Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Yabakei Gorge

　　We got out of the downtown of Nakatsu City and arrived at Yabakei Gorge in the inland region of the city. In the period of Edo, when the water level was high, people weren't able to cross the river to the other side safely and they had to walk on the path carved along the cliff - you can see it in the following picture - holding the rope in their hands. As you can imagine, however, a few people lost their life there.
　　In the middle of the 18th century, a priest, whose name was Zen-kai, happened to pass the gorge, and grieved over the dangerous route. He started to drive a tunnel with poor tools, and finally after 30 years of struggle he made it! His tunnel is now called "aonodoumon". Its strength was heightened by the present technologies and the tunnel is used even now. If you want to see it, use the image search with the key word of "aonodoumon". It is partially preserved as it used to be in 18th century.

(Vocabulary)
Yabakei Gorge　耶馬溪
image search/retrieval 画像検索

Nakatsu City

　　In April this year, the mid-Kyushu centering Kumamoto Prefecture was hit by a huge earthquake and fourteen people were killed. The damaged regions are even now struggling to restore themselves, and so in addition to their efforts, the Government decided to issue discount tickets for accommodations in Kyushu to boost their reconstruction. Hotel charges in Kyushu are 70% off at most by the Government fund.
　　Contributing toward the recovery from the devastating blow, my wife and I made it a point to go for a drive to Nakatsu City, which is located at the northeast of Kyushu facing the Seto Inland Sea. We've been to the inland region of the city about 20 years ago with our whole family, but it was the first time to visit the center of the city. This city is known as the hometown of Yukichi Fukuzawa. You can see the face of Yukichi Fukuzawa on the 10,000 yen bill. We visited his museum and Nakatsu Castle, at which we learned lots of things. He was great as I expected.
　　Then we dropped in at two historic folk houses, which were used as clinics from about 1800 to 1950, before the dawn of the modern medicine. Precious stuff was exibited, but the visitors weren't permitted to take pictures. It was really regrettable.
　　BTW, the ferryboat in the following picture is connecting Shikoku and Kyushu.

Terraced Paddy Fields

　　After the replacement of my car to a Mercedes-Benz SLK200, the number of drives increased. Today, I went out for a drive to a scenic place, which had been on air the other day. The destination was a terraced paddy field. That was recently designated by the Government as one of the three scenic terraced paddy fields in Japan. That was 2 hours' drive from my house. The lunch and coffee which I brought there was really nice in the soft breeze.
　　By the way, I'll quote something from a book which I happened to read as follows. Japan is surely one of the industrialized countries, but the forest area accounts for 68.5% of its land area. Among the developed countries, it's ranked as the third, after 73.1% of Finland and 68.9% of Sweden. The Japanese archipelago accounts for 0.2 % of the global land area and 1.7% of all the human beings live in Japan and 5.6% of the global GDP was produced there.
　　That can be called "miracle". We Japanese can be proud of that. If you ask me why this miracle was realized, my answer would be like this. It's really simple, but it would be the only single answer. People in Japan have been taking care of nature, while they have developed its industrial technologies.
　　FYI, the rate of forest area of China, whose GDP is the 2nd of the world is only 21.5%.

　車を変えてから休日のドライブが増えた。今日は先日テレビで見た棚田へ行ってみた。写真のように狭い土地で稲作が行われていた。風が気持ちよく、持参した弁当、コーヒーがこの上なく美味しかった。
　たまたま読んでいた本に書かれていたのだが、日本は工業国ではあるが、その国土面積の６８．５％が森林。先進国の中ではフィンランドの７３．１％、スウェーデンの６８．９％に次いで３番目。日本列島は世界の陸地面積の０．２％、そこに世界の人口の約１．７％が住み、世界のＧＤＰの５．５％を生み出している。という。
　これは奇跡とも呼べる現象で、日本人が誇って良いことだと思う。なぜこのような奇跡が実現したのか、といえば、日本人が近代産業を発展させながら、同時に自然を大切にしてきたから、としか説明のしようがない。支那は森林率は２１．５％　はげ山を見れば日本人なら自然に対して申し訳ないと考えるが、支那人は『自然は人間の必要に応じて好き勝手に利用すればよい』とでも考えているかのようだ。
(読んでもらえるのは２５０単語までという自己規制で最後の部分は英文からは省略)

