Matt's Trip to Nagasaki
In 2001, Judy and I had the opportunity to live and travel in Japan. One of the sites we visited was Nagasaki. This page is a photo-travelogue of the journey. All Images Copyright © 2001 by Matthew S. Hamrick, All Rights Reserved.On the Road...
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Judy an I were living in Iizuka, a small town just to the East of Fukuoka. Nagasaki is south along the west coast of Kyushu, I can't remember exactly how far, perhaps as much as 100 miles. We didn't have a car there, so the best way to travel was via train (the Kamome Limited Express.) The countryside out the train window was rather pleasant, here are just a few shots of rural country life in Japan; the last couple showing rice planting going on...
Tourist Sampan In Nagasaki Rail Station
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Up the coast a little ways from Nagasaki is Huis Ten Bosch, a
virtual Holland with an $80 entry fee. As I'm probably going to Amsterdam
sometime over the next couple of months, I feel that I can pass on this
opportunity to see Tulips. The locals, however, just go nuts over this
place though... I think this ship is part of a tourist information kiosk.
Street Vistas in Nagasaki
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Nagasaki is perhaps the most picturesque city I've seen in Japan;
at least for daylight shots. Here are some typical street scenes. The
first is looking down the stairs that lead to our hotel, the Nishiki-so, a
delightful ryokan near the Shian-bashi entertainment district. The second
is looking out over some of the Nagasaki hills. If you're good with
hiragana, you can see the sign for the Nishiki-so in the foreground.
Shofukuji Temple
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When you walk out of the Nagasaki train station, look up in the
nearby hills, if the buildings aren't in the way, you should get a pretty
good glimpse of Shofuku-ji. The original was destroyed in August, 1945,
but it's been rebuilt in the form of the Goddess Kannon astride an Astral
Turtle. The Lonely Planet guide book says that there's a Foucalt's
Pendulum inside, apparently the largest in Asia. However, the temple was
closed when we got there, so didn't get to see... Still, we were able to
take these shots outside.
26 Martyrs
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Unknown to most westerners, Nagasaki was the center of early
Christian missionary work in the 16th century. Japanese authorities has
begun to view Christianity as a threat in the late 1500's. In 1597, 26
Japanese and European Christians were crucified, presumably to discourage
the religion... A memorial to the martyr'd believers stands a short
distance from the train station and the Shofukuji temple.
Shofukuji from 26 Martyrs
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This is the view from the 26 Martyr's memorial to Shofujuji
Temple. In the foreground, you can see another temple, and if we are to
believe the map, there is yet another temple between the one in the
foreground and Shofukuji. Fukusaiji temple is just beyond Shofukuji in
this photo. Amazingly, this is not the neighborhood known as 'temple row.'
Nagasaki Vistas
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The first two photos in this series were taken out the bathroom
window of our hotel. There's nothing of particular importance in these
shots, but they do give a general idea for what the Shianbashi area looks
like. The third photo shows a demolished lot immediately downhill from our
hotel. At the time I took this shot, I was actually aiming for a church
spire in the distance; as it turns out, it's just barely perceptable in
the center of the photo.
Street Vista in Nagasaki, Redux
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Another street scene; this one looks down a street immediately
next to the Fukusaya Castella Cake Shop which sells really good Portugese
style pastries. In the foreground you can see a flyer advertising my
favorite local act, "Funky Soul."
Memorial at Hypocenter Park
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In the Urakami district of Nagasaki you can find Hypocentre Park,
located immediately below where "Fat Man" was detonated at 11:02AM, August
9th, 1945. The hypocenter of the blast is commemorated with a black
obelisk and a coffin shaped memorial. Images 20, 25, 26, and 30 show this
hypocentral memorial from varying angles. Image 21 shows a pair of
lanterns common in Bhuddist temples; used to guide the spirits of the
departed.
When the crew of the Bock's Car (or Bock Scar as it's written
here...) dropped thier bomb, the were aming for the Mitsubishi Arms Works.
Sadly, they scored almost a direct hit on the Urakami Cathedral, the
largest Catholic Cathedral in East Asia at the time. Image 23 shows the
sole remaining column from the cathedral; recently moved to this location.
Image 28 shows a closeup of the gargoyles at the base of the column, an
interesting mix of oriental and European styles.
Image 27 shows a shrine, memorializing the victims of the bombing.
Imperceptable in this low-res photo, the colored streamers are made of
paper. Small colored sheets of paper are folded in the shape of cranes and
strung as streamers. Image 31 shows a cherry tree entering bloom.
Images 32 and 33 show a memorial statue from the 50th anniversary
of the bombing. The motif of a mother clutching a dying child is disturbed
somewhat by an irreverent bird atop the grieving mother's head.
Still Life with Cat
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Interpretation of this photograph is left as an exercise for the reader.
Statue at Peace Park
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Peace Park is a few hundred meters upriver from Hypocentre Park
and has several really nice statues. Whereas Hypocentre Park has a sombre
mood, Peace Park is a little more upbeat and hopeful about the future. I
snapped photos of a few of my favorite statues here. The first, Image 35
may be my favorite. This statue was a gift from the Turkish government.
Images 36 and 37 show the other statue that may be my favorite, a gift
from Minnesoda. If you carefully count, you'll find 7 human figures, each
representing a continent. The idea of interconnectedness of the world's
culture and peoples tends to flow from this interpretation... Image 38 is
the most famous (and largest) of the statues at Peace Park. Image 39 we're
not sure where it came from, but it seemed to me that this figure was
smiling somewhat, a welcome relief to the somberness of some of the other
statuary.
