Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Kadokura Cape

　　A European ship was stranded on the rugged coast of Kadokura Cape in 1543 where we visited next. The crew members seemed to set foot on the island just beneath where we were. The guns were brought to Japan at that time by Portuguese who were on board. Consequently, the guns changed Japan's history dramatically. I wanted to stop by the place that triggered the transformation of Japanese society. There were no artificial structures by the surf and the crew of the wrecked ship would have seen the same coastline. They apparently stayed on the island for about a half year and had a good relationship with the locals.
　　It is said that a crew member had fired a gun to scare the inhabitants when they started to gather around the coast, and this fact made this cape noted as the site where the gun was first used in Japan. There were two memorials. One was built by the local government, and the other was by the Portuguese Navy.

(Vocabulary)
by the surf 　波打ち際に










門倉岬

１５４３年この場所へ一隻の船が漂着した。この崖下にヨーロッパからの船が漂着したという。乗り組んでいたポルトガル人により日本へ鉄砲がもたらされ、この銃は日本の歴史を変えた。その歴史的な場所へ一度立ち寄ってみたかった。海岸線には人工物がなく、当時のままの姿をとどめていることから漂着した乗組員たちも同じ風景を見たのだろう。乗組員たちは半年間この島に滞在し、友好的な関係を築いたという。

住民を脅すために乗組員の一人が発砲したと伝えられる。従ってこの場所は日本で初めて銃が撃たれた場所になる。この歴史の事実を記念する記念碑が地元自治体と、ポルトガル海軍により記念碑が建てられていた。

Nanairo Observatory

　　The following pictures show the scenery from Nanairo Lookout, which was listed on the eight most scenic points of Tanegashima Island. This place wouldn't be called a scenic point for nothing. We could view Maenohama Beach where we had been shortly before. This island takes on the different features between its east and west coastline. On the east side, several beautiful beaches are seen, but the west coast was rich in rugged terrain. Now, we started for the southernmost point of Kadokura Cape.

(Vocabulary)
be not called ~ for nothing さすがに～と呼ばれるだけのことはある

七色観望所

種子島の８つの絶景ポイントの一つに挙げられている場所。確かに良い眺めだ。心地よい風にしばらく吹かれながら休憩。先ほど立ち寄った前之浜が眼下に広がっていた。

Maenohama Beach Park and Monument for Drumeltan

　　I found a monument for a cargo ship of Drumeltan's distress at Maenohama Beach Park. There apparently were lots of accidents on the southern sea of Tanegashima Island since long ago. In particular, in early spring and the typhoon season (summer to autumn), lots of ships had been washed ashore on the island. It was not guns only that had been brought by the sea accidents, though most people in Japan think the arrival of guns to Japan as a rare case.
　　According to the description, Drumeltan, which was a British trading sailboat, was involved in a heavy storm on the way from Shanghai to Hong Kong in April in 1894 and was washed ashore on Maenohama Beach. Its 29 crew members were rescued by local residents. The residents devotedly took care of them until they left the island. The British Navy vessels arrived at the island in May and repaired Drumeltan, which was towed to Nagasaki Port in August.
　　The crew finally resulted in spending 4 months on the island. On parting, the crew and the residents said a fond farewell to each other and the crew gave the residents something to show their gratitude. One of them was several chickens which were kept in the ship. Their original birthplace was not known, but they are now called Engee chicken and one of the specialties of the island.As you can imagine, "Engee" comes from "English".
　　Six of the British Navy vessels arrived at the port of the island as early as the next month of the accident. Considering the communication levels of those days, their arrival was extraordinarily early! I wondered about its rapidity and I recalled the Japanese-Sino War which broke out in July in the same year. The Drumeltan was taken to Nagasaki in the midst of the war and even in the battlefield. The navy vessels might have been on a reconnaissance mission to investigate the national power of Japan. The social condition on the mainland was getting worse those days and it was just before the Boxer Rebellion. Then the relationship between Japan and the U.K. ascended to the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. The wreck of the Drumeltan happened in these times. I'll eat Engee chicken tonight recalling those times.

