both monuments were really alike. I elaborately examined its base and found the sculptor's name on the stone, which is shown in the following picture. The National Monument and Iwoto Memorial were produced by the same sculptor.

(Vocabulary)
National Monument　国家記念碑
Istana Negara  王宮

マレーシア旅行記：　クアラルンプール市内＆郊外観光　国家記念碑

王宮（Istana Negara）から歩いて国家記念碑へ移動した。これは、マレーシア独立戦争で命を失った兵士たちの功績をたたえるために作られたもので、国旗を持った７人のマレーシア兵士が描かれている。独立記念日にこの地を訪問できたこと、何かの縁かも知れず、手を合わせた。
 
この像を見て思いだした。硫黄島の戦いで倒れた米兵を追悼するためにアーリントン墓地に建てられている合衆国海兵隊記念碑（Marine Corps War Memoriall （USMC War Memoril）、通称硫黄島記念碑（Iwoto Memorial）。非常によく似ていた。台座に刻まれている説明をじっくりと読んでいて４枚目の写真の文字を見つけた。同じ彫刻家の作だった。Iwoto Memorialは１９５４年に建てられているので、こちらはその後で建てられたものと思われる。

Sightseeing in Kuala Lumpur

　　We were going to visit several famous tourist spots in Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 31st, the Independence Day of Malaysia. The first spot we visited was Thean Hou Temple, though I wasn't so interested in the Chinese culture. I became sick of its flashiness. When I was walking in front of the temple, a dozen choppers passed over me. The temple was located away from the city center and I was able to see the sky widely. Naturally the flight of those choppers was for the celebration of the foundation of their country and their own military force. Additionally a military aircraft with two vertical tails - F/A-18 Hornet or Russian Su-30MKM I think - arrived over Independence Square and soared almost vertically. It was too fast to take pictures. There stood some statues of deer in the corner of the parking lot. I wrote about the relationship between this country and the deer in a previous entry.
　　We came by Istana Negara, the Royal Palace, where the sitting king lived. On the previous day, our guide joked that he had been living in that house, pointing at this Palace. Anyway, we were not permitted to enter through the gate, both sides of which were guarded by two mounted policemen. Malaysia is comprised of 13 provinces and 9 of those have their own Sultan. Nine Sultans are supposed to come to the throne by turn.

(Vocabulary)
Thean Hou Temple  天后宮　
vertical tail  垂直尾翼
Istana Negara 王宮
mounted〈警官・兵士などが〉騎馬の
mounted police/officers/soldiers 騎馬警官隊［騎馬警官，騎兵］
be composed of sth   ＜要素＞から成る, で構成される
be comprised of sth/sb  ＜…＞から成る, で構成されている
consist entirely/solely of sb/sth  完全に［もっぱら］＜…＞から成る
「…で構成されている」の意味で，受け身形be consisted ofは不可．常にconsist ofの形で用いる．

 

マレーシア旅行記：　クアラルンプール市内＆郊外観光

シナ文化にはあまり興味は無かったが、立ち寄ってはみた。やはり、あまりのけばけばしさに気分が悪くなってきたが、ちょうど空の開けた場所にいたため独立記念日祝賀式典に向かうヘリコプター編隊を眺めることができた。その後、垂直尾翼が２枚ある軍用機、F/A-18Dか、Su-30MKMだと思ったが市内中心部の空に飛来した。この駐車場に鹿の像があった。紙幣に描かれていることは以前の記事で書いた。やはり、マレーシアと鹿は繋がりが深いようだ。この意味のわからない方はマラッカでの旅行記を参照ください。

次にIstana Negaraと呼ばれる現国王の住居へ立ち寄った。昨日のガイドが遠くからこの場所を見て、『あれが私の住んでいる家』と説明していた場所。（笑）国王の住居であるとともに、王室行事が行われるという。騎馬兵が警護するこの門から先へは立ち入り禁止となっていた。マレーシアは１３の州から構成されていて、うち９つの州にスルタンがいる。彼らが交代で国王を務めることになっているとのこと。

Independence Day's Eve

　　It was getting dark, but I headed for the city center. As I got close to the city center, the number of police and military vehicles increased and traffic control was also getting tight. I knew that it was the preparation for the  Independence Day ceremony, but the operation was not good for sightseers. I decided to approach the site of the ceremony as close as possible.
　　When I passed an intersection near Independence Square, young soldiers were chatting. They might have just finished their task today. I knew that the next day was their Independence Day, but to be clear I asked them about the strict traffic regulations. Naturally they replied "They are for the Independence Day's Ceremony!". To hear that, I promptly said, "Congratulations!" Then I continued to say "I'm a sightseer from Japan. I'm sorry not to be able to step in the square today." To my surprise, one of the soldiers showed the way to sneak into the square. I was able to walk around the square! I'll show you pictures with few staff members. I was jumpy all the way in the square.
　　By the way, we had dinner at a Japanese style restaurant in our hotel. I wanted to visit Alor Street again, but my wife didn't want to go out. The restaurant was apparently run by Chinese and the dishes were far from Japanese.

