Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Mashumaru, the Historical Museum of "Seikan Renrakusen"

　　Time was when there was no undersea tunnel between Honshu and Hokkaido. People and freight were transported along with trains by ferries run by the Japan National Railways (JNR). The transport amount of people dipped after peaking in the early 70s losing out to air. The cargo and passenger boats, "Seikan Renrakusen", connecting Honshu and Hokkaido had closed its 80 years of history passing the torch to the undersea tunnel, inside of which Shinkansen bullet train runs at present. One of the boats "Mashumaru" is linked to the land and is used as a museum. I visited it.
　　As I reached the museum, a dozen buses came in the parking lot. A nightmare erupted. The buses put the passengers out like vomiting poisonous food. I was afraid that they would come into the museum, but their destination was "Hakodate Asaichi", a kind of local market. The visitors of the museum, the former "Mashumaru," were several. The train's deck was closed, which I wanted to see the most, but I felt the good old days. I got a toy in the souvenir shop in the boat which I'll show you in the following picture. It's one of the boats, "Taisetumaru". I heard that 6 ferries had been operated continuously 24/7.
　　We also visited Hakodate Asaichi, but it was full of so many noisy ill-mannered tourists. We bought and sent some specialties of Hakodate to my parents, and got away from there.

(Vocabulary)
dip after peaking in（売り上げなどが）＿月をピークに落ち込む
pass the torch（後継者などに）バトンを渡す

　北海道と本州を結ぶトンネルが無かった頃、人、貨物は列車ごと船で運ばれていた。１９７０年代前半をピークに旅客輸送は飛行機に奪われ、１９８８年ついに輸送の主役を青函トンネルにバトンタッチして青函連絡船は８０年の歴史の幕を閉じた。そのうちの一隻、摩周丸が海岸に固定されて博物館となっているので訪ねてみた。
　港へ着くとまだ９時前だというのにバスが続々とやってくる。昨夜の悪夢が甦ってきた。思った通り支那人達だった。毒を吐くように乗客を降ろしたバスは約２０台。ただ彼らが向かう先は函館朝市！摩周丸の中は静かでマニアが数名いただけだった。船内では列車の格納される場所を見たかったのだが、立ち入り禁止。残念だが仕方なし。お土産にチョロＱを買った。緑色が好きなので大雪丸を選んだ。
　次いでいった函館朝市は大混雑。写真を撮るなどできない。商品の多くが生ものなのでさすがに支那までは持ち帰りにくいのだろう。その場で食べる人が多いような気がした。

Goryokaku 4

　　In the museum there were a lot of descriptions about Ayasaburou Takeda. He had evidently learned the updates on medicine, technologies and military affairs and made contributions to the national defence as well as designed the strongest fort of Goryokaku. I was so astonished to read descriptions of him. Additionally, he mastered the art of sea voyage and navigated a sailboat around Japan and even to Nikolayevsk-on-Amur which is known as the place of the Nikolayevsk Massacre. I didn't know him enough until today. His birthplace of Ozu City should familiarize local people with him. Though his life is considerably detailed in Japanese Wikipedia, it's not in English Wikipedia. I'm thinking that I'll translate the information into English Wikipedia.
　　The portraits and biographies of other excellent engineers were also exhibited. The leader of stonemasons was from my second hometown of Okayama City. I'll post his picture up respecting him. People with glorious skills were gathered from across the country and participated in the construction of Goryokaku.
　　European wall cities are shown in the last pictue, which are said to be the models of Goryokaku. Neuf-Brisach, which I happened to see on the way to Colmar, is also on the map. It's located near the border between France and Germany.

