Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Memorial Day

　　December 8th came around. This is the day when Japan launched what you call a surprise attack against the U.S. Navy in Pearl Harbor in 1941. It's actually, however, the day when Japan was trapped to be forced to start the war by the U.S. If you want to know about the details, I recommend you read "Freedom Betrayed": Herbert Hoover's Secret History of the Second World War and Its Aftermath. Anyway, the war between Japan and the U.S. had already started in Mainland China at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The then U.S. President, FDR, had sent up-to-date fighter planes and excellent American pilots to assist the Chinese People's Party though it was obviously a breach of international laws. The troops which he had sent were called the "Flying Tigers".
　　Leaving the evil of FDR aside, the air attack is prominent in Pearl Harbor, but there were several young soldiers who performed suicide attacks in the ocean against vessels trying to get away from the harbor. They were praised after death and their monument was built at their training site, Mitsukue in Ehime, which is an hour away from my office. Today, their memorial service was held in front of their monument. I attended it in the freezing wind. The meeting was really solemn.

１２月８日　慰霊の日

今年も１２月８日がやって来た。これは日本が真珠湾へ奇襲攻撃を掛けたとされる日である。実際はルーズベルトの仕掛けた罠にはまってしまった日である。日本とアメリカの間の戦争は既に始まっていた。アメリカは自国の飛行機とパイロットをシナへ送り、日本と戦争をしていたのである。その部隊の名前はフライングタイガーと呼ばれる。

その話は置く。話を真珠湾攻撃へ戻す。真珠湾攻撃の際に航空攻撃ばかりが目立つが実は、真珠湾から逃げ出してきた艦船を攻撃するために湾口で待っていた部隊がある。彼らは自らの命と引き替えに攻撃を仕掛け、そして散った。彼らはその後軍神として祀られた。彼らが攻撃の練習をした場所で今日、彼らの慰霊祭があり出席した。寒風吹きすさぶ中、神職の祝詞（のりと）が唱えられ、出席者が玉串を供えた。

Trip to Onomichi City

　　I drove my car to take my wife to Onomichi City, which is three hours away by car from my home. The city is not so far, but I don't go there if not for a special occasion. Today, her alumni party was scheduled at noon in the city. Starting in the morning was perfectly reachable, but I left yesterday, as I wanted to have a drink with a person who lives in Onomichi City. As we started after my work, we arrived in the city around 9 o'clock in the evening. Then, though I had not enough time, I enjoyed chatting with him over some alcohol and he treated me. I felt so sorry. I have to return a favor.
　　Today, until noon, we were in Tomonoura, which we'd been to a couple of times. It has a distinctive history and is visited by lots of tourists every year. This time we moved to Sensuijima island for the first time, which floats just in front of Tomonoura. The shuttle boat between the island and our side was designed and named after "Iroha Maru", which sank off the coast of Tomonoura in the late Edo period. It's known as the ship of Rhoma Sakamoto, who worked as one of the driving powers to shape a new era, Meiji. A flock of red-jacketed people got on the boat in exchange with us. They were members of a local Rotary Club planning to do some volunteer work cleaning.

カミさんの同窓会が尾道で開催されるため運転手を務めた。尾道はうちから３時間ほどの距離で、高速道路で簡単に行ける街だが、何か用がない限り行くことはない。同窓会は昼からだから朝自宅を出ても十分間に合うのだが、一杯飲みたい相手がいてわざわざ前日の夜出発。仕事を終えてからの出発で到着は２１時頃。それからなつかしい飲み会となった。すべておごってもらい申し訳なかった。

で、今日は昼までは鞆の浦観光。何度か来たことがあり、歴史的にも興味の尽きない街だが、今回初めて仙酔島へ渡ってみた。この地は幕末に活躍した坂本龍馬に縁があり、彼の記念館もある。写真の船は仙酔島への渡し船だが、異様な形は彼の船「いろは丸」にちなんでいる。島から戻ってきて折り返す船に乗る赤いジャケットの一団は地元のロータリークラブ。島の清掃ボランティアに向かうらしい。

Kure Military Port Festa

　　You might not believe my words, but ordinary Japanese people were educated to hate military forces and military personnel. It seemed like the ghost of Douglas MacArthur, who wanted Japan to be unarmed forever, had possessed Japan. At present, however, people know that China has already stolen several Vietnamese and Philippine islands and is trying to snatch islands from even Japan. South Korea continues to stay illegally on the Japanese island of Takeshima as well as Russia on the northern territory of Japan.
　　Ordinary people in Japan have been indifferent to national security, but thanks to rogue states around Japan, they became open-eyed to national security. I think it's desirable.
　　I am one of those Japanese. Today I visited Kure Military Port Festa. The air-raid shelter of the headquarters, which was built in the port in the last stage of the Great East Asian War, became open to the public for the first time in 72 years and I was interested in that. Seeing the shelter, I couldn't help appreciate those who worked there during the war.
　　Eventually, I joined the Military Port Tour held by the veterans association. A maritime veteran gave the visitors a detailed description about its history, naval vessels and submarines moored there. I felt pride as a veteran in his guidance and thought that Japan's Navy, what you call the Japanese Maritime Self-defense Force, was trustworthy at the same time. The biggest-ever battleship, Yamato, was built there and the dock of Yamato is still preserved and even works even now.

