Summer Memories

- From Seto Inland Sea to Nishinagato Beach Resort -

1. Seto Inland Sea

I was raised by the Seto Inland Sea. In summer, I swam almost every day at Asakawa Beach in west suburban Imabari, the city where I was born. No goggles. No ear plugs. White sands and a placid sea. I was pretty good at fishing multicolorfin rainbowfish (halichoeres poecilopterus), a small sand fish of about 6 inches or l5 centimeters. It is said that the fish sleep in a sand bed. Upon wakening, the fish brush aside the sand and hunt for a breakfast of nereis (worms). If you are fishing for them, there is a faint tug and that's the moment you have to pull on the fishing line or it eats the bait line with its saw-shaped teeth and escapes. This is the fish that can switch from female to male as they grow. Their color changes from red to blue. I learned later that they are polygamous. It is a very tasty fish when baked on a charcoal fire. Another memory is scooping crabs as they are coming ashore to lay eggs and mating under moonlight. Dad, my two younger brothers and I caught 5 bucketfuls of crabs. This was on the sandy beach east of Imabari, an experience similar to the one I encountered during a Grunion run in California described later on.

I never imagined that Shikoku Island would be connected with Chugoku (the part of mainland Japan facing us across the Seto Inland Sea) by a series of bridges, eliminating all the ferries that thrived once in my day. It is called the Shimanami Sea Route that spans 80 kilometers. The shuttle bus runs every hour on the hour between Imabari and Fukuyama, a traffic innovation of the century.

2. Sagamore (Oyster) Bay / Jones Beach, Long Island, NY

We took our children to swim at either Oyster Bay or Jones Beach when we lived in Long Island. We were young, go-getters. Because of my work, I was unable to go fishing with my son, but he was happy to go out fishing with our retired neighbors. They drove to Montaulk Point more than once and brought back lots of porgies. Even my dad didn't bring home that many porgies at one time. Today I saw sadly the following warning on the Long Island Web site:

"Long Island's Beaches Are Unsafe for Swimming. If you live on Long Island, don't bother going to the beach for a swim over the next couple of days. Almost all the beaches are closed, which is what health departments are forced to do after a big rain storm, because our streets are so dirty and our sewers are so riddled with holes that storm-water is too dangerous to swim in."

3. La Jolla Shores / Mission Bay, San Diego, CA

My wife says that the most memorable beach to her was La Jolla Shores. She and our daughter would sit and wait in the evening until the golden red and purple sky succumbed and the setting sun sparked the last blinking lights of green and dipped into the horizon. It is a most peaceful vision.

Unforgettable to me while living in San Diego was the grunion run I encountered, similar to the crab catch in the Seto Inland Sea. I've heard that many people would listen to the radio forecast to find out when the grunion would run and where. They have to be well prepared to run and be on the spot to catch them. There are two species of grunion. First, the California grunion, and the other, the Gulf grunion. Both are sardine-sized fish and are found only off the coast of California and Baja California, Mexico.

Grunions are known for their very unusual mating ritual. At very high tides the females come up onto the sandy beach and dig their tails into the sand to lay their eggs. A group of males then wrap themselves around the female to deposit their sperm. For the next ten days the grunion eggs remain hidden in the sand, and at the next set of high tides, the eggs hatch and the young grunions are washed out to sea.

One night during the '80s, we were entertaining guests from Japan in a North County restaurant facing the ocean. About the time we finished dinner and were ready to leave, we saw a grunion invasion right before our eyes. We were the first that noticed it happening and we all went out barefoot to scoop up the small fish. A flock of sea gulls dove down overhead to feast. It happened so quickly that the fish were gone by the time a group of catchers arrived.

Two things I remember well on the sportsfishing boat off San Diego and Coronado Island. We caught salmon! The proof that the cold current comes down to Southern Cal. Someone brought a brand new Motorola Micro-Tac phone and surprised all the fishermen on board chatting with friends on land. It is nothing new these days, but that's the way it was back then.

4. Hermosa Beach / Portuguese Bend (Rancho Palos Verdes), CA

I met U.S. Air Force Captain Armour stationed in FEMCOM Air Base in Tachikawa, Tokyo and came to know his wife and children. They are a wonderful American family. I had frequent trips to the West Coast while living in New York to meet with the Armours in Los Angeles.

One day, they took me to Hermosa Beach and I rushed into the water. "Ouch!" After a few strokes, something invisible hit me in the water and I suffered acute pain. My lower body got swollen and left a red stripe upon my skin. Then I went totally numb. I was ambushed and stung by a monster jelly fish. Captain Armour mentioned that it may have been be a Portuguese Man-of-War, the name derived from a Portuguese war ship of the 15th century. Urine is commonly used as a first-aid remedy and I jumped into the men's room immediately. Ever since, I have opted for swimming in a pool, abandoning ocean swimming.

There's a place called Portuguese Bend in Palos Verdes, near the famous all-glass Wayfarers Chapel designed by Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright. I somehow associate these two Portuguese words. A Google search revealed that Portuguese Bend means "green stick", by which I interpret (I may be wrong) green stick fishing method, popular among the Japanese fishermen.

