Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

The Decennial Concert

　　Have you heard of "Shakuhachi", the Japanese traditional bamboo flute. Several schools of it have developed since 7th century. The school which I belong to is called Tozan-Ryu and is the biggest one. The governing body of the school has held a rather huge concert every 10 years in Kyoto Concert Hall and I was invited this year as a Shakuhachi player to the 120th commemorative concert, which means my school was founded 120 years ago.
　　I started practicing a number, "Kukai", a half year ago. "Kukai" is the name of a historical monk who founded the basis of the Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage. I was a member of the representatives from Shikoku and this year is the 1200th anniversary year of his birth. That's why this number was chosen as the number which the representatives from Shikoku would play.
　　This number is designed to be performed by three sections; Shakuhachi, Koto, the Japanese harp, and Sangen, the Japanese guitar-like traditional musical instrument. All the players have their own job and it was not easy to get together for practice, but they managed to arrange some time for joint practice.
　　Moreover, the composer of "Kukai" would join us on the day of the concert without enough rehearsal. I got tense. A man in the center of the front line in the following picture is him.
　　It was great fun to play Shakuhachi in front of lots of people. I've just started to practice for the next, after-ten-years concert.

(Vocabulary)
decennial １０年ごとの
commemorate
to do something to show that you remember and respect someone important or an important event in the past:
historical  (出来事・人物などが) 歴史上実在した
historical figures 歴史上の人物

Rehearsal: 以下リハーサル風景

 


尺八には十分な楽屋なし。演奏者が多すぎて、、、

With my instructor   師匠と看板の前で


『空海』作曲者の菊重精峰先生(左側奧から２人目、黒いシャツ)をお招きして懇親会

Drive On Highway

　　I live on the fourth biggest island of Shikoku in Japan. It's small, but there are a variety of museums like natural history, modern art, science, folk, and traditional art museums and so on. Last year, the four Education Boards in Shikoku launched a promotion campaign to increase the number of visitors to those museums and I applied the campaign all at once. When my new car was delivered to my home, I decided to visit those museums with my new car.
　　I visited a folk museum in Tokushima Prefecture today. An old house in which a physician, who had served as a family doctor to the royal family and later had been expelled from power in 12th century, had lived from the end of the 12th century to the early years of 13th century, was preserved and after a partial renovation it was open to the public. Lots of medical apparatuses, books, farming implements, and daily necessities of the old days were displayed. My camera in hand, I was snapping away at all the interesting medicine-related stuff.
　　This area is very rich in folk tales, and there was also a museum of this kind. It was fun too. This folk tales museum stands along a river, called the Yoshinogawa river. The World Rafting Championship is supposed to be held here in 2017. I'm sure to visit there again and see the race.

Guanyin

　　The area in which my office is located is only a tiny village, but it has a long history as a key traffic junction, which connected the land-locked Ozu Basin and the Seto Inland Sea. One of its icons is the sculpture of Guanyin carved in the 10th or 11th century. It has been preserved elaborately, blocking out light. People can see the sculpture only on April 17th, the day of the local festival.
　　During lunch break, I went out for the festival. I was going to take pictures of the sculpture, but it was prohibited. Anyway, what people were waiting for most was the rice cake scattering. It is said that rice cakes have the power to summon happiness, so people will try to get more and more rice cakes. I got only three, but ate them during lunch time. Something good would happen or not?

(Vocabulary)
Guanyin　観音様
key traffic junction 交通の要衝
land-locked 〈港・湾などが〉陸地に囲まれた；〈国・地域などが〉海岸線がない;〈魚が〉淡水にすむ.

Sake Lovers' Meeting

　　My Lions Club has been holding meetings concerning alcoholic beverages four times a year. Every meeting has its theme. In addition to the major classification of alcoholic drinks, like sake, wine, beer, whisky, and so on, the drinks are chosen by its birthplace, its ingredient, or by the season in which the meeting is held. Naturally, delicious seasonal dishes accompany the beverage.
　　The theme this time was "whisky". There are two kinds of descriptions of whisky, i.e., "whisky" and "whiskey". In Japan "whisky" is more frequently used. Japanese whisky is descended from Scotch, and the Scotch-like description without "e" is used.
　　Five major areas for the production of whiskys are Ireland, Scotland, America, Canada, and Japan. A Japanese had brought the technique of producing whisky from Scotland in the latter half of 19th century and his story was broadcast recently. He is the founder of Nikka and father of Japanese whisky. Now Japan is experiencing a boom in whisky.
　　The lecturer was the branch manager of Suntory Co.Ltd, the other company of the two major whisky companies in Japan. His story was full of wit and was enjoyable. I learned lots of things about not only Japanese whisky but also other ones.
　　You see a little bottle of Maker's Mark on the table, it was a souvenir. The lecturer told us what the logo and its seal meant. They were added to my whole stock of knowledge.

