Tokyo Bay's Battleship Island

https://daini-kaiho.jp/en/spot/

<><><><><><><><><><>

== No.2 Sea Fort, The Battleship Island of the East!

No.2 Sea Fort is a large gun battery base island that has been an inaccessible without the government permission for many years.

It was built between mid-Meiji period (1867-1911) and Taisho period (1912-1925).

The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) was stationed there before WWII, and later the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN, in nearby Yokosuka) used the island as the key spot to protect Tokyo. After WWII it was occupied by Allied Forces, but even after the island was returned to the Japanese government, visitors without government permission were never allowed on the land because of the abandoned military ruins.

The island was cloaked in secrecy for several decades. Finally in 2019, just when Japan changed from the Heisei era to the Reiwa era the long awaited travel agency approved landing tours started.

No.2 Sea Fort was built from scratch. Originally, there were only rocky surfaces and sand on the bottom of the ocean. First, the breakwater had to be created, then a pier to moor the ships and after that, many big rocks were dumped into the ocean to form the island’s foundation. This breakwater was the first known one in Japanese history. The breakwater was originally higher and longer, but was greatly damaged by the Great Kanto Earthquake.

As you land on the island from the northside berth, you will see large diamond shaped rocks piled around the pier. They’re called “Kenchi-Ishi [ken-chee-ee-shee]” and were part of the original seawall constructed in Meiji era. This construction technology is based on Japanese castle building. The large rocks are placed, then small stones are packed in between the spaces and hardened with mortar, making the construction very strong and sturdy. With its solid structure, they have survived waves and huge typhoons. Later, this technology was shared with United States of America. You can see how they were built from the northside of lighthouse.

Godzilla On The Beach

The seaside city where Godzilla found a home | Stripes Okinawa

= = = = = = = = = =

YOKOSUKA, Japan — The "Godzilla" series started in 1954. In the middle of the first film, a warning is broadcast as the nation braces for attack by the giant monster: "Godzilla has been detected undersea 15 miles northeast of Kannonzaki cape, moving toward the northwest."

Spotted first off the cape in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Godzilla lands on Tokyo's Shibaura waterfront, sweeps away high-voltage barbed-wire fences, stomps off unscathed by a barrage of bombardments and soon turns the bustling Shimbashi and Ginza districts into a sea of fire.

In other words, the monster never set foot on the grounds of Yokosuka or destroyed the port city. Even so, Yokosukans strongly feel Godzilla still has a deep connection with their city.

The late Shigeo Kimura, president of now-defunct Yokohama-based travel agency Kannonzaki Kanko, initiated a project. His 70-year-old son Hideo says his father had the idea of building a Godzilla-shaped slide in the city after watching the scene of the alert broadcast in the film when he went to see it with Hideo, who was a primary school student back then.

At that time, the city's Kannonzaki area, including Tatara Beach, was a popular destination for excursions, but its only attraction back then was a lighthouse. Shigeo therefore expected the project would turn the area into a popular tourist spot where children could play safely, according to Hideo.

However, Shigeo could not get permission to use the character. In 1958, he instead built a slide of a "dinosaur," labeling it as a "Tyrannosaurus." However, children reacted to the object by saying, "Godzilla's on Tatara Beach," and news of a Godzilla slide spread by word of mouth.

For 15 years after that, the dinosaur-shaped slide was a popular piece of equipment for children to play on at the beach until it was torn down due to the wear and tear of age and corrosion by salty winds. The slide also helped connect Yokosuka and Godzilla.

"Amid postwar uncertainty, my father spent all his efforts to make this area a safe and peaceful place, while trying to boost local tourism. But I never expected that this place would become so famous for Godzilla," Hideo said.

In a bid to re-create the beloved slide, members of Yokosuka's Young Entrepreneurs Group (YEG) stepped up 20 years after the original side was torn down.

Kiyoshi Tanimoto, who used to play on the slide on the beach, took the initiative in the hope of creating "a new landmark in Yokosuka." The project was launched in 1994.

YEG members collected about 113,000 signatures to ask Toho Co., the copyright holder of the "Godzilla" series, for permission to use the character, while soliciting financial support from citizens and companies in a bid to set up a slide. Kurihama Flower Park in Yokosuka, about five kilometers from Tatara Beach, was picked as the location for the new slide.

The new slide was unveiled on Nov. 3, 1999, the 45th anniversary of the release of the first "Godzilla" film. As the National Defense Academy's brass band played, the Godzilla slide was unveiled, revealing a design supervised by Koichi Kawakita, who had directed the special effects in the series.

The 8.75-meter-high, 10.04-meter-long object weighs five tons. The plates that surround the slide's foundation bear an illustration of Godzilla and are engraved with the copyright "©1999 TOHO TOHO EIGA."

"This really is the fruit of our passion. There is no other moment that was more satisfying than that," Tanimoto said.

