A sculpture by the famous Sumikawa

Here and there, around Yokosuka are works of art, mostly sculptures .... called オブジェ (Japanization of French: "objet d'art")

One such sculpture is located a few block away from Keihin Kyuko Yokosuka Chuo Station, located on a corner of the intersection leading to Yonegahama (in front of a CoCo Ichiban Curry Rice restaurant) .... It is entitled 譜 ("FU", which means musical note or score) .... and sure enough, it is shaped like a musical note

"Why a musical note?" .... Well, Yokosuka has prided itself on being one of the birthplaces of modern jazz music, as Japanese musicians flocked to Yokosuka after the end of World War II to learn and play jazz & big band music to entertain U.S. sailors and troops in places like the "EM Club" (see the earlier entry in this blog)    

Turns out that this work of art 譜 was created by Kiichi Sumikawa, who is totally famous in Japan .... born in 1931, very prolific, winner of numerous prizes & awards, served as president of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts & Music .... and, he was the design director for Tokyo Skytree...

Link about Skytree:  https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3064.html

Return Gift from U.S. for Cherry Trees: Dogwood Trees

For as long as the U.S. Navy has been located in Yokosuka, there are remarkably few permanent signs of its presence, which mostly is confined to the areas inside the base fence-lines ..... Yes, there is the Dobu-ita/Honch bar, restaurant, and entertainment district in the downtown area ..... but apart from that, not much to show that 23,000-or-so people from America have been living and working here for over 70 years...

However, there ARE the 25 dogwood trees, brought all the way across the Pacific Ocean, and planted along Route 16 in front of Yokosuka City Hall in December 2014 ..... They are still small and several years away from blooming, but some day they will, and then they will be eye-pleasing symbols of Yokosuka's ties with the U.S.

Here is the story:

Quote:

In 1912, Tokyo gave the United States a gift of 3,000 cherry trees as a token of friendship between the two nations.  Over time, these beautiful trees have become an iconic symbol of our nation’s capital and a very visible reminder of the deep bond between the United States and Japan.  Even though the average life-span of a cherry tree is 60 years, some of the original trees are still living today; they are an emblem of the longevity and strength of our bilateral relationship.

In commemoration of this gift, and in anticipation of the next 100 years of U.S. – Japan friendship, the people of the United States would like to express our gratitude by offering a gift of 3,000 dogwood trees to the people of Japan through the Friendship Blossoms Initiative.  These dogwood trees will be planted in Tokyo and all over Japan, including in the Tohoku region recovering from the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, as an enduring symbol of our friendship.

Twenty-five Friendship Blossoms dogwood trees were planted along Route 16 and in Yokosuka Shiyaku-sho-mae Park in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture on December 10, 2014.  Since 1962, Yokosuka has been a sister city of Corpus Christi, Texas and for the last 42 years has exchanged two high school students annually. The dogwood trees were requested with the goal of increasing awareness of cultural and educational exchanges between the two countries.

Unquote.

https://www.bridgingfoundation.org/friendship-blossom-project

The dogwood tree is famous in the Southern region of the United States for its flowering beauty and cool shade.  The blossom, a four pointed white blossom tinged with red at each edge, is the state flower of North Carolina. In the fall, the leaves turn brilliant shades of scarlet to reddish purple and bright red fruit appears in small clusters.  The fruit is not very tasty for humans, but is usually devoured by birds.  Dogwood bark has long been considered to have medicinal properties as a fever reducer.  The wood of the dogwood tree is very hard and durable and has been used to make various items including tool handles and golf clubs.

Newly-planted dogwood sapling, 12/10/2014

A view of the tree planting ceremony

Former Mayor Yuto Yoshida in the middle 

       

The Kamikaze Base that changed into a Family Facility

In 1945, Japan Imperial Navy built an airfield along the west coast of Yokosuka .... Nagai Naval Air Base .... It was supposed to help defend against an invasion of mainland Japan by U.S. & Allied Forces, including preparations to for Kamikaze attacks using the "Oka" manned bomb-plane .... as it turned out, WW-II ended before Nagai Naval Air Station was actually used .... after the war, it was converted into a family housing area for the U.S. Navy, and it was used that way until 1983 .... more recently, a large portion of the land was turned into a children-oriented "Le Soleil Park" (Soleil No Oka Koen)...

https://en.japantravel.com/kanagawa/le-soleil-amusement-park-yokosuka/4011     

Undated photo shows Nagai Air Base runway  

Post-WW2 photo of "Oka" manned bomb-plane

How the Oka was supposed to be used

Overhead view of USN Nagai Housing Area

Another view of Nagai housing ... Look At The Cliff !!