(Vocabulary)
Nikolayevsk-on-Amur ニコライエフスク・ナ・アムーレ
Nikolayevsk Massacre　尼港事件
stonemason  石工, 石屋

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2010/04/neufbrisach-.html

　旧箱館奉行所が再建され、資料館となっている。武田斐三郎についてはかなり詳しい説明があった。彼はヨーロッパの先端科学を学び、五稜郭を設計しただけではなく、国防に関しても多大な貢献をしていた。
　
　説明を読んで驚くことばかりで、想像を遙かに超えた人だった。自ら帆船を操船して尼港事件で有名な尼港（ロシア語名：ニコライエフスク）にも立ち寄っている。日本語版ウィキを見ると彼の業績が詳しく書かれているが、このような人物をこの歳になるまで知らなかったとは情けない。生誕地である大洲市はもっと広報活動に努めてはどうか。特に子供達に郷土の偉人として紹介すべきだと思う。ウィキ英語版は日本語版ほど詳しくないので日本語版を翻訳してやろうかと考えている。
　
　他にも五稜郭築城に関して功績の会った人たちの記録が並んでおり、第２のふるさと岡山県出身の技術者がいたので写真に納めた。日本中から技能の高い人たちを集め、当時の技術を結集してつくられた砦だった。
　
　最後の写真は武田斐三郎が参考にしたであろう、ヨーロッパの城壁都市が表示されている。僕が実際に見た街、ヌフ・ブリサックも含まれている。ドイツ南西部の街フライブルクからフランス国境を越えたところにある。

Goryokaku 3

　　Crossing the bridge in the first picture, you'll reach the gate in the second picture. Passing through the gate, you'll find the honoring monument for Ayasaburou Takeda, though his achievements were just written on a shabby wooden board in Ozu City in which he had been born and lived in his youth. Going on toward the center of Goryokaku, some posts stood. Each post has a portrait of heroes related to Goryokaku, such as Toshizo Hijikata. I understood how Takeda gets respect from people in Hakodate now.
　　In the grounds of Goryokaku the old Hakodate Magistrate Office was restored faithfully and was used as a museum inside. I wanted to look around the items and I'll show you some of them in the next entry.
　　Incidentally, why does the face of Ayasaburou Takeda on the monument shine? I wanted to know the reason of the shining, and sneaked up to a group tour from overseas with a guide and listened to the explanation. Local students seemed to stroke the head and face of his relief wishing their success in academic achievements. Ayasaburou Takeda was also a hero for kids in Hakodate. I was so surprised and happy to know that.
　　My high school was established by the Dominican Order and the bust of the founder is set at the main entrance. There was a legend that the guy who rubbed his nose on the day of the graduation would be sure to succeed in the entrance exam of universities. Not to mention, I rubbed his nose. I chuckled at the similar situation.

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2014/09/school-festival.html

(Vocabulary)
honoring monument 顕彰碑
magistrate 治安判事
magistrate office 奉行所（の英語訳としてどうだろう？）
faithfully
1 忠実に, 誠実に, 固く
She promised faithfully never to tell. 彼女は決して口外しないと固く約束した．
2 (原本・原物に) 忠実に, 正確に; 3 規則正しく, きちんと
incidentally 《文修飾》ちなみに, ついでに言うと, ところで; (フォーマル) 偶然に, 付随的に
sneak up 〈人が〉忍び寄る, こっそり近づく
stroke〈体・物など〉をなでる
Dominican 聖ドミニコ会の
Dominican Order　聖ドミニコ会
bust 胸像

　１枚目の写真に写っている橋を渡ると五稜郭の入り口がある。入ってすぐのところに顕彰碑があった。武田斐三郎を讃えたものだった。彼のふるさと大洲では安っぽい看板一枚。大洲市の関係者にはこの顕彰碑を見てもらいたい。そして更に歩いて行くと土方歳三などとと並んで彼の写真、経歴を書いたポストが立っていた。彼が箱館で如何に尊敬を集めているのか実感した。五稜郭内部には、旧箱館奉行所が再建されており、内部は資料館になっている。
　たまたまプロのガイドが案内をしているグループがいたので、紛れ込んだ。武田斐三郎のレリーフの顔が光っているのはどうしてなのか？地元の子供達が頭が良くなるようにと祈って顔をなでているらしい。武田斐三郎の顔をなでると頭が良くなるらしいのだ。僕の卒業した高校に母体となっている聖ドミニコ会の創立者の胸像が有り、卒業時にはその高い鼻をなでた。大学に合格するという言い伝えがあるのだ。どこにでも似たような話があるのだなと苦笑。

