Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle

　　Our next destination was Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle, 20 minutes north from Riquewihr. I didn't expect much from this castle because it was not so famous as Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. However, as you can see in the next entry, this castle was a really castle-like castle. It had the smell of a medieval king's life. Mr. D had visited Neuschwanstein Castle before, and he told us that Neuschwanstein Castle was nice outside, but inside there wasn't anything interesting. Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle was literally just like coming out of the medieval world. The first picture was shot in front of the castle toward Germany. You can see the Black Forest in the distance. The second one was taken just before entering the castle.

Neuf-Brisach

　　The road veered to the right fifteen minutes after our entry into France. At that time, Mr. D told us to look to the right side and a town surrounded by historic ramparts jumped to my eyes. This town was called Neuf-Brisach and is one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. He continued to tell us that the street was not so special so let's go straight to Colmar. I felt like stepping onto the walls, but followed his advice. After coming back to Japan, I was surprised to examine this town and its history. This town used to be a fortified town built by a French king, Louis XIV. The shape of it really resembles a Japanese historic fort, Goryokaku. I'll show you pictures of both sites from Japanese and French Wikipedias. Additionally, I didn't know that the designer of Goryokaku was born in Ehime prefecture. It's the same as me! I was also born and grew up in Ehime prefecture. He learned the western art of warfare and built the first western style ramparts in Japan. I was excited to find the similarity of both sites. What do you think of it?

(Vocabulary)

veer  (急に) 向きを変える, 曲がる

rampart  《[C]通例複数形で》城壁, 塁壁

jump to the eye 目に飛び込んでくる

UNESCO's World Heritage ユネスコの世界遺産

fortified 〈都市などが〉要塞(ようさい)化された, 防備を固めた

Historic Fortified Town 歴史的要塞都市

fort  砦(とりで), 要塞

the art of warfare/ war 兵法

Oscar and March 10th

　　　To my surprise "The Cove", a movie that had been shot secretly and illegally, won an Oscar. Some Japanese commercial fishermen captured some dolphins which had damaged their traditional fishery and sold them for food. The fishermen didn't enjoy killing them, and have to protect their way of life. Dolphins often destroy their fishnets and eat fishes or clear fishes away from the coast. Dolphins are really a threat for people who eke out a living from coastal fisheries or depend on the sea. The movie, "The Cove", describes these people. The filmmakers illegally sneaked into an off-limits area and shot the movie.
　　　An Oscar is a prize that the Hollywood-inhabitants, who esteem whales and dolphins more highly than human beings, select so I don't need to refer to it. However, I wondered how much bias they have! What stupid racial discrimination they have!
　　　Australian people kill more than three million kangaroos, which do harm to their crops, a year. The U.S. people kill huge numbers of cattle for their main food. They sometimes claim that dolphins are clever. I know, of course. Then, they'd like to insist that stupid creatures can be killed meaninglessly, would they? How about China and Korea which have the tradition of eating cats and dogs?
　　　The arrogance of western people hasn't changed at all since 15th century. Come to think of it, today is one of the anniversaries in the history of human beings. Do you know who was the first to kill more than 100,000 citizens in one night since recorded history?

(Vocabulary)
secret filming（ビデオカメラによる）盗撮
a commercial fisherman  漁業関係者
fisherman  （娯楽としての）釣り人　（という意味もある)
fishnet  漁網
eke sth out
eke out a living/an existence  何とか生計を立てる, 細々と生活する
fisherman who depends on the sea  その海に生計を頼っている漁師
inshore adv. 海岸近くに, 海岸に向かって; adj.海岸に近い, 沿岸の
coastal [coast] fishery  沿岸漁業
off-limits area  立ち入り禁止区域
inhabitant  one of the people who live in a particular place:
esteem  …を尊敬する, 評価する
highly esteem sb   ＜人＞を高く評価する
refer to sb/sth ＜…＞に言及する, 触れる
cattle  (集合的に) 牛, 畜牛

　驚いたことに、盗撮フィルムがオスカーを取った。漁業に打撃を与えるイルカの漁を盗撮したものだ。イルカを獲るために遠洋まで出かけていくのではなく、イルカに生活を脅かされている沿岸漁民が生きるためのすべだ。人間よりイルカや鯨が大事だと思っているようなハリウッドの住人が選ぶ賞なので、大騒ぎする必要はないが、それにしてもこの人種差別はどうだろう。

　作物に害を与えるという理由で毎年３００万頭のカンガルーを虐殺するオーストラリア、牛を主食とするアメリカなど、白人が主張できるような内容だろうか。イルカが賢いというのなら、賢くない動物は殺しても良いと言うことだろうか？犬を食べる伝統のある、支那や朝鮮、猫を食べる支那はどうだ？

　白人の傲慢さ、１５世紀から何も変わってはいない。そういえば今日は人類が初めて一晩に１０万人を虐殺した日だった。

 

Book Burning

A Japanese word "焚書" means throwing books into the fire. I looked for the direct English translation in my dictionary, but in vain. Nazi Germany, of course, did it and the U.S. also did it just after the Greater East Asian War. At least 7000 kinds of books that were inconvenient to the U.S. were burnt. The number of those books are reportedly to be more than tens of millions across the country. I don't think that justice is on their side.
By the way, China is now implementing this bird-brained policy in Uighur, but a book written in the Uighur language was secretly taken out of Uighur through Hong Kong, and got translated into Japanese. The original title is "Iz", which encourages the Uighur people to become independent. I read it and knew what has been happening in modern times.