Yasuura Park

安浦公園

A tall, pole-mounted, clock
Stands next to the tree,
Both measure time's
Passing differently,
The clock's face is
Simple and stark,
Above a memorial to the
Dead who made the park,
Which used to be ocean
Before it was filled,
And during that work
The men were killed....

https://carllafong.blogspot.com/2018/12/blog-post_30.html

Much of the eastern part of Yokosuka City, facing Tokyo Bay, sits on land reclaimed from the sea .... the landfill work really got started back in the 19th Century, after Yokosuka was selected to be the site of a major Naval Base .... and it continued, in stages, all the way through 1992...

(Light-yellow hatched areas are landfill, Navy Base is gray)

A Look Back at Christmas, as Viewed from Yokosuka....

So this is Christmas...

"BLUF" (Bottom Line Up Front) .... It is many things, but not a vacation .... This year, Japanese people will go to work on Christmas Day, as if it were a regular, non-special, Tuesday .... and the week which follows will be real busy, as preparations go into full-gear for the New Years holidays and celebrations...​​
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But Christmas certainly is observed in Japan, and the whole thing starts on 01 November, the day after Halloween .... Japanese love to arrange, decorate, and wrap things in paper, especially in concert with nature and the changing of the seasons .... there is also a long-standing tradition of gift-giving...​​
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So, in recent years, Halloween has become an occasion to decorate one's home with all sorts of exotic & spooky objects, in the autumn colors of orange, yellow, brown, and black .... there are also parades and street parties where people in costumes frolic into the late night hours...​​
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Then Halloween is finished, and, up-next is Christmas .... and since there is no Thanksgiving in Japan (no turkeys either), the stores put away the Halloween merchandise and quickly bring-out the Christmas stuff .... and thereafter, for the whole month of November and into December, Christmas decorations, trees, lights, knick-knacks, gifts, and music become part of the fabric of each passing, increasingly cold, day...​​
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Nighttime lighting, e.g., neon, has always been a thing in Tokyo .... so, as Christmas started taking root, the idea of stringing-up colored lights as part of a holiday decoration was enthusiastically accepted, and, along with the introduction of energy-efficient LEDs, resulted in the emergence of "Illuminations", which are incredible & humongous, holiday light displays .... this link shows some of the best ones in Tokyo:         ​​
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https://tokyocheapo.com/entertainment/top-10-picks-for-best-winter-illuminations-in-tokyo/ The Top 10 Picks for Tokyo Winter Illuminations 2018 | Tokyo Cheapo - Tokyo Cheapo | The Ultimate Guide To Tokyo

We’re not trying to squash the romance and wonder of the season, but Tokyo winter illuminations have become something of an arms race with the various districts trying to out-gun each other with more and more fantastically produced illuminations.
tokyocheapo.com
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The Illuminations start by mid-November, with some going through Christmas Eve, some until New Year's Eve, and others continuing into January & February .... So, by late-November, Christmas merchandise & decorations are in the stores, PA systems are playing loops of holiday music, and there are gorgeous night-lights here and there around the city .... it is becoming sort of ubiquitous...

