Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Beer Trolley Train

　　My hometown, Ehime Prefecture, was hit by a catastrophic rainfall in July and it took so much time to recover. Lots of houses were immersed by muddy water and train tracks were also cut across the prefecture. My friends and I applied for a train tour in May and this tour was so popular that the passengers were chosen by lot. We luckily got tickets for Aug. 6th and the tour re-started on that day, though we were wondering when the tour would start. That is, we came to join the first tour after the disaster. The tour route is well-known as a scenic area, especially for viewing the sunset. I'll show you some pictures taken on the way.

(Vocabulary)
trolley train いわゆるトロッコ列車

Mars

　　I joined a star-gazing meeting held in Kuma Kogen Astronomical Observatory, which was an hour's drive from my house. I heard that Mars would make its closest approach to Earth after 15 years' interval on July 31st. I had applied for it on that day, but the weather wasn't suitable for observation of stars and I visited it on Aug. 2nd. I watched Saturn and Mars with a 60cm reflecting telescope. It seemed that a huge sandstorm happened and the pattern on the surface of Mars was vague due to that. It was regrettable.

Kuma Kogen Astronomical Observatory　久万高原町天体観測館

Kyoto

　　I got two days off and the weather would become better. I didn't know why, but I wanted to see a few acquaintances whom I hadn't seen for a long time. I headed for Kyoto to see a doctor who used to be my medical advisor in the field of gynecology and obstetrics when I was a green doctor. I chatted with him for about 30 minutes after an interval of 30 years. It was great fun. Then I left for Katada city by Lake Biwa to see my old friend. I'll write about him in another entry and I visited a temple in Kyoto city to say hello to my senior surgeon's tomb. I've already written about him in this entry(link). I wasn't able to repress my tears.

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2018/04/uss-bowfin1.html

２日間の休みが取れた。天気予報によれば天気は良いらしい。なぜか急に世話になった先輩医師に会いたくなり、京都へ向かった。まずは大津市へ。約３０年前、研修医時代に産婦人科の指導をして頂いた先生にお目にかかり、３０分ほど近況報告。３０年前の記憶が甦り楽しい時間だった。次に５０年来の友人宅へ寄り、来年の祇園祭の打ち合わせ。来年は泊めてもらって祇園祭を楽しむ相談。(^o^)そして京都市内のあるお寺へ墓参に向かった。このお墓の主については下記のブログに書いた。

Water Supply for Hospital

　　I wrote about the water supply operation by the army in the last entry, but it was not enough in the case of my hospital, as the hospital offered shower-taking opportunities to the neighbors along with inpatient needs, so the neighboring municipalities reached their helping hands to us. Take a look at the following pictures. The red vehicle was a tank truck for firefighting operations. It brought us 10 tons of water twice a day. It was really helpful. As for me personally, I was able to drink hot coffee in my lunchtime break thanks to them! Though Japan is rich in natural disasters, I think that the rescue system also is better compared with other developed countries.

Water Supply

　　As I went to a nearby branch of the municipal library to return the books which I had borrowed before the flood damage, I found a bill on the entrance door which said that the branch would be closed for some time for the restoration of the other branches and the main library. On the parking lot, the water delivery by the army was being done. Several inhabitants were gathering around the supply truck. The water supply system was influenced by the influx of contaminated water into the water purifying plant and it seems we have to wait for its recovery for a week or so.

Torrential Rain

　　Japan is told to be a natural disaster-rich country, but my hometown has been exceptionally free from big disasters until now. People don't mind so much the weather alarm if issued by the meteorological agency, but I was really surprised with the continuing torrential rain these couple of days. The agency had warned us about the massive rain which comes only once or less in a century, but I didn't take it seriously.
　　The heavy rain started on July 5th. I was in my office on the night of July 6th and was to be on duty until the evening of the 7th, but my boss advised me to leave earlier as several pieces of news about landslides near my office came in. Several routes to my home were closed one after another, and the last one is shown below. I was barely able to reach home on this route, but about a few hours after I passed, this route was also closed due to the imminent danger of landslides.

Commuting

　　I commute by car along a seaside route, which is listed as one of the most scenic routes in my prefecture. The driving assistance system of Mercedes is really smart and it sometimes makes me feel sleepy on this comfortable road. The following pictures were taken on the way to refresh myself. My sleepiness will go away while manipulating my camera. What do you think about my car? I think it's great!

