Tag Archives for history
Requiem for Battleship Yamato
Yamato sank and her giant body lies shattered 200 miles northwest of Tokunoshima. 430 meters down. Three thousand corpses, still entombed today. What were their thoughts as they died? In April 1945, Yoshida Mitsuru was a junior officer stationed on … Continue reading
Double Hibakusha Dies
Tsutomu Yamaguchi, who managed to have the bad luck to endure, or good luck to survive, both atomic bombings in Japan, passed away on Monday. He was only recognised officially as a dual survivor in March 2009. He was one … Continue reading
D.T. Suzuki Documentary screenings
If you have ever read about Buddhism you are certain to have come across the writings of D.T. Suzuki. I was recently contacted by a director of a film about Suzuki’s life. There are screenings in the UK in November. … Continue reading
Hiroshima Day
Yesterday I had my closest encounter with the bombing of Hiroshima. Closer than having been in Hiroshima and seen the remains and memorials. Closer than seeing documentaries, and reading contemporary accounts. Closer than touching a stunted tree that survived the … Continue reading
Photographs of Old Japan
For several months I’ve been following Okinawa Soba’s fascinating photostream at Flickr. He has an enormous collection of Meiji period photographs mainly by a photographer called T. Enami which he is generously sharing via his flickr account. His comments make … Continue reading
Falling Blossom
Falling Blossom– A British officer’s enduring love for a Japanese woman. by Peter Pagnamenta & Momoko Williams published by Century I found a very interesting book in a second hand bookshop at the weekend. (I buy almost any book about … Continue reading