Cycling

　　When I woke up, it was raining. I was sad but only because I was disappointed because I was going to ride a road bike for the first time. As my car was a 2-seater and I was not able to bring my bicycle there, I rented a road bike shown in the first picture. Then I got to the meeting point of beginners. All the participants were grouped into two groups, i.e. advanced and beginners and I belonged to the beginners, who would ride for 40km. FYI, the advanced cyclists would ride for 100km around the island.
　　Participants classified into the beginners group were separated into smaller groups which consisted of 5 to 8 persons and each group was led by a skilled cyclist. Our team started at about 9:30 am. Reaching the entry of a large inlet, we deposited our bikes into a transportation truck as shown in the second picture. Our bikes were supposed to be carried to the destination of the small and tiny ferryboat, which we were going to get on board there. The destination of the ferryboat was the theme park of Nijushino Hitomi Eigamura.
　　Let me write about this park. "Nijushino Hitomi" literally means 24 eyes. The park was built on the basis of the movie set for "Nijushino Hitomi", in which a young woman was dispatched as a school teacher and took on 12 pupils, i.e. 24 eyes. The story was in the era before the Great East Asian War. Years later, the teacher came back to the island and heard about the former pupil's stories. Some of them were still not accounted for in the battlefield, and some of them were killed by the enemy's bombing. Recalling her happy days with pupils, she shed tears. The ending scene was like that. The author was born on Shodoshima island and the story was from her real life.
　　I took a walk after lunch in the park and started riding on the way back. We dropped in at a few resting sites and received cordial welcomes at every site. In the last but one picture, we were served olive-related products. The last picture was shot when all the beginners' teams got back without any accident!

　天気は雨。1枚目の写真はレンタルした自転車。ツアーは上級者と初心者に分けられ、上級者は島一周１００ｋｍ、僕は初心者コースで入り組んだ入江は渡し船でパスすることで走行距離を短縮して４０ｋｍ。
途中で自転車をスタッフに預けて渡し船に乗った。この船は二十四の瞳映画村の前まで行く。映画村内で弁当を食べてしばらく散歩。帰途、オリーブの丘でオリーブを使ったお菓子やそうめんなどごちそうになる。
　映画村は二十四の瞳という映画が撮影された跡地に立っている。映画の原作はこの島出身の作家による。映画は、ある若い女性が教師になって初めて赴任したこの島の小学校で１２人の子供を教える。そして転勤する。その後大東亜戦争が起こり、ふたたびこの島へやって来た女教師はかつての教え子の何人かと再会し、他の子供達のその後を聞く。戦争で何人も死んでいた。最後には涙を流さずにはいられない。
　映画村からの帰途、地元企業に立ち寄りながら甘い物をたくさんいただく。事故なく皆ゴールに戻り記念撮影。

Oshimaseishoen 大島青松園

　　The waters between Honshu and Shikoku, the largest and 4th largest island in Japan respectively are called the Seto Inland Sea. The biggest island in these waters is Shodoshima Island, which is located at an hour by ferry from Takamatsu City, the capital of Kagawa Prefecture. I'd like to join a cycling tour event there and visited the island on the previous day.
　　The sky was clear. I took a seat on the roof with a canned coffee and my iPad. Comparing the surrounding scenery and the map on the iPad, and being blown by the comfortable sea wind, I spent about an hour there.
　　Then, I happened to see Oshima Island on the way, which I knew since long ago by name, but didn't know where the island was. The island has a lot to do with Hansen's disease(leprosy). In the era of uninformed medicine many patients suffering from leprosy were forced to move to the island and became isolated. They had never been allowed to leave the island in their life. Most of their relatives are said to reject receiving their bodies or even their bones. The stupid superstition had prevailed on society in those days. The leprosy related facilities are now renovated into the national sanatorium for patients with chronic illnesses. The island is only 20 minutes from Takamatsu City and rich in natural environment. I'd like to visit the island before long and pay tribute to the departed in front of their cenotaph.