(Vocabulary)
book burning  焚書
Nazi Germany  ナチスドイツ
implement 〈計画・政策・法律など〉 を実行する, 実施する, 履行する
bird-brained  ばかな, まぬけな
 

Breaking the Seal on the GHQ Burned Books (Reprint)

The GHQ, the command center of the American occupation forces in Japan, make a great deal about "freedom of speech" on the surface, but all reportage and publications were subjected to a thorough prepublication censorship. Even private letters were unsealed and read due to this censorship.
The GHQ's control of the expression of people's views did not stop there. They undertook a book burning on a scale that one can't help but compare it to the infamous book burnings of the Nazis. Under the name of "propaganda publications," a total of 7,769 works published before the war were confiscated for "burning." In this essay, Prof. Nishio Kanji shines a light on exactly what types of books were seized, and exactly how were they taken.
In short, the truth of the shock that the policy of the GHQ was the obliteration of Japanese history and thought is here proclaimed to the world.
* Summary:　http://www.sdh-fact.com/CL02_1/68_S2.pdf
  Full text:　http://www.sdh-fact.com/CL02_1/68_S4.pdf
  Author profile: http://www.sdh-fact.com/CL02_2/52_S2.pdf

(Vocabulary)
reprint 〔他の出版物｛しゅっぱんぶつ｝の記事｛きじ｝などの〕転載｛てんさい｝
make a great deal of progress  大きく進歩｛しんぽ｝する
reportage  ルポルタージュ 報道
censorship  検閲
sb can't help (doing) sth;  sb can't help but do sth)  ＜人＞が＜…＞なのは［＜…＞するのは］どうしようもない
I can't help the way I feel about you. 君への思いをどうすることもできない．
infamous  悪名高い [＋infamous for]
confiscate  (罰として) …を押収する, 没収する
shock [C] (経済状況・暮らし・慣習などを脅かす) 突然の変化, ショック
obliteration(特に書き言葉) (爆弾・あらしなどによる) 壊滅
obliterate
(爆弾・あらしなどが) …を壊滅する
(特に書き言葉) 〈記憶・感情など〉 を消し去る, 取り去る
(文) …を覆い隠す obliterate sth from view ＜…＞を覆って見えなくする
proclaim [他](フォーマル)  …を公然と述べる, 公言する

日本を占領したアメリカを中心とする連合軍（GHQ）は、建て前では言論の自由をとなえていましたが、報道・出版の徹底的な事前検閲を行いました。書信の開封による検閲まで行っていました。GHQの言論統制はこれにとどまりませんでした。ナチスが行った悪名高い「焚書」とは比較にならない大規模な焚書をも行いました。「宣伝用刊行物没収」という名のもとに、何と７７６９点の戦争前に刊行された書籍を没収し「焚書」したのです。GHQの占領政策は日本の歴史・思想を抹殺することを目指していたという衝撃の事実が今や世界に公表されるわけです。

 

 

 

Isabella L. Bird

     I've been reading several books of travel in recent times, which were recorded by foreign travellers in 1800-1900. Those books describe ordinary people's lives. Their lives are really interesting. What were their food, clothes, transportation and houses like? The history which I'd learnt is written from the viewpoint of rulers. Lots of famous people and incidents are the main characters in the history which I know. However, these notes of travel are written by many travellers and tell me how the ordinary Japanese people spent their lives. Naturally the writers have their own characters, likes and dislikes. They might have changed various things, but if you read several books, you'll know the facts.

     "Unbeaten Tracks in Japan" by Isabella L. Bird was really good. She recorded both good and bad, or convenient and inconvenient things of Japan. I got lots of new information from it.

 

Wako, 倭寇

     Piracy started in 13th century on the Japan Sea. China and the two Koreas call the pirates Wako, which means the Japanese assault. In other words, they insist that the pirates consisted of Japanese people. I'd like to make reasonable and theoretical remarks.

     Some Japanese people started piracy in 13th century to take their properties back from China and Korea. Japanese traders were frequently cheated by their customers and suffered damages. They got bent out of shape and easily resorted to the act of piracy without deep consideration. However it's the case only in the early period of "Wako" and most members of "Wako" were Chinese, who were made out to be Japanese. Japanese students are now taught that Wako was the crime of Japanese people. It is also part of the distorted history, which was made up by China and the two Koreas. I'd like to advise young Japanese people not to use the expression, "Japanese Pirates".

     By the way, I wondered if there was the same example in the world, and looked for it on the internet and found a few interesting facts.

     In the 17th, 18th and the first half of 19th century, American pirates carried out scores of raids on the Caribbean coast of Spanish territory. They were called "buccaneers". Their money stimulated and activated the economy in America (British American states and Commonwealths before independence), and their activities were useful for the resistance against Spanish forces at the same time.

     When the William & Mary College was on the verge of closure, it was the boss of the buccaneers who donated big money and rebuilt the college. This college is the alma mater of the U.S. third President, Thomas Jefferson and also one of the most prestigious univiersities in the U.S. It has a longer history than Yale University. The buccaneers were undertaking the same role as Captain Drake in England. Captain Drake is a hero in England, but in the U.S. the buccaneers are hidden away. We only know it as the name of a football team, Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

     When you have a talk with Americans and the topic becomes Wako, you should say something like this: You are very lucky, because Caribbean people are mild and quiet. They never accuse Americans of piracy. Japanese people have been accused of innocent alleged piracy for a long time. It's a born burden to be located next to China and Korea which have massive inferiority complexes.