(Vocabulary)
in distress 〈船・航空機などが〉 遭難した
distress signal 遭難信号
say a fond farewell 別れを惜しむ
reconnaissance 偵察
The Boxer Rebellion 義和団事件
the Anglo-Japanese Alliance 日英同盟












前之浜海浜公園　ドラムエルタン号遭難

前之浜海浜公園に立ち寄ったら、また遭難した船の記念碑があった。調べてみると種子島南方海上は昔から海難事故が多く特に春先や夏から秋の台風期には多くの難破船が種子島に漂着している。漂着したのは鉄砲だけでは無かったのだ。

碑文によると、ドラメルタン号は上海から香港に向う途中暴風に遭い明治二十七年四月、前の浜に漂着した乗組員二十九名のイギリス貿易帆船。地区の住民は乗組員を救助し、彼らが島を離れるまで家を提供するなど献身的に面倒をみたという。翌月東洋艦隊の軍艦がやってきて船の修復を行い、8月16日、ドラメルタン号は長崎へ廻航された。

乗組員たちからは離島の際には別れを惜しんでいろいろな記念品が贈られたという。その中に船で飼育していたニワトリがあった。原産地は不明ながら、イギリスのニワトリということで今ではインギー鶏と呼ばれる島の名産品だ。

東洋艦隊が翌月には到着したというが、当時の通信環境を考えると驚異的に早い。訝しく思っていたのだが、この年の７月に日清戦争が勃発している。その最中に長崎へ回航。東洋艦隊は本国から派遣されたのではなく、元々この辺りにいたのだろう。日本の国力確認のための情報収集かな。この後、支那大陸では義和団事件があり、日英同盟へと繋がっていく、、、、今夜はインギー鶏を食べながら、当時の社会情勢に思いを馳せよう。

Tanegashima Akagome Museum and Homan Shrine

　　The next site we stopped by was Tanegashima Akagome Museum and Homan Shrine. "Akagome" means literally red rice. This type of rice, red rice, has long been planted on Tanegashima Island, and is thought to be related to Javanica rice. The traditional rice in Japan is Japonica rice. Taking it into consideration that Javanica rice is widely cultivated from the central part of Java to its eastern islands, red rice is considered as precious evidence to testify the ancient communication between the island and the far southern areas such as present Indonesia. I didn't know at all about this red rice and learnt lots of things about the island's history in this museum.
　　Homan Shrine was located near the museum and it seemed to have been treasured by local people since long ago, but the time of construction was unknown. The traditional ritual on red rice has been conducted there. The shrine honored Tamayorihime, who was the mother of Jin-mu, the 1st Ten-noh, what you call, Japan's Emperor. FYI, the present Ten-noh is the 126th one.
　　Homan Pond, adjacent to the shrine, was thought to be a part of the sea in ancient times. An old way of hunting for ducks and some legends concerning the pond were handed down to us. I wondered that such a mysterious place existed on Tanegashima Island as it is called the closest island to space thanks to the Tanegashima Space Center.

P.S. We ate red rice in our inn on this or the next day. Its taste was so-so, but our usual rice was far better.

(Vocabulary)
Japonica rice　ジャポニカ米
Javanica rice　ジャバニカ米

たねがしま赤米館と宝満神社

日本の基本的な栽培種はジャポニカ米だが、種子島には古来より赤米と呼ばれる米が栽培されていて、これはジャバニカに近いと考えられている。ジャバニカは中部ジャワから東の島嶼域に広く栽培されている米であることから、南方からの文化伝播を考える上で重要な資料だと考えられている。この資料館でそんなことを学んだ。

近くに宝満神社がある。古くから親しまれてきたが、その成立年代は定かではない。祭神は玉依姫命でここでは赤米の神事が執り行われている。神社の隣にある宝満の池、元は海だったと考えられていて、古来からの鴨猟や伝説が伝わっている。日本最大のロケット発射場を持ち、宇宙に一番近い島と言われる種子島だが、意外にもこんな神秘的な場所があったとは。参考までに玉依姫とは初代天皇である神武天皇の母にあたる。ちなみに現天皇は第１２６代である。

Mysterious Rock Wall

　　While driving, I found a mysterious rock wall along the road. The rock looked fragile and my wife told me not to approach it, but I did toward the foot of the wall. The rock wall had some big holes inside and I felt that it showed the on-going status of forming distinctive rocks which I had seen until then at several points on the coastline of this island. This rock wall might have been located on the coast and at sea level before recorded history, and might have formed the island's coastline then, I thought.

奇岩

移動の途中で奇妙な岩、岩壁を見つけた。制止するカミさんを無視して岩の下まで行って見た。なんとも奇妙な形で、内側に空洞が出来ている。有史以前には海面近くにあって先ほど観た象の鼻のような景観を呈していたのだろうか。

Etretat cliffs?