The Godzilla theme song is used as the melody of Keikyu railway's Uraga Station, near Tatara Beach. Godzilla thus is certainly taking root in Yokosuka.

"Shin Godzilla," the first Japanese Godzilla movie in 12 years, is scheduled to open in July.

"We'd like to make the resurgent Godzilla slide a source of pride in our hometown and cherish it for a long time," Tanimoto said.

Yokosuka and Jazz

7th Fleet Band Performs American Sound in Yokosuka > Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet > Display (navy.mil)

NEWS | Sept. 17, 2018

7th Fleet Band Performs American Sound in Yokosuka

By Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs Office

YOKOSUKA, Japan – The U.S. 7th Fleet Band and the Yokosuka Symphony Orchestra performed in a joint concert at the Yokosuka Arts Theater in Yokosuka, Japan Sept. 16.

 

This was the 9th annual performance of American Sound in Yokosuka which is an event that brings two musical groups together for one day.

 

The orchestra was conducted by Yokosuka Symphony’s Masaki Ishino and Lieutenant Junior Grade Luis E. Espinosa, Bandmaster for U.S. 7th Fleet Band. The symphony was also conducted by Tokyo Symphony’s Kazuyoshi Akiyama, one of Japan’s most renowned orchestral conductors who has conducted around the world for over 50 years.

 

The Yokosuka Symphony Orchestra was comprised of 85 musicians and 22 7th Fleet musicians. Fortunately, one of the U.S. Sailors spoke Japanese and bridged the language barrier, translating for both groups.

 

“Everybody is so nice, helpful and musically talented,” said Musician First Class Tony Carter (SW). “It’s such a joyous opportunity. They’re extremely excited every year to host us and we’re excited as well.”

 

This show is the 7th Fleet Band’s biggest event they perform around Yokosuka. The orchestra hosted around 1850 guests and was free to attend. The 7th Fleet Band usually performs several local events after American Sounds in Yokosuka for the community.

 

“The Seventh Fleet band continues to strengthen well established relationships with the local community of Yokosuka through presentations like these,” said Espinosa. “This particular event is so well regarded and effective in creating a positive image for our Navy that attendance is guaranteed to be at capacity.”

 

The joint portion took five all-hands rehearsals and a full run-through for approximately 16 hours to prepare for this event.

 

“The People of Japan think highly of traditions, the arts and culture,” said Espinosa. “They have a deep appreciation for the amount of time it takes to master the art of music and see concerts as an opportunity to learn from you personally and share of themselves with you. One of our communication strategies that guides us is to share America's culture through the language of music. The Seventh Fleet Band, along with many other musicians after WWII are credited for bringing Jazz to Japan's shores, and the Pacific Ambassadors Big Band has continued to cement our relationship through that same language. These events also give opportunities for the people of our host nation to see US Navy Sailors first hand and share their positive experience (and selfies) with others around them.”

 

The U.S. 7th Fleet Band is one of 11 U.S. Navy Fleet Bands, this unit provides musical support for ships, military bases, foreign dignitaries, and many community relations events throughout the Western Pacific.

Yokosuka Burning Coal for Electricity

Yokosuka Coal-fired Power Plant, Kanagawa, Japan (nsenergybusiness.com)

A 1.3GW coal-fired power plant is under construction at the former Yokosuka thermal power station site near the port of Kurihama, in the Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.

Yokosuka is one of the 22 new coal-fired power plants planned to be built in Japan by 2025 and it is the only coal-fired facility being constructed in Japan’s Greater Tokyo area.

The Yokosuka coal-fired power plant is being developed by Japan’s Energy for New Era (JERA), a 50:50 joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and Chubu Electric.

Construction on the 1.3GW Yokosuka coal-fired facility was started in August 2019, while the two new units are scheduled to come online by 2023 and 2024, respectively.

Location and site details

The two-unit coal-fired power plant is being developed on the former Yokosuka thermal power plant site that has a 60-year long history of serving Japan’s electricity needs.

The Yokosuka thermal power plant is located on a 202acre-site near the Yokosuka city in the Kanagawa Prefecture, in Japan’s Tokyo Bay area.

Yokosuka coal-fired power plant details

The Yokosuka coal-based power plant will be equipped with two ultra-supercritical (USC) coal-fired units of 650MW capacity each.

The USC units are designed to operate at greater efficiency by utilising a lesser amount of coal and emitting lesser quantities CO2 and SO2 compared to conventional coal-fired units.

JERA proposed to replace the pre-existing Yokosuka thermal power facility with two modern and efficient coal-fired generating units in September 2016.

It established the special-purpose company JERA Power Yokosuka to build and operate the new coal-based power plant at the Yokosuka site in March 2017.

The final environmental impact assessment (EIS) for the 1.3GW Yokosuka coal-fired power project was approved by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), Government of Japan, in November 2018.

Controversy over the Yokosuka coal power project

In 2019, the Yokosuka coal-fired power project witnessed protests and opposition from local environmental groups against the CO2 emissions and air pollutants from the new generating units.

