The Ghosts of World War II and Tateyama War Sites, Day #4, Monday, May 18

Tateyama historian, Noboru Aizawa's life work is to keep the horrors of WWII alive
 for present and future generations.  Behind him is perhaps the only monument in Japan
dedicated to the memory of the "comfort women." 

The Akayama Underground Tunnels -- World War lurks even more vividly than usual here in Tateyama as the memories of B-29s flying overhead on their way to destroy Tokyo are still fresh.  And kept fresh by a group of local historians led by Noboru Aizawa, a passionate activist determined to keep the history of Japan's involvement and responsibilities alive.  The Tateyama area has many world war II locations still visible and open for exploration, including the kamikaze bunkers and the defensive tunnels that run for miles back under the earth.  With our encouragement almost 20 years ago, and the assistance of local government (local governments are beginning to realize the tourist potential) the evidence of the war is becoming increasingly public. 

The Japanese government's problems with memory. It is ironic that, as the Japanese government dithers about just what memory of the war should be kept - if any -- these local historians and volunteers have decided to keep it all alive, including one of the most sensitive topics of all - the "comfort women" who were used as prostitutes during the war both in Japan and in the Empire. 

The Silent Scream - There is a monument here -- one built in the 1980s -- to the memory of the comfort women.  So, while the government can't decide what to say, Aizawa and his cohorts are saying it to anyone willing to listen.  This may have been one of the most powerful moments I have every had in Japan or anywhere else.  Many were weeping while Aizawa-sensei reminded us of this story, not only for the story of the brutality of war, but also in admiration of Aizawa-san and his commitment and passions.

And, as with many monuments, its true power comes when it is brought to life by someone -- a strong, sometimes courageous person who stands before it, to remind us of exactly what the symbol represents.  No amount of interpretive signage or smart phone apps can do that.  It takes a living, breathing, sensitive engaged human to bring it to life.  Aizawa-sensei is that man. 

We are honored to share this place with him, and we will do everything possible to encourage and support him.

Aizawa-sensei with our group inside the Akayama tunnel
describing how the tunnel might have been used as a "last stand"
location for Japanese military and civilians had there been an Allied
invasion in 1945.

Aizawa took us to the precise location where U.S. troops first landed
in Tateyama in September, 1945.  Both the Japanese civilians who witnessed
the landing and the US Army troops were delighted that none of
the violence each expected occurred.  Peace broke out here 70 years ago.  That's
our intrepid leader and translator, Kaori Mizoguchi on the left.







Tokyo to Tateyama

Sanja Matsuri - Sunday, May 17 - We purposely spend our first night in Tokyo -- in the Royal Park Hotel  - lovely -- and then dashed off, on foot and through the subway system to the Asakusa District to experience -- one does not just observe, one EXPERIENCES -- the largest festival of the year -- an estimated 2,000,000 people over the three days.  We split into small groups and out we went.  Amazing.  There's no place on earth that folks could be in such close proximity and not be afraid.  Trust.  Pushing and shoving through the crowds.  And the mikoshi -- the shrines are borne like shining gold creatures through the streets. 

The Sanja Matsuri sea of humanity

The Matsuri Team of Yoshi Ota - left to right - Lydon, Ota-san, Claudia MacLeod, Jon Drier, and Alice Drier at Asakusa Shrine, Tokyo

History Dude, right, giving Tateyama City Mayor a large abalone shell from California.  The shell was provided by our resident abalone pickers, Frank and Joy Souza.

The group was totally immersed in Tateyama local history including visiting several World War II sites and standing on the sport where Allied GIs landed in September, 1945.

 

Group has arrived in Tokyo! United Flight 875 arrived on time, and after a busy but efficient immigration clearance, we gathered our luggage, met Kaori Mizoguchi and loaded into the bus where Kaori distributed a lovely goody bag to each member and then a packet with a ton of information, maps and detailed itinerary.  Kaori is the most organized person in the world.

The adventure has begun and tomorrow we venture off into the Sanja Matsuri.