(Vocabulary)
Sake Lovers' Meeting 　ほろ酔い会（松山中央ライオンズクラブで開催される年に４回の酒飲みたちのイベント。毎回種々のアルコール飲料が用意され、専門家たちの蘊蓄に耳を傾け、アルコールを楽しむ会）
connoisseur　専門家、(美術品などの) 鑑定家, (その道の) 通, 玄人,食べ物・酒・音楽など特定の分野についてよく知っている人
a wine connoisseur　ワイン通

Imperial Visit to Peleliu Island

　　Do you know Peleliu Island in the Pacific Ocean? It's one of the islands which belong to the Archipelago country of Palau, which is the ultimate destination of scuba divers. The island is well-known also as the place of fierce fighting between the U.S. and Japan during the Greater East Asian War. The Ten-noh, or the Priest King, or the Emperor of Japan along with his wife, made a commemorative visit to the island today.
　　Japanese students have been educated under the War Guilt Information Program, WGIP. That is, they have been taught that Japan used to be a rogue country and gave too much agonizing suffering for words to people whom it had ruled. Even now, lots of people believe it and only a few people know that it was simply one of the plots of McArthur.
　　By the way, do you see how diligently the Palau people did the preparation for welcoming Ten-noh? The domestic TV reporter and other foreign correspondents showed lots of people working for a great reception. I felt a strong affinity toward Japan among them. Japan had ruled the Palau people once. However, they show even now an affinity toward Japan. Their national flag also indicates the intensity of the affinity. What on earth did Japan do for Palau? Japan was a ruler and the Palau people were once subject people.

(Vocabulary)
Peleliu Island  ペリリュー島
too much ~  for words 言葉にならないほど
subject 《[名]の前でのみ》(フォーマル) (他の国・階級などの) 支配［統治］下にある, 被支配の
subject peoples 被支配民族




FYI:
Priest King:
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2009/08/german-and-engl.html
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2012/01/our-priest-king-tennohs-words-reprint.html
Mt. Sanganesan Monument Park: http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2011/08/mt-sanganesan-monument-park.html

Chester William Nimitz:
Tourists from every country who visit this island should be told how courageous and patriotic were the Japanese soldiers who all died defending this island.

Okinawa

 　　In March in 1945, the final phase of the Greater East Asian War, Okinawa was involved in the fierce fighting between the Allied forces and Japan. It is said that more than 100,000 citizens were killed by the Allied forces. The year 2015 is the 70th anniversary of the invasion by the Allied forces into Okinawa and I made a commemorative trip to Okinawa for a few days with my wife, whose uncle was dispatched to Taiwan as a military surgeon after serving as an Imperial guard and was killed by a submarine on the way to Taiwan in the Bashi Channel. His place of death was not Okinawa, but we were going to pray for him too.
　　I'll write trip memos down and upload here with some pictures. I hope you'll realize the spirituality of Japanese people.
　　As the frequent subscribers of my blog know, I'll arrange entries in chronological order later soon after I finish the travel writing.

(Vocabulary)
imperial guards 近衛兵
Bashi Channel バシー海峡
travel writing　旅行記

Nakijin Castle Ruin

　　I drove down the west coast of the island under the bright sunshine. I had several sites to visit along the route, but didn't have enough time for them so we dropped in at one of those sites, the Basho-fu Hall(link), meeting my wife's wish. I didn't have so much keen interest in Basho-fu then, but seeing several people working to preserve and hand to the descendants the traditional procedures of making cloth from the plant called Basho, I was strongly impressed. As for the detail of the Basho-fu, see the link to the official website.
　　Today's main scenic site was Nakijin Castle Ruin, one of four castle ruins listed as World Heritage sites. As I expected, the magnitude of the castle ruin was great. I thought of the old days of the castle ruin, walking over the castle wall.
　　The hotel of the last day was on Hamahigajima Island, connected with Okinawa Island by two long bridges. It is gorgeous and expensiveoriginally, but we were lucky to be able to use discount coupons only for weekdays.
　　We drove down from the farthest north to near Naha, the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture today. What I was most impressed by was the difference of the standards of living between the northern and southern areas. Can we not say that the Governor should be involved in this matter first?