(Vocabulary)
piracy (CD・コンピュータソフトなどの) 海賊版作成, 海賊行為 (船を襲撃する) 海賊行為
copyright/patent piracy  著作権［特許］侵害
get bent out of shape  不機嫌になる、へそを曲げる、怒る
resort to sth      (やむなく) ＜手段＞に頼る, 訴える
be made out to be a Japanese  日本人に扮する
raid  (不意の) 襲撃, 急襲 (+on/against)
buccaneer　海賊　= pirate
British American states and commonwealths 英国領アメリカ諸州 〔ほとんどの州はstateだが、一部の州はcommonwealthなので。〕
be on the verge of (doing) sth   ＜…＞の［＜…＞する］寸前である
sb's alma mater  ＜人＞の母校, 出身校

Something Will Change?

     Do you know the American soldier, Joe O'Donnell? I know him via a documentary program. He was dispatched by the U.S. to Nagasaki City in the immediate aftermath of the Greater East Asian War. His job was to take pictures of the city two weeks after the atomic bombing. On arriving in the city, he was astonished to see the effect of the atomic bomb. He fulfilled his job. He shot lots of pictures and reported it to the U.S., but at the same time he stored many pictures as his own. He might have been shocked to see the victim city. He didn't show his pictures to his family at all. He packed and put them away deep into the attic.

     When many years had passed since the war, he decided to make his pictures public. Most Americans didn't want to know and see them, and he was criticized for doing it. His wife left him and his family came apart. Most Americans don't seem to want to accept their cruel deeds.

     How do the U.S. handle the historical fact of the atomic bombing and the following cruel massacre of innocent people. They have to stand in front of the judge whose name is history. How did they conclude their acts in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

     I found an interesting article and will show you it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-mitchell/for-veterans-day-the-grea_b_353270.html

(Vocabulary)
pack away　（物を箱などに）しまい込む
put away  しまい込む
attic  屋根裏部屋

Sadamisaki Touring

     I went out for motorcycle riding. The destination was Sadamisaki Peninsula, which pokes out from Shikoku toward Kyushu. The tip of the peninsula is the westernmost point of Shikoku. I drew the route on the map and put it on the internet. Check the map and you'll know where the peninsula is located in Japan.

     During World War Two, many people and military vessels went campaigning through the strait between Kyushu and the tip of this peninsula. If you went up north from the Pacific Ocean through this channel, you'd find Hiroshima, Kure and Matsuyama. Needless to say, Hiroshima is the nuclear victim city. Kure City is the birthplace of the Battleship Yamato which is the biggest in the world along with its sister ship, Musashi.

     One more thing, there's Mitsukue Bay on the way and you can see the picture on the route I drew. If you had seen Pearl Harbor, you'd notice that the shape and size of the bay is similar to Pearl Harbor. Mitsukue Bay is known as the training area for the attack team for Pearl Harbor.

     Lastly, you can see the caves for cannons at the tip of the peninsula. At the end stage of the war, the strong cannons were set here against the Allied vessels. At the back side of the caves there is a campsite. The shop for the campers is built in the cave. It must have been the supply route for ammunition. Pictures

(Vocabulary)

go campaigning / go on the warpath  出征する

strait　は「海峡」「瀬戸」という意味の名詞。「海峡」を意味する一般的な単語としてchannelがありますが、strait　はより狭い海峡を指す場合が多いようです。

(KW: 戦艦大和 戦艦武蔵 呉市 広島市 原爆 原子爆弾 真珠湾 三机湾)

The Book of Virtues

     Japan was beaten by the U.S. in World War Two. Then, the U.S. feared that Japan would get strong again, and took various measures to keep Japan feeble. One of their measures was to imprint the masochistic view of history on the Japanese mind. It was a kind of brainwashing. However, luckily, lots of Japanese are recovering from this awful way of thinking. Another way was to make a bonfire of huge amounts of books that were inconvenient to them. The Allies did the same thing as the Nazi that they intensely accused of the same thing. Moreover, they distorted the history of Japan, and deprived the Japanese people of "Kyouiku Chokugo", the Imperial message on Education. The Allies insisted that this message would foment militarism and banned the learning it. Most Japanese have been told that the Imperial message on Education was evil. Actually, I had believed it.

     The other day, I attended the lecture of Mr. Tamogami, the former chief of staff. In the lecture, he said that the Imperial message on Education was translated into many languages except Korean and Chinese, and now it is used for the education of virtue in many countries including the U.S. It was amazing. I got it today, and read only a little bit. I'll report on the book later in this blog. The picture is of the book.

(Vocabulary)
feeble  (高齢・病気などで) 体の弱った, ひ弱な
a feeble old man  体の弱った老人
imprint sth on sb's mind/memory/brain   ＜…＞を＜人＞の心［記憶，脳裏］に刻み込む
masochistic view of history  自虐史観
make a bonfire of  ～を焼き捨てる
bonfire  (祝賀の) 大かがり火, (ごみを焼く) たき火
Allies  (特に第二次世界大戦での) 連合国
the Imperial message on Education  教育勅語
勅語とは天皇のことば。みことのり。明治憲法下で、天皇が大権に基づき、国務大臣の副署を要さず、親しく臣民に対して発表した意思表示。
militarism　軍国主義
foment (けなして・フォーマル)  〈戦争・暴動など〉 をあおる, 扇動する = stir up
chief of staff  幕僚長

 

Kamikaze Special Attack Corps

     Do you know about the Greater East Asian War which Japan is supposed to have waged against the U.S. in 1945? You might wonder what "is supposed to" means.