5. Morro Rock, San Luis Obispo, CA

Heading north from Santa Barabara, Goleta and the awesome Gaviota Pass, you pass Nipomo and Pismo, known for clam beaches, and then enter San Luis Obispo, acronymed as SLO, where people enjoy a slow life, or sometimes referred to as the good life. The destination of my first trip was not SLO but San Simenon, although I later found out they are both located in the same county. San Simenon is where one of the richest men in the world built his castle. His name was William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper king. My wife and I were then accompanied by my daughter's family.

As we exited 101 and took old Route l, I was immediately charmed with the chain of volcanic "plug dome" peaks, the unique step-stone volcanic formation. They make up such unforgettable picturesque view that I got hooked on them and I knew I'd be returning again and again. Local people call these peaks "7" or "9" peaks, depending on how many of the peaks are included in the count. Whatever the count is, it is a looming sentinel guard isle, known as Morro Rock. In 1542, a Portuguese navigator Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo, called it "El Morro", as it resembled the turbaned head of the Moor. "El Morro" replaced the Chumash word "lisamu" meaning a shrine on the coast. I can only visualize how Morro Rock looked originally, because photographs of the isle were only available after the 1890s. The isle became the main source of quarry for sea transportation. What we see today should be 581 ft or 177 meters in height, but is now a wrecked isle after centuries of quarrying to provide materials to construct breakwaters. The practice was finally called off when the U.S. Congress listed it as a State Landmark. However, the isle still stands firm in magnificent shape and color, attracting visitors, such as myself, a foreigner from Japan. Today, the area is a sanctuary and the serene bay view - with sand dunes, rows of anchoring yachts and boats - is unbeatable when compared to other marinas.

6. Nishinagato Resort Beach

Upon our return to Japan from the U.S., we sold our house in Tokyo and relocated to Kitakyushu. Kiyoko, my wife's sister, took us to the Kanmon Strait lookout where we enjoyed watching large boats cruising the narrow strait of one kilometer under the Kanmon Bridge. Moji Port nearby reminds us at night, of San Diego Harbor, as we see Shimonoseki well-lit across the strait. In San Diego, you'd see naval vessels instead, sometimes even an aircraft carrier such as the Kitty Hawk.

Kiyoko also gave us rides to nice beaches here and there in Kyushu, but whenever we had the chance, we returned to Nishinagato Resort Beach. It takes 2-1/2 hours to get to crossing the Kanmon Strait and driving up on the Japan Sea side of the very southern end of mainland Japan. This is our 10th year anniversary living in Kyushu and we have made more than a dozen visits, including our Golden Wedding Anniversary last year. We have taken our son from New York as well as our granddaughter from Santa Barbara and they both just loved that beach. There is a small island called Tsuno-(horn) Shima in front which protects the Nishinagato Beach from the outer Genkai Ocean, from the sometimes fierce winds and waves from Siberia. A bridge was built seven years ago and crossing it feels like driving over the Chesapeake Bay. The color of the ocean is emerald green and gorgeous. I can only compare it to Nago Beach of Okinawa or the Phuket Island beaches facing Andaman Sea. You see nothing but the wide-angled open sea from the Resort Hotel and the hot springs of the hotel.

These are the Summer Memories I treasure.

The War After the War

"There was a war before you were born. Many Japanese died because of that war. So, the Japanese declared no more wars. Despite the pledge, we may be drawn into another war. Mind you, it may come anytime! Let's examine what life is like in war time and post war time. You are fortunate being surrounded with an abundance of food. However, almost all food in Japan is imported. Once war is triggered, incoming food supplies will be stopped. How can any nation survive without food? When I was a child, country farming flourished. People were always conscious of the labor of farmers and were thankful for their harvest. 'Itadakimasu' means true appreciation before enjoying a meal. It is important to remember that many Japanese died from starvation during and after the war. Many of us abhor wars. The best advice is to never engage in war. I strongly emphasize that war is always destructive, never constructive. Above all, respect one another. Those of us who experienced war will be gone by the time you grow into adulthood. Please heed our advice. Please mull over the information received from this book. Discuss war with your friends. Discussion amongst yourselves is absolutely essential. Learn the importance of negotiation. Pay attention to what's happening all over the world and strive to make it a better place. Namaste"

So wrote Akiyuki Nosaka, in the epilog of the Grave of the Fireflies in 2006. It was in l967 that Akiyuki Nosaka, a Conte (short story) writer, singer, essayist was awarded with the "Naoki" Award, a Japanese literary award for his Grave of the Fireflies along with America Hijiki.

40 years have passed since then. As I was in the U.S., I didn't know until recently that he became a politician. He campaigned to serve in the lower house, failed in his first try, won the second campaign and served one term, then went back to his original literary profession. He also won awards around the turn of the century, including the Kyoka Izumi Award. He is a controversial, sometimes quite obnoxious person. I learned he suffered a stroke in 2003 and was in rehabilitation. I saw his latest photo with a cane and his trademark dark glasses and a white hat. He stands erect and looks vigorous. I saw his column in the Mainichi Newspaper entitled "With 7 Falls and 8 Rises." Actually he said he had rolled down 7 times and fell down 8. He admitted that the title was his wishful thinking. Now he has just started writing his Will to Japan. I'd like to read it.