Stay tuned!

Japan 2015 Map of Itinerary

                                          Our Route - May 16 - May 31, 2015

Our itinerary. 

The Group Members

                                         

Lydon-Mizoguchi -- Japan 2015 

1)  Atkinson, Carolyn

2)  Atkinson, Chuck

3)  Chien, Agnes

4)  Crawford, Diane

5)  De la Cruz, Ramon

6)  De la Cruz, Ricardo

7)  Drier, Alice

8)  Drier, Jon

9)  Eckhardt, Terry

10)  Elder, Susie

11)  Fatemi, Farnaz

12)  Irons, Mary Ellen

13)  King, Rosie

14)  Ley, Nancy

15)  Ley, Rob

16)  Lydon, Annie

17)  Lydon, Sandy

18)  MacLeod, Claudia

19)  Morrissey, Yoshie

20)  Nelson, Howard

21)  Rabkin, Sarah

22)  Richards, Alan

23)  Rothman, Diana

24)  Rouse, Ruth

25)  Satow, Ellie

26)  Schwind, Jan

27)  Skenazy, Paul

28)  Souza, Frank

29)  Souza, Joy

30)  Stevens, Jack

31)  Stevens, Wendy

32)  Waldron, Jeff

33)  Yamaguchi, Don

1

Blog Purpose and Itinerary

The Abalone Connection: Shining shells across the sea.

Two abalone shells originally harvested off the California coast by Japanese divers and brought to Minamiboso as gifts.

 
Our Return to Japan - So many anniversaries!  This is the 50th anniversary of my first visit to Japan in 1965 while I was a graduate student at the East-West Center in Honolulu.  I've brought many groups to Japan since, but in 1995 - 20 years ago, I discovered the Minamiboso area from which many of the Japanese fishermen immigrated to the Monterey Bay Region, and in particular, the abalone divers.
    It was in 1995 that I met  Kaori Mizoguchi who has been my friend and collaborator ever since.  Kaori has brought many of her neighbors from Minamiboso to California, and we have brought many of our friends to Japan.  However, when the yen became so strong that we could no longer afford to travel in Japan, we put our trips on hold.  This year, as the dollar strengthened against the yen, Kaori and I began planning our return. 
      Thus, on this visit we will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Lydon-Mizoguchi partnership, and many friends await us in Minamiboso.

   The Group - There are 33 of us all told.  Most are from the immediate Santa Cruz County area, but we also have representatives from Castroville (!), Monterey, Boise Idaho, Portland, and Hawai'i. 

    This Blog - I will be attempting to make daily postings on this blog along with a photograph or two.  However, though I value your opinion on many of the things we'll be discussing -- whaling, comfort women, World War II -- I won't have time to chat with you.  Nor even read your thoughts about things.  You'll have to be satisfied to "think to yourself" -- kind of like when the nuns at Sacred Heart School in Hollister told us to "read to ourselves."  Whom else might we be reading to??  So, this blog is designed not to accept comments. 

Day #1 – Fri., May 15 – Depart SFO on United Airlines Flight #875

Day #2 – Sat., May 16 – Arrive Tokyo (Haneda Airport) – We are flying to and from the more centrally-located Haneda Airport as it will offer us a better opportunity to experience the Sanja Matsuri on Sunday.  Transfer from airport to hotel – Tokyo Hotel is the Royal Park

Day #3 – Sun. May 17 – Sanja Matsuri – The largest festival in Japan.  Then depart Tokyo for for Tateyama.  Check in to Tomiura Royal Hotel for first of 4 nights.

Days #4 – 7 – Segment #1 – Tateyama and Minami-boso

Using the Tomiura Royal as our base, we will spend the next four days and evenings with our long-time friends exploring this beautiful, rural and historic part of Japan.  We will be highlighting several themes including:

·         The abalone diving history that connects Tateyama and the Monterey Bay Region.  