　　The road map showed us an unusual rock on the way to the southernmost point of the island. It apparently looked like the nose of a water-drinking elephant. We stopped by the beach from which we could see the rock. Look at the following pictures. The rock reminded me of Etretat cliffs, though the rock would be smaller than that of Etretat cliffs. I knew about the cliffs from a noted picture of Monet. If I can canoe through the rock when the sea is calm, it would be fun.

宇宙センターを出て、更に進むと像が水を飲むときの鼻の形と形容されている岩があるというので立ち寄った。なるほど、象の鼻に見えないことはない。エトルタの断崖をふと思い出した。穏やかな波の時、カヤックで下をくぐったり出来たら面白いかな。

Tanegashima Space Center

　　The Tanegashima Space Center is the largest rocket-launching complex in Japan with a total area of about 10,000,000 square meters. I wanted to join the free guide tour offered from the facility, but I had to give it up due to the effect of the coronavirus. The center had decided to suspend the guided tour for a while to avoid the concentration of visitors. I slowly drove my car on the premise.
　　I saw the launching site at a distance of 2km. That is to say, the Space Center wasn't the place at which rockets are launched, but it was the facility for monitoring and controlling the liftoff. I imagined the scene just before the liftoff. Lots of people get together on the grass and enjoy the moment of the launch. The schedules of rocket-launching are supposed to be announced in advance. I want to visit the island at the launching schedule, but the launch is often postponed due to some reasons like weather conditions. If I book the flight to the island, the air ticket can be wasted. What shall I do to watch the launch live.

種子島宇宙センター

無料のガイドツアーに参加するつもりだったが、コロナウイルスのせいで中止。なんとも残念でならない。芝を管理する業者以外、人影のない構内をゆっくりと車を走らせた。

２キロほど先にロケット発射場が見える。つまり、宇宙センターはロケットを発射する場所ではなくて、管制をする場所だった。広い芝生の上で、また専用の展望台で、ロケット発射を見物できるのだろう。発射の際には賑わうのだろうな、そしてそのときにこの場にいたいなと思うが、天候不順などでロケット発射が延期されることはよくある。特定の日をターゲットにして来島するのはやはりリスクを伴う。しかし、なんとか現場で発射を観てみたい。どうしたものか。

National Historic Landmark, Hirota Site

　　I toured Hirota Site Museum and then walked around Hirota Site, which was the considerable magnitude of a graveyard site, while recalling lives in ancient times. I knew that this tiny island had developed as a relay station between the southern area and Japan and admired the fact that the intensive investigation into the history and culture about the ancient Tanegashima Island had developed. In the entrance hall of the museum we got together a noisy flock of schoolkids led by a teacher. It seemed to be a part of their school work. It was lucky and useful to be able to listen to their teacher's story along with schoolkids. The behaviour of them with small backpacks and water bottles reminded us of our daughters' childhood. I felt something nostalgic.
　　The graveyard site was located on a hill on the waterfront and ancient people should have seen a magnificent view from there. However, who could have imagined the big building related to the rocket launching at the tip of the cape in those days?

(Vocabulary)
site (昔，重要なことが起こった) 跡（地）, 遺跡
relay station 中継局、中継地











国史跡　広田遺跡

広田遺跡ミュージアム、広田遺跡を見て回り、縄文の時代から、この地が交易の中継地として発展してきた様子がよくわかった。小さな町なのに調査・研究が進んでいることに驚く。
ミュージアムでフィールドワークの小学生の一団と一緒になった。賑やかで微笑ましい。娘たちの小さい頃を思い出した。
海に面した丘に大勢の遺骨が発見されたという。快晴で心地よい風の吹く中、墓地をしばらく散歩する。縄文の時代、どんな暮らしだったのだろうかと過去に思いを馳せる。まさかこの地にロケット発射場が設けられるとは想像だにしていなかったろうなあ。

Tanegashima Island, Suitable for Launching?

　　I've known the fact that the nearer to the equator the site is, the better placed for launching. It's because they can use the earth's centrifugal force effectively. Therefore, every country has its launching site in its southernmost area. Additionally, several factors are required. There are no or few folks' houses around and the weather is stable.
　　You might wonder why not Okinawa. Okinawa is nearer to the equator than Tanegashima Island. The reason is simple. When the construction of the rocket launching facilities came on the table, Okinawa was still under the US's administration. Okinawa didn't even come into the options of the construction sites. Thanks to such history, Tanegashima Island is now called the closest island to space.