He was slightly older than me but we were part of the same generation who lived through WWII and hungry young days. "Grave of Fireflies" is his biographical story. Seita and Setsuko were brother and sister who lost their mother in the air-raid of the Allies and were taken to live with their aunt's family. Their father was a naval officer, gone to war. Seita and Setsuko were mistreated by their aunt, so they made the lakeside cave shelter their home away from their aunt's house. There were no lights in the shelter at night except for fireflies caught in their mosquito net. Abused and neglected by kin and undernourished, Setsuko died first. Diarrhea ridden Seita followed shortly thereafter wandering out at half destroyed Sannomiya Station, Kobe. An empty "Sakuma" brand can was held in Seita's hand and contained only a piece of Setsuko's small bone. It was a can used all the time by Setsuko. When she found it empty, she put water in and drank saying "so sweety". This story haunts me whenever I pass through Sannomiya.

My father was drafted into the army at age 40 as a coast guard in Kochi. I remember, in the 1940's (not a teenager yet), I used to ride my bicycle to the countryside to ask farmers for crops - rice and wheat (impossible to obtain as they were rationed items), carrots, daikon (radish), green peas, sweet potatoes, Japanese cabbage, etc. Green peas were grandpa's favorite. I always rushed home with whatever I got, but I particularly hurried when I had green peas just to see grandpa's smile. There were days I came home without any harvest. Strangely enough, I don't remember how I paid. I'm sure I paid. Mom gave me some money from her purse. After my father's homecoming, we rented a tiny plot of land in Sakurai about 25 kilometers away from our home, and planted sweet potatoes. Our entire family walked all the way with a cart full of hoes and spades to cultivate the land for our survival. Alas, I will never forget the delectable taste of the first year crops.

Wishing Nosaka's health and recovery, I look forward to reading his Will to Japan available soon to us. Let us be happier without war and without nuclear bombs.

Namaste!

Important, Very Important History

Let me start with an excerpt from Wikipedia about the flight of B-29 Bockscar, loaded with the second A-Bomb called "Fat Man" on August 9, 1945. On my way back from Washington D.C. in August 2006, I stopped at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Pattterson Air Force base and saw the Bockscar on display. I saw Enola Gay at the Smithonian Institute.

***

"Kokura was the primary target, but when Bockscar arrived at its rendezvous point off the coast of Japan the third aircraft of its flight was not present. After fruitlessly waiting 40 minutes, Sweeney and Bock proceeded to Kokura but found it obscured by clouds. Sweeney had orders to drop the atomic bomb visually if possible, and after three unsuccessful passes over Kokura, conferred with weaponeer Commander Frederick Ashworth (USN). They agreed to strike the secondary target, Nagasaki.

A combination of factors including confusion about a malfunctioning transfer pump made fuel consumption a critical factor. Ashworth did not want to be forced to dump the bomb into the sea and decided to make a radar bombing run if necessary. However, enough of an opening appeared in the cloud cover to allow Bombardier Kermit Beahan to confirm Nagasaki and the bomb was dropped, with ground zero being about 3/4 mile from the planned aiming point. This combined with Nagasaki's position on the foothills (as opposed to Hiroshima's mostly flat terrain) resulted in lower overall casualties than in Hiroshima, with much of the blast confined in the Urakami Valley.

Because of the delays in the mission, the B-29 did not have sufficient fuel to reach the emergency landing field at Iwo Jima, so Major Sweeney flew the aircraft to Okinawa, where, despite being unable to make contact with the control tower, he made a safe landing with virtually empty fuel tanks."

***

Yes, the primary target of the Bockscar mission was Kokura and not Nagasaki! VERY FEW PEOPLE KNOW THIS! Bockscar had given up bombing on Kokura because of cloud cover. How fortunate Kokura was and how unfortunate for the Nagasakians.

Recently I read a book written by one of the Kokuranites who was 12 years old then. This person remembered the clear morning sky on August 9, seeing a lone B-29 high above gradually shadowed by the dusky clouds. It then turned and flew away from Kokura. She thought the B-29 she saw must have been Bockscar that dropped the Fat Man in Nagasaki and had been puzzled since that day about the sudden change of weather at the time. She thinks she had her long time riddle solved from reliable sources that the dusky cloud cover was a man-made smoke screen. Per Wikipedia, Enola Gay deployed and flew over Kokura as the weather observation plane. The writer might have seen Enola Gay and not Bockscar. Another explanation is as follows. Yahata Iron & Steel in Kokura was air-raided the night before. The Tinian Bockscar and the air-raid bombers of August 8 had not talked to each other. Kokura was covered with smoke from the raid the night before. The Bockscar was given orders directly from President Harry S. Truman and even General Douglas MacArthur was not notified of his decision until the last minute.