　本州と四国の間の海域を瀬戸内海と呼ぶ。この海域で一番大きな島が小豆島だ。この島で大手旅行会社がサイクリングイベントを行うというので参加した。イベント前日の６月４日に小豆島へ渡った。
　途中で大島を見つけた。ハンセン氏病が恐れられていた時代、患者はこの島へ集められ終生島から出ることを禁じられた。今は療養所と生まれ変わり、長期の療養を要する患者が住んでいる。高松市から２０分。便利で自然に恵まれた所となった。近いうちに見学に行ってみようと思う。ハンセン氏病に対する誤った認識により、大勢の患者を苦しめた歴史遺産がここにはある。

小豆島　http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5430.html
大島青松園　(日本語サイト)　http://www.nhds.go.jp/~osima/index.html

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。

Iconic Drawbridge

　　My workplace is located in a small town and one of the town's icons is a red drawbridge built about 80 years ago. It is now preserved as a kind of historic asset of the town and works correctly even now as it used to do. The town regularly makes it work for maintenace once a month on the third Saturday. Today is the day and I took a walk around the bridge. Several tourists got together at the end point of the bridge. I listened to an old man's story about the town there and was surprised. I'll write about his story in the next article.

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

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

Hakone

　　The hotel of this day was located at the base of the Izu Peninsula and the moving distance was only 150km. That meant that we were able to drop in at where we liked on the way. We had several options and I picked Hakone, Ashinoko Lake, and Mt. Fuji, over a red wine on the previous night.
　　I knew that it was prohibited now to access a part of Hakone, Owakudani, due to the volcanic activities which had started a few years ago and are still giving off poisonous gas. Curiosity, however, got the better of me and I headed for Owakudani, despite my wife's advice. As I expected, the road to Owakudani was closed, which is shown in the picture. For international subscribers, it's the link to Owakudani.
　　Visiting Hakone Shrine and walking along the lakeside of Ashinoko Lake and around the renovated Hakone Barrier, we spent a very relaxing morning. Hakone is one of the famous tourist spots and is also known as the finishing and starting point of Hakone Ekiden on the one hand, but it used to be a strategically important location between Edo, which we call Tokyo now, and western Japan on the other hand. We viewed and enjoyed the scenic Mt. Fuji and Ashinoko Lake, which hadn't changed since long ago. Then, we left for the next destination.

（北海道・東北旅行記　４月１日）

　今日の宿は伊豆半島の付け根に予定している。そこまでは比較的近いので途中寄り道が出来る。選択種は数多くあったが、昨夜ワインを飲みながら地図を眺めて決めたのが、箱根、芦ノ湖、富士山である。

　今、箱根は火山活動が活発化して一部立ち入りを制限されている。怖い物見たさで近くまで行ってみたが、箱根の中心地とも呼べる大涌谷への道は閉鎖されていた。外国からアクセスしていただいている読者の皆さんのためにどのような場所なのか見てもらうためリンクを張っておく。

　そして、箱根神社参拝、芦ノ湖湖畔、箱根関所跡を散策。箱根は今は箱根駅伝で有名だが、ここには箱根関所があった。箱根はかつて西から当時江戸と呼ばれた今の東京へ入るときの軍事上の要衝で、江戸を守るための関所が置かれていたのである。当時から変わらぬ芦ノ湖や富士山の雄大な眺めを堪能して次の目的地へ向かった。

 