(Vocabulary)
centrifuge (専門) 遠心分離機
centrifugal force (専門) 遠心分離機




なぜ宇宙センターが種子島に？
安定した気候で、広い土地、周辺に民家の無い場所、赤道に近い方が打ち上げに優位なので日本最南端が選ばれた。沖縄があるじゃないかと思われた方もいるかもしれないが、種子島宇宙センターが作られたとき沖縄はアメリカの支配下にあったから候補地にはなり得なかった。お陰で種子島は宇宙に一番近い島と呼ばれている。

Eminoe Prospect

　　Eminoe Prospect was on my rough road map and we assumed that the prospect was for the rugged coastline of the island. The path to the prospect was partially so narrow and winding that cars couldn't pass each other. Having passed the section of the expansion work of the road, we found ourselves in the parking lot, which seemed to be new. I imagined that the parking space was recently built.
　　We were surprised to see the scenery from the prospect. The coastline was naturally wonderful, but the rocket launching site was just in front of us. The prospect was located out of the off-limits area during the launching and I thought that this place would be ideal for the launching viewing site.
　　A few benches were set on the elevated site and there was a signboard aside as you see in the following picture. It read that the pair ticket for these benches and a parking ticket will be issued to the taxpayers who paid tax to the town under the new tax system. I've already written about this new tax system. I admired it. It's a really smart idea. The town office can receive the tax from people who live out of the town without any actual expenditure.
　　One thing, the sign on the public restroom. See the pictures below. You can easily imagine that this place is for viewing the rocket launching and its site.

 

https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2017/04/new-system-on-tax.html

恵美之江展望公園

手元のラフな地図に展望公園とあるので島の東海岸を眺める場所かと思って恵美之江展望公園に立ち寄った。舗装はされているものの離合の難しい細い道を登っていき、拡張工事中の場所を過ぎると、駐車場があった。設備がきれいなのでこの２～３年以内に出来た施設だと思う。

到着して景色を見て驚いた。海岸線はもちろん見事なのだが、ロケット発射場が目の前だ。この公園はロケット発射時には立入禁止とされる範囲の外にあり、ロケット発射の見物には最適地と思われた。そして、一段高い位置にベンチがセットしてあった。そして、写真のような看板が、、、ふるさと納税の高額納税者にはこの場所のペアチケットが発行されるとある。調べてみると３０万円。利用価値あり！この納税については過去に説明したのでそちらをご覧ください。

愉快だったのが、便所のマーク。誰の発案だろうか、面白い！そのユーモアに脱帽！

Caves at Seashore, "Chikura no Iwaya"

　　We took a small inn, Shimayado HOPE, located in the south of the island, as there are many sightseeing spots in the southern area. This inn was not bad, but there were several other attractive inns, so we'd like to stay at some other inns.
　　If "Chikura no Iwaya" was translated into English literally and correctly, it means lots of caves. The expression, "Chikura" appears in Japanese mythologies and most Japanese wouldn't know that. I was interested in who had named that. He or she must have been a man or woman of education.
　　F.Y.I. the U.S. deprived Japanese of its mythology after the war, but now not a few people started to learn their own mythology and history by themselves. I'm very glad to know that. As for me, my grandfather was highly educated and he was my teacher of Japanese culture.
　　By the way, these caves are at the seaside and sightseers must take time into account to visit the site. When we were walking in the caves, tides were starting to flood. We left there in fluster. We'll revisit tomorrow, taking the ebb and flow time into consideration.

島宿ＨＯＰＥ

千座の岩屋 （ちくらのいわや）

　今回は島の南部にある島宿ＨＯＰＥという宿に泊まった。観光スポットが多いからこの地域を選んだが、宿の写真を撮り忘れた。この宿の周辺には他にもいろいろな宿がある。この宿も良かったがまた他の宿にも泊まってみたい。
　千座の岩屋とはたくさんの洞窟という意味だが、この漢字を書いて「ちくら」と読ませるのは日本神話に詳しい人物の命名か？戦後、アメリカにより日本の神話は奪われかけたが、今また独力で学ぶ人が増えてきている。喜ばしいことだ。
　観光には潮の満ち引きを計算していかなければならない。我々は潮が満ち始める時間に行ったので、慌てて退散した。宿から１０分なので明日もう一度来て見よう。