マレーシア旅行記：　立ち入り禁止の独立広場へ侵入できた件

徐々に薄暗くなってきたが、更に中心部へ向かうと警察や軍の車両が増え、規制されている箇所が多くなった。独立記念日祝賀式典の準備であることはわかったが、独立広場などを見学できないのは観光客にとっては辛いなあと思いつつ、行けるところまで行ってみようと独立広場へ向かった。

広場横の交差点にさしかかると、若い軍人が数名、仕事を終えたのか、雑談していた。わかってはいたのだが、念のため、交通規制の訳を尋ねてみたらやはり独立記念日祝賀式典の準備だった。『おめでとうございます！！！』と即座に返答した。『ありがとう。』との返事に続けて、『初めてマレーシアに来たが、独立広場を歩けないのが残念だ』と話すと、広場内への狭い通路を教えてくれて、歩くことが出来た。良かったのだろうか？端から端まで足早に通り抜けた。緊張した。

この夜はカミさんが疲れたというのでホテル内の日本料理店で食事。よくあることだが、シナ人経営で、日本料理とは呼べないものだった。アロー街で食事をしたかったのだが、、、。最後の写真はホテル前から撮ったＫＬタワー。

Wandering around the hotel

　　I was dropped off at the hotel about 5 o'clock. I was lucky to be back before the peak of the traffic jam. My wife wanted to take a rest in the hotel, but I was high-spirited thanks to a short doze in the car. I went out for a walk alone in the busiest streets in Kuala Lumpur. It's a great pleasure for me to wander around strange cities. I didn't carry my gps data logger and took lots of snaps for recording my walking route. I would be able to trace the route on the map later with the assistance of those pictures.
　　I moved from the nearest monorail station to Bukit Bintang by monorail and started to walk from there. While I was walking, I found myself at the gate of an Arabian street. As I was always checking my position at every corner on the Google Map, I didn't feel uneasy. I went into the street. Ten minutes later, I got to one of the destinations, Alor Street. The 2nd and 3rd pictures show the street. When I arrived, the local cuisine restaurants and street stalls had just started their business. The Malaysian national flags were raised everywhere. "Merdeka" in Malay in the 4th picture apparently stands for "independence". I saw a few police motorbikes at an intersection and I wanted to look at them closely, but I was afraid to be challenged. They were Honda products.

マレーシア旅行記：　クアラルンプール市内散策

５時頃にホテルに着いた。渋滞の始まる前に帰ることが出来て運が良かった。カミさんは疲れたので少し休むと言うが、僕は車の中で寝ていたので元気いっぱい。一人でホテル周辺を歩いてみることにした。知らない街を、国内でも国外でも同じだが、ぶらぶら歩くことはこの上なく楽しい。ただ、旅行の時にはいつも持ち歩くデータロガーを忘れてきた。日本出発前に十分に準備できていなかったことが悔やまれる。仕方が無いので歩いたルートを後日グーグルマップ上でたどることが出来るように風景写真をたくさん撮りながら歩いた。

ホテルの最寄り駅からモノレールでブキッビンタン駅まで移動、それから歩いて１０ｋｍ以上の散歩となった。グーグルマップを開いて自分の居場所を地図上で確認しながら気の向く方向に移動。アラビア語の表示の多い地域に迷い込んでしまった。やがて目的の場所の一つ、アロー街へ出た。写真の２枚目、３枚目がアロー街で、露店が営業を開始した直後らしい。またマレーシア国旗が至る所に掲げられていた。４枚目の写真の真ん中の単語『Merdeka』は独立という意味だそうだ。白バイが数台交差点に止まっていた。近づいて車種を見たかったのだが、何か疑われても嫌なのでやめた。ホンダのバイクだった。

Lunch and our tour guide

　　We arrived at the restaurant in the Equatorial Hotel in 10 minutes' walk from Porta de Santiago. Meals are always one of the pleasures on trips and our lunch was supposed to be representative local dishes, which was generally called Nyonya cuisine. I'll show you the pictures of the restaurant, the menu and some of the dishes.
　　At the moment when I tasted the first spoonful of soup, I felt something weird, but while eating dishes served one after another, I began to feel good. The mixture of spicy taste, sourness, sweetness, the flavour of various herbs,,,,I hadn't been able to even guess their tastes in advance. Can you imagine the taste of "Udang Lemak Nenas", fresh prawns and pineapple simmered with coconut cream? The dessert was "Cendol", sweet bean jelly and coconut cream with shaved ice. All the dishes were new to me. I understood that they were actually a mixture of various cultures.
　　The required time to Kuala Lumpur was estimated to be about two hours. In case of being involved in a traffic jam into the bargain, we left Malacca just after lunch. The route was the same as the route which we took in the morning. I was a little tired after taking a walk in the streets of Malacca, and I carelessly took a nap though I wanted to very much talk with our tour guide.
　　However, I'm going to make a note of his words and my thoughts, though I won't write about anything too private. The guide, who speaks four languages as I wrote before, was from Ipoh, which is located to the north of Kuala Lumpur and is well-known as the place of production of tin. His father is Chinese and his mother is Malay. He was the youngest but one among a dozen siblings. I asked lots of things mainly about historical matters.
　　One of his stories was; When he was in the third year in his primary school -- approximately 8 to 9 years old -- he apparently taught letters to his mother because she was neither able to read nor write letters then. Judging from his age of the middle forties, it was only about 40 years ago and about 20 years after Malaysia became independent from Britain. I think this stuff eloquently tells us about  Britain's atrocious reign.
　　He answered my questions as if he was carefully choosing his words and probing for my political background until he knew it. After he had understood my fundamental thoughts toward the Great East Asian War, he fluently talked about his way of thinking of their own culture and history.
　　I wondered if the Japanese Imperial Army, which landed at Kota Bharu in the Great East Asian War, might have passed his home town of Ipoh, and people in Malaysia might have welcomed the army as their saviour.
　　His strong affinity toward Japan, his sincere attitude toward Ten-noh, the priest king of Japan and his gratitude for Japan as well as his confident pride as a Malaysian touched me.
　　To my regret, however, I fell asleep unintentionally on the way to Kuala Lumpur, though I was meaning to continue to chat with him. Next time I visit Kuala Lumpur, I'd like to ask him to guide me in his home town of Ipoh. I'd be pleased to pay him a double fee.