Goryokaku 2

　　After coming back to Japan, while I was investigating this walled city, Neuf-Brisach, I recalled the Japanese star-shaped fort, Goryokaku, and I was surprised to know that the designer of the fort was from Ehime Prefecture, in which I live. I wrote about this astonishing thing here(url).
　　4 years after I wrote the article that I showed in the last entry, I found myself in front of a rotten-roofed parking lot in Ozu City on the way to a party place, where a farewell party would be held for one of my colleagues, who would leave my workplace for marriage. A shabby sign was hanging on the fence of the parking lot, saying that here was the birth place of the Takeda Brothers, one of whom had designed Goryokaku in Hakodate. The description was really simple.
　　I rememberd the surname of the designer of Goryokaku. It was Takeda. Mr. Takeda whom I knew 4 years before and the man described on the sign must have been the same person. I was excited to know the fact at that time and I decided to visit Goryokaku and trace his whole life.
　　I wanted to have a lot of time in Goryokaku, and didn't look around in Sapporo and many other tourist attractions on the way to Hakodate, but time was not enough. Anyway, I'll offer you some pictures and my opinion in the next entry.

（北海道・東北旅行記）
帰国後、この街を調べているうちに、五稜郭の設計者が愛媛県出身だと知って驚いた。そんな優秀な人物が出ていたのかと、、、上記記事に書いたとおりである。
そして２０１４年８月。職場のスタッフの送別会に出るために大洲市内を歩いていると、、、屋根が朽ちた古い駐車場があった。そこにこんな看板が、、、名前が違っているが、五稜郭築城と書いてある。２０１０年に知った武田某と同一人物に違いない。大変な業績だと思うのだが、こんな看板一つで良いのか？いつか五稜郭に行き、武田成章の足跡をたどってみようと考えた。

  http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2010/04/neufbrisach-.html

Goryokaku 1

　　I wonder when I became interested in Goryokaku, which was the main fortress of the short-lived Republic of Ezo, which is the old name of Hokkaido. The name of Goryokaku is derived from its shape of a five-pointed star. I knew about the Boshin War (1868-1869) and Goryokaku since a long time ago. During my last visit to Hakodate City I didn't have time to see Goryokaku, but I always wanted to visit there in the not-so-distant future. It was in April in 2010 when my desire was strongly intensified.
　　When I made the second visit to Freiburg in Germany to see what the city was like, because my second daughter would stay there for her study, a Japanese young guy, who lived in Freburg, took us, me and my daughter, on a short trip to Alsace-Lorraine in France. Our destinations were Colmar, Riquewihr, and Strasbourg. On the way to Colmar, I happened to see a walled city. The walls of the city were vividly inscribed in my mind at that time. I wrote about it here(url).

(Vocabulary)
Republic of Ezo 　蝦夷共和国
Alsace-Lorraine アルザス・ロレーヌ地方
Colmar　コルマール
Riquewihr　リクヴィル
フランス北東部、アルザス地方、オーラン県の村。古くからワイン産地として知られる。第二次大戦の被害をほとんど受けなかったため、中世の城壁に囲まれた村内には同地方に典型的な木組み造りの家並みが残されている。
walled city 城郭都市



　五稜郭に興味を持ったのはいつだったろう、、。戊辰戦争はずっと前から知っていたし、五稜郭も知ってはいた。前回、函館に来たときには残念ながら寄ることはできなかったがいつか訪れたいと思っていた。その想いが強くなったのは、２０１０年４月。
　次女のドイツ留学に際して、留学先の街を見に行ったとき、地元在住の日本人に案内してもらって国境を越えフランスへ入った。目的地はコルマール、アルザス街道、ストラスブールだったのだが、フランスに入った直後に見た城郭都市に目が止まった。下記のエントリーでその街の写真がある。
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2010/04/neufbrisach-.html

Maizuru Repatriation Memorial Museum 2

　　I went up to the back hill, leaving the museum. I looked northward down on the pier from the top of the hill. You will know the positional relationship between the pier and me in the first picture. The 2nd and 3rd pictures show the rebuilt pier.
　　You can see a monument on the hill in the 4th picture, saying "Oh, my mother country!". I saw several other monuments there and all of them implied the nostalgia and the cruelty of the war. Along the path to the top nearly 100 trees were planted by people who had something to do with the war. The pile in the next picture says, "The 470th group of the embedded nurses from Japan Red Cross."
　　Incidentally, I dropped in at the pier. According to the sign by the pier, as the pier was rebuilt, small stones collected from a variety of places where Japanese people who had not been able to come back used to live or victims of sexual assaults who killed themselves in despair were placed in the base of the monument by the pier.
　　It is water under the bridge. Exactly, but I believe we human beings never forget the war, especially World War Two, when human beings got huge power and became  arrogant enough to kill more than 100,000 in only one night, or at least 140,000 with a single bomb in Hiroshima.