My city, Imabari, was air-raided on the night of August 5. I thought it had no relation to the bombing of Hiroshima which took place on August 6; but there was! To isolate the A-Bomb target city from surrounding cities for food supplies and rescue efforts, Himeji, Tokuyama, Ube, Shimonoseki and Moji were raided in July. Imabari, along with Uwajima, Fukuyama were raided just before Hiroshima.

The Tinian based A-Bomb B-29s, meanwhile, were on their decoy flights for meteorological observation for 15 days prior to the day of attack. Every morning one B-29 flew at exactly the same time without escort fighters as if it was there only to monitor the weather. This was done not to alert and provoke defense from the ground forces and it tricked both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Residents of Hiroshima saw the bomb parachute coming down after the air-raid warning cleared.

All the air-raided cities were said to have read the warning bills. I hadn't seen any. Cities warned were raided as warned, except Hiroshima, Kokura and Nagasaki. Reportedly, a few wise men sensed something was wrong and felt uneasy.

Hiroshima, the target city of the first A-Bomb, "Little Boy" three days earlier, was the home base of the Japanese Imperial War Headquarters, and the 5th Army Squadron. Kokura had the Imperial Army Arsenal and Ordinances. The main Kyushu Army Squadron once stationed in Kokura was relocated to Kurume years ago. Kokura made most of the army weaponry and also balloon bombs.

After my return from the U.S. and having settled down in Kitakyushu in the mid l990s, I spent many days at the Central Library to learn about Kitakyushu, my new adopted city after Imabari, Osaka, Tokyo, New York, San Diego. I was able to find the air raid records of Yahata Iron & Works but not of any Kokura Arsenal and Ordinance. I befriended someone my age who graduated from Kokura high school and was able to read his school alumni bulletin. This friend had worked at the Kokura Arsenal in his school days. His information was helpful. It is shocking to discover Kokura was the first target and its epicenter could have been the library where I was currently sitting. Kokura had extensive underground passages and shelters but nobody knew how effective they were.

NAGASAKI AND NAGASAKIANS WERE MARTYRED ON BEHALF OF KOKURA RESIDENTS.

As of August 9, 2007, 143,124 Nagasakians were on the death toll; Hiroshima close to 200,000. We have about 250,000 victims alive who hold certified entitlements to receive medical aid under the Government's A-Bomb Survivors Law. One feature of the A-bomb is that the statistic is open ended. The A-Bomb changed the war. An atomic bomb eliminates the city, history and blood lineage. What happens when humans know they have no future. It becomes meaningless to live, to work, to learn, or to try anything.

Enola Gay carried the gun assembly Little Boy that used highly enriched uranium. Bockscar carried the implosion assembly Fat Man that used plutonium. There was no 3rd bomb in existence but the Allied Forces hinted "more to come and soon" as further threat against Japan if necessary.


Another August 6 is approaching. Just behind the Central Library of Kokura is a miniature Nagasaki bell and a small memorial built for Nagasaki victims of the A-Bomb attack. Leis of a "thousand origami cranes" were wet when I visited on a rainy day a week ago. Agapanthus were in bloom in white and purple. Kokuranites are to gather here to pray at 11am on August 9 and I will also be there.

Sarusuberi (Crepe Myrtle) Flowers

"Sweltering Sky
Enduring Crepe Myrtle"
- Kyoshi Takahama

Crepe Myrtle is a summertime beauty. It's a bare tree in the winter and slow to blossom in the spring. The Japanese named the tree "Sarusuberi", a tree whereby even a monkey slips and falls because the bark is thin and peels easily. This tree is originally from China. The Chinese call it "Bai ri hong", which translates literally as "100-day red".

Kagano Chiyo (1703-1775), a famous Haiku poet from the Edo Period sang:

"Bloom and
fall over and over - Sarusuberi flowers
last for the entire summer"

The color varies from red to pink to white. I read that Crepe Myrtle gets it name from the crinkly look of crepe paper.

I have a special bond with Crepe Myrtle. Before returning to Japan after 20 years in San Diego (1994), I bought a Crepe Myrtle and donated it to the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Diego's Balboa Park. I dedicated it to the memory of Yukichi Ikeda (see the photo), a Japanese expatriate.

Here is his story.

Wives of Japanese expatriates typically join their husbands in the U.S. after 3 or 4 months of first arriving. The idea is for expatriates to get their feet wet in their new work environment and secure housing for their families. The day Ikeda's wife was to arrive was a Saturday. Yukichi and I were in the same foursome at an intracompany golf tournament at Admiral Baker Golf Course located in Mission Gorge. Yukichi was about 30 years old, honest, handsome, likable, hard working, and a good golfer. His golf that day was excellent, possibly because he was to pick up Miyoko at the airport after the tournament.

A few days after the tournament Yukichi left work earlier than the rest of us, saying he was taking his wife to a fine restaurant for dinner. We cheered him on; he blushed, then left quickly.