·         World War II – 2015 marks the 70^th anniversary of the end of the war.  We believe that we should celebrate the war’s end and the seventy years of peace between the United States and Japan. We will visit the place where Allied troops first landed in September, 1945 as well as tour tunnel complexes and kamikaze aircraft bunkers that were prepared to defend against an Allied invasion should it have occurred.  We will be guided by local historians and eyewitnesses.

·         Comfort women – One of the stories that continue to haunt the World War II landscape is that of the women who were forced into prostitution to service Japanese troops throughout Asia.  We will visit one of the few (only?) monuments in Japan dedicated to the memory of these women as well as a special support village currently providing support for ex-prostitutes. 

·         Gaibo Hogei Shore Whaling Station – Over the past 20 years we have developed a deep friendship with Shoji-san, the owner and manager of one of the few shore-whaling stations still operating on the coast of Japan.  Our visit there will include the cemetery where the spirits of the individual whales are honored and commemorated by the company.   

·         Hiking and Exploring -- Our hotel is located on top of a stunning peninsula, and there’s a pathway leading down to a pebbled beach that is famous for its seashells.  And seaglass.

 

Matsuo Basho, Japan's most revered poet.  We will be following part of his journey and reading his poems.

Segment #2 – Basho and the Road to the North – We have designed the second half of our adventure, loosely, around Japan’s most famous journey (and one of the world’s most famous travelogues), taken by poet Matsuo Basho in 1689, beginning in Tokyo.  Every Japanese knows the story and many of the haiku poems that he wrote along the way, and they will be delighted when they find out that we Americans will be following (at least in part) in Basho’s footsteps.  

Day #8  - Fri. May 22 – Tateyama back to Tokyo –A day in Tokyo.  At the conclusion we will venture over to Yokoyama Stadium to see a Japanese baseball game. 

Day #9 – Sat. May 23 – Tokyo – With the assistance of some of our friends, we will be traveling throughout Tokyo on public transportation to experience one of the most efficient and amazing transportation systems in the world.  We have tentatively scheduled visits to the Tokyo Sky Tree, the Asakusa District and, of course, the Basho Museum.

Day #10 – Sun. May 24 – Tokyo to Nikko – We now begin shadowing Basho, though we’ll be doing it on a bus.

Day #11 – Mon. May 25 – Nikko to Yamagata and Sendai – We will continue northward, visiting the Risshakuji temple where Basho wrote one of his most famous haiku and eventually arriving in Sendai.

Day #12 – Tues. May 26 – Sendai – Two themes will merge here – Basho’s continuing journey, and the Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11, 2011.  We will be visiting the area that is recovering from the tsunami and will meet some of the survivors.

Day #13 – Wed. May 27 – Sendai Area – Hiraizumi Choson-ji Temple – strolling around the site – this is a World Heritage site – lots of history.  Then we drive to the port of Sendai and board the Taiheiyo Ferry – overnight aboard the ferry to Tomakomai, Hokkaido.  It is in this area that we leave Basho’s journey and continue on to Hokkaido.

Day #14 – Thurs May 28 – Tomakomai to Biratori to Noboribetsu – One of the reasons for coming to Hokkaido is to pursue the story of the Ainu.  We will visit the Ainu museum in Biratori and then continue on, through beautiful Hokkaido to Noboribetsu, one of the most famous hot spring resorts in Japan.  We will be staying in the Mahoroba hotel that has an in-house onsen.

Day #15 – Fri. May 29 – Noboribetsu to Hakodate – We will drive through some of Hokkaido’s volcano country, stopping to hike and visit a volcano museum on our way to Hakodate. In the evening we will visit the famous Hakodateyama.

Day #16 – Sat. May 30 – Hakodate – A free day to explore Hakodate on foot and public transportation.  Plenty of guidance about where to go, what to see.

Day #17 – Sun. May 31 – Hakodate to Haneda to SFO – This is one of those travel days where you get up and leave Japan and arrive in San Francisco before you left.  We will fly from Hakodate to Haneda, and then board our late evening United Airlines flight to SFO that is scheduled to arrive early evening, Sunday, May 31.  (see International Dateline for details…)