Repairing the Television

　　The television in my house went dead abruptly. I don't watch TV much in my daily life, and it should have been a tiny problem. In this period, however, the situation was different. The soccer World Cup was just being held in Russia. The breakdown of the television made it unable to watch the soccer games for some time. It was really regrettable.
　　I called the maintenance division of the nearby electronics retail store. It took more than an hour to identify the reason of the breakdown. It seemed that the replacement of the screen was inevitable, what's more, I had to wait for the delivery of its replacement part for a week at the maximum, though the repair fee was free of charge, as the breakdown had happened during the term of the guarantee.
　　Today, the part was delivered to the store and immediately two maintenance persons brought it to my house in the evening. The following pictures show the procedure of the replacement. I'm a man of curiosity and I'd never seen inside the TV. It was fun to see them transfer the small parts from my TV to the new one.

Okinoshima Island

　　Our ferryboat veered off course to Hakata and passed Okinoshima Island. The waters around there was the scene of a hard‐fought battle in the Russo-Japanese War. Lots of Russian naval vessels were still left on the sea bottom beneath us. We sang a Japanese requiem, "Umi Yukaba," in tribute to the victims and offered Japanese sake.
　　Okinoshima Island is a solitary island in Genkainada, the waters at the north of Kyushu. Lots of national treasures were dug out on the island and it's called "Shosoin in the ocean". FYI, "Shosoin" is the storage facility for the treasures of the Imperial Household. It's a really mysterious island. Women are strictly prohibited to land on it and men are permitted conditionally. There is lots of information on the net. You google "Munakata Taisha".
　　Additionally the flagship of the Japanese Imperial Navy during the sea battle was "Battleship Mikasa" and the name of our ferryboat was also "Mikasa". It was the reason why we were particular with the ferryboat despite its big size for 20 passengers. The real "Mikasa" is now utilized as the museum of the Russo-Japanese War, adjacent to the U.S. naval base of the 7th Fleet in Yokosuka City. I wrote about the trip to Yokosuka City in the following entries so check it!
　　This is the end of the trip memos about Tsushima Island. Thank you for your attention.

https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2009/07/bridge-of-mikas.html

https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2011/07/location-of-sakano-ueno-kumo.html

https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2009/07/flag-z.html

https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2009/07/battleship-mika.html

  

フェリーは博多への航路を離れて沖ノ島のそばを通過した。この場所は日本海海戦の激戦地。我々のいる場所の海底には多くのロシア艦船が眠っている。我々はここで、鎮魂の歌を歌い、御神酒を捧げた。

この島は玄界灘に浮かぶ孤島。数多くの国宝が発掘され、海の正倉院と呼ばれるほどの島だが、いまだに謎の多い島。女人禁制の島で、一般人の立ち入りは厳しく制限されている。ネット上に英語での説明もあると思うので興味のある方々は『宗像大社』でググってみてください。

なお、日本海海戦の際の日本側の旗艦は戦艦三笠、そして我々の乗っている船はフェリーみかさ、我々がこのフェリーにこだわったのはここに理由がある。

長々と書いてきましたが、これで旅行記を終わります。読んでいただきありがとうございました。写真の日付は前回の海外旅行から修正できて折らず間違っています。

 

In Cabin

　　Several dozen beds were arranged for taking a rest in the cabin. Then, walking through the bed area, I found the owner's gadgets. The ferryboat was heading for Hakata, but would detour and pass a famous island. The owner might have thought that we would be bored due to having a lot of free time and he would entertain us with his hobby. However, he didn't need to worry about that. A lively party started with some local sake, which was offered by him.

次にキャビン内を見学。休息用のベッドが並び、その先に、、、社長の趣味の道具が、、このフェリーは博多へ向かっていたのだが、途中大回りをしてある島の近くを通過する予定だった。暇をもてあますだろうと心配した社長が演奏してくれるつもりだったのだろう。が、ここでもやはり飲み会に、、、(^_^;)

In Cabin

　　Several dozen beds were arranged for taking a rest in the cabin. Then, walking through the bed area, I found the owner's gadgets. The ferryboat was heading for Hakata, but would detour and pass a famous island. The owner might have thought that we would be bored due to having a lot of free time and he would entertain us with his hobby. However, he didn't need to worry about that. A lively party started with some local sake, which was offered by him.

次にキャビン内を見学。休息用のベッドが並び、その先に、、、社長の趣味の道具が、、このフェリーは博多へ向かっていたのだが、途中大回りをしてある島の近くを通過する予定だった。暇をもてあますだろうと心配した社長が演奏してくれるつもりだったのだろう。が、ここでもやはり飲み会に、、、(^_^;)

Gorgeous Return Voyage

　　We chartered a ferryboat on the way back to Hakata. As we parted with several companions who would use airlines and go to Hitakatsu port, the ferryboat was waiting for us. The ferryboat was moored at a quay which seemed to be built for big cargo ships. As you see in the following picture, the quay wasn't for ferryboats. Though the passengers were about 20 of us, the fare was quite reasonable by the kindness of the ferry company's owner.
　　Just after getting on the ferryboat, we were admitted to enter into the steering house. That area would be generally limited to crew members, but the owner looked happy to show us various equipment inside. The accuracy of its radar system amazed me. I was able to view the international terminal from the deck. The high speed boat which connected Tsushima and Pusan was moored. The last picture shows our hotel, Kamisou.

