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Nagasaki Every Japanese knows about Dejima. No one in North America has heard of "Dejima." A few Americans are aware of the "Hidden Christians."
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| Overview" "Five Pairs of Shoes" | Megane Bridge | Overnight Hotel Victoria | |
| Dejima | Dejima History | Hollander Slope | |
| Atomic Bomb Museum | |||
| Americans know that the second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. We know little else. | |||
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Tomita Itsuko, Kashima Akemi, Akabane Tomoko, Noriko and myself - the "five pairs of shoes" of this expedition.
We flew from Tokyo to Nagasaki where we rented a car. The trip was planned mostly by Itsuko with consultation among the four women. Bruce had no time to go the the bookstore that contained English language materials. Throughout the trip Bruce was without any map or guidebook he could read. He had no prior knowledge except "the atom bom was dropped on Nagasaki." He took notes as time permitted. There was shared interest in the history of the hidden Christians. Our route touched several of the important sites including several of the oldest churches in Japan. | ||
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This is a cliche in Japa, the "spectacles" bridge.The reflection in the water completes the image. It is so often photographed we restrained.
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Such a plesant, unexpected place, not hotel-like. The wonderful dinner buffet featured many vegetable and bean dishes of local sources.
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Dejima, in the 17th century called Tsukishima, "built island", was an extension of Nagasaki separated by a canal from the native city. It served as a trading post for the Portuguese, 1570-1639, and subsequently the Dutch (1641-1854). For 220 years, it was the central conduit for foreign trade and cultural exchange with Japan during the isolationist Edo period (1600-1869), and the only Japanese territory open to Westerners. It worked, denying full access to the Westerners while reaping huge profit for Japanese and Portuguese alike for hundreds of years.
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_15nov11-nn_1717.jpg A scale model of historic Dejima.  |
_15nov11-nn_1727.jpg We walk amid a small recreation of Dejima streetscape.  |
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_15nov11-nn_1808.jpg A history all new to me. I regret I did not photograph the entirety.  |
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_15nov11-nn_1949.jpg The museum we skipped for insufficient time.  |
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Dejima, the site of hundreds of years of shenanigans between Dutch and Japanese elite merchants and Samurai.
"The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet" is an enjoyable and well-researched historical novel set in Dejima during its heyday. Items introduced to Japan from the West via Dejima: -- Photography (1856; origin: India) -- Badminton -- Billiards (1764) -- Beer -- Clover -- Coffee -- Piano --Paint ("Tar") -- Cabbage -- Tomatoes -- Chocolate (1789-1801) -- deep-frying | ||
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_postcardharbor3.jpg Circle indicates Dejima.  |
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_postcardharbor2.jpg Dejima, an alternate pictioral view.  |
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The Dutch Slope, Oranda-zaka, or "The Hollander Slope" is a specific paved street leading up a hillside in Nagasak''s Higashiyamate neighborhood. The surrounding area was inhabited by wealthy western merchants after Japan opened it’s ports for foreign trade in 1859. The area still has a few original residences from that time, some of which can be visited.
Are you familiar with "Madame Butterfly"? This is the authentic location of the story told in the opera.Puccini visited the Hollander Slope and usurped the story from Tamaki Miuri who had popularized the play for 30 years prior. Hollander Slope missed destruction by the atom bomb thanks to the rugged topography of Nagasaki. This whole portion of the city was shielded from the blast. Siebolt introduced Japan to the Occidental countries for the first time. "In order to understand the world where many different types of people live it is necessaryto know the history of how people lived. Nagasaki is a place of pilgrimage to learn that history." | ||
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_15nov11-nn_2225.jpg Real-life Madame Butterfly.  |
_15nov11-nn_2314.jpg Oura Cathedral is the oldest wooden church, built soon after the end of the Japanese government's Seclusion Policy in 1853. It is also known as the Church of the 26 Japanese Martyrs.  |
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The museum was good; not so intensionally depressing as the Hiroshima museum. Nagasaki was only partially destroyed thanks to its rugged topography. I did not take pictures.
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_15nov12-nn_0010.jpg Many school groups visit the museum. It's a bright, enjoyable space. The purpose of visits is not just to reiterate history. Here are a few of the countless paper cranes which have been sent from all over the world.  |
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_postcardnagasakiafterbombpainting.jpg A painting of the destruction - a postcard from the museum shop.  |