信じてもらえないだろうが、日本人は軍隊や軍人を忌み嫌うように教育されてきた。日本を再軍備させないとした連合軍の亡霊が今でも日本に取り憑いているようだ。しかし、シナが武力でフィリピンやベトナムの島を奪い、次に尖閣諸島を狙っている。南朝鮮は竹島を占拠しており、ロシアは北方領土を侵略中だ。

多くの日本人はこれまでアメリカの庇護の下、安保についてほとんど考えることがなかったように思うが、今は違う。シナの行動を見て、また北朝鮮の日本人拉致や核開発、、、これらのことが原因だと思われるが日本を守るための軍事に興味を持つ日本人が増えてきた。良いことだと思う。

僕もまさにそのような日本人の一人。今日は、呉軍港へ行ってきた。大東亜戦争末期に作られた防空壕が初めて一般公開されることになり見学した。当時の軍人たちが日本の滅亡を必死で防いでくれたことに感謝しないわけにはいかなかった。

その後、軍港ツアーがあったので参加した。退役軍人が案内をしてくれたのだが、彼の言葉の中に日本の軍人としての誇りを感じることが出来、海軍を頼もしく思った。史上最大の戦艦大和はこの軍港で建造され、そのドックが今でも残っていた。

 

What I Thought Seeing Posters in the Restroom

　　I don't like heights, so I felt relieved climbing down from the Sans Skypark, but I was taken to the Singapore Flyer next, which was known to be one of the highest ferris wheels worldwide.
　　The 1st picture shows the entrance of the Singapore Flyer. A woman in it was our tour guide. She talked with us in Japanese, but with local people in English or Mandarin. As I wasn't able to distinguish the conversation between her and the bus driver at all, I asked her. That was Hokkien. She sounded like she was able to use Cantonese too. I was taken by complete surprise. She would guide Cantonese people. She must be one of the top tour guides in Singapore. I can give her a well-deserved pat on the back.
　　The 2nd picture shows the Marina Bay Sands Hotel from the Singapore Flyer. I was scared only to recall that I had been at the edge of there shortly before. The next two pictures were shot at the restroom in the entrance hall of the Singapore Flyer. It must be for a campaign to save water.
　　According to our guide, most of the water in Singapore was imported from Malaysia. The gravel to extend the land was bought or robbed from other countries. It sometimes led to even the disappearance of tiny islets. I felt some fragility in Singapore's infrastructures, whose land can't support the people. I'm not sure, but the army drills in Taiwan.
　　While we are on the subject of Singapore, let me digress a bit and tell you a short story about Hong Kong. When Hong Kong was handed back to China, the UK wasn't required to return Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. They were obliged to return the New Territory Area only. However, the UK restored the Kowloon Peninsula and Hong Kong Island along with the New Territory Area. It is said that the then Prime Minister Thatcher had been threatened with not supplying water from the mainland to the Kowloon Peninsula and Hong Kong Island by the then Chinese Communist Leader, Deng Xiao Ping. He promised that China would adopt two different policies between their mainland and the newly-returned area for the coming 50 years then, but the promise is now going to be scrapped. The Singapore Flyer would run on electricity, which must be imported. Reflecting vaguely on various things, the prosperity of Singapore began to seem a house built on sand.
　　Back to the track, the streets in Singapore were clean without litter, but Japan is the same. However, as for public toilets, both countries were completely different. Japanese toilets are second to none.