     The Atlantic Charter was promulgated on Aug. 14th in 1941, just  before the Greater East Asian War. In the pathway, then U.S. president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and then prime minister of Great Britain, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer- Churchill had a talk on Aug. 10th and 11th on the battleship off  Newfoundland in Canada. Both leaders are supposed to have reached an agreement that the U.S. would join World War Two from the backdoor. If you are intersted in this meeting, google for it with the keyword, backdoor,  Churchill and Roosevelt and you'll know the opinions of lots of professional historians. The content of this meeting is still veiled in secrecy. If the record about this meeting was open to the public, you'd know who just wanted the war in the Pacific Ocean.

     By the way, I'll write about Kamikaze. It was the name of the suicide attack corps when the war was near its end. The chief pilot of the first attack team was a young man who had been born in Ehime Prefecture, where I live now. I'm so ashamed that I hadn't known about this hero until recent times. The pictures are of the ceremony in commemoration of him.

     I'm not going to praise the war in this blog, but the patriotism of the young pilots of the Kamikaze Special Attack Corps should be commemorated by all Japanese, but many Japanese reject it. I can easily imagine your doubtful looks. There would be no way in other countries. The Japanese spirits are getting rotten year by year.

     After the end of the Greater East Asian War, the coalition leader, Douglas MacArthur and other staff members of GHQ, made up the Japanese Constitution and gave the Japanese the wrong information that has pressed their case for the war. Their occupation policy was replaced by leftist groups and medias, including NHK,  and most Japanese are still under the influence of the U.S.'s occupation at present. I was told that MacArthur was a nice man and gave us freedom and democracy, and lots of Japanese still believe it. However, remember the address by Martin Luther King, which is well known with the phrase "I Have a Dream". There was no democracy in the U.S. when the war ended, though Japan already had it.

     I'm now reading THE COLDEST WINTER by David Halberstam. MacArthur is vividly described in the book, and he doesn't look like what I was told. I'll write the book report later. The author, David Halberstam, is a great journalist and what he wrote is absolutely true, I believe.

(Vocabulary)

special attack corps / suicide corps  神風特攻隊

the Greater East Asian War  大東亜戦争

Atlantic Charter　大西洋憲章

promulgate a constitution　憲法を発布する

both leaders  両首脳

be veiled in mystery/secrecy  なぞ［秘密］のベールに包まれている

secrecy  秘密（の状態）, 内密

absolute/complete/total secrecy   極秘（扱い）

when the war was near its end. 　戦争の末期

in commemoration of sb/sth   ＜…＞を記念して, の記念に

allied military leader / coalition commander  連合軍の指揮官

press your/the case (for sth)   （＜…＞の）正当性を主張する[訴える]

occupation policy  占領政策

press your/the case (for sth)  （＜…＞の）正当性を主張する[訴える]

The President was determined to press his case for war. 大統領はあくまで戦争の正当性を主張する構えだった．

Don't be fooled!  だまされるな！

Chinese Communist Propaganda

     The other day, I got a comment from an English native speaker who maybe came from the U.S. and is working as an assistant language teacher in Japan. I exchanged some messages with him and was so surprised to know the fact that Chinese propaganda prevails in the world. You can read his opinion here. (link) I'd like to rebut his opinions one by one. I hope that he'll accept the facts that I'll present.
     He insists that Japanese forces had committed massacres in Indonesia. Japan actually fought military actions on the land of Indonesia, but they never fought against Indonesia. They were just struggling to eliminate the Dutch from Indonesia, who had ruled and exploited them for 300 years. You know, Indonesia was one of the Dutch colonies. If Indonesia was an independent country, Japan could have had a good relationship with them and bought natural resources from them. Japan was really short of them. There might be some small offenses committed by Japan because all the Japanese soldiers weren't gentle and modest and besides it was during World War Two, but I think that most intellectual Indonesians would agree with me. In the war, a considerable number of Japanese soldiers got to love Indonesia and the Indonesian people and they really wanted the independence of Indonesia, not for the benefit of Japan but from the bottom of their hearts. When Japan lost the war, the Japanese soldiers hid their weapons from the alliance forces and stayed there, ignoring the return order of Japan. They were afraid that the Dutch forces would come back to Indonesia and start exploiting Indonesians again. They helped Indonesians establish their own forces and taught the use of their modern weapons to the people in Indonesia. Most of those Japanese soldiers died or went missing in the battles for the independence of Indonesia and have been commemorated every year in the national graveyard, Taman Makam Pahlawan Kalibata, where only nationally acknowledged heros are permitted to sleep eternally. Would this be possible if Japan had committed a massacre in Indonesia?
     Does the history textbook of an American boy tell this fact? Does he know about Ahlone Camp in Burma? He insists that Japan also commited a massacre in Burma. It was just propaganda from the alliance forces to hide inconvenient historical facts in the Tokyo Tribunal of War Criminals. I'm going to write about this cruel Ahlone Camp later.

