Nagasaki, Part 2

So one of the guys (DeOrio) over at Trans-Pacific Radio has a "Defense of ex-Defense Minister Kyuma" re: the recent Nagasaki hullaballoo.

Hrm.

OK, I'll grant him many of the things he's said. But I won't go so far as to exonerate Kyuma for the remark in the first place. Here's why:

I grew up with the notion, and even repeated a few times in my life, that dropping the bomb "ended the war, saving many lives in the long run." But the lives saved? Soldiers, probably. Americans, certainly. The more we understand about war (and that one in particular), the harder it is to condemn the Germans for "just standing by while a dictator took over and exterminated people," etc. We weren't going to get our feet wet until Pearl Harbor, so American agendas for "life-saving" ring hollow except for protecting our own people. If the Japanese hadn't "awakened the sleeping giant," we would have said fuck the Koreans, fuck the Chinese, and let the Japanese continue to spread their empire throughout Asia, until they finally butted heads with us.

Walking through Hiroshima, seeing the museum, and thinking about these:








If you're a politician from Japan, especially from Nagasaki... fuck. You think before you talk, and just spouting the American history textbook line... I don't think so. I see the points being made, and I see what Kyuma was saying, and I even understand why the author's not thrilled about WHY Kyuma's gone when he's f'd up so many times before. But no. This is that last straw, I think. But it's a straw nonetheless, and to compare it to the "niggardly" thing (which I'm glad to see in print, and know the final outcome of after all this years) seems inaccurate at best.

Also, re: the mayor. Yeah, he may be politicizing this to his benefit... but I wonder if the writer has been to the museum in Hiroshima and seen the plaques commemorating every letter written by a mayor of Hiroshima protesting every instance of nuclear weapons testing since WWII. I don't know, but it would not surprise me if the mayor of Nagasaki feels a similar responsibility. If so, then it would be a lapse in his role and duties NOT to respond in some way to Kyuma's comment. I'm really curious to know if this is the case.

句作 - Kusaku

"Kusaku" means "composing haiku"

This weekend I worked on this:

nigakatta ka?
me ga ocha mitai
kuchi amai

苦かったか？
目がお茶みたい
口甘い

LITERAL:

was it bitter?
eyes look like tea
mouth sweet

TRANSLATED:

eyes like pure brown tea
the past's hidden bitterness?
lips sweet like sugar


But I'm thinking that maybe it should be like this:

甘い口
目がお茶みたい
苦かったか？

sweet mouth
eyes look like tea
was it bitter?

lips sweet like sugar
the past's hidden bitterness?
eyes like pure brown tea

Japanese English and Language Atrophy

In Japan, I often hear some odd "Japanese" English, which is usually English vocabulary used in a very Japanese way, or used oddly as part of Japanese culture. Some of these words make sense to my American ears but seem cute, and some I only comprehend because I understand differences between British and American English. I could go into a list, and may at some point, but there are lots of resources about this out there.

Two words, though, that I have encountered that have moved me, and made me think about the way we've let our own vocabulary shrivel and die on the vine:

Enjoy: The Japanese use this as a transitive verb, in a way that we (in America) seldom do. "Let's enjoy takoyaki." or "Let's enjoy onsen together." or "Have you enjoyed Suntory whiskey before?" This usage is quaint, to me, but damn. I wish I could and did enjoy more things, rather than just try, or eat, or do them. What a great verb that we've mostly left for special occasions, or after the fact.

Appreciate: I was at a bar with Masui-sensei and Iwamoto-sensei, after the English department enkai (party) a couple months ago, and we were talking about what made Nara-ken (the prefecture where I live) so special. We talked about the history (Nara was the first "capital of Japan" and is the land of the Yamato people, and covered in temples and ruins), but we also talked about the differences between Nara and Kyoto. Kyoto is world-famous, it's huge, it's sophisticated and metropolitan. It's loaded with history, but it's very European in its style and layout. It's spread out and sprawling. The people tend to speak English, and there's a huge French influence. I was saying that I liked Nara more because it's smaller, more intimate, and the people are very blue-collar. Nara is made up of mostly working class folks, who tend their rice fields, work in the lumber industry, and fulfill service roles in the neighboring regions, like Kyoto and Osaka. I said I liked living in Nara because the people felt very real, very authentically Japanese in a way that wasn't romanticized by Orientalism and making things exotic. Nara-jin are just folks, warts and all.

Masui-sensei said to me "You know, I really appreciate you." This floored me a bit. I thought about it, and I know he meant that he appreciated what I was saying, and my sentiment. But damn, everyone needs to hear that sometimes... "I appreciate YOU." Not just what you're saying, but you, as a person, as someone I know, that I interact with.

Why don't we appreciate people more, verbally?

Otsukaresamadeshita

Iwamoto-sensei just told me that the farewell speech I wrote (for the student council president to read to the exchange student) was "Money."

Ongaku

Great blog about Japanese music, especially live concerts in Tokyo -Japan Live

Ultimate Team Website

So there's almost no content yet, but here's the splash for the Shika Fun website. The photos link works, but there's nothing else yet. I hope to have the roster up soon, and finish the site sometime tomorrow or Thursday. I'll have pix and results from the Tajima Tournament next week.

Myouji no Kanji

Common kanji (Chinese characters) used in family names
(I left 本　"moto" (source, book) and 大　"oo"/"dai" (big) off this list because I knew them already)

Legacy

Recently, the Japanese Minister of Defense commented that the atomic bombing of Nagasaki "could not be helped."

Asahi Shimbun editorial

I'm not sure what else I can say. The whole thing is overwhelming. I've been to Hiroshima, to the museum, and it's still overwhelming. Being in Japan now is sobering, some days. Walking around Hiroshima, I wanted to walk up to everyone I saw and apologize. No, I'm not sure if any Japanese people want to do that when they go to Hawaii, or China, or Korea. But the utter, immediate, ungodly devastation of that weapon... twice.

my haiku from the day of my visit