That same day, I went for my daily swim before going home and was paged over the intercom. My wife was in a panic and said that Ikeda had been shot and was taken to the hospital in Point Loma. I panicked myself and dressed quickly, then sped off to the hospital, praying all the way for him. Upon my arrival, I found him in a coma as his stretcher was being moved to another ambulance to transport him to University of California, San Diego Hospital. He was breathing, but unconscious. Miyoko was there, obviously in shock, pale and in tears.

The story was that while the couple headed toward the restaurant from the parking lot, two men blocked their way and demanded money. The robbers went to snatch Miyoko's handbag and Yukichi moved to block them to protect her. A shot was fired and the bullet entered his nose, circled inside his brain and lodged there.

The Japanese money Miyoko carried was intact in her purse. The robbers fled empty handed after shooting Ikeda.

An unfortunate confrontation; a very cruel crime!

Yukichi never regained consciousness. Upon arrival of his kin, he was taken off life support.

The police interrogated Miyoko for a description of the robbers, but she was unable to give any detailed information. She had faced black men for the very first time in her life.

The incident happened in 1980, almost 30-years ago. The case remains unresolved.

A collection was taken for Miyoko but she refused the money. We reserved the money to do something in his memory. Since I once served on the Board for the Balboa Park Japanese Garden, I knew they might accept a horticultural donation when the garden was built. I chose a Crepe Myrtle because it bears long lasting flowers in the summer to attract visitors.

Crepe Myrtle usually is not planted in the traditional Japanese Garden as it gives tropical and southern landscaping. But it just matches with temples and pagodas as I found it in the Rurikoji Temple in Yamaguchi City (see the photo above). The temple for the Ouchi Clan, through Ashikaga and Sengoku period 1180 to 1557, is known for its beautiful 5-storied pagoda (built in 1442) ranking among Japan's three most
beautiful.

Ikeda's father left a message that Yukichi had intended life long employment in San Diego. Saburo Shiroyama* (1927-2007), a famous writer who created a new genre of business fiction, was around us a few months afterwards and he quoted Yukichi's father's message in one of his books.

Today the Japanese Friendship Garden and Tea House is serving tea ceremony demonstrations regularly. It is an ideal wedding ceremony location.

Yukichi Ikeda in memoriam
*****

* Saburo Shiroyama's works include
1 "War Criminal: The Life and Death of Hirota Koki" (落日燃ゆ）
2 "Man's True Dream" (男子の本懐)
3 "Love Diary" for his deceased wife (そうか、君はもう いないのか）

Last One To Go

I treasure John Dower's book Embracing Defeat and I keep it at my elbow for frequent reference. For one thing, it helps remind me of the hardship days of Japan's defeat, and for another, it helps me to accept the loss of my grandmother. I still pray for my grandmother, who has been missing since August 5, 1945, the night an air raid dropped incendiary bombs on Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, my hometown in Shikoku. The A-bomb exploded on Hiroshima the following morning, but my family had no way of knowing, because we lost our home and turned adrift.

Now, thumbing through the book, it has quite a few postwar episodes; but the most unforgettable and intriguing one is about a Japanese scientist who handwrote a message in English on a piece of paper on the day the U.S. Occupation Forces showed up, and thus saved his marine biological lab.

He wrote:
"This is a marine biological station with its history of sixty plus years. If you are from the East Coast, some of you might know Woods Hole or Mt. Desert or Tortugas. If you are from the West Coast, you may know Pacific Grove or the Puget Sound Biological Station. This place is a place like one of these. Take care of this place and protect the possibility for the continuation of our peaceful research. You can destroy the weapons and the war instruments, but save the civil equipment for Japanese students. When you are through with your job here, notify the University and let us come back to our scientific home." He signed it, "The last one to go."

Perfect English. The appendix of Dower's book noted that the scientist was Katsuma Dan (1905-1996), an eminent Japanese biologist. I searched the Internet and found Katsuma Dan was an American trained biologist and had worked at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Station. No wonder he was good at English. That English note was picked up by the U.S. Squadron, and the commander sent it to the Woods Hole Marine Station in MA. The Woods Hole Station kept the paper. You can read the paper in his own handwriting at this Web site.

I found out the facility where Dr. Dan left his message is the Misaki Marine Biological Institute which belonged to the University of Tokyo. The Japanese Navy set up its submarine base there and the entire area became a hidden fort. His Institute had to live with the Navy during the war. Thanks to the quick wit of Dr. Dan, the facilities were kept intact. The institution celebrated its
100th anniversary a few years ago.
A little more history on Dr. Dan. He was the second son of Baron Takuma Dan. Takuma Dan (1858-1932) was an MIT graduate and mining major, involved in Mitsui Mining in Miike, Kyushu. In 1931, the baron was assassinated by the "Ketsumeidan" terrorist group. Ikuma Dan (1924-2001), the famous opera composer of "Yuzuru", the "Evening Crane", is Katsuma's nephew. Ikuma died on his performance trip in Beijing, China.