Maizuru Repatriation Memorial Museum 1

　　Japanese people who had lived on the Eurasian Continent before the defeat of the last war came back to Japan after the war. One of the ports to welcome them was Maizuru Port. Naturally, it was before my birth, but I've read the medical literature about the quarantine and hospitals at the port. Lots of people were exhausted by hunger. Lots of women were victims of sexual violence by Koreans and Russians. Not a few of those women are said to have killed themselves in the sea after seeing their country, Japan.
　　Now, a historical museum, called Maizuru Repatriation Memorial Museum, stands on the hill looking down on the pier on which numerous people had stepped 70 years ago. The original pier was destroyed by a typhoon and the present one is restored for remembrance under the strong intention, "No More War". The collections of this museum were recently placed on the list of UNESCO Memory of the World and the paper which certifies the listing was displayed.
　　The daily life of the detainees who were illegally captured by Russia and had to live in the bitterly cold area of the Eurasian Continent for several years after the war was explained by the panels, pictures and dioramas.

Historic Buildings

　　I visited the Maizuru World Brick Museum, which collects a variety of bricks globally and shows pictures of lots of brick buildings. I didn't expect, but I was able to see, lots of records about the war between Japan and Russia in 1904. I'd like to have stayed there more time, but I didn't have enough time to see all of them. The buildings made of bricks are preserved across the country and some of them are still in use. The nostalgic atmosphere of brick buildings has caught on in a big way in Japan. I'm writing about brick houses later again in the article on Hakodate City.
　　Maizuru City has remarkably evolved out of a small fishery town as one of the principal military ports of Japan. In the era when all the colored people other than Thais and Japanese were ruled by superpowers, Japan was intimidated by the possible invasion of Russia. Maizuru port took on the task for the defense against Russia. The red brick houses were built for the storage of munitions and some of those brick houses still stand at the port.

Maizuru City

　　Does Maizuru Port ring a bell with you? If it reminds you about JMSDF, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, you would be under 70. The older people must be recalling the repatriation after the Greater East Asian War. I did sightseeing about the former side of the port at first. While I was standing at the pier, a sightseeing boat soon came close.
　　The tour guide on the boat was a former JMSDF official and must have been up to speed. As far as he kept confidentiality of information, he gave tourists a good lecture. The boat went round the port counter-clockwise. I saw the officer candidate school of the JMSDF and its associated facilities, several oil tanks, from which the supply vessel, Mashu, which I saw later, receives oil and delivers it to other military vessels. There was the JMSDF Air Station facing the bay. The choppers on the military vessels seemed to be maintained here and when the vessels started, they flew onto their decks. There were also several big docks. A few destroyers were there for upgrade work. The surface of the sea was calm and the atmosphere was serene, but there was a feeling of tension.
　　The destroyer, Atago, which I got on board in Matsuyama Port, was tied up. It looked like it was taking a rest just after coming back from off the coast of North Korea. Pictures show several vessels. The supply vessel, Mashu, whose number is 425 and the destroyer, Hyuga, whose number is 181, were larger than I expected. It might be because I was looking upwards from the small boat on the sea, but they looked reliable.