Hedomisaki Cape

　　The next destination was Hedomisaki Cape, the north end of Okinawa Island. Needless to say, it is the nearest soil of Okinawa to the Japanese mainland. Now there stands a monument which commemorates the political strife for returning to Japan by people in Okinawa. Okinawa used to have been governed by the U.S. until 1972 since the end of the last war. Their struggle was recorded in the form of the monument.
　　The northern half of Okinawa, above Henoko, remains almost untouched and is rich in wild creatures. The signboard, which I found on the way to the cape, told us about the number of roadkills. Seeing it, I drove my car more carefully.

(Vocabulary)
roadkill　［米略式］道路上で車にひかれた動物の死体.

地球史探訪: 沖縄の祖国復帰を果たした県民の思い
http://melma.com/backnumber_115_6208362/

樺島有三、仲村俊子『祖国復帰は沖縄の誇り』明成社　H24
http://www.amazon.co.jp/o/ASIN/4905410053/japanontheg01-22/

Nakagusuku and Katsuren Castle Ruin

　　Four of the castle ruins in Okinawa were placed on the list of World Heritage Sites in 2000. I was going to visit all of them on the trip and the second and the third ruins are Nakagusuku Castle Ruin and Katsuren Castle Ruin. As I wrote in the entry about Zakimi Castle, the detail about these castles had been lost to history. No documented records! It's utterly regrettable.

(Vocabulary)
be lost to history 歴史に埋もれる

Zakimi Castle Ruin

　　Thinking of the history of Okinawa, only the period of after around the war is emphasized and what had happened before 19th century isn't so well-known to people who live in Japan's mainland. Four castle ruins were designated World Heritage Sites recently, even that is not familiar to people from the mainland. I was going to visit all of them and the Zakimi Castle Ruin is one of them. It is located at the top of a hill, so anti-aircraft guns were instated during the war and the U.S. radar site was placed there after the war. The ruin, however, was renovated in 1980s.
　　The castle is said to have been built in the early 15th century, but neither the building itself nor documented records remain. The accurate appearance of the castle is apparently still unknown. Its stone walls and several stones which were used for the basis of the posts told me about the then flourishing culture. I came across a group of a guided tour and I walked in the grounds with them. I was lucky to be able to listen to their guide.
　　When I stood on the wall, I was able to see around the hill far away in the comfortable breeze of Okinawa, and the scenery reminded me of the next spot which I would drop in at. It was the Zanpa Misaki Cape which is well-known as the viewing spot of the most beautiful sunset in Okinawa.

(Vocabulary)
instate 〈人を〉〔地位などに〕任ずる，つかせる
to install sb in office; to establish

Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, MCASF

　　After the last war, Okinawa was burnt to the ground. The U.S. occupied it and built their military bases across the island. The MCASF in Ginowan City is one of those bases. Lots of people sought for jobs in MCASF and settled around the station. Now its neighborhood has become a massively populated area and some people accuse the station of being dangerous for inhabitants. As you think, it is contradictory. MCASF, the first and then people gathered. It is said that those people are the agents of the Chinese Government who wants the MCASF to be closed.
　　We climbed up a hill where we were able to view the whole base. I wanted to see the osprey, naturally not the birds but military ospreys. Eventually, I saw several ospreys grounded in the distance. I wished I could have seen them closely. While I was climbing the hill, I found several remains of combats during the war like a pillbox, a cave, and so on. I'll upload pictures of them below.