Katsuma Dan married his colleague Jean Clark while working at Woods Hole, and upon their return to Japan, both Jean and Katsuma worked at the Misaki Lab, leaving many papers drawn from their accomplishment in embryological fields. Misaki maintains a microscope used for discovery by Jean Dan for public display. Katsuma served Tokyo Metropolitan University as President (1965-1973), and Jean taught at Ochanomizu University. The couple founded the Jean and Katsuma Dan Fellowship Programs, which have assisted about 80 biology students to date. The Dans most likely loved the ocean wherever they were. It is recommended that this story be included in grade school textbooks.

As a youth fresh from school and a new Tokyoite, I explored the ocean around Tokyo. One summer I extended my trip to Kamakura further south to Miura Peninsula. I'm sure I passed through Misaki on the way to offshore Jogashima Island. I think the Misaki Marine Biological Station is a little south of today's famous Aburatsubo Yacht Marina. Today, a bridge connects Misaki City and Jogashima Island.

In my day, we had to take a boat to see the stone monument of Hakushu Kitahara's poem. The poem, written by Hakushu (1885-1942), is now sung by children as a sailors' song. I still remember the tasty top shell dish I enjoyed on the island, with sea food cooked in its own shell.

Here's a rough translation of the Hakushu's poem.

"It keeps drizzling.
O'er the rocky shore of Jogashima.
The rain of the Rikyu Gray (Rat).
Is the rain pearls,
or fog of dawn,
or my subdued sobbing.
A ship sails
around the tip of a Tohria.
Your ship hoisted wet sail.
I row a ship.
I pull an oar to a song,
the song - the captain's spirit.
It keeps drizzling."

As a returnee myself back from the U.S., I am fascinated with Dan's story. In the U.S. I spent 10 years on the East Coast and 20 years on the West Coast. During my stay, I had a chance to travel to Woods Hole, Cape Cod, Chesapeake Bay and Puget, Oregon shores, Pismo Beach, Morro Rock, La Jolla, etc. My memories run like revolving lanterns, just as I drove on the coastal routes, either east or west, and each memory brings back very special colorful scenes of family and/or friends.

One of my favorite passages from literature on the subject of ocean scenes is this quotation from Anne Morrow Lindberg's book, Gift from the Sea. "No man is an island, said John Donne. I (Anne Morrow Lindberg) feel we are all islands in a common sea." This is the very thought I have these days, as one who was raised living by the sea, and as a devoted ocean lover. I would wish to be engaged in the ocean related job like Drs. Dan if I were ever to be reborn.

P.S.
While net surfing, I discovered the Web site of Dr. David Colman, Professor at McGill University which has pretty much the same information as reported above. (There is also a piece written in Time Magazine dated December 10, 1945, entitled, "Appeal to the Goths".) Dr. Colman adds:

"Professor Katsuma Dan went on to become the resident of Tokyo Metropolitan University from 1965-1973 and continued to publish superb science well into the 1980's, and the Misaki Marine Biological Station is a thriving research facility today. Dr. Dan inspired generations of students and scholars with his work and, as evidenced by this story, tapped into a fundamental respect for the importance of scientific research that crossed political and cultural boundaries."

Please send any comments about the Director's Corner to david.colman@mcgill.ca. I contacted Dr. Colman and exchanged email a few times. He was very pleased to hear from me.

Strategy of Enthusiasm Produced a Winner!

While searching the Internet looking for a friend of mine in the State of Washington, I came upon a site that led me to a businessman I had once worked with on a project about 20 years ago. I could not quite recall his name. He was once the Mayor of Vancouver, a high profile public servant. I figured there must be a clue as to what happened to him, so I googled "Vancouver, Washington".

A familiar Columbian newspaper article dated 2005 appeared titled, "Vancouver has found its heart and maybe its soul. They reside in the spirit that reinvigorated Esther Short Park." It was written by Tom Koenninger, editor emeritus. He wrote:

"Roots of Vancouver's coming of age may have started with former Vancouver Mayor Bryce Seidl and the Nihonga exhibit on Officers Row, and the survival of Officers Row itself in the mid-1980s. The goal was to re-energize the heart of the city, Esther Short Park and environs. Thanks to guts, energy, brains and no small amount of sweat, the objective has largely been met. What a change."

Yes, that's it! Bryce Seidl! I recognized his name. I remember that I liked him.

It was fairly easy to proceed once I knew his name. I found out that he is currently President and Chief Executive Director of the Pacific Science Center, a nonprofit organization in Seattle. This is the man I met and worked together with, on introducing the Nihonga (Japanese painting) exhibits in the City of Vancouver, Washington.

Why a Nihonga art exhibit in a small city like Vancouver, Washington? Kyocera International, my ex-employer, built a company called Kyocera Northwest there. Mayor Seidl was invited to the opening ceremony. He met then Kyocera President Kazuo Inamori and learned that Kyocera and Wacoal, another Kyoto based company, were jointly planning to bring a tour of traveling Nihonga exhibits to Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles and other major cities.