(Vocabulary)
Hokkien　福建語　閩南語
Cantonese　広東語
Deng Xiao Ping 鄧小平
a house built on sand 砂上の楼閣

マラッカ海峡クルージング記：　シンガポールのトイレで考えたこと
　
実は高所恐怖症のためSans Skyparkから降りてホッとしたのだが、すぐにまた観覧車に乗るという。世界でも有数の高さらしい。Sans Skyparkから見えていたので嫌だなと思っていたのだが。
　
最初の写真は観覧車、Singapore Flyerへの入り口。立っている女性はガイド。我々に対しては日本語で話すが、現地の人とは英語やシナ語で話していた。バスの運転手との会話は全く聞き取れなかったので尋ねると、福建語だという。バスの運転手は福建語しか話せないという。このガイドの語学力には驚いた。広東語も使えると言うから香港からの観光客も案内するのだろう。おそらくはトップクラスのガイドだろう。
　
２枚目の写真はSingapore Flyerから撮影したMarina Bay Sands Hotel。あの上に立っていたのかと思うだけで怖かった。Singapore Flyerから降りてトイレに寄った。そこで次の２枚のポスターを見つけた。水を節約しようという啓蒙ポスターのようだ。ガイドに寄れば水はほとんどマレーシアからの輸入。国土を拡げるために使っている土砂はインドネシアなどから買ったり、無断で奪ったり、、、小さな島がなくなってしまうほど。水や食糧を自給できない国の脆さを感じた。この国の陸軍は確か台湾で訓練をさせてもらっていたはず。
　
香港の歴史を思い出した。香港返還時、あまり詳しく報道されていないが、イギリスは香港島と九竜半島の返還義務はなかった。返還義務のあったのは新界地区のみ。香港島と九竜半島を返還することになったのは水を供給しないなどと鄧小平に脅され、向こう５０年の一国二制度という彼の言葉を信用したサッチャーが結果的には騙された形だ。Singapore Flyerは間違いなく電気で動いているのだろう。この電気も結局は輸入。いろいろと考えているうちにシンガポールの繁栄が砂上の楼閣に思えてきた。
　
街並みが美しいと評判のシンガポール、確かにごみが落ちていないが、これは日本も同様。ただトイレは違った。日本のトイレに勝るトイレは世界中探してもないと思う。

Jetty

　　I saw the word "jetty" in the flyer on the Diamond Princess. It said that people with the same surname lived on the same jetty and there were several kinds of jetties near the cruise ship terminal, and additionally you can see them if you want. I had seen houses on the water in the distance when I visited Kota Kinabalu last summer and am interested in their structure now. It seemed that the temperature was over 35 degrees Centigrade, but I walked to the jetties after seeing Fort Cornwallis. The way was straight and only about 500 meters.
　　The signboard at the entrance of the first jetty read that it was the Lin's jetty. I stepped onto the jetty. Houses weren't floating on the water, but were built on piles driven into the sea floor. There were electric posts and I saw an outdoor unit of an air-conditioner. Electricity seemed to be supplied, but there was no one on the wooden walkway. I got nervous to think of being abducted and turned back at about 50 meters from the entrance.
　　I moved to the entrance of the second jetty after a 70 to 80 meters' walk. This jetty seemed to be the Zhou's. This jetty had a parking lot and a bus was parked. The German group, whom I had met in Fort Cornwallis, were there.
　　They did me a favor to take me with them onto the jetty. Their guide spoke in German, but its speed was a little rapid for me and I was barely able to understand about 30% of the story. I was really grateful to one of them who summed the guide's story up in English for me. To tell the truth, I wanted to ask the guide about the sewage system, but I was too shy to do so. There were several souvenir shops around, but no pubulic restroom. I noticed there were no anglers, and the pollution of the sea was apparent to all of us.
　　The next jetty was the Lee's. They seemed to be ready for welcoming sightseers, but I thought it would be the same as other jetties I had seen 10 minutes before. Additionally the temperature became murderous and I decided to get back. In order to avoid the deadly heat, I took a taxi, though the distance was only 500 meters. The driver, however, wasn't able to understand English! It took a minute or so for him to know my destination. I had to stay in the non-air-conditioned scorching taxi, before he knew my destination and started.

(Vocabulary)
jetty 桟橋, 波止場; 突堤, 防波堤  

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2016/09/bashi-channel.html　(水上家屋)

マラッカ海峡クルージング記：　ジョージタウン観光　同姓一族の伝統水上家屋

船の中にあったチラシでjettyという単語を初めて知った。同じ姓を持つシナ人が一つのjettyに連なって水上生活を送っていてその様子を観光できるとあった。水上家屋については昨年の夏、コタキナバルで遠くから眺めたことがあり、その構造に興味があった。気温はおそらくは３５度を超えていると思えたがコーンウォリス要塞跡を見た後で歩いて観光に向かった。一本道をまっすぐに５００メートルほど。

桟橋の入り口に掲げられていた案内板によると、一本目の桟橋にはどうやらlín （林）さんの家が集まっているらしい。その通路へ入ってみた。家屋は浮かんでいるのでは無く、しっかりとした杭の上に乗っていた。電柱があり、電気も来ているようでエアコンの室外機もあった。ところが誰もいない。少し不安になった。こんなところで拉致でもされたら大変と５０メートルほど入ったところでUターン、大通りへ戻った。大通りをさらに歩いて２列目の桟橋へ到達。ここには入り口横に駐車場が有り、バスも停まっていた。そしてあのドイツ人グループも来ていた。Zhōu(周)さんの集まるjettyのようだ。