(Vocabulary)
repatriation 　(難民・捕虜などの) 本国送還
strict confidentiality 　厳格な守秘義務
officer candidate school 　幹部候補生学校
Hayabusa-class guided-missile patrol boats　はやぶさ型ミサイル艇
Atago-class destroyer　あたご型護衛艦

Rheinland

　　I wrote about the border between Germany and Belgium in March 13th's entry. This area is called the Rheinland. Does the Rheinland ring a bell with you? The Rheinland, which is German, is the western region of Germany and is located on the border with Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. The area is a major hub of the economy and industries now.
　　Seeing the area from another point of view, the Rheinland was one of the important stages of history. Since the defeat in world war I, Germany had been burdened with astronomical reparations by the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler, who gained power in the chaos in the wake of the war, was trying to rebuild his country to become one of the superpowers again. The German Army made an entry into the Rheinland, which was the demilitarized zone then, in March in 1936, violating the Treaty of Versailles. At that time, other European nations went easy on this incident. In retrospect, this tolerance ended in leading to world war II.
　　The present invasion of China into islands in the South China Sea seems to be just like Hitler's occupation of the Rheinland. Hitler mentioned in later years that he had felt uneasy while he was staying in the Rheinland, because the army didn't have enough military strength then. China is now watching the reaction of other nations, while jabbing at other countries. I think it's high time to attack China, before Xi Jinping becomes Hitler. I'm expecting things from the new U.S. president who will replace Mr. Obama who was not able to do anything for global security.

(Vocabulary)
a major hub (文化・活動などの）一大中心地
reparation （敗戦国が払う）賠償金.
the Treaty of Versailles　ヴェルサイユ条約

Cenotaph

　　"Cenotaph" means the monuments for the departed thanks to the war, according to my dictionary, so it might be wrong to use it as the topic of this article. Anyway, however, I'd like to write about servicemen who were killed by the crash of the military aircraft 60 years ago near my workplace.
　　I heard an OPD patient looking for a person who can speak English. I asked him why. He was one of the people who worked for the rescue of the crews at that time and built the monument for the victims. I wrote about it here(link) in 2009. He told me that the relatives of the crew, which are written on the third line on the monument, will visit the monument to console the souls of the victims. They will visit Iwakuni City in April, where the Marine Corps Air Station is located, and wanted to drop in at the monument.
　　Listening to his story closely, the municipal staff members will help him. They would find someone who is able to translate words. I will write the names of all the victims in my blog entry, because their families or friends will easily find the monument.

(Vocabulary)
cenotaph  (戦没者の) 記念碑

Howard L. "Sam" Cornish
Steven Arthur Bobbins
Donald E. Richardson
Wayne Grogun
Ebbie Wells
Lee Ladd
George J. Brambinck
John Edward Meriwether
William Morrison Grayson
Joseph Arnold Hall Jr.
Davis Mawney
Rosene Bence
L. Lowell
George A. Murray Jr.

FYI
http://www.vpnavy.com/vp892_mishap.html
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2009/04/short-touring.html

National Boundary Between Belgium and Germany

　　I sometimes have to stay awake at midnight in my office. It's a fulfilling task to save the lives no matter what the circumstances are, but just waiting for the mortal moment of incurable patients is nothing but a pain and it makes me sleepy. Reading books isn't helpful in such cases.
　　Netsurfing is useful to me for warding the sleepiness off at midnight. I suppose that it's because netsurfing has something active in its nature whereas reading is a simply passive act.
　　I had such a time last night and found an amazing fact. Guess what!? I was viewing Germany on the Google Map. The boundary line between Belgium and Germany was double! There were two boundary lines and the train tracks were built between the two. The area in which train tracks run was the territory of Belgium, and the both sides of the tracks were German territory. Why on earth was such a situation born? Probably, it has some serious or historical issues. I'd really like to know the cause of the double boundary lines.
　　I'm learning German now and am attending a German class twice a month. I'm going to ask the teacher about this fact in the next class, but I have to explain it in German. It's another problem.

3.11 Disaster

　　A memorable day for Japanese came around again. March 11th in 2011 would be handed down as the day of one of the most disastrous earthquakes, followed by the huge tsunami, which claimed more than 15000 lives including related deaths and more than 4000 people are still not accounted for. We have to bolster disaster-prevention countermeasures. It would be the desire of the people who weren't able to survive the disaster. Literature and archaeological studies revealed that Japan has suffered enormous natural disasters repeatedly since ancient times. It's naturally lamentable, but can we not say that the very effort to survive or minimize the damage by the disasters with the collected folk wisdom is the test of the level of the nation's civilization.