(Vocabulary)
tin [U] ([化学記号] Sn) スズ, (金属元素) ブリキ
atrocious  extremely bad
Kota Bharu 日本軍が大東亜戦争で上陸したマレー半島北東部の都市
saviour  (困難・危険などから) 救ってくれる人［もの］, 救世主

マレーシア旅行記：（マラッカはこれでおしまい）
　
サンチャゴ砦から徒歩数分でエクアトリアルホテルに着いた。食事は旅の楽しみの一つ。我々の昼食はツアーにセットされている地元の料理。ニョニャ料理と呼ばれている。ガイドブックに載っている料理が並んだ。最初は妙な味だと思ったが馴れてくると美味しくなってきた。スパイシーさに酸味や甘み、ハーブの香り、、、エビとパイナップルのココナッツミルク煮(Udang Lemak Nenas)なんて想像すら出来ない味だった。デザートは小豆とゼリーのココナッツかき氷(Cendol)。なるほど多文化の融合した味であると実感した。
　
クアラルンプールまで２時間を要する。また渋滞に巻き込まれる恐れもあり、昼食後はすぐに帰路についた。来るときに見た同じ景色だったのと、歩き回って疲れていたためか、寝てしまいガイドと十分に話が出来なかった。残念だった。
　
それでもガイドから聞いたことを、あまりにもプライベートなことは伏せるがメモしておく。先に書いたように４カ国語を話すガイドの出身地はイポー(ipoh)というクアラルンプールの北にある街。スズの産出で栄えた街だ。父親がシナ人、母親がマレー人。大勢の兄弟のしたから２番目。歴史的な質問をたくさんした。その答えの中で、自分が小学３年生の時、母親は文字を書けなかったので自分が教えたという。４０代半ばの彼の歳を考えれば、ほんの４０年ほど前の話だ。イギリスの手を逃れてまだ２０年くらいの話。イギリスの植民地時代の現実がこの一事でも偲ばれる。
　
こちらのバックグラウンドが不明な間は慎重に言葉を選びながら答えてくれた。
　
大東亜戦争でコタバルに上陸した日本軍がシンガポールに向かうとき、イポーを経由したのではないか？人々は日本軍を温かく迎えたのではないか？マレーシア人としての誇りとともに、彼の中に存在する親日感情、天皇陛下を敬う態度、日本に対しての感謝の気持ちは僕の心を揺さぶった。
　
しかし、これらマラッカへ向かうときに交わした会話の続きを帰りにするつもりが、、、、寝てしまった。今度は彼の故郷、イポーの案内を頼むことにしたい。彼のガイドになら普通の倍のガイド料を払ってもいいと思う。素晴らしいガイドだった。

Ruin of St Paul's Church

　　I climbed up to the hill on which St. Paul's Church stood. As I went up, the church came into my sight. The first thing which caught my eye was the statue of St. Francisco Xavier, whose right hand had been broken by tree branches in stormy weather. Mysteriously, the present mummy of St. Francisco Xavier in Goa in India lacks his right hand. Was the defect of the right hand of the statue done deliberately or accidentally or by God? Anyway, according to the information board, the church began only as a chapel. It was built by a Portuguese sea captain as a way of giving thanks for surviving an enemy attack while sailing the South China Sea. Thanks to St. Francisco Xavier, the church became well-known globally. He was accommodated in it during his stay in Malacca in the middle of the 16th century, and his body was laid to rest here for 9 months waiting for the westward wind to move his body to Goa in India, where he had wanted to stay forever himself.
　　I was able to view the Malacca Strait clearly from the top of the hill. That day's morning heavy rain seemed to sweep the haze away completely and then I fully understood the words which our tour guide told us this morning; "This heavy rain will favor you guys."
　　When I flew into the Kuala Lumpur International Airport a few days ago, I overlooked the strait and found four container ships. The strait looked not so narrow for them as I had heard before, but it would be narrow for enormous and deep-draft ships.
　　This strait is the main artery of the energy bound for Japan. I'm really afraid of the Chinese military presence in the South China Sea. If it would be completed, all the tankers would have to detour through Lombok channel and it would send oil prices soaring in Japan. It would surely cause a recession.
　　Now, we walked toward the ruin of St. Paul's Church. Before entering, I touched the outer wall of the church, which had been exposed to the weather and survived it for more than 500 years. That evoked my feelings of nostalgia. I was at the right place which I had learned about in history class in my high school days. I wasn't able to even imagine at that time that I would be able to visit Malacca. I'll write about the inside in the next entry.