Dinner In Tokyo

　　Matsushima where we were was one of the representative scenic spots in Japan, but we had to leave for Tokyo by noon as we had an appointment with our daughter, who lived in Tokyo. I drove the car on the Tohoku Expressway for the first time and enjoyed driving my sports car under the fine weather.
　　We took a rest at a rest area on the way, where an old town - of approximately a few centuries ago, I suppose - was reproduced. The wooden-like buildings in the pictures were actually built with reinforced concrete and the inside was a roofed shopping street. You might find that there were few people outside, but indeed lots of tourists were walking inside. When I arrived at the area, there were so many cars parked in the parking, but few people around. I wondered where they had gone. When I opened one of the doors of the old-fashioned houses, I understood the structure of the houses.
　　We checked in at a hotel in Ikebukuro, one of the busiest districts of Tokyo. Then, my daughter got together with us and we searched for a good restaurant. One thing that came up on our radar was a Hachijojima island cuisine restaurant. We had visited Hachijojima island two years ago and I recalled their local dishes seeing the restaurant.
　　I met my daughter after a long interval. So I went all out and ordered the most expensive item on the menu. Moreover, I went overboard ordering so many dishes. My eyes were bigger than my stomach. My daughter was worrying about my gaining weight from overeating unusual local foods during the trip, but she said, "I'll let you off the hook this time." (grin)
　　Even though, I ate all the dishes I had ordered. I got a cheap bottle of red wine at a convenience store near our hotel and went back. I had another task tonight, which was the arrangement of the plan of the next day. The distance to tomorrow's destination was only 200km and we had enough time to wander in Kanagawa Prefecture.

(北海道・東北旅行記　３月３１日)

　松島は日本を代表する観光地の一つではあるが、昼過ぎには出発したかった。東京で娘と夕食の約束があったから。岩手から東京へは東北自動車道。初めて走る。スポーツカーの走りを堪能した。天気は快晴で快適なドライブとなった。
　途中のサービスエリアでは、写真のような一昔前の街並みを再現したレストラン、土産物店が並び、高速道路に付帯した施設ではあるが、観光地に迷い込んだような錯覚に陥った。
　池袋のホテルに旅装を解き、娘と落ち合って池袋の街を歩きながらレストランを探す。いろいろな店が建ち並ぶ東京の繁華街の一つで選ぶのに苦労した。我々の視野に入ったのは八丈島料理店。２年前に旅行したが、またその名物を食べたくなったのだ。そして娘と会うのは久しぶりで、ついつい奮発してメニューにある一番高い料理を注文してしまった。なおかつ調子に乗って食べ過ぎた。食べられると思ってついついたくさん注文してしまったのだ。旅行中、美味しい物ばかり食べて太ることを娘は心配していたが、娘からは今回は見逃すと、、、（笑）
　さて、それらを完食し、ホテルで呑む安ワインを買ってホテルへ戻った。ワインをちびちびやりながら、翌日の計画を練る。

Sightseeing boat

　　Matsushima boasts what has been described as one of the most beautiful three views in Japan. Tourists enjoy the scene consisting of lots of small rocks and islands from the sea and from the hilltop, from which Matsuo Basho also has been said to view the scenery and composed a haiku poem. We were going to climb the hill first, but seeing a sightseeing boat was just about to sail out and was not crowded, we got on board the boat first. The weather was good and the sea was calm. We took our seats on the 2nd floor and enjoyed comfortable cruising with a non-alcoholic beer and some nibbles. When our boat came back, a considerable number of tourists were waiting for boarding. We were lucky to ride on an earlier boat. The next destination was the top of the hill dominating Matsushima Bay, but we dropped in at Zuiganji Temple, the national treasure of Japan. I'll write about the temple in the next article.

（北海道・東北旅行記／３月３１日）

　松島の観光では近くの丘から島々を眺めるのと観光船乗船が勧められている。松尾芭蕉の気持ちを感じようと高台へ登るつもりでいたのだが、観光船が空いていたためまず観光船に乗ることにした。眺めの良い２階席に陣取り、つまみとノンアルビールを買い求め、のんびりと１時間ほど観光船からの眺めを楽しんだ。天気は良く、波は穏やかで、説明を聞きながら快適なクルージングとなった。船から下りるときには観光客の長い列ができていた。先に空いている船に乗船できて運が良かった。

Matsushima

　　We took a hotel in Hiraizumi City last night and had my regulation breakfast of rice and miso soup bright and early. We wanted to see the scenery of Matsushima, one of three famous Japanese scenic spots and then move to Tokyo, in which we were planning to have dinner out with our eldest daughter. Visiting Matsushima was the second time for me.
　　I had taken a rather long motorcycle ride to Matsushima 35 years ago from Okayama City where I had been at that time. The first picture was shot before the bridge leading to Godaido, and the 2nd was shot 35 years ago on the left side at the front in the 1st picture. I should take a picture on the same angle this time, but I didn't hit on the idea of doing so. It's regrettable. The person on the right with a yellow jacket is me and person on the left is now working as a veteran anaesthesiologist.