(Vocabulary)
unforgettable  (すばらしさ・美しさなどの面で) 忘れられない
memorable 記憶に残る, 忘れられない
the collected wisdom of many generations いく世代にもわたって蓄えられた知恵
folk wisdom  (受け継がれる) 庶民の知恵

Guidebook

　　I consider a number of options about my summer vacation at this time of the year. You might feel it's early, but I have to apply for the leave to my boss at least two months before I actually want to go out for a vacation, and generally speaking, the earlier you book, the lower the price of the tour is. I picked Malaysia as the destination of the coming summer vacation.
　　I ordered a guidebook online at amazon and it was delivered yesterday in two days after the ordering. The online shopping is really handy. When I have no time to go to a bookstore, I can get the book that I want in a few days. Even if I could visit the bookstore, there might be nothing in stock. The guidebook that was delivered is shown in the following picture. I spent a slow night on duty last night, and I thumbed through it. Reading guidebooks makes me leave my stress behind and unwind.
　　Anyway, I go for trips in a big way. I'd like to go to various places, talk with local people, eat local foods, and learn their history and culture. I want to learn several languages to order what I want to eat and to move by public transportation measures. I attained that level in Korean, Mandarin, and German, but I wouldn't visit anti-Japan nations like both Korea and China any more. By the way, what language do I pick up next?

The Ninth Year

　　The race for the U.S. presidency is heated now and I'm paying attention to what the runners are saying. No matter who will get into office, the result will have a powerful influence on the way the world goes. It seems that Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton will be the candidates for the Republican and Democratic Parties respectively. Both candidates are showing their anti-China attitude. They'll put China through a torrid time.
　　The next year is 2017, which is the 9th year after the Beijing Olympics. When an autocratic or totalitarian state puts on the Olympic Games in modern history, it collapsed in the 9th year after the Olympics. Generally speaking, the Olympic Games is held at the peak of the nation's strength and it will go down after the Olympics.

Berlin Olympics 1936; Hitler regime fell down in 1945.
Sarajevo Olympics (Yugoslavia) 1984; Yugoslavia disappeared in 1993
Moscow Olympics 1980; USSR broke up in 1989

Beijing Olympics 2008; China will be disassembled in 2017 or not?

Relaxing Day

　　Some people find it tough to simply let go and relax, but I sometimes do it for a change. It's good to unwind once in a while.
　　Today I visited the Ehime Prefectural Museum, which was staging an exhibition of Egyptian historical and cultural heritage. The items on display were all brought from Egypt and, to my surprise, one of three noted golden masks in the Egyptian Museum was also displayed. As the visitors weren't allowed to take pictures, I'll show you a picture quoted from the net. The right one in the picture was actually placed in a small museum of Japan's local city of Matsuyama. The historical importance of this mask along with other items like a coffin in which an Egyptian mummy was contained, sculptures of various periods, etc overwhelmed me. Listening to guidance from the digital device, I recalled the ancient days of the Nile basin.
　　Take a look at the second picture below. I took it in the hallway. Four to five-year-old kids drew them. Their intense impression toward Egypt looked like the golden mask and the pyramids. I remembered my daughters' pictures in the days of kindergarten.

(Vocabulary)
basin 流域
the Amazon basin  アマゾン川流域

Real History

　　China and Korea have long been harshly accusing Japan of issues over the comfort women and the Nanking massacre without any solid evidence. On the other hand, it's the nature of Japanese people to keep quiet to avoid conflicts and to put up with something until the last minute. Add to that most Japanese people have been brainwashed by misleading education plotted by the Allies. At last, however, the Japanese Government, which had never lifted a finger over this issue for a long time, insisted that the appeals from both countries should be just fabrications.
　　Let me date back to the 15th century. The arrival of Vasco da Gama in Asia brought merciless distress to Asian countries and then the darkest periods of Asia started. Asian people had been under the tight control of European superpowers for 400 years until 1905, when Japan sealed a sweeping victory over Russia. Japan had been involved in various military conflicts despite its efforts to avoid them.
　　Eventually Japan surrendered and Japanese people were placed under the distorted education system made up by the Allies. In my case, I was taught that Japan used to be an evil nation before World War II. However, when the Allies were accusing Japanese leaders in the Tokyo Tribunal of War Criminals on Japan's colonial occupation, they were re-invading Asian countries. Do you know about the Indochina Wars? It should be called arrogant delusion. Lots of people came to know the real history and this movement is gathering pace.
　　The following picture shows the speech by the Japanese high officials in the U.N. committee.

