Ryuhon-Ji --- Intricate Wood Carvings

Some people assume that in order to see old & beautiful Japanese temple architecture and art work, a trip to Nikko, Asakusa, or Kyoto will be necessary.

However, that is not true, as a temple with fantastic & detailed wood-roof carvings is located only about a 10-15 minute walk up the hill from Yokosuka Chuo train station --- It is called "Ryuhon Ji."

猿海山 龍本寺

Here are some examples (amazing woodwork art!):

Unusual Hill-top Monument

On top of a bluff overlooking downtown Yokosuka (just up the hill from Chuo Station) is a large mysterious & oddly-shaped metal sculpture.

It is hard not to notice...

It turns out that this structure is called: "Peace Monument"

Built in 1989 as part of Yokosuka City's declaration against nuclear weapons.

Not sure what the design means ---- sort of has an abstract "Hammer & Sickle" look to it.

Back story --- Yokosuka's Mayor at the time was Mr. Yokoyama.  He served for 5 terms (20 years) and his last year was 1993.  Turns out that Yokoyama-san was originally from Hiroshima .... so, that may explain why this anti-atomic bomb sculpture was erected while he was in power.

Mysterious Hilltop Shrine ---- In A Place One Might Find Tottoro

Hidden forest shrine.

Fushimi Hakuseki Inari Shrine

Up the hill from Taura Station .... hard to believe this ancient quiet holy spot is located only a twenty minute walk from all the concrete urbanized areas below....

Yokosuka Power Spot No. 3 --- The Fatal Price Of Loyalty

Yokosuka's "Verny Park" rightfully ought to be called "Verny-Oguri Park."

"Tadamasa Oguri was a controversial Tokugawa government official whose efforts contributed to the modernization of Japan at the end of the shogunate and the beginning of the Meiji Period and whose insistent calls for resistance against the forces of Satsuma and Choshu would cost him his life."

Good/short biography is here.

In the mid-1860s, Tadamasa Oguri teamed-up with the French naval engineer, Francois Leonce Verny, to build-up the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal.

A real nice bilingual explanation about Verny is here.

So, Oguri, who actually ran the Tokugawa's finances at one point, was a pretty powerful government official, and intensely loyal to the Shogun --- and he used his power to build-up Yokosuka.

And in the central part of Very Park, the busts of Verny and Oguri are displayed together, as such:

  












But, taking a closer look, in the middle and behind the statues is a small rock formation, which looks like this:

It turns out that these stones were taken from a spot along the Karasu River, in Gunma Prefecture, where Ogura was beheaded by samurai from Choshu & Satsuma.  The stones were donated to Yokosuka's park in 1953.

I had walked an jogged past the Ogura and Verny statues for many years, and only recently became aware of these quiet, strange, & powerful stones which lie in the background --- wow!

The Black Ships 黒船

In 1720, a office headquarters & administrative complex was set-up in Uraga ---  It was called the Uraga Magistrate's Office, and it reported up to the Tokugawa Shogun government in Edo (Tokyo.)

At that time, Yokosuka City did not yet exist (it was just a small fishing village) --- so, even until today, the people who live in the Uraga section of Yokosuka have a sense of being the oldest and historically most important part of the City (local pride!)

The job of the Uraga Magistrate's Office, due to his location near the mouth of Tokyo Bay, was to monitor and manage the entry of boats and ships into the bay --- i.e., to make sure no one could sneak-up and surprise the Shogun in Edo.

So, in 1853, when Commodore Matthew Perry and his squadron of U.S. Navy warships showed-up to "open" Japan, it was the Uraga Magistrate who had to deal with the situation.

Yokosuka City has produced an excellent summary of what happened between Uraga and the "Black Ships" --- and here it is:

Matthew Perry and Yokosuka

The Birth Of Japanese Naval Aviation -- 1912, Yokosuka (Oppama 追浜)

One of Nissan Automobile Corporation's main manufacturing and test plants is located in the northern part of Yokosuka City, called: Oppama (追浜).

Nissan built its factory there in 1961, on "wide-open" property which had formerly been used as U.S. Naval Air Station Oppama, and before that, as the Japanese Imperial Navy's Yokosuka Air Base.