対馬からの帰りはフェリーをチャーターした。飛行機利用組と別れて港へ行くと、大型船が横付けする岸壁に写真のようにフェリーが待っていた。乗客は我々だけで２０名ほど。フェリー会社の社長のご厚意で格安で利用させてもらった。

乗船してすぐ、操舵室を見せてもらった。おそらく乗客は立ち入り禁止の場所だろうと思うが、社長が案内してくれた。レーダーの精細さに驚いた。甲板に出ると国際ターミナルが見えた。釜山とを結んでいる高速船が停泊していた。最後の写真は宿泊した花海荘（かみそう）。

Memorial Service 2

　　The ceremony started with the Shinto priests' prayer accompanied by the greetings of the commanders of the Air force, Army and Navy which were dispatched to guard the whole island. I heard that the magnitude of the ceremony was becoming bigger year by year. It might be the rising feelings of condolence to the victims of the sea battle. There were some errors in the usage of words on some papers and signboards, but I'd like to silently watch over the patriotic activities of the local people. All the victims' names were carved on the monument. I wondered if their families or the bereaved knew about this monument. I thought that the ceremony should have been reported overseas, but no correspondent was there. A few buses stopped in front of the relief toward the end of the ceremony and several dozen Koreans came out of the buses. What did they think about the historical facts which the relief had implied?
　　After the ceremony a lecture by our leader, a former member of the House of Representatives, Shingo Nishimura, was held in a nearby community center. His story was targeted to the young soldiers and local youth, and I was really moved. By the way, I found a funny drawing by a famous Japanese personality in the lobby of the center and I'll post it below.

神主の祝詞から式が始まった。国境を護る陸海空軍の責任者の挨拶、地元の行政のトップなどの挨拶があった。式の規模や、地元の慰霊祭に対する思いは年を追うごとに高まっていると聞いた。用語の使い方に少し勉強不足と思われたところもあったが、対馬を担う若者たちの成長を見守りたい。慰霊碑には全犠牲者の名前が彫られているという。ロシアの犠牲者の家族、遺族はこの慰霊祭のことを知っているだろうか。本来なら海外向けに発信できる大手メディアの活躍の場所であるが、残念ながら見かけなかった。式が終わる頃、朝鮮人達を載せたバスがやって来た。この丘からの眺望を楽しむためだろう。バスから降りてきた。前のエントリーで紹介したレリーフの前で立ち止まっている。反日教育に加えて嘘の歴史を教えられている人たちはレリーフを見て何を想うだろうか。

式が終わり、昼食を済ませ、我らが親分西村眞悟先生の講演会に出席。地元の若者たち、陸海空の軍人向けの力強く、感動的な話だった。最後の写真は講演会場の入り口に貼ってあった日本の有名なタレントの絵。ここにもやって来たらしい。

Memorial Service 1

　　The memorial service was held on a hill from which you were able to view the waters on which the sea battle had been fought in 1905. When I got off the bus on the hill, two memorials caught my eye. One was for the victims of the battle and another was for joy at the conclusion of the war between Japan and Russia. People are taking care of both monuments with all their prayers "No more war". Take a look at the following picture of a relief. Two figures, carved in a relief on the stone wall, are shaking hands. One in bed is Zinovij Petrovich Rozhestvenskij, the Russian commander of the second and third Pacific Fleet, which are widely called the "Baltic Fleet" in Japan. The one who visits him in hospital is Japanese Admiral, Heihachirou Togo. Four flags; national flags of Japan and Russia, Japan's naval ensign, and the Z flag were ready in both sides of the relief.
　　I had a little time before the start of the ceremony, so I took a walk to the edge of the hill. According to a signboard which I found there, lots of Russians who had evacuated onto the sea from their military vessels apparently scaled up to the point where I was. They seemed to want to avoid contact with the local Japanese people, but the local people who found them took heartfelt care of them. I wrote about a well, water from which was used for their care in the previous entries. I noticed that two buses stopped at a beach in the distance. They looked like tour buses for Koreans. Tourists were playing light-heartedly on the edge of the surf, which would be clearer than those of Pusan.
　　Would they know the importance of this day? If Korea was a decent country, Japan didn't need to fight the Japanese-Russo War and lots of soldiers from both countries could keep their lives. If Japan had been beaten in the war, Korea would not exist today and Japan would have become a Russian colony. I admire the Japanese of the day who kept my country alive and independent.