(Vocabulary)
pillbox 　トーチカ (鉄筋コンクリートで固め，機関銃などを備えた防御陣地)

Sefautaki, World Heritage

　　Okinawa island had been ruled by the Ryukyu Dynasty until it was merged into Japan, so it has another cultural background. Naturally, Okinawa has its own myths. According to their myths, the Okinawan deities came into this world on Kudakajima Island, which is several kilometers off the south eastern coast. The holiest site on Okinawa Island lies in the deep forest facing Kudaka Island, which is called Sefautaki. I visited this site.
　　On the approach to the gate of the grounds, people were loud with the joy of sightseeing, but when they got into the grounds, they became silent feeling the solemnity of the area. I walked for some time on the narrow path through the subtropical forest and made it the point, where the priest had prayed in the period of the Ryukyu Dynasty. This place was placed on the list of World Heritage Sites recently.

(Vocabulary)
Ryukyu Dynasty 琉球王朝

Himeyuri Cenotaph, Himeyuri Peace Museum, Peace Memorial Park

　　There are lots of memorial establishments in Itoman City. I selected and visited three representative facilities from them, each name of which is put on the title of this article. The cave in front of the museum was the ruin of the third Surgical Department of Okinawa Army Hospital. The names of people who had been killed there were carved on the monument standing by the cave. I was lost for words for some time.
　　In the Peace Memorial Park numerous stone walls with the names of the departed stood prefecture by prefecture and country by country. I'll upload its picture below. The number of names is increasing even now, because they newly turn out to be killed by the war.
　　Peace... The Japanese Government was eager to achieve a peaceful world 70 years ago. A world without colonies, racial and religious discrimination was what Japan sought. Eventually many colonies were able to become independent.
　　Japan, however, had to pay a costly price for that. The bombing at Tokyo killed more than 100,000 unarmed civilians in a few hours, and two atomic bombs. Even in  war, unarmed people should be protected. Even soldiers, if they throw their weapons away and they have no intention of fighting, should be protected. The Allied Forces, who breached the Hague Convention, and Japan, who was stubbornly honest to observe international laws,,,,This visit gave me food for thought.

(Vocabulary)
Cenotaph (戦没者の) 記念碑
be stubbornly honest 愚直に
convention  [C] (国・政府間の) 協定, 協約
the European Convention on Human Rights 　ヨーロッパ人権条約

Caves

　　There are lots of monuments to the dead and also caves in Itoman City. Lots of caves in which people hid during the fight remain unchanged. The first picture shows a monument for a Lieutenant General and his men, which stood by a big cave where they killed themselves to avoid being taken alive into custody by the Allied troops. They would have their families and want to get back home. What did they think at the last moment?
　　I eagerly wanted to visit one of those caves which was utilized as a field hospital. The monument in the second picture reads "The Monument of Okinawa Army Hospital". The hospital was evacuated from its original site to the south, near the sea. This monument was built by the cave. I stepped into the cave and wondered how the inside was at that time. They didn't have enough medicine like antibiotics, pain killers, etc and were also short of other medical equipment. Naturally no air conditioner and no flush toilet on the subtropical island of Okinawa.
　　Two poems describing young girls from the nursing unit were inscribed on the nearby monument, one of which says, "A nurse went out of the cave with four water bottles to get water somewhere for injured soldiers, but didn't come back." Another one was likewise. Though the sky was clear blue when I visited the cave, I became sad when I read the poems.

Scene of Mass-Suicide

　　I've already written about nursing units which were comprised of schoolgirls in their late teens. Most nursing students had lived their miserable days in the war, and the most miserable and heavily smashed unit was the Himeyuri unit, which is now sometimes called "Lily Corps".
　　They were chased up by the enemy to the seashore. They were lastly cornered here in the picture and killed themselves. A stone tablet, on which students' and their teachers' names were carved, was embedded into a big rock. They were also victims of the war. We observed a brief silence in honor of the students and teachers who had died there.

 

Gushikawa Castle Ruin

　　We were heading for Kyanmisaki Cape, but got lost on the way making a detour due to road repairs. We found the post in the first picture by chance, which read Gushikawa Castle Ruin. There are several sites called "Gushikawa" in Okinawa Prefecture, and we were in the southern end of Itoman City. We followed the sign and got into the ruin. The ruin was on our drive map, but it was small and not eye-catching. The ruin was built on a sheer cliff edge and was mysterious. I was lucky to be able to reach the ruin.
　　It seems like there are lots of castle ruins in Okinawa and four of them were recently placed on the world heritage list. We were going to visit all of them on the trip. I'm very interested in history.

