Before I came to Fukuoka, I was asked what sightseeing things I would like to do while I was here. Nagasaki was on that list, and so today Ishii-san and Sasaki-san pick me up at 9:00 AM for a day trip to that area.
Our travels take us along the Nagasaki Expressway – a toll road that travels through the mountains of this southeastern peninsula of Kyushu. There are plenty of tunnels along the way, and lots of valleys; it’s a beautiful drive, reminding me a great deal of driving through the Appalachians in the eastern U.S.
Sasaki-san has grandparents that used to run a fish shop in Nagasaki, and she has spent a lot of time there, so she has a list of things for us to see and do. Our first stop is along a river that runs through the center of the older part of town; this river has many stone bridges that cross it, but one in particular is noteworthy. The bridge is listed as the oldest stone bridge in Japan, and it is called the Spectacles Bridge, because its stone arches and center support pillar look very much like old-fashioned eyeglasses (complete with a nose upon which they sit). The effect is heightened when the water is at usual levels and calm, because the reflected arch completes the circle of the eyeglass frame. While low water prevents us from seeing this view directly today, there is a display of photos not far away, some of which show the bridge at its bespectacled best.
Nagasaki is known for its Chinatown area, one of the three largest in Japan. For more than 200 years, Nagasaki was the only open port available to foreigners of any sort wishing to enter Japan (during the 1600s and 1700s), and so its resident population of Chinese and other foreign nationals was much larger than in any other part of Japan for a long time. The Chinatown area has shops and many, many restaurants, famous for good Cantonese and Mandarin cooking.
When we sit down for lunch, we decide to order several different dishes and share them around, a custom that is quite popular among Japanese. (In fact, Sasaki-san tells me that some Chinese restaurants have tables with center sections that turn, a la Lazy Susan style. I have also seen this arrangement at one or two Chinese restaurants in the U.S., ones that are noted for authentic cooking styles.) We end up with fried rice, lo mein with vegetables, a noodle soup also with vegetables and pork, and steamed pork dumplings topped with shrimp.
I have always known that, like “Mexican” food, what Americans call “Chinese” is something that has been adjusted and modified to suit American tastes, but confronting the reality is something else. While this may or may not be completely Chinese, it is a far cry from the American stuff – fried rice that actually has a bit of a crunch, vegetables that haven’t been lost in the soup or sauce, dumplings that are freshly steamed and delicious. It’s a great lunch, and one that I would like to try again sometime.
After lunch, we walk to the tram station (in the center of the street). Nagasaki and Hiroshima both have these instead of subways – cable cars that get their power from overhead electric lines and run on tracks in the middle of the street (very much like San Francisco’s cable cars). Our destination is the Nagasaki Peace Park and the A bomb museum.
The Peace Park has a fountain dedicated to the victims of the blast, in remembrance of their terrible thirst in the immediate aftermath of the bombing, and a statue of a great being, representing both God and Buddha, praying for peace over the victims. Not far from the park is the epicenter of the bomb and the museum.
I had already seen the Hiroshima museum (in 2003), but it is still an unsettling experience to view these exhibits about the atomic bomb blast and its effects on the land and the people. Nagasaki had a smaller death toll, due to a difference in terrain and placement of the bomb, but it was still terrible, and it was made worse by the fact that this was the second such bomb to be dropped – the basic destructive capabilities were already known and being displayed for the world at Hiroshima. Another surreal image was that of seeing several videos made during the initial tests before the bombs were used. These are the same films that those of my generation used to see over and over as part of our education on ‘what to do if they launch the big one.’ To see those images side by side with real pictures of real people suffering was more than a bit unnerving.
Our final stop of the day is Urakima Cathedral, a Catholic church built during the open port days of Nagasaki, located not far from the bomb epicenter. While the church has been completely rebuilt (and has an active population of worshipers), there are plenty of artifacts left from the destruction of the original building to remind one that an atomic bomb has no boundaries, either political or religious; only a few of the statues survived intact, and the large stone crucifix at the front of the sanctuary was dashed to pieces; only the body of Christ remained (identified by the spear mark and nails). A most sobering reflection, indeed…..
Ishii-san and Sasaki-san have gifts for me when we return to the car for our trip home – books from the museum gift shop, showing the exhibits and information about the Nagasaki Peace initiative. These will be used with my classes.
Back to Dazaifu, and a long night’s rest. Sunday is a holiday for me ; nothing scheduled and I can sleep in.
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