(Vocabulary)
draft 喫水
Selat Lombok (channel) ロンボク海峡

マレーシア旅行記：（まだまだまだ続きます）
　
　セントポール教会へと丘を登った。教会が見えてきた。まず目に飛び込んでくるのがザビエル像。像の右手はある嵐の日に木の枝が当たり折れたらしい。これは現在のザビエルのミイラの状況と奇妙に一致している。自然(神)によるものなのか、人為的なものなのか、、、、さて、設置されている案内板によると、この教会は、敵からの攻撃を生き抜くことが出来たことに感謝してポルトガル人船長により建てられたものとのこと。これほど有名になったのはザビエルが滞在し、死後彼の遺体が９ヶ月間安置されたことによる。
　
　丘の上からはマラッカ海峡が見えた。クアラルンプール到着時、飛行機からマラッカ海峡を通航する４隻のコンテナ船を見た。そのときはマラッカ海峡は意外に広く感じたが、大きなコンテナ船にとっては狭いのだろう。それにしても遠くまでよく見える。朝の雨で煙や靄が消えたためという。この海峡が日本のエネルギーを運ぶ大動脈。南シナ海をシナに押さえられたら、タンカーはずっと東のロンボク海峡あたりを通らなければならなくなる。そうなったら輸送コストが大幅に増大し、生活が厳しくなるだろう。
　
　教会の建物に向かった。入る前に外壁に触れてみた。５００年以上風雨に耐えてきた、ザビエルも触れたかも知れない外壁。突然、高校時代の歴史の授業が脳裏に浮かんだ。当時、まさかここを訪れることが出来るとは夢にも思えなかったが、今自分はその歴史の舞台に立っている、、、、なんという幸せ。

Overview of Malacca

　　Malacca Sultanate was established in the late 14th century, but was conquered by Portugal in 1511. The fortress, which is today called Porta de Santiago, and St. Paul Church were built under the reign of Portugal. Francisco Xavier from the Jesuit order started his mission over the eastern Asian countries in Malacca. Then Holland came to conquer the land in 1641 expelling the Portuguese. After 1824 it had been controlled by Britons. With the outbreak of the Great East Asian War, the Japanese Imperial Army kicked the Britons out, but unfortunately the Britons came back after the defeat of Japan.
　　While Japan was in the fierce fight with the allied forces, it trained local young people to create the leaders of their country. The young people who got knowledge and abilities in the Japanese military facilities joined the cause of their own independence, and finally achieved independence on Aug. 31st in 1957. That is to say, the next day was their 59th Independence Day.
　　The Singapore Asian Revival School was established in May, 1942 and was moved to Malacca in July, 1943 and had been called the Malay Asian Revival School since then. The Japanese Army trained and encouraged nearly 1000 local leaders to resist their enemies and win their own independence from the European superpowers.
　　What the Allies got in the Great East Asian War was only negative assets like red China, the north-south problem in Vietnam and Korea, the Cold War, and so on. Only Japan, I think, fulfilled its purpose, i.e. the independence of all the Asian countries. The Japanese leaders in the War, such as Hideki Tojo and Mamoru Shigemitsu, would be chuckling in heaven.
　　Some people insist that Japan invaded Southeast Asian countries, but do you have any idea what nation gave education to local people, or what nation gave them weapons and gave them lectures on how to use them, or what nation formed a voluntary army for local people?
　　Portugal, Holland, and Britain exploited numerous people during centuries and never gave them anything but pain. Though the reign of Japan was only 3 years and 7 months, the basis of this country was formed in this term, I believe. I'd like to visit the place where the Asian Revival School used to stand, but in vain due to the shortness of time.
　　Malacca, the oldest city of Malaysia, has made remarkable progress as a harbor city and now receives more than 6 million international and domestic guests a year. Its historic streets were listed on UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. The picture shows the Strait of Malacca from the hill on which St. Paul Church stands.