彼らに近づき、一緒に歩かせてもらうことにした。彼らにはガイドが付いていたから。ただし、ガイドの言葉はドイツ語でしかも早口。３割くらいしか理解できず。まあそれでも旅は道連れ。僕の横にいた人がガイドのドイツ語をところどころ英語で通訳してくれた。コーンウォリス要塞跡での僕の片言のドイツ語での挨拶を気に入ってもらえたらしい。(^o^) この水上家屋のトイレがどうなっているのかガイドに尋ねてみたかったのだが、勇気がなくてできなかった。釣りをする人もいなかった。この汚さでは魚はいないのだろう。

次は李さんの桟橋、観光客を受け入れる体制になってはいるようだったが、あまりの暑さと、似たようなものだろうという考えから入り口で引き返した。帰りも歩いたのだが、あまりの暑さに危険を感じ、タクシーに乗った。このタクシー、エアコンが無かった。おまけに英語が通じないため行き先を理解してもらうまで１分足らずではあったが、タクシーの中で暑さに耐えねばならなかった。どうやって行き先を告げたかというと、目の前５００メートルのダイヤモンド・プリンセスを指さして、「シップ」、、、で通じた。(^_^;)

Bus Tour in Georgetown

　　Georgetown, one of the listed cities on World Heritage. I wanted to walk around the historic spots, but our bus didn't stop at those places. At first, our bus stopped by a market in the busiest street. There was lots of sea food and meat exposed to the open air. I wondered if they didn't get rotten rapidly, and this question was shared by other tourists. The atmosphere in the street was just the same as that of Malacca that I had visited last summer.
　　St. George's Church, the oldest British church in Southeast Asia, stood in the city, but I was just able to see it from the bus. It seemed to have a memorial canopy in honor of Francis Light's arrival on the island. I wasn't able to understand the reason why he had won the respect of citizens in spite of conquering them, and I wanted to examine what he had done on the island. His tomb was in the Christian Cemetery near the pier, but I wasn't able to visit it due to the restriction of time.
　　The bus stopped at a famous Hindu temple, which didn't attract me at all. Something was wrong with JTB tour company. Arrange other options to visit historic places, please. Then, I was taken to Penang State Museum. The exhibition was set mainly about the period of British times, but there were a few descriptions about only 4 years of Japanese times. I didn't have enough time to read them through, and the tour guide's explanation was superficial. The guy who had led me in Malacca last summer was really great, but this time, I wasn't satisfied with the guidance.
　　The funniest stuff that I found in the exhibition was the description on the shameful custom of foot binding in the Qing dynasty. Look at the last picture but one below. Women in the Qing dynasty were forced to stay lifelong in the house just as if they were chained and were treated like slaves. Foot binding was the invention for women not to flee. On the other hand, high heels were designed to make women look more beautiful. They shouldn't be confused. Their excuse for cruel food binding looked ugly to me.
　　The last picture was shot through the window just before leaving the tour bus. Do you notice a white sailboat?

(Vocabulary)
Qing dynasty 清朝

マラッカ海峡クルージング記：　ジョージタウン観光　ＪＴＢのバスツアー
　
世界遺産に登録された街、ジョージタウン。その歴史をたどってみたいが用意されたバスは僕の行きたいところは素通り。まずは市場に寄った。暑い土地なのに魚介類や肉類が無造作に置かれている。腐らないのだろうか？周囲にいた日本人観光客みなが感じた疑問。そして街中を歩いてみたが、昨年訪問したマラッカと同様、プラナカンの街だった。この午前中のツアーは僕には無意味なものだった。
　
１８１８年建築の東南アジアで最古のイギリス教会St. George's Churchはバスから眺めただけ。Francis Lightの初上陸を記念したメモリアルキャノピーがあるという。ペナンでなぜFrancis Lightが尊敬されているのか、全く理解できず、彼にまつわるものを１日掛けて調べてみたかった。彼の墓はこのジョージタウン、埠頭から近いクリスチャン共同墓地The Christian Cemeteryにあるのだが、すぐ近くまで来て時間の関係で訪問できなかった。実に心残りだ。
　
で、何の興味も無いヒンズー教寺院には寄ったりする。どうかしてるぞ＞ＪＴＢツアー！ツアーの選択種を増やしてくれ。つづいてペナン博物館を訪問。イギリス統治時代が中心だが、日本時代についても展示があった。しかし、十分な時間も無く、ガイドは日本人に当たり障りのない程度の説明しかしない。今回のガイドはハズレだった。
　
ひとつ面白かったのが、次の写真。清朝の纏足は女性を家に閉じ込めて逃げないようにした恥ずべき風習だが、それを見事に誤魔化している。清朝は纏足をしたが、現代西洋では女性にハイヒールを履かせる、、という自己弁護の文章の下にあった図。おいおい、ハイヒールは女性を美しく見せるためのものだぞ。纏足と一緒にしてはいかんだろ。最後の写真はバスから降りる直前に撮影したもの。ダイヤモンド・プリンセスの手前にある帆船は？？