Shipwreck of Bark Cashmere

　　Using a rough map for sightseers, which I got at the airport, as a reference, we went south along the east coast. A small signpost caught my eye on the way and we stopped by at a tiny fisherman's port. Walking on the small path, I found a monument describing the half-abandoned wooden house behind the monument as the house in which local people took care of crew members of the Bark Cashmere. Immediately I looked for information on Bark Cashmere on the net and found a historical fact. The ship was involved in a severe storm in September 1885. American Bark Cashmere was washed ashore at this village. People on the island got together and took sincere care of them. Consequently, all crew members and passengers were able to return their hometown.
　　Thinking of the times of the incident, they would have encountered the typhoon. Tanegashima island is on the routine route of typhoons from early summer to fall.

Bark Cashmere

(Vocabulary)
bark   バーク船（3本マストで前2本は横帆）

カシミヤ号遭難

空港で見つけた簡単な地図を頼りに最北端から南下していて小さな看板を見つけたので左折して海岸に出てみた。写真は車を駐めて海岸に出る道の途中で見つけた記念碑。その場でネット上の情報を探した。今から１３５年前の１８８５年９月、種子島の沖でアメリカの商船・カシミア号が嵐にあい、乗組員が西之表市の立山海岸などに漂着した。集落民全員で救助に当たり、手厚く介抱した結果、乗組員は無事帰国することができ、海岸には、救助の石碑が建てられ、その史実を語り継いでいる。とのこと。

９月ということは恐らく台風に遭遇したのだろう。前に書いたポルトガル人のみならず、多くの船がこれまで漂着したのだろうなあ。

Kisikazaki Lighthouse

　　We arrived at Kisikazaki Lighthouse located at the northernmost point of the island. When the sky is clear, you can see Kyushu, but we couldn't. I found the ruin of the cannon base at the same place. This place must surely have been an important point of water transport. Any ruin of the war didn't read on the map for tourists, but I wondered that lots of things associated with the war would remain on the island.

喜志鹿埼灯台（きしかざき）に到着。種子島の最北端。曇っていて九州は確認できなかった。戦争中の砲台跡が残されていた。手元のパンフレットには載っていないがこの島にも戦跡も多く残っているのではないだろうか。

Urata Beach

　　Going up north along the west coast, I headed for the northernmost point of the island. I stopped by a beautiful beach called Urata Beach. Very fine white sand, calm waves in the cove, surrounded by the forest, but there were few people. Stalls were closed. It might be due to the Wuhan virus crisis.

島の西海岸を北上して最北端に向かった。途中立ち寄ったビーチは浦田海水浴場。細かい白い砂、穏やかな波、周りを森林に囲まれた入江となっていて、きれいなビーチだったが、人はほとんどいない。海の店は閉店。これも武漢ウイルスのためなのだろう。

An Old Folk House, Gessoutei

　　Next was an old folk house, "Gessoutei," in which the lord of Tanegashima had lived in the early Meiji Era. This old wooden house was built in 1793, but well-preserved. Some local volunteer guides showed us how to use a matchlock gun and they let me handle the gun. It was considerably heavy and it required troublesome procedures to shoot another shot after every single shot. If it rains, you need to make sure the fire does not go out. I imagined that people of other days would be spending harder days in many ways.

(Vocabulary)
put out (明かり、火など）を消す
people of other days 　昔の人々

次に訪れたのが月窓亭。種子島の主が住んでいたという建物。１７９３年に建てられた木造の家だが、保存状態が良く、内部の広間で地元のボランティアが建物の由来と火縄銃の扱いについて説明してくれた。火縄銃に初めて触れたが、重い！一発撃ったら次に撃つまでの手順が長い。雨が降ったら使いづらい、、、など昔の人は何でも大変だったなあと感慨にふける。

Introduction of Guns

　　I headed for the Gun Museum. This island is well known as the place to which guns had been brought from Portugal in 1543. A Ming's ship on which the Portuguese were on board was washed ashore at Kadokura Cape at the southernmost tip of Tanegashima Island. The feudal lord of the island, Tanegashima Tokitaka, spent a fortune for two guns from the Portuguese and ordered his subordinates to produce the same one. Consequently, more powerful guns than the original began to be produced within a year. The technologies about guns were informed to the nerve center of those days, present Osaka, and mass production of the guns started. Not only the history of the guns, but other cultural assets of this island were also displayed.
　　A funny story is handed down. Other Portuguese came to the island with lots of guns to make money a few years later. The lord paid huge money for only two guns, so they'd expect that they would get a lot of money, but their offer was rejected. There were already more sophisticated guns in Japan.