(Vocabulary)
Malacca Sultanate　マラッカ王国
A' Famosa ファモサ要塞跡 (別名)Porta de Santiago  サンチャゴ砦
Jesuit order  イエズス会
the Great East Asian War 大東亜戦争
Asian Revival School　（拙訳）興亜訓練所

マレーシア旅行記：(現地で親しく話した人たちが読んでいることをかなり意識して書いています。興亜訓練所は英語表現が見つからず拙訳です。ヨーロッパ列強に支配されていた東南アジア諸国の優秀な人材を教育した施設です。)
　
マラッカ王国は１４世紀末に建国されたが、１５１１年ポルトガルに征服される。ポルトガル時代には要塞（サンチャゴ砦）やキリスト教会（セントポール教会）が建設され、イエズス会のフランシスコ・ザビエルはここから東アジア布教に出発している。その後、１６４１年オランダが占領し、１８２４年からはイギリスに統治され、１９４１年から４年間日本は占領が占領している。大東亜戦争の後、４５年から再びイギリス領となってしまった。
　
日本軍は勝つか負けるかの苦しい戦いの中、１９４２年５月からシンガポールにて学校を開き、現地のエリートを集め、軍事訓練を施しリーダーの育成を図っている。この日本軍施設で学んだ人たちがその後、マレーシアの独立運動に関わり、、１９５７年８月３１日に完全独立を遂げる。つまり翌日が５９回目の独立記念日だ。
　
１９４２年５月に設立された昭南興亜訓練所、４３年７月からはマラッカへ移設され、マラヤ興亜訓練所として４５年８月まで存続。東南アジア各国の１０００名に及ぶリーダー達を育成し、東南アジア諸国の独立に寄与した。
　
あの戦争で戦勝国が得たものは負の遺産ばかり。日本こそがその目的を達成したと思う。東條英機、重光葵など、当時の政治家達はあの世でしてやったりとほくそ笑んでいることだろう。日本が東南アジアを侵略したという輩がいるが、現地の若者を教育し、武器を与え使い方を教え、義勇軍まで作ってやる国がこれまであったか？ポルトガルもオランダもイギリスもこの国から搾取はしたが苦痛以外の何も与えなかった。日本軍の進駐はほんの４年足らずだったがこの国の基礎を作った４年間だったのではないだろうか。ただ、残念ながらこの訓練所の跡地への訪問はかなわなかった。
　
港湾都市として発達を遂げたマレーシア最古の都マラッカは現在、観光都市として年間６００万人（２００７年）を超える国内外からの観光客が訪れている。２００８年には歴史的な街並みがユネスコの世界遺産に登録された。写真はセントポール教会の建つ丘から見たマラッカ海峡である。

Squall?

　　When I was working in front of my mobile PC such as copying  pictures which I had taken on the previous day from my digital camera or smartphone to my PC, sending e-mails and taking notes on my trip bright and early, it burst out into terrible torrential rain accompanied by thunder and lightning. The TV screen went black and showed messages like the following picture. The internet connection was also severed. I've never gone through what you call a squall, but was that it?
　　Do you know the historic town of Malacca, which is located  about 1.5 hours' distance by car from Kuala Lumpur. I had been eager to visit the town since 40 years ago, when I was in a history class. The best way for us to see the town is to act by ourselves in an unrestrained manner, but I thought we might as well hire a tour guide to look around the town effectively and time-savingly. I had reserved a guided tour from Japan.
　　We were supposed to meet the guide in our hotel lobby at 8:30, but he was 10 minutes late due to a traffic jam caused by flooding. He made an excuse in Japanese, meaning "I'm sorry, the traffic got stuck by flooding". There are two similar but different words for flooding in Japanese. He mistook one for another. I wondered then if his Japanese skills were ok or not. However, soon later, I knew this guy was in a class of his own when it comes to his job. I'd never meet any guide who surpasses him. I learned a lot from him and I'll write about him later again.
　　I learned the condition of Malaysia from him. The guide gave us really good lessons about Sultans, the automobile industries, Japan's regular car inspections, their domestic industries, natural disasters, their neighbor countries like Thailand, Singapore, and so on and their politics, their economics, their history, multiple tribes, military affairs,,, all of them included lots of humor. His story, viewing outside and picking up topics from the scene, segued from one theme into another and never stopped for about one and a half hours. He seemed to guide tourists in FOUR languages, Malay, English, Cantonese, and Japanese. I admired him.
　　There was a big supermarket, AEON, in the entrance of Malacca, which is widely known in Japan. He told us full of wit and humor like this: He frequently visited AEON and bought daily necessities against his better judgement and he could never beat the point system. AEON has a really good head for business.
　　He naturally knows that AEON is derived from Japan and utilized the fact to relax several Japanese tourists who happened to get in the same van and didn't know each other. He handles four languages. That is to say, he would have four kinds of ways of talking. I'm writing about him again and again in the following entries.

In The Cabin

　　When we left Narita, a typhoon was coming around the airport, but it didn't have any effect on our flight. We spent a very comfortable time on the flight, watching movies, but the thick clouds gathered underneath and hampered our sight through the window.
　　I had three things that I wanted to see on the way to Kuala Lumpur. At first, I was eager to see the Senkaku Islands with the naked eye, of which China's going to deprive Japan without any single clear evidence. When our plane was located at the point which the first picture shows, the clouds spread like a carpet underneath the plane.
　　Secondly, I wanted to see Mt. Gyokuzan, the highest mountain in Taiwan. I confirmed the present position and took the second picture. When I shot it, I thought I was able to shoot the picture of Mt. Gyokuzan, but it might be, nay, should be just clefts of clouds. Mt. Gyokuzan used to be the highest mountain in Japan while Taiwan had been a part of Japan.
　　Lastly, the third thing which I wanted to see was the Spratly Islands, which several countries claim control of, and arrogant China is constructing their island, ignoring the verdict of the International Court of Justice.
　　After a time, an announcement told us to prepare for landing and the plane gradually went down. When the plane dove into the sea of clouds and went out of them, I saw the land of Malaysia.