(Vocabulary)
rebut (フォーマル)(意見・批判など) に反駁(はんばく)する, 反論する
exploit (けなして)(人・労働力など) を私的目的に利用する, 食いものにする, 搾取する
offense [C] 罪, 違反, 犯罪(行為）
considerable 相当な, かなりの
a considerable amount/number of sth  かなりの量［数］の＜…＞
Ahlone Camp  アーロン収容所
Tokyo Tribunal of War Criminals 東京裁判

Japan and Other Asian Countries, Sep. 11th (2)

     Historically speaking, what's the distinct difference between Japan and other Asian countries? There might be many ways of thinking, but I think of whether the nation had been ruled by superpowers or not. Thailand is also a country that has no history of being governed by another country, but this nation was just allowed to exist as a buffer between the British and French colonies.
     Japan had enjoyed a striking level of prosperity in the Edo era (1603-1867). Japan developed its own culture. People lived in an unbelievably safe society. The development of modern society had never been obstructed in spite of repeated disasters like famines, earthquakes, plagues and volcanic eruptions. In this era, people acquired high level of morality and literacy.
     In 1868 the tycoon, Yoshinobu Tokugawa, peacefully returned his political power to the Emperor. Do you know any other peaceful revolution in the world? The capital city, Edo, remained intact during this revolution, which was the restoration of Imperial power. It was really lucky for the development of Japan. Japan started building their national military system at that time against overwhelming superpowers, which were filled with ambition to occupy and rule Japan. Finally, Japan got to beat Qing (China) 30 years later and defeated Russia 10 years after the victory against Qing.
     Eventually, Japan acquired two colonies, Taiwan and Korea. Japan committed a huge amount of capital to the project that would make them develop to the same level as Japan. Japan's policy on the colonies was to raise the level of their civilizations while that of the superpowers was just to exploit them. In 1945, the school enrollment rate of Taiwan was 95%. They had been ruled by Japan for 50 years, whereas in Indonesia, which had been dominated for 300 years by Holland, the literacy rate was only 2%. Japan had encouraged the people in Taiwan and Korea to learn. The highest level of education was equally given to anyone, no matter where he or she came from.
     Japan was forced to wage wars against the U.S. and started the Greater East Asian War to eliminate the superpowers from Asian countries. Japan lost the war, but the initial purpose was fulfiled.
     Getting back to the last entry, a few days after the 9.11 terror attack, the then U.S. President Bush declared war against the terrorist groups and its sponsors, implying that the mastermind was the al-Qaeda network. He compared the terror attack to Japan's raid on Pearl Harbour. He continued, "We can give freedom to Islamic nations. We did it to Japan half a century ago." He thought that the Japanese people were the same as the people who had been educated only to read and memorize the Koran. This eposode tells us that his mentality is terrible and horrible. He should have learnt world history more seriously.

(Vocabulary)
enjoy a striking level of prosperity  特筆すべき繁栄を謳歌する
literacy 読み書き(能力), 識字
literacy rate  識字率
be filled with ambition 野望に燃えている
Qing  清
exploit (けなして) (人・労働力など)を私的目的に利用する, 食いものにする, 搾取する
(school) enrollment ratio [rate] / percentage of school attendance  就学率
fulfill (夢・目的など) を実現する, 果たす
mastermind  首謀者
al-Qaeda network  アルカイーダ
Koran  コーラン

岡田幹彦とは何者？

8月29日（土）
今日は「上杉鷹山に学ぶ～米沢藩再生への道」という講演会に参加してきた。演者は日本政策研究センター主任研究員で日本の歴史に学ぶ会の専任講師という肩書きの岡田幹彦氏。妙に感情的な、ヒステリックなしゃべり方をする男で、気持ち悪いなあと思っていた。

話の中で、「東大教授にはろくなのがいない」ときた。う～ん、クラスメートのうち二人が東大教授になっている身としては捨てておけない言葉だ。確かに一部にはどうにもならん連中がいることは確かだ。しかし、東大教授を総称してろくでもないというこの御仁はいったいどんな立派な人物なのだろう。いったいおまえはどれほどの人間か?

どうにも腑に落ちないことがあって、講演が終わってから質問をした。返答は、なんと「私のいうことにイチャモンをつけるのか」とのこと。根拠のないことを吹聴して回るこの男は本当に歴史家か？日本政策研究センターのウェブサイトにはそのように書かれているが、とても信じられない。

このような輩を放置しておくわけにもゆかず、日本政策研究センターへメールした。内容は下記の通り。さあて、どんな返事が来るか楽しみだ。

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日本政策研究センター
メール担当者様

８月２９日土曜日、愛媛県松山市において岡田幹彦氏の講演を聴きました。その感想です。是非内容をご検討して頂きたくメールします。

講演のタイトルは

「上杉鷹山に学ぶ～米沢藩再生への道」

でありました。

講演内容について、詳しく知りたかったため質問をすると、「イチャモン」だとのこと。大勢の人の前で３回も「イチャモン」だと非難されてしまいました。激高され、私の言っていることが嘘だというならその証拠を出してみろとも。嘘だという証拠さえなければ講演という場で話してもよい、というのが岡田氏の考えのようです。私は国際会議も含め、あちこちでこのような講演で講師に質問する機会もあり、礼儀はわきまえているつもりです。

上杉鷹山とケネディのエピソードがあります。ケネディが、日本人記者から「もっとも尊敬する日本人は誰か」と問われ、「鷹山」と答えたところ、日本人記者が鷹山を知らずにケネディに「それは誰か」と問うたという逸話です。

講演の最初と最後で岡田氏は鷹山がケネディにも知られた有名人であると強調されていますが、私が調べた限りその事実は見いだせません。なので話の出典を質問しました。たとえば、ニューヨークタイムズのような新聞に記事はないのかと。彼は質問をはぐらかすだけでなく、童門冬二さんが書いているといいます。だから「彼に聞け！」と。しかし、私が聞いたのは岡田氏の口からです。彼は自身の発言に対する責任を感じないのでしょうか? また、一作家の書いたことを史実として全国に吹聴して回ることに良心の呵責を感じないのでしょうか? そもそもそんな岡田氏は歴史家と呼べる人でしょうか?