A group of residents of Yokosuka also sued the central government against the approval of an allegedly simplified environmental impact assessment report for the project by launching an administrative lawsuit in the Tokyo District Court in May 2019.

Yokosuka thermal power station history

Named after the nearby city, the Yokosuka thermal power station was developed with eight generating units for a total installed capacity of 2.2GW. It was owned and operated by TEPCO Fuel & Power, a subsidiary of TEPCO.

The facility comprised six 350MW steam turbine units running on heavy and crude oil, and two gas turbine units of 30MW and 144MW capacities that operated on light oil and city gas.

The six 350MW oil-fired units were commissioned between 1964 and 1970, while the 30MW gas turbine unit was brought online as an emergency generating facility in July 1971 and the 144MW gas turbine unit was commissioned in September 2007.

All of the operating units at the Yokosuka thermal power station were decommissioned between 2004 and 2010.

However, in the wake of the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daichi nuclear disaster, two 350MW oil-fired units, as well as two gas turbine units of the Yokosuka thermal power plant, were restarted and operated as an emergency power generating facility until 2014.

All units of the Yokosuka thermal power station were fully decommissioned by March 2017.

Lord Oguri

Remembering Restoration Heroes in Modern Japan - Association for Asian Studies

Just as Japanese of the late nineteenth century faced disorder as they approached a new millennium, so too did Japanese citizens of the 1990s. The bursting of the bubble economy, government scandals, calamities such as the Kobe earthquake, and the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, were just some of the reasons why many referred to the 1990s as the “lost decade.” The previous heroes still remained in the popular imagination, but new ones emerged, particularly those on the losing side of the Meiji Restoration. One such figure was Oguri Tadamasa, a former samurai bureaucrat who worked for the Tokugawa regime. He provides us with an example of how the losers of the Restoration were rehabilitated in the national consciousness and how the efforts of local people, rather than academics or famous writers, affect the landscape of national memory.

Oguri’s background did not fit those of the typical Restoration heroes. He opposed any compromise with the emperor, the court, or the major daimyō, and advocated fighting against the imperial forces, a position for which he was killed in the spring of 1868. In the dominant historical narrative of the Meiji Restoration, Oguri was either vilified or ignored. In the late nineteenth century, former Tokugawa shogunate officials mourned his death as a great loss for modern Japan, and used him as a way to critique the Meiji government. But as a middle-aged, married bureaucrat, his past lacked the adventure that inspired political activists.

Oguri’s image as a local hero in Gunma Prefecture, where he was killed, enjoyed a resurgence in 1915. It was the fiftieth anniversary of the Yokosuka naval base, and Oguri’s one legacy that had an impact on prewar Japan, owing to its role in Japan’s naval victories. Local Gunma historians participated in the Yokosuka City celebrations, passing out pamphlets containing a short biography of Oguri. In 1922, Yokosuka City wanted to build a bust of Oguri and the French architect who constructed the Yokosuka naval base. City officials received contributions from Gunma citizens who became more aware of Oguri as a local hero. Gunma historians wrote articles about Oguri convincing citizens of the need to recognize him as a local and national hero.

Until the 1990s, Oguri had little presence in national popular culture as it related to the Restoration. The only national attention he received occurred when television followed the exploits of would-be treasure hunters, searching for the Tokugawa shogunate money reputedly buried in the mountains of Gunma. According to the legend, Oguri had been charged with burying some of the shogunate’s money for later use against domestic enemies.

Locals succeeded in promoting Oguri to a larger audience. Historians wrote more books about Oguri, Gunma television stations produced documentaries and historical dramas about him, and anniversary celebrations of his life, held at the temple where Oguri lived, gave him greater exposure in the region. The Prefectural Governor and the mayors of Kurabuchi Village (where Oguri was killed) and Yokosuka City petitioned NHK to create a drama about him. In January of 2001, the first full treatment of his life appeared in the annual New Year historical drama. Since then, more books and his own manga series have come out, and he has even made it into a Japanese high school history textbook, sure signs of his rising status in Japanese historical consciousness.

In the 1990s, historical novelists visited Gunma to learn more about Oguri, and adopted many of the major narrative themes of his life from local researchers. In 1994, Shiba Ryōtarō wrote of Oguri:

Oguri was a patriot in every bone of his body, but he wasn’t the type to talk about patriotism. Real patriotism is not about getting loaded and letting the tears flow while talking big. In such times, there are as many of those kinds of patriots as there are dogs in the mountains, fields and towns barking so loudly it bursts my eardrums. Oguri was not that kind of patriot. He sent a new energy through the day to day affairs (of government).¹⁵

This differed from his portrayal of Oguri in Ryōma Goes, where Shiba blames Oguri for endangering Japan’s independence by relying too much on the French.¹⁶ The extent to which he has changed his mind over the last twenty years suggests just how far Japan has gone in reassessing its past.