(Vocabulary)
have an effect on sb/sth ～に影響を与える
feel the effect (of sth) ～の影響を受ける
Spratly Islands スプラトリー諸島

Malaysia

　　I haven't had such a friendly feeling towards Malaysia, but it became a trigger for me to learn about Malaysia after a Malaysian school girl stayed at my house for a week last year. I make a trip every summer and I decided to visit Malaysia this year to see her and her family.
　　For all that, the recent wave of terrorist bombings scares me. She was from Borneo island, and the east coast of the island is now designated as one of the dangerous regions by the Japanese Foreign Ministry. It issues the recommendation not to go to the eastern coast of Borneo. I had some time to determine the destination, but my wife and I wanted to see her, so we decided to visit Malaysia for the first time.
　　I've worked out the schedule and where to visit in Malaysia in these past weeks. My destination is Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, and Kota Kinabalu. We'll leave here next weekend and will fly into Kuala Lumpur after staying in Tokyo for a couple of days. I'll show you lots of pictures of Malaysia in September!

(Vocabulary)
for all that とはいうものの
work out 予定を立てる
the latest crime wave to hit NewYork ～を襲う最近の犯罪の急増
the recent wave of terrorist bombings 最近の一連の爆弾テロ

 

Usa Naval Air Corps (Usa isn't U.S.A.)

　　There used to be a Japanese Imperial Naval Air Station in Usa City during the Great East Asian War, in which Kamikaze members had been trained. Now, there's their memorial monument at the site. Long straight roads run around there. If you don't know about the history, you'll wake up to the fact that some huge facilities used to exist there, because long straight roads are rare in Japan outside of Hokkaido. Around this air station, reinforced concrete bomb shelters for fighters called Entaigo were built, some of which are preserved even now. You can see one of them in the following pictures.
　　I found a flyer of the Usa Peace Memorial Museum there and visited it. Lots of things associated with the Great East Asian War and models of the zero fighter and its cockpit which were used in a movie set were exhibited. With the strong conviction that we had to absolutely avoid wars, I went out of the museum.

(Vocabulary)
Usa Naval Air Corps 宇佐海軍航空隊

宇佐市には大東亜戦争中に特攻隊員を養成した基地があった。今、航空基地は廃止され、追悼施設が作られている。周辺には直線の道路が作られているが、歴史を知らないものでも、過去に巨大な施設があったことがわかるだろう。北海道を除いて日本国内には直線道路が少ないのだ。ここには戦闘機を隠して置くための掩体壕と呼ばれる格納庫がいくつも残っている。
追悼施設にチラシが有り、宇佐市平和資料館のことを知った。現在施設の改装中だった。数年前に作られた映画で使われた模型の零戦や撮影に使われたセットがあった。戦争は絶対に避けなければならぬという思いを強くした。

Terrorism in Bangladesh

　　The terrorism in Dhaka was a sorrowful event. It's scandalous that people with high ambitions who had been devoting themselves to developing Bangladesh's infrastructure were killed by Bangladeshi young people. What on earth did the killers want? What did they get by this act of terror? The assistance from Japan would get stuck at least for a while. Who among Bangladeshis welcomes this situation? I feel an intense anger against the terrorism in Dhaka.

U.S. Presidential Visit to Hiroshima

　　The G7 summit takes place in Japan. The U.S. President Obama will get the chance to visit Hiroshima, where the first-ever atomic bomb was dropped, and offer condolences to the victims. It became a big issue in Japan whether the President should apologize for two atomic bombings done by the U.S. or not. However I'd say that it's up to the U.S. if you ask me. If the U.S. citizens want to do so, they are free to do it.
　　A fighter flew above Hiroshima just after the bombing. The pilot was piloting the newly built plane from the factory to the forefront in Kyushu. He witnessed Enola Gay veer away from Hiroshima and the following mushroom cloud. He is alive now and says; it was just a massacre, not the war, because the war should be fought between soldiers, not unarmed citizens.
　　I know there are various opinions about the bombing in the U.S., but it's obvious that the atomic bombing was a breach of the Hague Convention of 1899 and 1907, and any excuse is unacceptable, but leave it aside.

What we should do now is:

　　We need to keep the past alive. The sitting presidential visit is long overdue. I know that there's still debate about the bomb, but it's not debatable that lots of human tragedies were caused by an atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We should understand why that happened and never repeat the tragedy again.
　　I'd like to assess how high the level of the U.S. citizen's cultural standard is from the words of the President.