New Year's visit to a temple

　　At the instant when the year turns new my family stays home together and exchanges new year's greetings and then goes to bed. Though it has been an untold rule, I was invited to the New Year's midnight visit to a temple and a party after the visit. My wife didn't want to visit a temple at midnight, so I joined them alone. It comes naturally to even ordinary Japanese people to visit a shrine or temple at the beginning of the new year. However, I've never visited them at midnight.
　　I couldn't even anticipate what's going to happen in a temple at midnight. The temple which we visited was Yasakaji Temple, the 47th temple of Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage. At about 23:30 hours the Buddhist priests started to blow conch shells. I'm not sure, but it must have a certain religious importance. Then the visitors started to toll the bell, which should be originally tolled 107 times within a passing year and one more in a new year, but the priests seemed to allow all the visitors to toll the bell. I also tolled the bell once and prayed for the happiness of people all over the world in the main building of the temple.
　　After the New Year's visit, we had a party. One of us was a professional pianist, who played for us, "When You Wish Upon a Star", and the host was a stickler for serving high quality wines to guests. He was also a good cook. We enjoyed chatting, nice live piano music, nice dishes and wines. The picture shows a Louis Roederer crystal champagne 2006, which was served first.

(Vocabulary)
除夜の鐘を英辞郎で調べると
the bells on New Year's Eve
とあったが、これだけでは伝わらないだろうなあ
conch shell　ホラ貝
ホラ貝を吹くって、、、blow or play?

Minatogawa Shrine

　　William Elliot Griffis (1843-1928), who was invited to teach science and stayed in Japan from 1870 for 4 years, wrote "The Mikado's Empire". He tells in the work that his Japanese students and his friends replied "Masashige Kusunoki" to his question; who do you think the most honorable figure is in Japan's history? However at present, how many Japanese people know about even only his name? After World War II, Japanese people were brainwashed by the United Nations. Education was also controlled by the winner. The myths, lots of historical facts, and everything that was inconvenient to the Allies were concealed.
　　I went to Kobe City with my wife to join a party, about which I'll write about in the following entry, and dropped in at Minatogawa Shrine. Enshrined here is the guardian deity of Japan, Masashige Kusunoki himself. He had lived his life for the Imperial Court and killed himself at the place where the shrine is now built. I wish you'd get his information in detail from the internet or something.
　　Because the present Japanese people have been taught distorted history, I wouldn't be surprised if I barely saw people in the grounds, but there were lots of people who prayed for something or happiness for newborn babies, or celebrated the growth of their children or grandchildren. It's a well-known event called shichi-go-san, literally seven, five, and three. I made many wishes and offered thanks concerning everything around me. Then, I visited his tomb and joined my hands in prayer.
　　I think Japan will change drastically, as the internet is getting widely used and people can easily get information directly from the net.
　　I'll upload my photo with a picture of a monkey dressed like a noble person. It's because next year is the Monkey's Year in the Oriental Zodiac.

Breakaway From the Postwar Regime

　　The topic of this entry is my translation of the phrase which Japan's Prime Minister, Abe, often refers to. You might wonder, what is the postwar regime?
　　Believe it or not, the general way of thinking of Japanese people is still distorted by the 7 years of the U.S. occupation of Japan after World War II. Chinese, Korean, and other nations' agents are lurking deeply in the various media and the educational field. Most Japanese people who take information from the TV, newspapers or something like that are like a really low-hanging fruit to the agents. However, along with the expansion of the internet, lots of people became able to get information directly from the sources, no matter what the existing media insist on. This merit is utterly great.
　　The private lecture was delivered today, whose lecturer was former lawmaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Shingo Nishimura. The topics were a variety of current affairs. The lecture was scheduled by people who managed to wean themselves from brainwashing by the U.S., including me. The following picture shows the happy faces of people in his welcoming party after the lecture. I made up my mind to support him if he should run in the upcoming Upper House election.

(Vocabulary)
breakaway  (習慣・伝統的などからの) 脱却, 決別 [＋breakaway from]