(Vocabulary)
regulation《[名]の前でのみ》規定の, 正規の（regulationに形容詞があったことを初めて知った）
bright and early [成句] 朝早々と

Godaido (Google Pictures)
https://www.google.co.jp/search?q=%E4%BA%94%E5%A4%A7%E5%A0%82&client=firefox-b&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi1kNq-orXNAhVBGJQKHZ5DAKAQsAQINA&biw=1920&bih=983

（北海道・東北旅行記／３月３１日）

　 昨夜は平泉市内へ泊まり、朝一番で日本三景のひとつ松島を観光した。３５年くらい前に当時住んでいた岡山からバイクを飛ばしてきたことがある。１枚目の写 真は五大堂Godaidoへ繋がる橋の手前で撮ったものだが、この写真の左手前で３５年前に撮影した写真が２枚目である。２０代前半のころの写真。同じア ングルで撮影すれば良かったと後でちょっと後悔。右側の黄色いジャケットが僕である。赤いジャケットの友人は今は広島県で麻酔科医として活躍している。

Motsuji Temple

　　I visited Motsuji Temple, which hands down the prosperity of the Oshu Fujiwara clan. Its foundation dates back to 850, but all the buildings were burnt and nothing was left. The investigation by excavation had been done in 1954-1959 and the magnitude of the temple is now confirmed. A part of the buildings were renovated, but the things of former days are only cornerstones. However, just a few minutes' walk in the grounds impressed me with the magnificence of the former temple.
　　I remember the description about this temple in a Japanese chronicle of Azumakagami which was compiled in the Kamakura period (around 12th century) because I'd read a part of it as a subject in my high school days. When I stepped into the grounds, I said involuntarily, "That was here!" There were several historic places related to Minamotonoyoshitsune and Musashibou Benkei in the neighborhood, but I wasn't able to visit due to time constraints. I'd like to revisit Hiraizumi after further study of history.
　　By the way, I found a haiku monument outside the grounds. It was the English translation of the famous haiku poem which was written by Matsuo Basho in 17th century. The translator was Nitobe Inazo, whom I admire. While I was traveling to and fro, I found various memorials to him and I wrote about him in my blog entries. I'll note their links down below. The explanation of Motsuji is beyond my English skills, so search the temple with this option "motsuji temple Japan".

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/03/nitobe-memorial.html　

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/08/taking-a-walk-i.html　

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/07/a-new-acquainta.html　

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2012/12/present-from-ana-japan-based-airline.html　

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2012/02/worship-and-japan.html　

(Vocabulary)
Oshu Fujiwara clan 奥州藤原氏
cornerstone (建物の土台にある) 礎石
chronicle 年代記, 編年史
constraint  [C] 制約, 拘束

(北海道・東北旅行記／３月３０日）

　奥州藤原氏の栄華を今に伝える毛越寺。その歴史は８５０年までさかのぼる。火事で焼けてしまい建物は残っていない。発掘調査が行われ（１９５４－５９）、その規模などの全容が明らかにされている。一部の建物は再建されているが、当時のものは礎石しか残っていない。しかし、この場所を歩くだけでその荘厳さが理解できた。
　
　鎌倉時代の書物吾妻鏡にこの寺のことが書かれている。高校時代に古文の勉強としてそのごく一部分を読んだ覚えがあるが、この場所のことだったのかと感慨深く見て回った。近くには義経や弁慶にかかわる遺物があるのだが、時間の関係で廻ることが出来なかった。平泉は歴史の勉強を十分にして再訪したい土地である。
　
　毛越寺で松尾芭蕉の俳句の英訳の句碑を見つけた。訳者は新渡戸稲造。また彼に出会った。彼についてはこのブログでも何度も取り上げた。いくつか紹介する。彼は偉大な日本人の一人だと思う。毛越寺について説明するに僕の語学力では足りない。是非"motsuji temple japan" で検索してほしい。