(English Version)  http://www.sdh-fact.com/CL/Greater8.pdf

(日本語版) http://hassin.org/01/wp-content/uploads/Greater88.pdf

(Vocabulary)
the cultural standard 文化水準、民度
the standard of living 生活水準、民度
The people in that country enjoy a high standard of living.その国は民度が高い。
Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 ハーグ陸戦条約


オバマ大統領来日＋広島訪問

　日本でＧ７サミットが開かれている。この機会を利用してオバマ大統領が広島を訪れ、原爆犠牲者達に献花するという。謝罪するとかしないとかが問題になっているが、それはアメリカの問題であり、我々日本人がとやかく言う問題ではないと思う。アメリカが謝罪すべきだと思えば謝罪すればいい。
　
　原爆投下直後に広島上空を飛んだ戦闘機があった。その操縦士が現在存命で、記録を残している。彼は兵庫県で最新型の戦闘機（紫電改）を受取り、九州の前線基地まで運搬していた。原爆を投下したエノラゲイは急旋回をして急ぎ立ち去ったという。そしてキノコ雲を見たパイロットは思った。
　
　『これは戦争ではない。虐殺だ。戦争というのは軍人と軍人が戦うものであり、非戦闘員の真上で原子爆弾を爆発させる行為は虐殺以外の何ものでも無い。』
　
　原爆投下の是非の議論がアメリカにはあるというが、明らかにハーグ陸戦条約に違反しており、弁明の余地はないがそれは置いておこう。
　
今、我々がしなければならないこと。
　
　原爆投下を風化させてはならない。現職アメリカ大統領が広島を訪問するのは遅すぎたくらいだ。アメリカ国内にいろいろな議論があることは知っているが、原爆投下が無数の悲劇を招いたことには議論の余地はない。我々日本人はなぜ原爆投下に至ったのかを理解し、悲劇を二度と繰り返してはならない。アメリカ大統領の口から発せられる言葉で彼らの民度を確かめたい。

Grumman F6F Hellcat

　　This article is the continuation of the previous entry. The old man, who looked over 80, asked us, "Do you know how these holes were made?", indicating several holes on the bridge structure. "An F6F Hellcat shot ordinary people who were walking on this bridge in 1945", he continued. It might be a pilot's pastime on the way back from an operation of attacking somewhere. There was no military-related facility around. The color of the red bridge might be catchy.
　　My mother's original house is located at a distance of 20km from there over the hill. They earned their living through the cultivation of citrus fruits on terraced fields, and their house was one of the most unobtrusive houses. One day in early summer in 1945, an F6F hellcat emerged abruptly and shot houses in a rural area. My 3 months old cousin was sleeping on the veranda then and was nearly shot by the bullet which hit the wall 30cm above her. She was not killed luckily, but my grandfather told me that he had seen clearly the pilot smiling. That was not a war, but a lawless slaughter. The old man's story reminded me of my late grandfather's story.
　　The U.S. took aim at innocent people like this. Incontrovertible evidence of the cruelties of the U.S. remains even in such a tiny place.

　前の記事の続きである。
　
　８０歳を越える老人はしっかりとした言葉で続けた。ここにある穴はなぜついたのかわかりますか？グラマン社製の戦闘機F6F Hellcatがこの橋を渡る人を攻撃したのです。どこかを攻めた帰りに弾が余っていたので撃ったのでしょう。歩いている人を面白半分で狙ったのかもしれません。軍関連の施設はなにもないところなのに、狙われるとは不思議。赤い色が目立ったのだろうか？と。
　
　ここから山を越えて約２０ｋｍのところに母方の実家がある。段々畑で柑橘を育てる農家である。当時生後数ヶ月の従姉妹が縁側で寝かされているときにやはりHellcatに狙われ、頭の上３０ｃｍくらいのところに銃弾が飛んできた。幸い命に影響は無かったが、戦闘で余った弾を帰り道で使ったのだろう。祖父は撃ってくるパイロットの顔が見えたという。
　
　こうやってアメリカ人は無抵抗の一般人を狙った。動かしがたい証拠がこんな小さな町にも残っていた。

Matsue City

　　I visited Matsue City, which is a historic castle town like my home town, with my friends to attend a Lions Club related wide-area meeting. I had visited the city nearly 40 years ago, but I don't remember anything about the city. As soon as I arrived in the city, I stopped by Matsue Castle, the most prominent sightseeing point in the city.
　　In general, medieval Japanese castles were protected with their high location or surrounding moats, but the moats got meaningless in modern times and most of them were filled in. Matsue Castle, though, keeps its original moat even at present. Tourists can enjoy sightseeing from on the boat floating on the moat. An hour of relaxing boating in the cool breeze on the surface was really wonderful.
　　After climbing up to the keep, I was going to visit Koizumi Yakumo Museum, but it was closed for refurbishment. He is a Briton and a big figure on the Japanese literature scene. When I was a kid, I read his works over and over again. I'd like to revisit the city to find out about his life.
　　Shimane Prefecture, in which Matsue City is included, is known as the scene of several Japanese myths. The performance in the welcoming party held by local Lions Clubs was a Kagura (Shinto music and dancing). I was impressed that the performers were all young people, 10 to 18 years old, as far as I saw. The education of Japanese myths had been prohibited during the U.N.'s domination (1945-1952). Consequently, even now, it doesn't appear in kids' textbooks in the wake of the GHQ's policy. I was very glad to see young people learn our myths. After the party, my local friend took us to a nice bar, where I found my favorite Islay malt whiskey and lost my memory. (grin)