Bryce was interested in the project and asked Inamori to include Vancouver among the exhibit host cities. How well could Vancouver, such a small city, rank against those large capital cities in drawing visitors to the exhibits? Nobody listened seriously to the mayor, but Seidl had his ideas and a vision. He believed he could do it. He sent his plan to Kazuo Inamori, even advising him on the critical paths to take in order to make the project a success. Kazuo Inamori himself likes to do this type of thorough market research and simulation-proven studies, and he was moved by spunky Seidl. Gradually, Bryce's enthusiasm and persuasion took shape and weight, and moved the Kyoto people. Seidl's planning was superb - the selection of the venue at the historic Officers Row, the well-timed visit of a Japanese sailboat at the Columbia River basin, the invitation of several Nihonga artists to speak at the opening, even preparing souvenir pamphlets and prints, etc.

To our surprise, Seidl's plan culminated in attracting more visitors than any other capital city mentioned above. And can you guess why?

Bryce mobilized students in all the schools in the neighboring counties. I was dispatched for a few weeks from the Kyocera U.S. Head Office in San Diego to help in the preparation, and I saw Bryce rolling up his sleeves, working as hard as those involved at City Hall. I was very impressed. The event took place in 1986.

I saw a recent photo of Bryce Seidl on a Web site. His hair and eyebrows are turning white, same as mine. Maybe he is a bit younger than me. I found out he majored in ecology at UC Berkeley, and received an MBA from the University of Michigan. Between two careers, first as city mayor and currently as Executive Director at the Pacific Science Center, he has held many positions in the Seattle area: VP/General Manager at Simpson Papers, President of Fisher Mills, and President of Pilchuck Glass School, a glass art school that has much in common with Nihonga art.

I'm hoping to visit Seattle on my next trip to the U.S. and renew my acquaintance with the ex-mayor I admired.

***

Notes:

Nihonga Exhibit
Kyocera jointly hosted the Exhibition of Modern Japanese Nihon-ga paintings with Wacoal Corporation in 1985 to promote international friendship and cultural appreciation by introducing Japanese paintings overseas and creating an international venue for exchanging art and culture. The exhibition was held in seven cities in five North American and European countries over two years and earned widespread acclaim.

Officers Row in Vancouver, WA
My friend Christine Kuramoto, an English teacher at Kyushu University, who was born in Vancouver, WA, sent me the following email:

"Hailing from Battle Ground Washington, a small city a few miles North of Vancouver, I grew up thinking that 'our' Vancouver was 'the' Vancouver. Of course later, when my travels took me farther from my roots in Southwest Washington, I learned that 'my' Vancouver was actually the 'other' Vancouver. The Vancouver that everyone else knew about was that one up North in Canada, or Vancouver BC. I often had to go through a long explanation of how there is also a Vancouver in Washington State just across the mighty Columbia river from the City of Portland, Oregon.


My City's name, Battle Ground, comes from a battle that never took place. In 1855, some Klickitat Indians escaped from Fort Vancouver. Captain Strong headed up the army in charge of bringing the Indians back to the fort. Upon meeting up with the Indians, the Indian chief, Chief Umtuch, promised Captain Strong that the Indians would return to the fort. There are different versions of what happened next, but somehow Chief Umtuch was killed. Captain Strong allowed the Indians to bury the chief. He returned to the fort with the Indians' promise to return. The Indians did return, and for not forcibly bringing them back, Captain Strong was presented a petticoat for bravery and courage. This area later became known as "Strong's Battle Ground". I went to elementary school at Chief Umtuch elementary and there is now another school called Captain Strong elementary school.

To me, Fort Vancouver and Officers Row was the place you went and spread your blanket early on the 4th of July if you wanted to get the best view of the fireworks display on the independence day holiday. As a child I never really noticed or realized the significance of the beautiful historical houses there along the row. But as a middle-aged woman, I now have more of an eye for the beauty that is there. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend that you take a stroll down Officer's Row in Vancouver. And if you have the time, take a little detour North and see my hometown, the city where a battle didn't take place near the 'other' Vancouver, Vancouver USA."

*Marshall House Photos Courtesy of Mrs. Nagano*

A Survey of Pearl Harbor Memorials Throughout the U.S.

The 9.11 Memorials seem to have eclipsed Pearl Harbor Memorials, but not quite.

I recently met with my old friends in Kyoto whom I traveled to Death Valley with once while working together in San Diego, California. We learned that we both coincidentally made sentimental journeys back to the U.S. in 2008.

My journey was a two week run in August from Calgary, Canada down to Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, covering Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, totaling less than 4,000 kilometers. But theirs was a month long journey of 10,000 kilometers or 6,214 miles. He and his wife crossed the Rockies two separate ways.

He wrote that they enjoyed autumn foliage one way and saw the mountains in early winter attire with some snow scenes on the way back. He visited Yellowstone, like me, then drove east on Interstate 90 (5000 kilometers from coast to coast) to see Niagara Falls, then south on I-75, and back on I-70 to the Rockies. He highly commended the condition of the reconstructed highway.

Then he wrote that he came across Pearl Harbor Memorial signs more than once on his journey, a reminder of the bitter war in the Pacific. The Japanese committed one of the worst conduct of the century. He pointed out Route 75 in particular and sent me the photograph on the right.

