Broadcasting to an audience of three (and a goldfish)... Comment, ramblings and musings... life through the eyes of a Japanologist...   Saturday, December 7, 2002 J-List Saijo sake brands Kamoizumi Hakubotan Kamotsuru Fukubijin Saijotsuru Sanyotsuru Chiyonoharu Kirei Sakurafubuki Kamoki      And here...      And here...      There'll be something about Saijo here, as soon as I get it off my Clie...      Pearl Harbor      Kamikaze      This morning, I went on the Naval Base tour, with Osaki-kun, and his friend, who'd come down from Tokyo. This was about the tenth time I'd been on the tour, and I realise every time that each guide has his own set of anecdotes and tidbits of information. Some guides are really informative and interesting; others just give the bare facts. Luckily, though, the guide this time was one of the better ones. He recognised me as being from Etajima, and told everyone else, with a glance at me, that he'd better not make any jokes about the fact that the PX shop was about the third largest supermarket in the whole of Etajima, because if he did anyone from Etajima on the tour would be annoyed... First of all, we stopped in front of the large hall used only for entrance ceremonies and graduations. Normally the tour isn't allowed into this hall, but today, for some reason, we were able to enter. The outside of the building is in a western style- I suppose there isn't really a Japanese style for stone buildings- but inside, the British influence is completely clear. In fact, it reminds me of nothing more than the Assembly Hall at Nottingham High School, albeit with a balcony around the sides. The guide mentioned an interesting piece of information I hadn't heard before, that during the post-war occupation of Japan, the hall had been used as a church by the occupation forces stationed on the island. Etajima's history really is fascinating. We paused again at the red-brick Seitokan that is the symbol of the Naval Base- of Etajima, even- and the guide explained that the bricks were brought all the way from England on a warship, wrapped individually in oiled paper. I knew this fact, but nevertheless, looking at the sheer length of the building- it must be about 100 metres in length- the mind boggles. Normally after this the tour walks to the sea-edge, where there is a huge gun from the battleship Mutsu, and also the cutters, but today, perhaps because of the rain, we didn't walk this far, but instead the guide explained the gun and the cutters from the red-brick building, and we went straight to the Kyoiku-sankokan, the Educational Museum. I've been inside this museum any number of times, so the first of the three rooms of exhibits- paintings, calligraphy, and various possessions, medals, etc. belonging to famous Japanese naval officers, no longer holds any particular interest for me. However, the second and third rooms move me almost to tears every time I see them. They detail the 'suicide' submarines and planes used by the Japanese in the Pacific War; in particular, the third room is full of the final letters left by the young men before they went off to their deaths.      © Copyright 2003 Nathan Duckworth. Updated: 20/1/03; 2:21:05 pm.

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