(Vocabulary)
Zinovij Petrovich Rozhestvenskij　ロジェストヴェンスキー　バルチック艦隊の司令官
ロシア第２，第３太平洋艦隊は日本ではバルチック艦隊と広く呼ばれている
ensign (船の国籍を示す) 旗
the Japanese-Russo War 日露戦争

慰霊祭は戦域を見渡すことの出来る丘の上で行われる。バスを降りると、そこには戦没者の慰霊碑と共に日露両国の平和、友好を願うレリーフも建っていた。このレリーフを良く見てほしい。ベッドにいるのがロシアのバルチック艦隊の司令官ロジェストヴェンスキーで握手をしている相手が日本帝国海軍元帥東郷平八郎である。敵軍の将を礼をもって見舞っている絵である。日露の国旗、旭日旗、Ｚ旗が準備されていた。

開式まで時間があったので丘の先端まで行ってみた。海戦で海上に逃れ生き残ったロシア兵がこの場所に上がってきたそうである。そして近くの村で手厚く介護された記録が残っている。ふと入江の方を見ると、２台の観光バスが止まり、どうやら南朝鮮人のツアーのようだ。釜山とは比べられないほど美しい海岸で呑気に遊んでいる。

彼らはこの今日という日とこの慰霊祭の意味がわかっているだろうか？朝鮮がまともな国だったら不必要な戦争であった。また、日本が負けていたら、今、朝鮮という国は消滅していただろう。また日本もまたロシアの植民地となっていたはずだ。ロシア艦隊をよくぞ撃滅してくれたものと思う。我が国を存続させてくれたことに対して当時の日本人たちに感謝せずにはおれない。

Distortion

　　Abruptly our bus driver asked us to examine a monument which South Koreans had built recently for some of us knew well about history. He stopped the bus in front of the monument and we carefully checked up on that and found that their argument had no evidence. We wondered why the Koreans love monuments? They had built lots of false or unfounded monuments in Japan. They plot or seem to spread their favorable but factually incorrect information. Some people call their act as "Monument Terrorism". I was lost for words to see their stupid act.

(Vocabulary)
unfounded 根拠のない, 事実無根の

歴史の捏造
　
バスの運転手が、最近朝鮮人が新しく碑を建てたのだが、見てくれないかという。我々の仲間には歴史に詳しいものがいるからである。で、その顕彰碑を確認したのだが、書かれていることには根拠がない。どうしてこうも朝鮮人は石碑が好きなのだろうか。石碑に書けば嘘が真実になるとでも思っているのだろうか。日本のあちこちに石碑を建てて嘘を広めようというまさに『石碑テロ』である。呆れて言葉も出なかった。

Toyo-Hodai Gun Battery Site

　　After the First World War, the Washington Naval Treaty (1921) was concluded to scale the Navy down. As a result, several unnecessary naval guns were set on land to protect some important waters like Tokyo Bay, Tsushima, Iki and so on. I visited one of them, Toyo-Hodai Gun Battery Site and I'll show you pictures below.
　　After the Great East Asian War, this gun battery was once planned to be imploded, but the structure was too tough to be destroyed and was left as it was. By the way, do you know the famous singer, Frank Sinatra? He came to this site as he was one of the ranks of the Allies and he was said to raise a shout of admiration. I don't know if he sang "My Way". (grin) As our driver's father used to work here during the war, the driver gave us a variety of stories concerning the gun battery. If you are interested in other gun batteries on Tsushima island, click the following link, which shows lots of ruins on the island.

(Vocabulary)
Washington Naval Treaty ワシントン海軍軍縮条約

https://tsushima.weebly.com/fortress-ruins.html

第一次大戦後、ワシントン海軍軍縮条約（１９２１）を締結し、旧式戦艦および未完成艦を廃棄することになった。その結果、余剰となった艦砲は東京湾・対馬・壱岐・鎮海などの重要海域の要塞砲に転用されることになった。その一つ、対馬に設置された豊砲台を見に来た。写真に見ての通り、巨大なもので、この海域の防御に効果があったとのこと。
　
大東亜戦争後に爆破・解体処理されることになったが、あまりの頑丈さに破壊は断念され、今に至る。この場所では日本に進駐した兵卒フランク・シナトラが驚嘆の声を上げたと伝わっている。マイ・ウェイを歌ったかどうかは定かではないが。バスのドライバーの父君がここに勤務していた関係で、いろいろと詳しい話を聞くことが出来た。下記のサイトには対馬にある他の砲台跡が載っているので、興味のある向きは是非。

A Lookout

　　The first destination on May 27th was a lookout for South Korea. With clear weather, we could see Pusan, but we couldn't due to a mist. Tsushima island on which we were was actually nearer to Pusan than Kyushu. Thereby for South Koreans, Tsushima island is the nearest part of Japan and so many Koreans visit there. If they behave politely in Japan, I don't mind the increasing number of Korean visitors, but their thefts of Buddhist statues are sharply criticized at present. I won't write about that in detail, but I feel wrathful.