Sign on I-75 with my friend Mr. Doi
This photo inspired me to check into and hunt Pearl Harbor Memorial highways in the U.S. Continent. Surprisingly, more designations were announced after the year 2000, as if Americans were re-immortalizing an event that had taken place almost 70 years ago.

Here's my findings:

1. State of Georgia, HR1092, 2/26/96
Whereas, on December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and many innocent and brave civilians and soldiers lost their lives, their families, and their community; and citizens of this state have historically paid homage to those survivors and victims of World War II fighting; it is befitting that the State of Georgia honor and respect the brave men and women who withstood the horrific attack; and the designation of a portion of Interstate Highway 85 as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway is an appropriate acknowledgment of the courage of those survivors. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the General Assembly of Georgia that the portion of Interstate Highway 85 running through Troup and Harris Counties be designated as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway in recognition and honor of the exemplary way the survivors of the worst attack on American shores faced such a crisis.

2. State of Ohio, Revised Code, Chapter 5533.241,
3/5/04 & HB 70, Sign posting, 10/13/03
The road known as interstate route seventy-five, running in a southerly direction from the city of Toledo in Lucas County, through the counties of Wood, Hancock, Allen, Auglaize, Shelby, Miami, Montgomery, Warren, and Butler to the city of Cincinnati in Hamilton County, shall be known as the "Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway."

3. States of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Florida designate I-10 in portions as Pearl Harbor Memorial Highways.


SCR 8 (Battin) Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway.
Designates the portion of I-10 located in California as the "Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway".

Chaptered 7/2/05. Resolution Chapter 72.
I-10 is the Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway throughout Arizona, except for the portion through downtown Phoenix.

I-10 is the Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway throughout New Mexico.

Florida also designates I-10 covering 340 miles serving the Panhandle and northeast Florida as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway.

*I-10 changes memorial names. Michael Jordan describes the frequent change humorously in his blog.

4. State of Michigan
Act 142 of 2001, 10/26/01
The portion of highway I-69 beginning at exit 105 in Shiawasee County and extending east to exit 135 in Genesee County shall be known as the "Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway".

5. State of Missouri
RSMO-Chapter 227.330
Missouri Revised Statutes, 8/28/08
The portion of U.S. Highway 63 located within a county of the third classification without a township form of government and with more than fifteen thousand seven hundred but less than fifteen thousand eight hundred inhabitants shall be designated the "Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway". The department of transportation shall erect and maintain appropriate signs commemorating said portion of U.S. Highway 63 at its discretion.

6. State of Oklahoma
SB 280, 4/15/03
State Highway 77H, from where it intersects with State Highway 9 in Cleveland County, north to where it intersects with Interstate Highway 240 in Oklahoma County, shall be designated as the "Pearl Harbor/USS Oklahoma Memorial Highway".

7. State of Texas
225.026, 9/1/97
Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway Limits - US 290, from IH 10, approx. 18.4 miles south-east of Junction, eastward via Fredericksburg to Johnson City, a distance of approx. 62.1 miles. (Kimble, Gillespie, Blanco Counties)

8. Pearl Harbor Memorial Turnpike in New Jersey
REMEMBERING PEARL HARBOR: On September 24, 1997, the New Jersey State Legislature officially renamed the turnpike spur the "Pearl Harbor Memorial Turnpike Extension." To commemorate the occasion, members of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association of New Jersey, other World War II veterans, representatives of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, and officials from the New Jersey Turnpike Authority dedicated the highway.

9. Pearl Harbor Survivors Memorial Highway
Cal State SR99 was named as per the CA Highways Organization. SR99 is a north (Red Bluff) to south (Wheeler Ridge) state highway, stretching the entire length of the Central Valley.

10. Pearl Harbor Memorial Flyway, 4/28/05
State of Virginia designates Interstate 95 at the Springfield interchange in Fairfax County.

11. Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge l
The Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, more commonly referred to as the Q Bridge by locals, is a bridge that carries Interstate 95 (Connecticut Turnpike) over the mouth of the Quinnipiac River in New Haven, Connecticut. Designation since 1995. Under extensive reconstruction.

12. Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge 2
This bridge carries Interstate Route 476 (aka "the Blue Route") over the Schuylkill River, in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Designation in 2005. Under extensive reconstruction.

13. Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge 3
The Naval Academy Bridge (older and outer river bridge retained as the Naval Academy Bridge) in Annapolis was officially renamed the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge in Dec 2006 in honor of the 65th Anniversary of the attack of Pearl Harbor.

14. Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge 4
New York State Assembly, Chapter 225. in 2003
A bridge in the City of Olean, County of Cattaraugus

15. Pearl Harbor Memorial Expressway Bridge
K201 Bridge on the West Shore Expressway near Fresh Kills Main Creek, Staten Island, New York.

16. Pearl Harbor Memorial Park
Inside Huntington Park in Newport, Virginia

I am probably missing several other designations. And I'm sure, quite often, many signs go unnoticed by drivers and even local American residents do not know about the designations. For instance, I didn't notice until recently that the Triborough Bridge I crossed often in New York was designated as the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge. There are others that are slowly and surely being accepted by the public such as the many Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial streets found throughout the nation.