Going Out

　　I was meaning to stay on the ship all day as I wrote in the previous entry, but I felt that something was missing without setting foot on Malaysian soil, so I went out of the ship to take a walk around the cruise ship terminal. I had heard that there was nowhere to look around the terminal, but it would be a kind of exaggeration, I thought. I'd like to chat with local people.
　　When the passengers go out of the ship, you have only to show your cruise card to the security personnel. When I went out of the ship, I asked a question which I had harbored since I got on board to a staff member. That was why most signboards were written not only in English, but in Japanese. The answer was that the Diamond Princess was to be used in cruises which start and end in Japan from April for 6 months. For that reason, several dozen Japanese crew were on board for training. Hearing that, I uttered words of joy. He asked me, "Are you Japanese?" in Japanese. He was also Japanese. He assumed that a Korean was accusing him of not having the Korean language in the ship. My way of talking in English might have sounded like an accusation. I felt sorry to have him feel that way. I have to be careful when talking to others.

 

マラッカ海峡クルージング記： 朝鮮人に間違われた件　(^_^;)
　
一日船で過ごすつもりではあったが、マレーシアの大地に一度も足を踏み入れないのも寂しいのでターミナル周辺を散歩することにした。何も無いとは言っても休憩できる喫茶店くらいはあるだろう。地元の人と話もしてみたい。
　
船から下りるときはたいした手続きはなく、クルーズカードを呈示して船を離れることを伝えるだけ。出入りをチェックするクルーに乗船したときからずっと思っていた疑問を尋ねてみた。なぜ日本語の案内が多いのかということ。船内の案内は船内新聞を除いて英語と日本語の表記なのだ。理由は何と４月からこの船は日本を中心に航海する予定で、そのための訓練として日本人クルーも乗っているとのこと。それを聞いて凄く嬉しいと答えると、「もしかして日本人？」と日本語で尋ねられた。そのクルーも日本人だった。(^_^;)　朝鮮人が日本語表記しか無いことについて文句を言っていると勘違いしたらしい。言い方に気をつけなければ、、、と反省。

Ruin of St Paul's Church

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

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

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

Cheng Ho Gallery

　　When we went up to St. Paul's Church, I unexpectedly discovered the Chinese characters "鄭和" on the wall of the adjacent building of the Stadthuys (link). My travel guidebook didn't refer to this building and I also didn't mind the space on the map in the guidebook, but the characters along with a big human statue in the following picture, which I found on the net, caught my eye. It was Cheng Ho Gallery. I knew about Cheng Ho, who was the famous Chinese admiral in 15th century, but I asked my tour guide about him expecting some other findings. He talked to us about him or her! Her? Almost all of you might well ask "Why her?" He was a eunuch, simply a castrated officer, so the guide used a Japanese word implying a woman. He was really excellent as a tour guide. If the tourists were Chinese, he would take them to the gallery and explain the collections inside.
　　Let me write about Cheng Ho. He was a Naval Admiral in the period of Ming and lead the Ming's fleet all the way to the African Continent by the order of Yongle Emperor in the early 15th century. He dropped in at Malacca on the way, and the gallery evidently seemed to impress people with his achievement.
　　I have a funny story about his achievement. Chinese Communists insist now that the South China Sea and associated islands belong to China. Their evidence is apparently the maiden navigation of the Ming's fleet led by Cheng Ho. If they are right, India and the Indian Ocean should be Portuguese territory and America and the Atlantic Ocean would be Spanish territory. I can say that the Chinese Communist Party doesn't know what is right and what is wrong.
　　Anyway, putting it aside, my question was sure to lend a historical flavour to his guidance. While talking about Cheng Ho, the statue of St. Francisco Xavier on the hill came into our sight. I encountered a headstone of interest to me. I'll write about it in the next entry.