In particular, this odd song by Paul McCartney:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9BZDpni56Y​​

So, what is this all leading to...?​​
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Well, a slight detour must be made for TO-JI (冬至)　Winter Solstice .... It is observed in Japan, as are all major milestones in Nature's calendar .... but TO-JI never evolved into a special celebration or festival, and instead is apparently observed by sitting in hot bath with a bunch of floating YUZU (柚 a type of citrus fruit)​​

Right after the Solstice, on 23 December, is the Heisei Emperor Akihito's birthday, which is a national holiday .... and this day off allows the Japanese to, in effect, start celebrating Christmas, with the focus being on Christmas Eve...​​
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At this point, several things start happening .... all of them activities, or "traditions", which Japan has worked into its own and unique version of Christmas, and they occur during the mainly evening hours of 23-24 December:​​
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  (1) Christmas cake: The prototypical Christmas cake is two or three layers of vanilla sponge cake with white cream frosting and covered with strawberries .... there are also chocolate versions, and some other variations .... but the point is to buy the cake and eat it with your family, or loved one(s), on Christmas Eve (and no later) .... lots of cakes are made, and there are special booths which sell them, and a lot of time-challenged people lining up to buy them, before the clock strikes 12...     ​​
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  (2) Kentucky Fried Chicken: Since most Japanese homes do not have ovens, especially those large enough to cook a whole bird .... and, Japanese are vaguely aware of Americans eating those "huge" turkeys .... well, the Kentucky Fried Chicken company definitely saw a business opportunity, and it started selling "holiday" buckets of chicken, with all the fixings .... needless to say, you just can't walk into KFC and expect to get one of those on Christmas Eve .... No, you need to order your special/festive fried chicken meal in advance, or otherwise stand in line to get some (just like those in the other line for the Christmas cakes) ​​
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  (3) Santa Claus & Presents: Many Japanese families with small children have adopted the tradition of faking-out their kids about the existence Santa Claus and setting-up a Christmas tree and buying presents, etc., but the majority of the trees are definitely made of plastic (most with LED lights already embedded) .... and not all parents do the gifts-below-the-tree thing, and instead take their children to "Toys-R-Us" (yes, it still exists as a profitable company in Japan), and let the kids choose .... then, it's off to KFC and the cake store...            ​​
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  (4) Christmas Eve Date Night: I don't know how this one came about, but, if you are a Japanese person in your late-teens or early-20's, it seems that you are REQUIRED to go on a romantic date during Christmas Eve .... pretty much all the nice restaurants are totally booked, well in advance, by guys trying to make a good impression .... and one thing which might have contributed to this phenomenon is that many Japanese companies pay year-end bonuses during mid-December, so there is some disposable income available to pay for expensive meals, gifts, and hotel rooms...​​
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So, that is it, Christmas (Eve) in Japan .... and I would like to take this opportunity to wish a Merry Christmas to all of you Japan-gazer readers .... and best wishes for 2019!

High Culture at Kannonzaki

It may be a bit of a surprise to some, but Yokosuka City has a very well-conceived and constructed Museum of Art ..... here is its website:

http://www.yokosuka-moa.jp/information_english/

One person who visited the museum a few years ago had the following to say:

"Located off of seaside Route 16 ..... The museum is surrounded by natural beauty ..... the main entrance faces Tokyo Bay with walkways along the perimeter that lead to a secondary access located on the rooftop terrace surrounded by lush Yokosuka mountains ..... The steel-grated rooftop walkway design reminded me of a splash of water with its unexpected curves leading you to the sky blue views of the bay and observatory entrance ..... The exhibit spaces are nested in white boxes with circle shaped cutout windows, all encased in glass walls that invite in the natural light ..... Traditional Japanese fabric dividers, “noren”, hang between the Special Exhibit Halls on the main floor ..... The rest of the gallery can be viewed at basement level where most of the pristine white walls stretch to the second floor ceiling"

The rest of the description is at this link:

https://en.japantravel.com/kanagawa/yokosuka-museum-of-art-acquamare/6017

Yokosuka's Museum of Art opened in 2007, in the rich natural surroundings of Kannonzaki Park, and as part of celebrating the 100th anniversary of the foundation of Yokosuka City ..... It has become well-known as a top-level "Scenic Art Museum" in Japan ..... it also hosts “ACQUAMARE”, a high-class Italian restaurant ..... I remember that the museum came to be built due to the insistent leadership of then-Yokosuka Mayor Hideo Sawada ..... although some of his constituents were opposed to spending so many millions of city funds on an "impractical" facility, Sawada strongly felt that an blue-collar navy town like Yokosuka deserved to have some high culture, and so he pushed the project through to completion...