http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/03/nitobe-memorial.html　新渡戸稲造記念公園(バンクーバー）
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/08/taking-a-walk-i.html　北海道大学にある彼の胸像
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/07/a-new-acquainta.html　バンクーバーやビクトリアに親近感を感じて
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2012/12/present-from-ana-japan-based-airline.html　新渡戸の言葉を思い出したので書いた。最後の部分だけでもご覧ください。
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2012/02/worship-and-japan.html　武士道と宗教について

Konjikido

　　It's very difficult for me to describe Japanese history and literature precisely, but I have to do it in this and my next articles. I headed for Hiraizumi in Iwate Prefecture from Towadako Lake. Hearing Hiraizumi, most Japanese recall Konjikido in Chusonji Temple, which is already on the list of World Heritage Sites. I visited it for the first time and found not a few buildings of historical importance in the grounds of the temple.
Konjikido is confirmed to be built in 1124 both scientifically and in document-based research. It is the grave of four successive generations of the Fujiwara tycoon family which had lived in splendor in 11th-12th century. Their bodies, which are naturally mummified, are still placed in the coffins.
　　The first picture shows the sheltering hall of Konjikido. Konjikido itself is preserved in a tightly sealed room inside the hall and taking pictures of Konjikido was strictly inhibited. I have no picture. Search its pictures on the net, if you want to see it. When I was looking at Konjikido, a simple question came up. Before the modern and strong sheltering hall, what had been protecting it? Hiraizumi is in a heavy snowfall area. Konjikido would never be able to survive the harsh climate.
　　Now, I can't help omitting the story of Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), who is the founder of Haiku poetry composed of only seventeen syllables. He travelled around there and left several superior haiku poems in 17th century. After visiting the shelter hall of Konjikido, taking a walk along the sightseer's route in the grounds, I found a big hall (2nd, 3rd, 4th pictures). It was the former sheltering hall. According to the description, it was evidently moved from the original site to there when the construction work of the present sheltering hall started. Matsuo Basho described the sheltering hall in his trip memo, "Okunohosomichi" and the sheltering hall that he had actually seen was it! I was moved to see and touch the same building as he actually touched 4 centuries ago.

（北海道・東北旅行記／３月３０日）

　日本の歴史や文学について英語で書くのは僕にはかなり難しい。だが、この記事と次の記事では書かざるを得ない。十和田湖から岩手県平泉に向かった。平泉と言えば中尊寺の金色堂である。世界遺産にも登録されている。今回、初めて訪れる。中尊寺にはその他にも歴史的な価値のある建物がいくつもあった。
　
金色堂は１１２４年に建立されたことが、文献的にも科学的にも確認されている。１１～１２世紀に栄華を極めた藤原三代の墓である。金色堂の須弥壇内には、藤原清衡、基衡、秀衡のミイラ化した遺体と泰衡の首級が納められている。
　
　１枚目の写真は金色堂を覆うように立てられている建物、簡単に言うと単なるカバーで、金色堂そのものはその内部の密閉された空間に復元保存されている。写真撮影は禁止されている。写真を見たい人はネットで探してほしい。金色堂を眺めていてふと思った。この覆堂が作られる前はどのように保存されていたのだろうかと。
　
　松尾芭蕉（1644年～1694年）を書き落とすわけにはいかない。彼はこの地を旅行し、俳句を残しているのだが、彼の見たであろう覆堂が残っていた。新しく最先端の覆堂が立てられてたときに境内の中の別の場所に移されたのである。彼が見て触ったであろう、同じ覆堂を今、自分が見ていること、触っていることに感動した。