(Vocabulary)
Cheng Ho Gallery　鄭和記念館
鄭和（ていわ、拼音: Zhèng Hé, 1371 - 1434）
Stadthuys　スタダイス
eunuch /júnək/ (昔の) 宦官(かんがん)
Ming （シナの）明, 明朝《1368—1644》.
Yongle Emperor  永楽帝（えいらくてい）は、明の第３代皇帝。

Mt. Fuji

　　Reaching Hakone with my sports car and viewing Mt. Fuji, I wasn't able to resist the temptation to drive my car up to Mt. Fuji. You can climb up to the altitude of 2305 meters of Mt. Fuji by car, where a vast parking area is provided.
　　The road to the 2305 meters' altitude is called "Fuji Subaruline", the entrance of which is shown in the following picture. You can see a part of Mt. Fuji over its toll gate. I used a public toilet there, because I didn't want to use toilets up the mountain, when a sightseeing bus passed by me. An attendant spat out, "Almost all the passengers of buses are Chinese." I discovered his intense aversion. He told me additionally that the weather was not so good, and  visitors weren't allowed to climb up above the altitude of 2020 meters. However, I went up to the 2020 meters' Osawa Parking and Viewing Point.
　　The temperature was 7.5 degrees centigrade at the parking of the altitude of 2020 meters. I forgot to write about the attitude of Chinese tourists in the grounds of Hakone Shrine in the last entry, though. I was really angry at their arrogance toward the Japanese cultural assets. They were alike at Mt. Fuji. I just wanted them not to throw trash away around there. Seeing them, I engraved an old proverb in my mind - When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I'm planning to visit the Islamic country of Malaysia at the end of August and I've never been to a Muslim Nation. I'm going to learn how to respect to Malaysian culture.
　　Some Chinese took their own snapshots with one hand resting on my car's fender. If they shot themselves with my car a little apart, I wouldn't mind that, but I asked them not to touch my car. However, I got uneasy then, thinking that they might do something bad to my car after I left my car, and I stayed around my car and didn't stand on the observatory terrace. A dense fog obstructed the view then and it was a consolation. If the weather had been clear and I wasn't able to see the scenery, I would bear a severe grudge against them.

（北海道・東北旅行記　４月１日）

　箱根まで来て、富士山を眺めて、乗ってきているのがこの車なら富士山へ登らずにおれようか。ということで、昴ライン入り口までやって来た。
　スバルライン入り口横で公衆トイレを使った。山の上でトイレを使わなくて済むように。そのとき、目の前を一台のバスが通り過ぎた。料金所のスタッフによるとバスで来る人はみな中国人だという。今日は天候が悪く５合目ではなく途中の大沢駐車場までしか行けない。今日は景色は見えないだろうということだったがここまで来たので登ってみた。
　大沢駐車場。気温は７．５℃。先の記事で書き忘れたのだが、神聖な箱根神社での支那人達の傍若無人な態度に酷く腹がたった。富士山でも同様で、日本にお金を落とすとは言うものの、支那人達に日本に来てもらいたくない。心底そう思った。この夏にマレーシア旅行を計画している。多民族国家、イスラム教の国。礼を失しないよう十分に心を配って観光しなければと肝に銘じた。
　この駐車場でも僕の車のフェンダーに手を突いて記念写真を撮る支那人がいた。少し離れて撮るならまあいいかとも思うが、一言注意させてもらった。しかし、その後、車に何かされるかもと心配になり、車から離れられないはめに、、、(^_^;)　まあ、景色は写真の通りで何も見えないから実害は無かったのだが、、。

Night in Hakodate

　　The standard nocturnal tourists' destination in Hakodate is Mt. Hakodateyama, from which you can enjoy the beautiful night view of Hakodate City. I moved to the base station of the cable car by a street car and lined up for the embarkation into a car. Just after my arrival at the station, sightseeing buses gathered one after another. The passengers were almost all Chinese! I was annoyed by their ear-piercing voices. My car was packed with noisy Chinese. About 90% of the passengers in my car, which can accommodate 125 people, were Chinese. When the door was open, they rushed toward the window. I was fortunately able to stand by the window, but some Chinese shouldered me aside and occupied space before me interfering with my sight. I got sick of their behaviour and fuss.
　　The view from the top of Mr. Hakodateyama was wonderful, but I couldn't help wishing that they had not been there. So crowded, so noisy! Some were smoking wherever they liked even without ash trays. After staying for only 10 minutes or so, I went down the mountain earlier than I had planned, avoiding a long wait for a cable car, even though it took 30 minutes to get a car. Then I took a short walk near the harbor.
　We ate local specialties for dinner at a small pub next to the hotel. Nothing beats raw squid in Hakodate, which is called "sashimi" in Japan.