ケネディにインタビューしたという記者は、それが１９６０年代ということを考えると、戦前の道徳教育(修身）を受けていたはずで、記者が知らないというのはおかしくないかと岡田氏に問うと、鷹山は知っていてもどんな人かは知らなかったのだとのお話でしたが、鷹山という人を知っているのなら、「江戸時代のどこか藩の名君」だということくらいは知っていると考えるのが普通です。普通の記者ではありません。ケネディに直接会えるほどの記者なのです。トップエリートです。しかし、岡田氏は上記のような意見でした。

私についてお話ししますと、先日「海の武士道」を読みました。感動的なお話でした。この本で主人公である工藤中佐の品格、人柄が醸成された米沢の興譲館という学校を知りました。そしてこの学校を創設した鷹山にたどり着き、どんな学校であったのか、また上杉鷹山とはどんな人物だったのか。自分なりに調べた結果、是非ともこの人を海外に紹介したいと考えました。そうなるとケネディのエピソードはインパクトがありますから、是非ともそのニュースソース、エビデンスを知りたいと考え、お聞きしました。ところが、そのお答えはおよそ学者にはあるまじき返答でした。日本政策研究センターの主任研究員であるとのことをお聞きしたのでこのメールを書いている次第です。

エビデンスのないことを史実として吹聴して廻るという行為は中共のプロパガンダと何ら変わりないではないですか。講演を聴いた聴衆がさらに嘘を拡げていく、、、

海外に紹介するというのは下記のような記事を書くと言うことです。しばしば中共からトラックバックやメール攻撃を受けますが、きっちりと防御しています。攻撃を受けることが勲章と考えています。

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/08/the-real-end-da.html
久間防衛大臣の「原爆は仕方なかった」という発言に対して怒りを覚えて書いた記事

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/09/mirror-for-amer.html
アメリカの鏡・日本　について、アメリカ人に紹介するために書いた記事。本国では絶版です。

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2009/04/reversed-inferi.html
日本人に向けて、自信を持とうと訴えた記事

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/10/korean-textbook.html
韓国の歴史教科書の詭弁を紹介した記事。安重根は国際感覚ではテロリストに過ぎない。

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2006/12/international-s.html
韓国の国際感覚を世界に問うた記事。これは特にアメリカ人から多くの賛同を得ました。

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/08/aug-15th-war-en.html
マッカーサーに抵抗し、唯一成功した事例。痛快な話です。

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2006/06/i-hate-china-1.html
南沙諸島、西沙諸島の話です。先々週でしたか、沖ノ鳥島に関して中共が国連で活動を始めたようですね。この記事を添付するなどしてシナ人の啓発を考えています。

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2006/08/i-hate-china-2.html
チベット問題が日本人に今ほど知られる前に書いた記事です。(代理人かもしれませんが、)日産のＣＭをしていた、ある超有名な映画俳優からのメールもありました。彼は中共を批判し、日産のＣＭを降ろされました。僕は生涯、日産の車を買うことはありません。この記事を書いた次の年の年始の番組でＮＨＫがチベット鉄道を取り上げて旅行ムードを盛り上げました。当然、ＮＨＫに抗議しました。

以上は和訳をつけてあります。(英文の後で急いで概略を書いているので和文としてはおかしいのですが、放置しています。)英文の最後にリンクがあります。

こういった形で上杉鷹山を取り上げ、ケネディのエピソードを世界に紹介したいと思い、そのエビデンスを求めた質問が岡田氏によれば「イチャモン」だそうです。記事を書いて、中共に対して、「お前の国にはこれほどの人物がいるか？」と問いたいと思っただけなのですが。ケネディの椰子の実の話のような日本とのつながりを紹介できたらと思っていましたが、氏のあまりのむちゃくちゃな理論に落胆しました。

歴史観は人それぞれだと思います。しかし、自分にとって都合の良い事実だけを集めて、時には噂、伝聞の類を含めて構成し、感情的にヒステリックに、聴衆を煽る岡田氏の姿勢にはどこか左翼のアジ演説に似た印象を受けます。岡田氏の所属する日本政策研究センターという団体としてのご意見をお聞きしたく存じます。

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(KW: 日本政策研究センター 岡田幹彦 日本の歴史に学ぶ会 上杉鷹山)

Bridge of Mikasa and Russian POW

     The first picture shows the bridge of the Mikasa. I climbed up there. There was a copper plate that is in the second picture. This plate was made from a famous painting and it was exhibited inside. I'd like to have taken a picture of it, but it was prohibited. I found an illustration of the painting on the internet and am showing you it here. You can see some people in the illustration. The top four officials of the Mikasa are drawn in the center of the illustration. Their position on the deck was pointed out with four plates. The nxt three pictures are the instruction board and the plates. Picture no.4 is of Saneyuki Akiyama, who was from my hometown and was a hero on the sea. Picture no.1 is of Admiral Heihachirou Togo, who is one of the three greatest admirals in the world along with Admiral Nelson and John Paul Jones. The last picture is mine. I'm standing in the spot of Saneyuki Akiyama.
     The title of the drama that I related in the last entry is "Saka no Ue no Kumo". My office is located in the center of the city. Nearby is the modernistic Saka no Ue no Kumo Museum, designed by Ando Tadao and dedicated to the novel "Clouds Over The Hill" by Shiba Ryotaro, which tells the story of the local Akiyama brothers and their roles in defeating the Russians in the Japanese-Russo War (1904-1905). A footnote to this conflict is the Russian Cemetery near Raigoji Temple with the graves of 98 Russian soldiers, of the around 6,000 Russian prisoners, who were held with a fair amount of freedom in Matsuyama. They could enjoy walking just about freely in the city and bathing at Dogo Onsen Spa, which was noted for the oldest hot spa in Japan. Some got married and started businesses. Russia was informed about this treatment and finally Russian soldiers got to shout "Matsuyama" when they waved the white flag. Though Russia took a few hundred thousand Japanese POWs into custody and they were treated inhumanely in Siberian labor camps, the Russian soldiers' cemetery has been kept clean and tidy for a hundred years by people from the neighborhood and the junior high school students nearby. I'd like the present Russian people to know this fact. The last five pictures are of the Russian cemetery.