It has been mostly forgotten that the birth of Japan's naval aviation occurred at Yokosuka Air base in 1912.  Here is a relevant quote from the book "Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy" (by David Evans & Mark Peattie, pgs 179-180):

"(Japan's naval aviation) began with the decisions of the Commission on Naval Aeronautical Research to purchase foreign winged aircraft and to send junior officers abroad to learn how to fly and maintain them.  In consequence, the navy purchased two seaplanes from the Glenn Curtis factory in Hammondsport, New York, and two Maurice Farman seaplanes from France.  To establish a cadre of naval aviators and technicians, the navy dispatched three officers to Hammondsport and two to France for training and instruction.  Upon their return to Japan at the end of 1912, two of the newly trained naval aviators made the first flights in Japanese naval air history at Oppama on Yokosuka Bay, one in a Curtiss seaplane, the other in a Maurice Farman .... Within a year, the navy had begun operational use of the aircraft, and within two, Japanese naval aircraft had undertaken their first combat missions."

          

Yokosuka's "Statue Of Liberty"

On the bluff overlooking Yokosuka City's downtown & naval port area, a park called: "Chuo Ko-en" (横須賀中央公園 -- Central Park) is located on what used to be a Japan Imperial Army training area.

It was an excellent location for looking out at Tokyo Bay, and the Japanese Army's Yokosuka Heavy Artillery Regiment would conduct canon firing practice from that spot/facility.  (Subject for a different post in the future.)

Yokosuka's museum and cultural center/civic auditorium are located within the Central Park grounds.

Of interest, there are also some statues located on a green area next to the museum.

And one of them is called "The Statue Of Liberty," and looks like this:

        












This statue was built in 1960, by a famous Japanese sculptor Seibo KITAMURA, and was moved and erected in Yokosuka's Central Park in 1977, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the City's foundation.

KITAMURA-san, who passed-away in 1987, is most famous for a large statue he built for the Atomic Bomb Peace Park in Nagasaki City, which most people have seen, and looks like this:

  














Back in the 1960s and 1970s, Yokosuka's political leaders (and many citizens of the post-World War II generation,) never wanted Japan's military to become powerful again, and they were intent on developing Yokosuka into a "Peace City" -- and lessen its dependence on the naval harbor complex, from which the U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self Defense Force operated (and also served as the City's largest employers.)

KITAMURA's "Statue Of Liberty" -- built on a base of stones from Hiroshima -- was intended to send a message of "love and happiness" to the people of Yokosuka.

(Note:  There is another, more notorious, Statue of Liberty, which is located on top of the Love Hotel "Goddess," located right across the street from (and facing towards) Yokosuka U.S. Navy Base --- It has been there for decades, and I am not sure what it is intended to mean ... ?)

   

The Battleship Which Survived An Atomic Bomb

Continuing on with checking-out and explaining the monuments located in Verny Park...

The above photo shows three of them --- the one furthest away commemorates the poet Masaoka Shiki, while one in the middle is a memorial to the crew and Imperial Navy mine-laying warship: Okinoshima.

So, that leaves the one in the foreground, which is a monument to the battleship NAGATO.

 

(From WIKIPEDIA) --- Nagato (長門), named for Nagato Province, was a super-dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the 1910s. The lead ship of her class, she carried supplies for the survivors of the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923. The ship was modernized in 1934–36 with improvements to her armor and machinery and a rebuilt superstructure in the pagoda mast style. Nagato briefly participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 and was the flagship of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto during the attack on Pearl Harbor. She covered the withdrawal of the attacking ships and did not participate in the attack itself.

Other than participating in the Battle of Midway in June 1942, where she did not see combat, the ship spent most of the first two years of the Pacific War training in home waters. She was transferred to Truk in mid-1943, but did not see any combat until the Battle of the Philippine Sea in mid-1944 when she was attacked by American aircraft. Nagato did not fire her main armament against enemy vessels until the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944. She was lightly damaged during the battle and returned to Japan the following month. The IJN was running out of fuel by this time and decided not to fully repair her. Nagato was converted into a floating anti-aircraft platform and assigned to coastal defense duties. She was attacked in July 1945 as part of the American campaign to destroy the IJN's last remaining capital ships, but was only slightly damaged. In mid-1946, the ship was a target for nuclear weapon tests during Operation Crossroads. She survived the first test with little damage, but was sunk by the second.