(Vocabulary)
moat  (城壁周りの) 堀; (動物園の) 堀
the castle moat 城の堀
keep [C] (中世の城の) 天守閣
refurbish 〈ホテル，レストランなど〉 を（全面的に）改装する, 新装する
refurbishment  (建物・部屋などの) （全面的な）改装, 新装

Erdbeben

　　Ein Erdbeben hat in Kyushu, Japans südlichste Hauptinsel, schwere Schäden angerichtet. Das Erdbeben war sehr groß und viele Menschen sind umgekommen. Beinahe einhunderttausend leben jetzt in Notunterkünften, weil ihre Häuser kaputt sind oder zu einzustürzen drohen. Die viele Gebiete sind abgeschnitten von der Versorgung mit Strom, Wasser, und Gas. Viele historische Kulturgüter, Straßen, und Eisenbahnen sind von dem Erdbeben schwer beschädigt worden. Der Wiederaufbau wird viel Zeit und Geld erfordern. Die Zeit von Ende April bis Anfang Mai ist in Japan die Reisesaison, aber die Stornierungen sollen sich in Kyushu vermehren. Ich wünsche Kyushu eine gute schnelle Besserung.

Japan's Original Submarine

　　I had an opportunity to get on board the cutting-edge submarine, Hakuryu, this time last year. After this experience, I got interested in submarines in some ways, i.e., its complicated mechanism, its strategies, and its developmental history. I learned about them and knew that Japan's submarine is crucially highly valued in the world. Even the U.S., which can build atomic powered submarines, can't build diesel ones. Though "Hakuryu" isn't an atomic powered one, it can apparently hide deep in the sea for three consecutive weeks. Both the commander and the vice-commander were by chance from the same prefecture, Ehime, my prefecture, and I remember their names and faces.
　　Today I found an article on the Australian News Media, ABC., saying that Hakuryu arrived in Australia. Japan is now making a strong pitch of submarines to Australia. I think that the more highly functional, the better, and Australia has no alternative, but there would be other elements to have to take into account.
　　It made me feel like writing this entry that the submarine which was taken as the topic by ABC was Hakuryu which I had gotten into last year. The noise which Hakuryu emits looks like it's extremely low and it's very difficult to detect this submarine in the sea. The submarine whose movement is totally veiled went to Australia all the way. The eating room was really small. How was the cruise?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-15/japan-maritime-vessel-arrives-in-sydney-harbour/7328970


昨年の今頃、日本の最新鋭潜水艦『はくりゅう』に乗る機会があった。乗組員に説明を受けた。その後、日本の潜水艦技術に興味が湧き、いろいろと調べてみると世界中から羨望のまなざしで見られるほどの技術らしい。原子力ではない通常型の潜水艦であるにもかかわらず３週間ほど潜ったままでいられるらしい。『はくりゅう』の艦長も副艦長も愛媛県出身の方で同県出身者の組合せになるのは珍しいと言う.

その潜水艦がオーストラリアに行ったという記事を見つけた。オーストラリアは今、支那に対抗するためにどうしても潜水艦が欲しいという。それで日本やドイツなどが売り込みをしている。どうせなら世界最高水準のものが良いだろうと思うが、他にもいろいろと考慮しなければならない事柄があるのだろう。

この記事を書く気になったのは自分が乗った潜水艦がオーストラリアのメディアに取り上げられていたから。静かな潜水艦で探知が難しいという。行動すべてが秘密のベールに覆われた潜水艦。はるばるオーストラリアまでどんな旅だったのだろう？狭い食堂だったけど、あそこで何日も過ごしたのだろうな～、、

Truth Comes Up

　　The conference of foreign ministers of the G-7 took place in Hiroshima City on April 10th and 11th. Hiroshima would remind lots of people of the first-ever use of an atomic bomb in 1945. There seven foreign ministers got together and had talks about several world-wide issues. After the meeting, they visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in which lots of records about the atomic bomb are displayed and it's next the symbolic ruin, Hiroshima Dome, destroyed by the bombing. The bombing slaughtered more than 100,000 in a moment and totally about 140,000 by the end of the year 1945. People who didn't die in a moment died a slow and painful death. Incidentally, I know who did it. Everyone in the world knows who did it.
　　I had a keen interest in the comment from the Secretary of State, John Kerry. His comment was so-so. It would be as good as it gets. Classified documents will become open one by one from now on. I think that the earlier the U.S. issues an apology the better. The U.S. will be sure to become bothered by guilt. What the hell did Japan do? Did Japan do anything bad? Who wanted to wage the war? What did the U.S. get in World War II? Maybe only the seeds of the Korean and Vietnam War. I have a document which I want you to read. (LINK)

(Vocabulary)
as good as it gets　（状況が）〔否定的な意味で使われる〕これが限界だ