(Vocabulary)
copper plate  銅板
wave the white flag  降伏する
Siberian labor camp  シベリア抑留
inhumane
extremely cruel and causing unacceptable suffering:
the inhumane treatment of political prisoners
I was shocked by the inhumane conditions.
―inhumanely adv

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (KW:日露戦争　戦艦三笠　秋山兄弟　好古　真之　眞之　松山　ロシア人墓地　坂の上の雲)

Flag Z

     The title, "Flag Z", is my translation of a Japanese phrase, "Z旗". I don't know whether this translation is good, but I'll go on with the story, supposing that it's correct.
     The flag consists of four colors and stands for extreme resolutions. Battleship Mikasa, that I wrote about in the last entry, fought the Russian Baltic Fleet with this flag raised and claimed a perfect victory.
     This triumph led to the Russians' turning back and made their subject colored people awake to the fact that they're never inferior to white people. It literally changed the white-dominated world that had continued for 500 years. In this way, flag Z became the sign to show strong will in Japan.

(Vocabulary)
go on with the story  話を続ける
supposing that  （that以下）と仮定して
resolution  [C] 決意, 決心, 誓い
a resolution to do something ＜…＞しようという決意
raised 　掲げて
subject 《[名]の前でのみ》(フォーマル) (他の国・階級などの) 支配下にある, 被支配の
subject peoples  被支配民族
be awake to sth  ＜…＞に気づいている, を悟っている
white-dominated  白人支配の

(KW:日露戦争　戦艦三笠)

Battleship Mikasa

     On the second day in Tokyo, I dropped in at the Battleship Mikasa Museum. I didn't know that this ship had been preserved in this way. This museum is adjacent to the U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka (a United States Navy base), and is big enough so that you can see it on the Google map. I've lots of things to write about this battleship and I don't know where I should start. I just want to write about the highlights.
     This battleship was the first steel-made battleship in Japan and was constructed in Great Britain in 1902. At the Battle of the Japan Sea in the Japanese-Russo War, this battleship worked remarkably as the flagship of the Japanese Imperial Navy. They totally defeated the Russian Baltic Fleet on May 27th in 1905. Japan staked the fate of the nation on the Japanese-Russo War that started in 1904. Russia was invading to the south at that time, so if Japan couldn't win the war, both Koreas and at least the northern half of China wouldn't exist now. Japan would also have become one of Russia's colonies. Following Japan's defeat of the mighty Russian forces on both land and sea, the war was brought to a close with the Treaty of Portsmouth mediated by the United States.
     Getting off track, two heros in this war were born in my hometown, Matsuyama City. They were called the Akiyama brothers. The elder was a hero on land and the younger was aboard this battleship. His tactics were impeccable in the battle of the Japan Sea and brought a complete triumph to Japan. A drama featuring the Akiyama borthers will open this autumn. I hope that the battleship Mikasa will appear on the screen using CG techniques or something.
     Getting back on track, Mikasa was retired in 1926. It was placed and preserved at Yokosuka City as the symbol of Japanese pride and confidence. You can see the real and neutral history inside. I'm going to write about this topic again.

(Vocabulary)
U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka  横須賀海軍施設
Battle of Japan Sea  日本海海戦
Baltic Fleet  バルチック艦隊
stake sth on sth ＜…＞を＜…＞に賭(か)ける
defeat of sb/sth  ＜敵など＞に対する勝利, ＜案など＞の否決
Scotland's defeat of Spain スペインに対するスコットランドの勝利
get off track  話が脱線する

(KW: 戦艦三笠　日露戦争　東郷平八郎　秋山兄弟　好古　眞之　真之)

A Textbook of Japanese History

     Japanese people have the virtue of modesty. Silence is better than eloquence for Japanese people and is the principle of ordinary Japanese people. After World War Two, the U.S. took advantage of this modesty and brainwashed Japanese people into believing that Japan used to be an evil country. Besides, Chinese and Korean operatives illegally slipped into Japan and are continuing to destroy the spiritual backbone of Japan like the Japanese culture, history and mentality.
     The picture shows the history textbook. It's a non-biased one. I think it's neutral and has nothing wrong with it. To my surprise, South Korea started to make complaints against Japan on the day that this textbook was presented to the public. I wondered when they checked its content. I think they accuse Japan just for the accusing itself. Anyway, we have been educated using textbooks that were authored by leftists. Consequently we have been brainwashed, of course, including me. As for me, I was lucky to find that I was controlled by leftists and could get out of their control. This new textbook in the picture was acknowledged as one of the formal textbooks. This textbook will make Japanese people awake who are now under the spell of Douglas MacArthur.
     However important modesty is to Japanese people, there are limitations. We started to express our own opinions to the world and also started to want to have nuclear weapons. At the L'Aquila Summit, our Prime Minister, Aso, declared stoutly against the Russian President, Medvedev, that there wouldn't be any partnership between Japan and Russia if they don't return our northern islands.
     The U.S. announced that the Senkaku islands belonged to Japan, though China insisted that the islands were their land. Besides, the U.S. forced China to get hard on North Korea in order to avoid the possession of nuclear weapons. The U.S., knowing well enough the potential of Japan, wouldn't want Japan to have the button of the absolute weapon.