(Vocabulary)
ear-piercing  耳をつんざくような, かん高い
Nothing beats a walk in the wilderness. ～って最高！

　函館観光の夜の定番と言えば、函館山からの夜景。ということでロープウェイ乗り場まで市電で移動して乗車を待つ列に並んだのだが、その直後から観光バスが続々と到着し、降りてきたのは支那人たち。そのやかましさに閉口。１２５人乗りのキャビンの中は９割程度が支那人。窓際を占めようと支那人が殺到し、僕はたまたま窓際に立てたが後ろから割り込まれた。気分が悪くなった。
　夜景は素晴らしかったが、大混雑。大騒ぎ。下りは３０分ほど並んで待った。時間が無いことを悔やみつつ港周辺を散歩して、夕食はもちろん地酒に『イカ』！うまかった！ホテルの横の居酒屋に予約もせず飛び込みだったが粋の良い女将が手際よく生きているイカをさばいてくれた。値段は憶えていないが安かった。
　函館は落ち着ける良い街だ。見落としている観光地はまだまだ多い。季節を変えてまた立ち寄りたい！

Funkawan

　　You can identify the place named Funkawan in the Google Maps. Find it and examine its shape. Funkawan literally means "the bay of eruption" and marks the distinctive terrain of Hokkaido. The shape of the bay would imply that the bay used to be an eruptive crater. My wife and I were driving along Funkawan Bay in an anti-clockwise direction. We took a rest in a parking lot located at the west of the bay, Yakumo Town.
　　We viewed the whole landscape of Funkawan Bay from the parking lot. It was so magnificent and we took a short walk around the lot. There was lots of snow piled along the lot. Judging from the several amusement facilities, people would get together here in the summer. When I came back to my car, a sightseeing bus parked, from which several dozen Chinese people came out. Some of them started to take pictures of themselves against the background of MY CAR. I was exasperated, to say the least. They didn't care about another car which was going to park. I can't be fond of these people who have no regard for others.

(Vocabulary)
mark　〈性質などが〉…を特色づける, 目立たせる
The meeting was marked by bitter exchanges. 会議では激しい応酬の場面が目立った．[同意] characterize
eruptive crater 噴火口
have no regard for others 傍若無人である
have little/no regard for sth ＜…＞をほとんど［まったく］考慮しない, ほとんど［まったく］気にかけない

　噴火湾を見下ろす丘で休憩。元々噴火口だったと言われても、この景色を見れば納得する。雄大な景色に息をのむ。駐車場にはまだ雪がたくさんある。周辺には娯楽施設のようなものが有り、夏には賑わうのだろう。今日は素晴らしい天気にもかかわらずシーズンオフのためか閑散としている。ラッキーだと思っていたら、観光バスがやって来て降りてくるのは支那語を喋る方々。北京語ではない。あろうことかカミさんが載っている車の横に立って記念撮影をしている。まあいいか。そうこうするうちに一台の車がやってきた。駐めようとしているのにお構いなし。こんな傍若無人な人達を好きにはなれない。

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.

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?

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.

Streets in Toyohara (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk)

　　I often got on our tour guide's case about his proficiency in Japanese. When he found something to point out from the bus, he started to talk about it. While he was choosing his words, it passed out of sight. I wasn't able to take pictures of them. Finally, I didn't know what almost all the pictures taken through the bus window were for. In the era of Japanese territory, Karafuto was inhabited by not only Japanese but also Korean people, because the Korean Peninsula, which was not what you call a colony, was a part of Japan at that time. Korean people were treated just like original Japanese in those days. Now, South Korea trades on the hostile relationship between Japan and Russia. There were national flags of Russia and South Korea on the construction site of something. There was also a monument for Korean people who wanted to go back to Korea in vain on the hill looking down on the town of Oodomari.
　　I was eager to see how Karafuto would be on this trip, but I had another purpose, which was to see what the motorcycle culture was like. When I visited South Korea in 2009, Korean people didn't have a mind to enjoy riding itself. Motorcycles for them were merely a means of transportation. Karafuto was just like South Korea in that way. I saw only one motorcycle on the street but there was no motorcycle shop as far as I saw. I might have to give up the thought of riding on Karafuto.

(Vocabulary)
北緯５０度以南の樺太は日本領、したがってこのブログでは日本名を使う
Karafuto (樺太)　Sakhalin サハリン
Toyohara (豊原)　Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk ユジノサハリンスク
Oodomari(大泊)　Korsakov　コルサコフ

Sightseeing Bus

　　The bus which was waiting for us at Oodomari harber was old, dirty and a South Korean product, and additionally the air-conditioner didn't work well. In addition, the purplish pink interior decorations made me sick.
　　As for the tour guide, he was poor at his work. I wasn't able to understand his Japanese fully. He talked about something which he saw from the bus, but when I looked at what he was explaining, the bus had already passed by. He seemed to be a leader-class interpreter there, but was downright never up to snuff. The tour guides for other buses were students who were learning Japanese in college. Hearing that, I gave a heavy sigh. The tour along the highway from Oodomari to Toyohara vanished in smoke. I was just sitting in a hard rotten seat of a second-hand bus.
　　I was moving in the bus for a total of 3 hours, but I didn't know where I visited or where the bus ran except a few tourist spots. Anyway, about an hour's drive took me to Slava square, "glory square" literally in English, at which Karafuto Shrine had been standing before 1945.