 

Okinawa Prefectural Office, Cave in Todoroki

　　Look at the following pictures. These pictures show a limestone cave, which was the Okinawa Prefecture Office that had been functioning at the last minute during the war.
　　The crucial task of the office was to evacuate citizens to the north and better still to other islands. The Governor and his officials stayed in the cave and managed to take as many citizens as possible from the island, taking the risk of their own lives. Their action was admirable.
　　The Governor ordered his men to abandon the office and be sure to survive the war on June 9th in 1945, and then, he went missing. It is said that he had killed himself. His body has been missing so far.

(Vocabulary)
limestone 石灰岩
limestone cave / calcareous cave　鍾乳洞
better still (それならば) いっそのこと
Check our website or, better still, come for a visit!  ウェブサイトをチェック，またはいっそのことご来店を！

Shiraume Student Nursing Unit

　　I'm going to write about the nursing assistants of military medics in this entry. The Japanese Government had quickly and newly produced nursing staff along with military medics during the war. They were recruited mainly from female teenagers. I visited one of the monuments for these nursing staff.
　　According to the information board, after the invasion of the Allied forces, they accompanied wounded soldiers and non-armed citizens, evacuating to the north of the island, where the enemy was sparse. However, the groups with wounded or exhausted people were slow. Almost all of them were killed or missing. The monument which I'll show you below was built by their juniors, relatives, and their school officials. Their places of death aren't even now identified.

The 22nd Infantry Regiment and Bombproof Caves

　　The 22nd Infantry Regiment was founded in 1884 and had been dispatched to the key conflicts in the history of modern Japan. I feel something special in this regiment, because it was made up from people from Ehime Prefecture, my home.
　　At the place where all the regiment were completely killed stands the monument which I was most wanted to visit. It was only 50 meters from the site where L.Gen. Buckner was shot and killed. Judging from several historical facts, the shooter might have been a member of the 22nd regiment, i.e., from my home. Honestly, I feel "That serves you right", but he was also dispatched to such a far place from his homeland probably against his will. He would also be a victim of the war. At the foot of the monument fresh tomatoes were offered and I was thankful for people around the monument.
　　Take a look at a picture of a bombproof cave at first, though I'm going to upload several pictures of other caves in the following entries. It was open to visitors who wanted to pray for the departed. The stairs were built after the war for such visitors. People were staying in the dark, narrow cave without enough food, water, and sewer. I couldn't imagine such a life. The inhabitants of the cave were mostly from Yamagata prefecture, and so the monument for people from Yamagata stands on the soil above the cave.

(Vocabulary)
陸軍歩兵２２連隊：　主に愛媛県出身者で構成された連隊。日清戦争から大東亜戦争まで重要な戦闘に派遣された由緒ある連隊で、昭和２０年６月１７日この地にて全員玉砕。
真栄里（まえざと）：　沖縄県糸満市内の集落の名。２２連隊玉砕の地。
infantry　歩兵
regiment　連隊
That serves you right　ざまあみろ！

Itoman City

　　Itoman City is located in the south of Okinawa Island. It is well-known as the place of fierce fighting between the Allied forces and Japan during the Greater East Asian War. There are no high mountains and no lakes in the city and its undulating ground is very unique. The most typical characteristic of the city is that there are numerous monuments set up across the city.
　　Generally speaking, it's the lowest class of soldiers who have the highest possibility of being killed in combat. Then, could you tell me who was the highest class of soldier in the U.S. ever killed in military combat? He is Lieutenant General Buckner so far, who was killed at the top of a hill in Itoman City. I visited his place of death too. The first picture shows the place where he was shot and killed. I'll also upload the picture of the roadsign for the memorial point. His former monument was built by Itomanees, but now it has been transferred into the U.S. camp.
　　If it were not for the combats here, lots of lives would have been saved. Irrespective of the nationalities, the departed due to the war are here in Itoman City even now commemorated.
　　Okinawa Island is formed on coral reefs and so it has lots of natural caves underground, which were used as bomb shelters during the war. I visited some of those shelters. I'll write about them in the next article.

(Vocabulary)
Lieutenant General 中将
undulating　《[名]の前でのみ》(フォーマル)  波打つ, (波のように) うねっている