(Vocabulary)
the Ming dynasty 明朝
be washed ashore 漂着する

まず向かったのが、鉄砲館。この島は日本に初めて鉄砲がもたらされた島として名を知られている。１５４３年南端の門倉岬にポルトガル人を乗せた一隻の明の船が漂着した。この島を治めていた種子島時尭（ときたか）は大金をはたいて二丁の鉄砲を購入し、１年を待たずして国産化に成功。この銃は関西へ伝えられ瞬く間に大量生産が始まった。鉄砲館はこの島の文化史を知ることの出来る貴重な博物館となっている。ポルトガルから伝わった銃だけの展示かと思っていたが、国産第一号の銃を始め、国内外の鉄砲約１００丁が展示されていた。

My Wife Arrived

　　My task was done until the morning of 27th. I'd enjoy sightseeing from now on. An office clerk took me to the hotel which I booked in advance. I deposited my possessions at the hotel and went to the airport to pick my wife up by a rent-a-car. It took an hour and 35 minutes from Kagoshima to Tanegashima by a high-speed boat, but only 40 minutes by air. I took pictures of the plane which had just arrived.

２７日の朝までで仕事は終了。これからはこの島の観光を楽しむ。病院スタッフに宿まで送ってもらい荷物を預けて、宿でレンタカーを借りた。そして空港へかみさんを迎えに行く。
高速船だと所要時間は１時間３５分だが飛行機だと４０分。あっという間に着く。到着した飛行機を撮影した。

Vegetation

　　Today is July 24th. I looked out of the window after the evening shower. There's no high mountain and the vegetation around was different from my hometown. I'd like to go and see the island, but I had to stay in the hospital a few more days.

(Vocabulary)
vegetation (集合的に) 植物, 草木,植生





今日は２４日、夕立の後、外を眺めた。高い山がない。そして植生は明らかに愛媛県とは違う。早く街を探検してみたいが、あと数日の勤務がある。

Yakushima Island

　　After I spent a hectic day, getting back to my room, the magnificent shape of Yakushima Island caught my eye. I've never been there, but some doctors who had instructed me in my resident days were living on it. I'd like to visit the island and show my gratitude to them.

夕方カーテンを開けると、昨日、鹿児島からの船からは眺められなかった屋久島が目の前にあった。あの島には世話になった先輩がいる。必ず挨拶に行きたいと思っている。

To Tanegashima

　　"Rocket 1" was the nickname of my boat, the derived type of boeing 929. I wanted to feel the sense of its floating up, but I found myself already floated a few minutes after the departure. Its speed was really high as I had heard of. Viewing Sakurajima from its southern side, Mt. Kaimondake showed up into the right side window. I know there are some hot spas at the base of this mountain. This area is also one of my favorite spa areas.
　　As the boat turned left just south of Satamisaki Cape, the wave swell got a little strong, but wasn't so hard to make me sick. The boat was making its way smoothly. Satamisaki Cape is the southernmost point of Kyushu and I've never been there. I wanted to visit there some day by land. I'll show you the pictures of Sakurajima and Mt. Kaimondake with the maps.
　　A hospital clerk picked me up at Nishinoomote Port. She told me that it would take an hour to the hospital. The island was larger than I expected. The last picture is taken from my room in the hospital. I would work here for the coming four days.

(Vocabulary)
swell 《常に単数形で》 (波の) うねり
by land 陸路で

船は静かに岸壁を離れた。浮上する瞬間を感じたかったが知らぬ間に浮上していた。スピードはさすがに速い。南側から桜島を眺めていたら右側の窓に開聞岳。ここにも有名な温泉がある。いつか訪れたい。

船は佐多岬を回り込んで外海へ出た。少し揺れが出てきたがたいしたことはない。船は快走している。これほど早くて乗り心地が良いとは意外。佐多岬にも陸路から行ってみたい。九州最南端の岬だ。下に船の位置を示す地図と共に、桜島、開聞岳、佐多岬の写真を載せる。

西之表の港には病院スタッフの迎えがあった。病院まで一時間かかるという。なんと、そんなに大きい島なのか？最後の写真は当直室から撮影したもの。外へ出られるのはしばらく先で、この病院に４日ほど籠もって仕事をする。