(May 27th)

上対馬町韓国展望台

２７日の最初の目的地は韓国展望台。晴れていると釜山が見えるそうだがこの日は霞がかかっていて見えず。この島は実は九州よりも南朝鮮に近い。なので南朝鮮人にとっては気軽に来れる日本ということで朝鮮人観光客が多い。そのため彼らによる犯罪もよく問題になっている。詳しくはここでは書かないが実に腹立たしい。

Kamisou Hotel

　　We stayed at Kamisou Hotel. As soon as I arrived at the hotel, I went out for a walk with my camera. Following the signboard, I found a monument to commemorate the Showa Tennoh's visit to the island. To my regret, however, caretakers of the monument didn't seem to work faithfully. The signboard was dirty and the plants around the monument were left as they were. I found several historical items like a well, water from which was used to wash off the oil, coal ash and seawater of the Russian soldiers who had been rescued after the sinking of their military vessels on May 28th in 1905. Getting back to the hotel and after taking a bath, a big party was held. It was really a lot of fun.

今日は花海荘という宿に宿泊。保守の大先輩方の話を拝聴するのが楽しみ。宿についてすぐ、カメラだけを持って付近を散策。昭和天皇の対馬への行幸を記念して建てられた碑があったが、管理が行き届いていないように思えた。もう少しなんとかならないものか。ブラブラ歩きながら撮った写真の一部を載せる。日本海海戦に関わる史跡があちこちに残っていた。ホテルに戻り、風呂の後は言うまでも無く宴会。楽しい時間だった。

Watadumi Shrine

　　This shrine has a long hitory connected with Japanese mythology. A few legends concerning the shrine have been handed down since ancient times. The shrine, which was dedicated to two deities, has five torii gates. FYI, the torii is a gateway of a shrine and passing it means that you are entering a sacred space. It's fairly rare for a shrine to have five toriis. What's more, two of five toriis stand in the sea and the general appearance of the shrine varies depending on the ebb and flow of the tide. It helps making the shrine's atmosphere more mysterious. The last picture was quoted from the municipal website.

和多都美神社（わたづみ）

この神社は日本神話に繋がる古い歴史があり、古くから残る伝説もある。この神社は彦火火出見尊（ひこほほでみのみこと）と豊玉姫命（とよたまひめのみこと）を祭る海宮で、本殿正面の５つの鳥居のうち２つは、海中にそびえ、潮の干満により、その様相を変え、遠く神話の時代を偲ばせる神秘的な雰囲気を漂わせています。最後の写真は対馬の観光協会のサイトから拝借したもの。日本の外からのアクセスが多いのでこのような神社もあると言うことで紹介。

Manzekibashi Bridge

　　We landed at a port in the southern part of the island and went up north by bus. A red bridge abruptly appeared in front of us and its name was Manzekibashi Bridge. Our tour leader advised us to walk on the bridge and I followed his words. Looking down from the bridge, I noticed that both sides of the shore were surely artificial. According to the guide, the channel, which we were looking at, was secretly constructed just before the Russo-Japanese War to make it easier for military vessels to move between the eastern and western areas of the island. A signboard was attached saying "Don't Dive Here!" in Korean, and I found a Korean restaurant on the opposite side of the bridge. I realized that this island was really the border island.

위험　　危険
뛰어들지마시오　飛び込まないでください

対馬の南部の港へ上陸して北部へ向かっていた我々の前に立派な橋が現れた。万関橋という名前だった。我々のリーダーが是非この橋は歩いて渡ろうというのでバスから降りて歩いた。下を見ると、両側の岸辺は明らかに人の手が加えられている。聞けば、日露戦争に備え、島の東西を迅速に軍艦を移動させることが出来るよう極秘裏に運河が作られたのだという。飛び込むなと朝鮮語で書かれた板が橋に取り付けられていた。朝鮮語でメニューの書かれた食堂もあった。聞いてはいたが、朝鮮人観光客が多いのだろう。