Omachi Keigetu and Morning Walk

　　The huge information on "Omachi Keigetu" was exhibited in the main building. Getting a look at his name, I recalled his monuments which I had seen in Hotokegaura and Kochi Prefecture about ten years ago. I didn't remember his name until that time. It's because I saw the vast collections on him that I wrote about him the other day in the article of the ferryboat from Hokkaido to Aomori. I'm sure the collections hit a lot of people on a gut level.
　　Omachi Keigetu was born in Kochi Prefecture, traveled across the country, climbed various mountains, loved nature and alcohol, and finally reached Tsuta Onsen Hot Spa. Time was when the area which included Mt. Hakkoda, Towada Lake, and the hot spas around there wasn't known at all in the country. However, he became obsessed over the area around Mt. Hakkoda. He moved with his family and died at Tsuta Onsen Hot Spa a little later, in 1925. "Sounkyo", which is one of the best known tourist attractions in Hokkaido, was also named by him. I heard about his tomb, and visited it. It was near the spa.
　　His tomb was located in the forest and the approach was swept. His tomb was put between two other tombs, which said Takeda Chiyosaburo and Ogasawara Koichi. Who were they? I knew the answer 3 hours later and I'll write about them in the following articles.

温泉には『大町桂月』資料館が併設されていた。仏ヶ浦や高知県で見た大町桂月の歌碑を思い出した。じっくりと彼のことをここで学んだ。少し前にフェリーの中から撮った写真で彼のことを書いたのはここでの出会いがあったから。長く忘れていた名前だった。この資料館にある彼の資料はきっと多くの人々の心にずしりと響くと思う。

高知県に生まれ、全国を旅し、山に登り、酒を愛し、たどり着いたのがこの八甲田山。当時無名の地であったこの地域を全国的に知らしめた。北海道に層雲峡という観光地がある。この命名者が大町桂月だった。層雲峡を訪れたとき、その景観を見てなんとうまい名を付けたものよと思ったが、彼が付けた名前だった。彼はついにこの地へ移り住み、この蔦温泉で１９２５年、昭和を待たずに亡くなった。近くに墓があるというので訪ねた。彼の墓を中央にして両側にも墓があった。武田千代三郎、小笠原耕一とあったが誰？この答えは３時間後に判明する。

Tsuta Onsen Hot Spa

　　We arrived at Tsuta Onsen Hot Spa. It might not be known worldwide, but it dates back nearly 1000 years. People who had enjoyed the hot spa as a measure of therapy were documented at least in 1147. Their English website is here(link), though it's not in as much detail as the Japanese one.
　　When we reached the spa, it was getting dark. I decided to take pictures around the spa tomorrow, and rushed to the spa, called "Senkyo no yu". The picture of the spa is here(link), so I'll upload the ceiling of the spa.
　　According to the booklet of the spa, lots of varied figures in politics, the financial world, show business, and literature seemed to visit the spa. Most successive prime ministers also enjoyed staying deep in the forest. The owner built a new separate building recently, which is modernized with handy facilities, but our room was a traditional room  upstairs from the main entrance. The room next to the entrance was the room in which Showa Tennoh had stayed for a while to take a rest after the bath. This room is open to the public and you can relax in a conventional Japanese living room.
　　Today is the 24th birthday of our youngest daughter, who will start her career as a medical doctor on April 1st. We have now  finished our parental care, and toasted our fulfillment.

　蔦温泉に到着した。国際的にはあまり有名ではないかも知れないが、１２世紀には小さな温泉小屋があったと記録に残っているので、１０００年近い歴史のある温泉である。

　薄暗くなり始めていたので温泉周辺の写真は翌日撮ることにして、まずは温泉。温泉の名前は泉響の湯。井上靖の言葉から名付けたという。温泉の写真は下記のウェブサイトにあるので、温泉の天井部分の写真を載せておく。

