Before we could take the Nagasaki Memorial Tour, we had to go through Japanese immigration. The inspection officers took our fingerprints, scanned our eyes and took our temperature. We were behind schedule so we had no time to obtain Japanese money (yen) because we had to board the tour bus immediately. Then one couple was left behind at the terminal so the bus had to go back to our starting point to get them. So far, we do not have warm and fuzzy feelings about Japan. Ken had his cold weather training in Japan at Mt. Fujiama while in the Marines so he has never been in Japan as a tourist.
The Port of Nagasaki was opened by the Feudal War Lord in 1570 so the city could trade with Portugal. From the mid 1600s to the mid 1800s while Japan was closed to the rest of the world, Nagasaki was the only point of contact to the outside world for 200 years.
But when most people think of Nagasaki, they remember it as the site of the second atomic bomb, Fat Man, that was dropped on August 9, 1945, and became the beginning of the end of WWII. Sara will readily admit that she never studied WWII in her American History classes. Every year, the teacher got to WWII after Memorial Day and then it was the end of the school year. She was surprised to learn that Nagasaki was the backup site for the bombing. Kokura was the primary site but the Bockscar abandoned those plans because of cloud cover and went on to Nagasaki. When the the clouds broke briefly, the crew saw the Mitsubishi Steel Works Office Building and dropped the bomb.
Our first stop was the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum that was opened on the 50th anniversary of the bombing to demonstrate the threat of nuclear weapons. Our tour guide Hiroko told us that darkness was kept inside the building, no flash pictures could be taken, and she could not provide commentary.
When one enters the museum, the first thing heard is a clock ticking. One of the first exhibits is a clock that stopped at 11:02 a.m., the exact moment of the explosion. Other exhibits are a contorted fire tower, water tank and staircase from the Mitsubishi office building, the Urakami Cathedral and the Yamazoto Primary School. The special exhibit while we were there was of bombing artifacts that include coins, bottles and plates that melted together and melted rosaries. Probably the most chilling exhibit was the bones of a hand in melted glass. Clothing, telephone poles and trees were scorched as far as two kilometers from Ground Zero. President Truman said, "We have used it (the atomic bomb) to shorten the agony of war." We agree with his decision but seeing the consequences was difficult.
Next, we walked to Ground Zero, where the bomb hit and exploded 500 meters up. The statue there is of a woman holding a wounded child. In a black box on an altar-type table are bricks on which the names of the victims are kept. Every year in June, the bricks are taken out of the box to dry in the sun. Also, at Ground Zero are the remains of the Urakami Cathedral. The total of dead was 73,884 while the total of injured was 74,909. The population of Nagasaki in 1945 was about 240,000. One third of the city was destroyed. Seeing Ground Zero in Nagasaki made Sara feel the same way as when she saw Ground Zero of the Twin Towers in New York City.
Then we rode to Peace Park, which was established in 1955 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the bombing. The right hand of the Peace Statue points upward depicting the threat of the atomic bomb, the left hand stretches horizontally to appeal for tranquility and world peace, the closed eyes offer a prayer for the souls of the atomic bomb victims, and the hair is modeled after Jesus Christ. The statue is half Buddhist and half Christian with the folded right leg representing quiet meditation. Water surrounds the statue because many of the bombing victims either died of thirst or begged for water. Water could be found everywhere in the park. At the monument built to console the spirits of the school children who had died, some people left bottles of water.
The Fountain of Peace was constructed in the shape of doves' wings to symbolize peace and offer water to the souls of victims who begged for water after the bombing. In the 1960s, Japan asked nations to donate statues to Peace Park. More nations offered statues than could be accommodated. The statue from Japan is a young boy and girl sitting on a bench feeding the birds. St. Paul, Minnesota, the sister city of Nagasaki that is the oldest sister city affiliation in the world, contributed Constellation Earth. The seven human figures in a ball represent the seven continents. Their interdependency stands for global peace and solidarity.
On the way back to the ship, we passed Nyokodo, the home of Dr. Takashi Nagai who, though injured by the bomb, assisted the victims and launched studies concerning bomb related diseases until his death at the young age of 43; the one-legged Torri Gate as it was left after the bombing; and Chinatown. On the sidewalk, a group of young school children on a field trip were holding hands and wearing white and orange baseball caps. At the end of our tour, Hiroko gave each us of an origami crane she had made.
After getting off the tour, we decided to do some exploring ourselves. Rather than actually seeing attractions, we learned some hard lessons about traveling in foreign countries. We thought that we would tour Oura Catholic Church, Japan's oldest wooden church, and Glover Garden, eight Western-style houses built by Thomas Glover, whose wife was thought to be the inspiration for Puccini's Madame Butterfly. We had no Japanese yen but were sure that these attractions would take Visa. Guess what? They only take yen. The sales clerks told us to try at some of the stores or the hotels to exchange our money for yen. No luck! We even tried an ATM and a bank that had a sign, "Money Exchange Impossible." By the time we got back to the pier, it was going on 3 p.m. so we decided to board the ship.
But this action had a silver lining. Because this was Pacific Princess' Inaugural Call to Nagasaki, all passengers already on board were invited to a Welcome Ceremony in which the ship's senior officers and dignitaries of Nagasaki exchanged gifts and another plaque for Deck 8. Young children ages 4 and 5 entertained us in beautiful Japanese costumes with a Paper Dome Dance and a Fashion of Spain Dance. (Sara thought this was an omen that we should tour Spain before returning home.) After the performance, Sara got to High Five the graceful dancers. Some of the little boys knew how to do it, and Sara's palm was red!
Our captain told the dignitaries that Princess Cruises will continue to send ships to this beautiful city. We hope that when they do, Nagasaki has more ways for visitors from foreign countries to exchange money.
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