Yagoshima, Japan

Day 30: Docked in Yagoshima, Japan

 It’s our 9th day in a row of going off the ship for tours that we had signed up for a few weeks
ago. Today was a bit unusual since we didn’t reach the port until 11:00 in the morning. That
allowed for plenty of time for watching the sun rise, for having breakfast, showering, and
sending the next blog to Nicole. Thank you, Nicole!!! It’s getting so much warmer so much
sooner than I had packed for. Today is supposed to be 79 degrees. Not complaining here as we
are aware of snowflakes back home. Brrrrr. Ever since we’ve left the Alaska area, we’ve had
stupendous weather.

Today is Friday and we’re thinking about high school football games, hot chocolate, Iowa
football, and worship on Sunday—you’re all in our thoughts and usually take turns being in our
prayers.

Gratefully, there were no dreams about atrocities of the A-bomb on Hiroshima. I will always
carry some of their stories with me. Today I added some more.

Our ship docked near a large active volcano, but I didn’t see any smoke or ash. This island has
17 active volcanoes. Japan itself has 110, so it should be unsurprising that Japan boasts 28,000
hot springs. Today, we went inland and up among the tree, bush, and fauna-covered
mountains to reach a village called Chiran so that we could see two things: 1) Chiran Peace
Memorial with info about WW2 and the Battle of Okinawa and 2) a village of ancient samurai
houses.

Because our bus’ PA system didn’t work well, our guide’s subdued voice couldn’t be heard in
the back half of our bus; therefore, I was caught totally unaware of what this particular Peace
Museum was about. The brochure we were handed as we received our entry tickets read, “
Chiran Peace Museum preserves and displays materials left by the deceased army pilots of the
unprecedented Tokko operation in Okinawa during the final moments of World War II. Tokko
means suicide. The museum was all about the kamikaze pilots. Breathe.

Outside the museum, we could take photos and we saw a few airplanes they would have used.

See the photo as the green plane is rebuilt at 8/10 original size. Then we saw barracks where
they stayed; above their bunks were actual photos of some of the pilots. Finding anything
translated into English was a task and we had an hour to go inside, watch part of a black and
white film with subtitles, TAKE NO PHOTOS, and view hand-written notes to their mothers the
night before they flew. Only a couple of these notes were translated into English as they were
in poetry form. Here’s one:

“Like cherry blossoms I will fall,

but bravely for you.”

Looking into rows upon rows of glass display cabinets, we saw some of their uniforms. One
exhibit showed parachutes they didn’t use—one parachute was a handkerchief with long
strings attached. We viewed the rows upon rows of military medals donated by their families,
some stories of how and why they volunteered to learn how to fly (never knowing that ‘tokka’
would be their fate), and I worked at breathing. Most of the visitors there were Japanese. I felt
like a voyeur. The brochure said that the museum’s purpose is “the tragedy of war should
never be repeated again.”

"To die is to be reborn and to gain paradise."

Our second stop was a cooling balm called Chiran Gardens. Here the history from the Edo

Period (1600-1868) can be easily seen. Back then, land was divided into “estates,” (In earlier
blogs we’ve called them feudal lords) who have varied degrees of rank and importance in ruling
clans. Here in Chiran district which used to be called the Satsuma territory, the “Sata family”
was appointed estate steward because the Satas were shirttail relatives of the famous ruler of
this territory; therefore, allowing them the opportunity to gain status and have their own army
of samurai warriors. In the photos, you will see some of the preserved houses for the estate
steward, for the guests who were lavishly entertained, and for the samurai. We’ve shown you
some of these before, but it’s fun to revisit the wooden floors elevated about 2 ft. above the
ground for aeriation, the rice paper in place of screens on sliding wooden frames, and some
lovely furnishings on floor level for tea services and for dining. This is referred to in Japan as
being “in the style of Satsuma’s Futomo architecture.” One of the current owners left her tea
shop to come and show us an unusual feature for one of her sliding doors: the entire door
actually swiveled at the corner to easily glide into place at the perpendicular wall. Oooh aaahh.

Look at the Koi!

This island is beautifully forested on its mountainous terrain and Chiran offers folk to witness
how the ancient tradition of the garden-building culture actually started in Japan…why and how
prominent people constructed either dry or wet gardens in their backyards or in the open areas
nearby. We walked along curved stone walls with bushes and trees above and between the
walls to provide privacy and delineate property lines. There are 7 different personal family
gardens preserved in this zone and we were able to wander in and out of two of the seven. In
the photos you’ll see tight spaces that have been artistically and proudly designed. Imagine 2-3
busloads of foreigners squeezing into intimate backyards and through narrow gates. Huh.
We’re so very blessed to have these opportunities.