蔦温泉のウェブサイト紹介
http://tsutaonsen.com/

　宿の記録を読むと、政財界、芸能界、文筆家など多彩な人々が立ち寄っている。例えば総理経験者のほとんどがプライベートで立ち寄っている。最近新しい建物が出来たのだが、我々が泊まった部屋は一番古い建物。玄関の２階部分に当たる。その玄関横には昭和天皇が休憩された部屋もある。現在は入浴後の休憩室として使われており、誰でも利用できる。
　
　この日は三女の２４回目の誕生日。この春から医師として働き始める。子育てを終えたお祝いということで少し贅沢な酒を飲む。

Mt. Hakkoda

　　On the highway running through serene meadows at the foot of Mt. Hakkoda which I had traveled on my off-road motorcycle in summer 10 years ago, I drove the two-seater sports car. I didn't even conceive of this situation. The meadows were covered with snow. This area is known as one of the snowiest places in Japan, but this year we had little. The weather forecast was not so good, but actually it was not so bad, if not great, and I was able to see the magnificent view of Mt. Hakkoda as a bonus surprise.
　　The condition of the road was dry. Traffic wasn't much, but it was the only main route to noted hot spas that had the snow cleared away. I'd like to visit this monument(link) again, but in vain due to the snow on the road.
　　Today's destination, Tsuta Onsen Hot Spa was deep in the forest with a history of more than 1000 years.

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2006/08/monument-of-dea.html

（北海道・東北旅行／３月２９日）

　夏、オフロードバイクで走った八甲田山麓を今回は二人乗りのスポーツカーで走っている。草原は雪に覆われている。夏はこのあたりは確か牧場があったが、今は動物たちは見えない。快晴といかないまでも太陽が出て八甲田山を眺めることができたのは思いがけない贈り物だった。
　
　例年に比べ雪が少ないとのことで、路面はドライ。交通量は少なく走りやすかったが、除雪されているのは主要な温泉へ続く道路だけで、雪中行軍遭難記念碑には行けなかった。１０年前に撮影した行軍殉難碑の写真を紹介する。(URL)
　
　今夜の宿、蔦温泉は森の中にあった。

Tsugaru Straits

　　Two ferry companies operate between Aomori and Hakodate. I chose the cheaper one to save money. It was apparently not for sightseers but for freight transportation, and wasn't equipped with any amusement facilities. The passengers were several local people and professional truck drivers except us.
　　I wanted to see a certain landscape from the boat. It was Hotokegaura which I had visited 10 years before. It's my article in which I wrote about Hotokegaura (URL). I wasn't able to view it from offshore at that time because I didn't have time to wait for the sightseeing boat. Even if from the far offshore, I'd like to see the unusual terrain. Checking my location on the Google Map, I magnified the view through my camera and found it. I'll upload the picture and the point from which I took a shot.
　　By the way, I happened to find a monument honoring Omachi Keigetu at Hotokegaura 10 years ago. I didn't pay much attention to it then, but I came across another monument also honoring him later in a small village in Kochi Prefecture. He loved nature, travels, and hot spas all his life. He was born in Kochi and so it's natural that his monument stood in Kochi Prefecture. However, why in Aomori? I'm not so interested in him, and left this question unsolved when I saw his monument in Kochi..

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2006/08/hotokegaura-jap.html    (The 3rd picture in this article shows the same monument.)

　フェリーには２系統あるが、安い方。船内設備が古いだけで問題なし。観光客は我々だけで、他には地元の人が数名とトラックドライバーが１０人くらい。船内には娯楽施設は全くなし。貨物輸送がメインのフェリーなのだろう。
　
　見たい景色があった。１０年前に訪れた仏ヶ浦。時間が無くて遊覧船に乗れず沖合からの風景を見ることができなかったのだ。グーグルマップを見ながら位置を確認し、カメラのレンズを強拡大にしてさがすと、、、見つけた！

　この仏ヶ浦で１０年前、大町桂月の碑をみつけた。このときは誰だろうと思う程度で気にとめなかったのだが、その後しばらくして、高知県檮原町で大町桂月の碑を見つけたのである。そのとき、彼の名前の桂月は高知県の観光地、桂浜に昇る月からとられたと知った。が、そこまでだった。はからずもこの旅で彼を深く知ることになる。