Nagasaki

We can now post another update, after having a couple of days without internet access. When we left Kumamoto on Jan. 10 we travelled, via JR trains, to Nagasaki. There we checked into Minshuku Tanpopo, a small family-operated traditional Japanese inn. We slept on futons on the floor in a tatami mat room, and ate our breakfast and dinner (lots of fresh fish and vegetables) each day at the minshuku. The inn was within walking distance of the important World War II sites of Nagasaki, and we spent our first afternoon exploring them. The most significant is probably the Atomic Bomb Museum, which houses lots of artifacts and memorabilia associated with the bombing of the city on August 9, 1945.

The epicenter of the blomb blast in the middle of the modern city

Just a few of the many colorful origami cranes throughout the museum site

Just as they have at Hiroshima, visitors to Nagasaki have left thousands of origami paper folded cranes at the museum and nearby memorials. Although the Nagasaki museum is an important place to see, the exhibits are not as extensive or numerous as those at Hiroshima. There are, however, interesting chronologies showing some of the events leading up to the war and the bombing, and there is a lifesize replica of “Fatman,” the bomb that leveled Nagasaki. Ironically, Nagasaki was the secondary target for “Bockscar,” the plane carrying the bomb, but the primary target, Kokura, was obscured by smoke or clouds; even so, Nagasaki still nearly escaped bombing due to cloud cover, but just before deciding to call off the raid, the Americans were able to gain sight of the Mitsubishi shipyard, and released the bomb. The experience at Nagasaki reminds us, yet again, that for all our supposed human intelligence and sophistication we seem unable to find ways to coexist peacefully in the world.

The reconstructed Chief Factor's Residence on Dejima Island

The reconstructed warehouses on Dejima

The reconstructed sea gate on Dejima

Perhaps the most interesting feature of Nagasaki is the preservation and restoration of Dejima, the tiny Dutch island trading post that, for a couple of centuries (mid 1600s to mid 1800s), was Japan’s only real connection to the Western world. Dejima was a man-made island in Nagasaki harbor, where the Dutch traders (Dutch East India Company) landed their ships (which only came once or twice a year) and where a small permanent contingent of Dutch people lived. Most of the Dutch were not allowed to leave the island, and except for interpretors and officials, Japanese were not allowed on the island. Thus, Dejima was the filter through which Western news, goods, and people reached Japan. Although the Japanese carefully controlled the materials and information coming into Japan, Dejima nevertheless was an important source of Western medical and scientific knowledge, and some members of the Dejima community (especially physicians) became both respected and important for the service and information they provided the Japanese.

In the 1850s Japan opened other ports to Western trade, and the Dutch East India Company was abolished. Soon thereafter, the land around Dejima was reshaped and the island was reclaimed as a part of Nagasaki harbor. As a result, today there is no island—Dejima is surrounded by a neighborhood. However, a major restoration is underway, and many of the buildings of Dejima are being reconstructed. The old walls and foundations have been excavated, and there is a long-term plan to once again surround Dejima with water. The entire island was fan-shaped and tiny--only about 70 meters wide by 200 meters or so in length. It resembles a small village, with one street running the length of the village, and one very short cross street in the center. It would have been an incredibly boring place to live, we assume—no freedom to come and go, very little access to outside information, and no native language (Dutch) reading materials except those that people brought with them. All in all, a fascinating place.

Nagasaki from Glover's Garden

The harbor at Nagasaki from Glover's Garden

We also visited an area of Nagasaki known as Glover’s Garden. As Japan became more open in the mid 19th century, a number of Westerners settled in Nagasaki and became important figures in business and culture in the area. One of these was Thomas Blake Glover (1838-1911), a Scot who arrived in Nagasaki in 1859. He became a very successful business man and industrialist, and was instrumental in such developments as the first Japanese railroad and establishment of the famous Kirin Beer company. He married a Japanese woman and lived all his adult life in Japan. His home, and those of several other important Westerners, have been situated on a landscaped hillside overlooking the harbor and are open to the public. These houses are generally Western in design, with some Japanese touches, and are probably more interesting to Japanese people than they are to Western visitors. We nevertheless found them worth a look.

Yesterday, January 12, our (very friendly and accommodating) host at the minshuku drove us to the local train station in Nagasaki, where we caught the JR to Hakata Station back in Fukuoka, and from there the Shinkansen to Kobe. After finding our hotel and resting for a couple of hours, we set out to meet our friend Junko (from Kwansei Gakuin University), who treated us to a wonderful teppanyaki seafood dinner on the upper floor of a beautiful hotel overlooking the bay. We had an evening of good conversation and fine food. Today has been a kind of catch-up day in Kobe, with the morning spent doing laundry and the afternoon strolling around some old familiar shopping areas in Kobe. After an early dinner downstairs in the hotel, we’re settled in for a quiet evening before spending a part of the day tomorrow with our friends Miwa and Lee, visiting a nearby museum dedicated to the work of writer and philosopher Junichiro Tanizaki. More about that later.