(Vocabulary)
Virtue of modesty  謙遜の美徳
eloquence  雄弁さ
principle  [C,U] 行動規範, 信条, 主義
He has no principles at all.  彼には信条のかけらもない．
take advantage of people's kindness  人の好意につけ込む
brainwash somebody into doing something
＜人＞を洗脳して＜…＞させる
(espionage) agent / operative  工作員
illegally slip into country  不法入国する
have limitations  限界がある
L'Aquila  【地名】ラクイラ〔イタリア〕
Medvedev メドベージェフ
stoutly  断固として, 頑強に
be under the spell of  ～の呪いをかけられる
leftist  左翼［左派］の人

(KW: 自由社　日本人の歴史教科書　新しい歴史教科書　捏造　偏向　東京裁判史観)

The Rookie and 3 Godfathers

     I watched two DVDs last weekend. One of them was, "The Rookie", which is based on a true story. It is the story of a man who gave up his dream once due to an injury to his shoulder, but restarted and achieved it. I like this kind of movie. It encourages me. I watched its climax scene in tears. I will enjoy this movie again later.
     The other movie was, "3 Godfathers", starring John Wayne and presented by John Ford. The casting couldn't be better, but my impression was not good. Particularly, the story of the last ten minutes was weird. I couldn't follow it. However, I was deeply impressed that this movie was made in 1948. Do you know what had happened in the Far East around 1948? The separation of North and South Korea got definite and the Jeju massacre happened in the Korean southern island of Jeju under the occupation of the U.S. The conflict between Chinese communist party and Chinese Nationalist Party was beginning to get fierce. At this time, such a movie was being produced in the U.S. What a difference of the level of the cultures between them! It must have been reckless for Japan to wage the war against the U.S., but I also admire the then leaders of Japan, who were really devoted to their mother country so as to make Japan survive in the world.

(Vocabulary)
in tears  涙を浮かべて

(KW:オールド・ルーキー　三人の名付親)

Okunoshima Island

     The ferry boat passed near Okunoshima Island shortly after the departure and I took a picture. This island had been erased on the map during the war and only a very small number of people could have been allowed to get onto the island until recent years. The whole island had been a factory, where chemists did research of toxic gas and some kinds of toxic gas had been produced. I'm thinking to visit the island some day. There are ruins of factories and the research center, and some of the ruins became tourist attractions. After the eight rabbits were released a few decades ago, the number of rabbits increased. This island is also called the island of rabbits.

(KW: 忠海 大久野島 毒ガス ウサギの楽園)

Story of Friendship between Sri Lanka and Japan 8/8

We have to appreciate Japan for it:
     The day when Japan conceded its defeat was called "Victory over Japan Day" and commemorating events were held in some big cities. Ratnapura was one of those cities and Somasiri Devendra lived here. His father addressed on behalf of the people in Sri Lanka after the speech of the representative of Great Britain.

     Our colonial master, Great Britain, won the war and we got together to celebrate it now. However, we were inspired to have patriotism for our own nation, Sri Lanka. We are ruled by Great Britain right now and this condition is insane. The concept of patriotism that all of us should imprint into mind, spread to other Asian countries by Japan. This war gave consciousness of confidence and nationalism to the people in Asian countries, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Burma and so on. We should appreciate Japan for this fact.

     His act was amazing and audacious. He thanked Japan on the Victory over Japan Day in front of officials of Great Britain. It might be his unstoppable exploding emotion.
     Sri Lanka managed to get independent on Feb. 4th in 1948. After the war, in the court martial, Great Britain tried to punish the leaders of the Indian National Army that had been supported by Japan during the war. However, this attempt became a trigger of nationwide riots and the general strike spread across the country. This national movement ended in the acquisition of independence. Great Britain got out of the country.
     A young boy, Junius Richard Jayewardene, who had been at the harbor to have a quick look of the Cruiser which Japanese Prince Hirohito had been aboard was in an important position of the independent government of Sri Lanka at that time. He got to give the speech supporting Japan in the San Francisco Peace Conference later.
     Japan has continued to encourage the people in Sri Lanka to become independent since Meiji era and Sri Lanka helped Japan to restore the independence after the World War 2. Don't you think it is a beautiful, secure and heart-warming relationship?

P.S.
     I'd like the people in Sri Lanka to find these 8 articles that I have written in the past several days. If you are from Sri Lanka or India or any other Asian country, don't hesitate sending an e-mail to me. I'm looking forward to hearing from you. I'm eager to know how your daily life is.
     I've not received e-mails from Indonesia or Sri Lanka since I started writing this blog. Don't bother writing beautiful or grammatically complete sentences. I'm a beginner in writing in English. (first entry)

(Vocabulary)
Somasiri Devendra  スリランカ海軍の軍人
Ratnapura  ラトゥナプラ、宝石の街として有名なスリランカ南部、内陸の街
on behalf of  代表して
colonial master   宗主国、植民地支配者
audacious   大胆な
exploding emotion  感情の爆発
court martial  軍法会議
riot  暴動、争乱
Junius Richard Jayewardene   J.R.ジャヤワルダナ (スリランカの政治家)