(Vocabulary)
北緯５０度以南の樺太は日本領、したがってこのブログでは日本名を使う
Karafuto (樺太)　Sakhalin サハリン
Toyohara (豊原)　Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk ユジノサハリンスク
Oodomari(大泊)　Korsakov　コルサコフ

Folding Fan

　　It's very muggy now in Japan. One of the necessities in this season is a folding fan. My office is comfortable thanks to the air conditioner, but I always carry a fan during a house visit.
　　When I took my car to the car dealer for its 6-months' regular maintenance the other day, they gave me their novelty goods item of a folding fan, on which the logo of the Mercedes-Benz was inscribed. As I have one, I decided to keep it in my desk drawer for future use. At that time, I found a broken one deep in my desk drawer, and I'll show it to you. It was also one of the novelty goods from a pharmaceutical company.
　　As you see, lots of Korean letters are written on it. Around the time when I received this folding fan about probably 10 years ago, I was learning Korean and using the fan as a memo pad. Korean fundamental sentences are noted down on it. I attained to a certain proficiency level with Korean and am learning German now.
　　By the way, a folding fan is called "sensu" or "ougi" in Japanese. "Ougi" is a part of "hiougigai" which I wrote about in the previous entry. A word, "hiougigai" is constructed of three parts, "hi", "ougi", and "gai", which stand for "scarlet", "a folding fan", and "clam" respectively. You would say "Exactly!", if you saw pictures of it.

(Vocabulary)
novelty goods  販促品

Submarine Hakuryu

　　Submarines are constructed in various developed countries. Japan doesn't have an A-sub, but has the incomparable technology of building non-atomic powered submarines. Actually Australia apparently wants to get Japanese submarines, according to the media. In general, submarines are veiled in the highest secrecy everywhere, but I was invited by JMSDF (the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force) to see inside the submarine. I immediately said yes without a second thought.
　　The submarine which I was showed into was "Hakuryu", one of the most developed types of submarines, which the Australian Government is eager to have. I'll upload several pictures. I was allowed to take pictures outside, but was required to deposit digital devices like cameras, smartphones, tablet terminals on the reception desk when entering the submarine. It would be natural to protect the secrets of the submarine.
　　When I stood on its deck, I noticed the softness of its outer envelope. It was like a slightly hard rubber. I was able to see from the anterior part of the torpedo room to the posterior part of the diesel and starling engine room. I also learned the living environment of the crew members. I don't write about the details so much, but I realized their work must have been so hard and I admire their sense of loyalty to the nation. I believe that the existence of the Chinese Fleet is nonsense in front of this type of submarine.

(Vocabulary)
a sense of loyalty 忠誠心

Henoko

　　Henoko is a small and originally serene village located in the middle of Okinawa, though it holds Camp Schwab, one of the U.S. Marine bases. I wrote about MCASF (Marine Corps Air Station Futenma) in the previous entry and now its relocation plan to Henoko is well under way. It's the decided policy of the Japanese Government, but the Chinese communists dare a group of people to interfere with the plan. Almost all of them are recruited outside Okinawa and are engaged in various illegal activities in Okinawa with a respectable pay.
　　Off the coast of Henoko, the Government will build the Air Station with two long runways as the replacement of MCASF, and the seabed investigation has just started a few months ago. It must be a favorable plan for ordinary people to move the Air Station from the populated city to a deserted area on the sea, but it would be unfavorable for China to modernize the U.S. Marine base.
　　I wanted to see and talk with the activists, but I repressed the urge to get out of the car, following my wife's appeal not to respond to ugly jerks. They were violent like fierce animals. My wife's opinion was acceptable. I gave up taking pictures of them.
　　Henoko has a beautiful serene sea. I'd like to preserve it as it is, but I believe the construction of new runways is inevitable as long as China exists.

(Vocabulary)
decided
1 (利点・欠点などが) はっきりした, 目立った[同意] distinct
2 (意見などが) 断固とした, 確固たる[同意] firm
dare sb to do sth ～するようけしかける
respectable〈結果・成績などが〉まずまずの, まあまあの
jerk   someone, especially a man, who is stupid or who does things that annoy or hurt other people