ICT wrap up- Nagasaki in December

Time for my final ICT travel post, a quick trip to the unique city of Nagasaki just before Christmas.  Please enjoy the photos and captions below.  But this will not be the end of this blog!  I am now in Okinawa serving a Fleet Marine Force assignment.  While I will not post specifics of my professional life here, I will still be getting out into the Okinawan culture and will capture observations as the opportunities arise, and share them as time permits.  Thank you for your attention to this blog this past year, it has truly been rewarding for me.  Semper fi!


And now, Nagasaki...

One of the entrances to the city's Chinatown district, a big tourist draw but quite small and elegant compared to any of the cities I visited in China. 

The Koban, or "Police Box" neighborhood police office found everywhere in Japan takes a distinctly European flavor in the quarter where I spent a night.

On my way to see a church I happened across this important milestone...the birthplace of bowling in Japan.  I have not seen any huge balls of twine on my travels here, but this monument ranks pretty close.

The Catholic church which I believe is the oldest one in Nagasaki, which remains active but is also a museum.

The inside of the church with its many elegant if simple stained glass windows which have become popular designs for tourism gifts.

In another quarter of the city sits Dejima island, which was the only plot of land where foreigners were permitted to live in Japan during its 200+ years of isolation.  The Dutch ran a small factory on the island but were essentially prisoners on it. 

The wall of Dejima and what used to be the edge of the Nagasaki Bay.  For some time the bay has had reclaimed land built up on three sides so that now Dejima is no longer an island per se but it remains a main tourism draw of the city.

A picture of Nagasaki Bay with an old steam and sail ship at anchor, supposedly a museum but not open at the time of my visit.

Nagasaki is famous for many things- being the only city with foreign trade during the Tokugawa isolation, and also being the site of a dramatic Christian persecution during that same period.  Here is the Monument of the 26 Martyrs, who were publicly crucified in an effort to eradicate Christian influence in Japan in 1597.  Just behind the monument site you can see the twin modern Gaudi-influenced spires of an active Catholic church.

Nagasaki's religious influences today sit side by side throughout the city.  Just a short walk from the 26 Martyrs site is this impressive Buddha temple with its turtle-shaped roof.   

Of course, Nagasaki is commonly popular for being the second city to be atomically bombed, and its A-Bomb museum is an important element to the city.

An interesting timeline presented in the museum.  Both Nagasaki and Hiroshima appear to have made the decision long ago to present the history of WWII without much emphasis on the actions of Japan leading up to America's involvement in the Pacific.  

Despite its less than comprehensive criticism of WWII's inception and conduct, Nagasaki's A-Bomb museum does an admirable job of championing the cause of global nuclear disarmament.

Towards the promoting of a nuke-free world, no museum can offer as powerful a message as this monument of the hypocenter can, where 500 meters above the bomb was detonated.

Within walking distance of the hypocenter park is a peace memorial park with an international collection of donated statues.  I got pictures of them all but that would make a completely separate (albeit fascinating) post.  But here is the most famous one, an absolutely European style statue calling for hope and peace, according to the plaques.  And so that is what Nagasaki is, a unique blend of Asian and European cultures, old and modern, scarred and relevant.