Iwakuni, Miyajima, Hiroshima

My scheduled trip for June went off wonderfully well.  In addition to being accompanied by my two oldest daughters, I made many valuable discoveries by walking the land and meeting the people of Iwakuni, Miyajima Island, and Hiroshima.  Here is the Executive Summary of my trip report, and then some wavetop insights as they accompany a variety of pics:

Executive Summary.   Hiroshima city and the surrounding area, including Iwakuni city and the Marine Corps Air Station there is culturally, politically, and strategically significant beyond the obvious factor of Hiroshima’s notoriety.  Thousands of Japanese and international tourists visit Hiroshima each year, drawn to the contemporary city but also to nearby Miyajima island which contains the most famous Shinto torii gate and shrine structures in Japan.  While enjoying the rich history of this location, tourists are also educated at the Peace Memorial Park of the infamous contemporary history of the dropping of the atomic bomb, where cultural education quickly turns to political education.  This is because the city officials and politically active citizens of Hiroshima have the taken the mantle of pursuing global nuclear disarmament upon themselves and are waging a strong and peaceful campaign toward that objective. 

                Contrasting this pacifist identity Hiroshima attempts to adopt is the presence of a large Maritime Self Defense Force base in Hiroshima, the fact that the city receives one-quarter of its electricity from nuclear power plants, and the growing role that Iwakuni MCAS is playing in the collective self-defense of Japan and security of the region.   Framing these pieces is the strong presence of Buddhist and Shinto tradition found throughout the area and focused on Miyajima Island.  The chemistry of all these factors creates a relatively quiet but important region which every Japanese person I have spoken with during my ICT recognizes as a noteworthy area, even if not everyone has actually been there.  The strength and pride of the Japanese people allow them to be aware and approve of what Hiroshima tries to stand for, though in fact it is a little disturbing to recognize that there is a good deal of one-sided propaganda being disseminated.  The danger in identifying this propaganda is to be labeled insensitive to the horror of nuclear war, and so while I individually may make observations and analyses, it appears that both the U.S. and Japanese governments will continue to strengthen the security posture in the area while leaving aside the nuclear debate.  Therefore, a bit of a duplicitous flavor to the area is perpetuated, which folds neatly into the Japanese bushido culture.

A fisherman spends the afternoon in the river underneath Kintai Bridge, the famous historical site of Iwakuni, with an adjacent park and rebuilt castle which you can see at the top of the hill above.  They used to perform human sacrifices at this bridge site, but you can't find much about that nowadays.  You can see the Iwakuni white snake in a special exhibit hall that they actually call a shrine, though.

A model of the Kintai bridge with what are called rock dolls walking across the top.  The reported legend says that the dolls were made to ease the passage of the sacrificed girls across the land of the dead.  Now they are sold as unique souvenirs.

In the castle on the hill is an interesting museum of weapons, armor, and pictures.  This item was unique in that if you look close you will notice it is not a sword but a flintlock pistol disguised as a sword.  Never seen anything like it, and it is an original artifact, 19th century I believe.

Cool tourist site, a soft ice cream store that boasts 100 flavors.  I was not that adventurous and settled for cinnamon, which was very tasty.

Leaving the Iwakuni area, the next destination was Miyajima island, home of the singularly famous floating Torii, or shrine gate, of the nearby floating shrine.  It is the most photographed image of Japan, they say, and I shot this pic using my iPhone and Hipstamatic app.  Low tide was at night and we walked out to its base and touched it.  High tide came in the next afternoon and the water was 10 feet deep.  Pretty cool. 

Another terrific site on Miyajima was the summit of Mt. Misen, which had a lot of Buddhist temples along the way that are active and highly respected.  The deeply-rooted Japanese philosophy of bonding with nature is especially strong here.

The Torii gate one more time, at high tide with a normal picture.  Despite its popularity, the island at this time of year was not too crowded, and the island itself boasts a small permanent population with no traffic signals in the one town.  Highly recommend it as an overnighter, though most people make it a day trip from nearby Hiroshima.

Hiroshima's A-Bomb Dome memorial, taken at dusk when the flood lights came on.  The Peace Memorial Park is small enough to take in in one day, and well constructed to present a powerful message.

Last three shots are of inside the Peace Memorial Museum.  This display asks Why Don't Wars End?  Wow, and that's a very accurate translation of the Japanese.  Naturally, the answer presented is naive and almost completely hollow.

Despite the well-intended but juvenile rhetoric concerning world security affairs, the museum does an excellent job of representing the reality of the bombing.  This display is a sober reminder of what was unleashed on the city.  However, it takes all I can muster to ignore the irony of the large red sphere hanging in the sky, so similar to Japan's national ensign.

Last shot of a display inside another memorial hall in the park.  Once again, only part of Japan's imperial history is presented, focusing on the war with the U.S. but sidestepping the conquest of Asia that preceded our conflict.  I also found it interesting to note the choice of languages this message was chosen to be written in, when there was plenty of room in the exhibit hall to be more international.  

If you would care to read the trip report I will produce concerning this trip, please feel free to contact me.  Until next time...still working on which trip to do in July, will keep posting...