NAGATO was built at Kure Naval Arsenal, but spent most of its commissioned service based out of Yokosuka, where it was assigned to the Naval District Command.  Also, NAGATO embarked on its final deployment from Yokosuka, using its own propulsion-power & under the command of a U.S. Navy officer, en route Eniwetok, and its final operation/destiny as a target for nuclear weapons...

ありし日の　
聯合艦隊旗艦長門の
姿をここに留めて　
昭和の激動の時代を
偲ぶよすがとする

Diversity

Yokosuka City is made up of several districts, which are pretty unique.

For example, there is what might be called the "downtown port" area, encompassing Taura, Shioiri, Hon-cho, Otaki-cho and Hinode-cho.

Then there is Uraga, which was an important Tokugawa Shogun Magistrate's post, when Yokosuka was just a fishing village.

Meanwhile, there are parts of Yokosuka --like Akiya and Sajima -- which are located on the western coast, with views across Sagami Bay of Mount Fuji...   The mood along the west coast of Yokosuka is  green and ocean resort-like, with yacht & pleasure boat marinas ... and Akiya borders on Hayama Town, where rich people from Tokyo keep vacation homes, and the Emperor has his summer palace.

Akiya is about as different as you can get from the more industrial parts of Yokosuka's northeast area which is clustered around what used to be a huge Imperial Navy port, shipyard, and airfield complex.

Yes, there used to be an airfield in Yokosuka -- the Japanese Navy's first flights were conducted at Oppama Air Base in 1912.  After World War II, the U.S. military took over the runway & facilities and called Naval Air Station Oppama.  By the end of the 1950's, the U.S. military departed/closed the air base and it was returned to the Japanese government.  In 1961, Nissan Auto Corp. re-opened the facility as one of is large production plants, and the airfield area was turned into road-test track.    

The fact is that Yokosuka is a diverse City, with roots stretching way back to a time when the Miura Peninsula was populated by fishing & farming villages and an economy based on coastal trade with other parts of Japan...

The Guns Of Kannonsaki

Kannonsaki Park, facing Tokyo Bay, is a wonderful place to visit and hike --- there is a cool Keikyu hotel and a first-class art museum located there.

But, back in the day, the area was used by the Japanese Imperial Army's Heavy Artillery Regiment to deploy heavy guns (e.g., 28 cm howitzers) for defense of Tokyo Bay.

More to follow, but here are some pictures of what the guns looked-like:

  

During the late-19th century, and early 20th century, Japan's Imperial Army built-up an extensive coastal defense complex/system, to better defend Tokyo Bay from encroaching foreign navies and warships.

In the case of Yokosuka, the Kannonzaki Cape area, with it's great natural view of the entrance to Tokyo Bay (through Uraga Suido [channel]) was one of the primary sites for the Army artillery batteries.

Here is a map which shows the situation:

The Meiji Emperor's Visit

This one is a place-holder .... but there are monuments in Yokosuka which commemorate the visits of the Meiji Emperor .... and this is the leader who became the focus of Japan's efforts to modernize and become strong enough to avoid colonization by the Western Powers...

Here are pictures of a visit to Yoksuka Iron Works, by high-ranking officials, viewing some metallurgic work, as presented by the French naval engineers, headed by Francois Verny, and an overview of Yokosuka naval harbor...

    



















Here is a stone marker, right next to a Honch bar, which memorializes the Meiji Emperor's visit to Yoksuka, all those years ago...

Battleship MIKASA --- Fame's Ups and Downs...

Japan Imperial Navy's battleship MIKASA, is a famous ship, which helped win a famous and decisive sea-battle, in 1905, against the Russian Navy.  Details here.

Here is how MIKASA looked, in its glorious, operational days:

However, decades later, after Japan lost World War II (or, the "Pacific War", as is used in Tokyo), MIKASA fell onto hard times, and had its guns stripped, and it served as the platform for tourism, hosting a dance hall and an aquarium...

  

In the 1960s, the U.S. Navy, led by ADM(Ret) Nimitz, supported a public initiative to renovate & restore MIKASA to its former glory.

In 2009, the NIMITZ-TOGO connection was reinforced.

Nowadays, MIKASA is a proud symbol of Japan's naval heritage...

  

Yokosuka Power Spot Number 3 --- The "EM Club"

Here is a stone marker, which commemorates the former existence of the "EM Club" --- Enlisted Men's Club:

This small monument is located at the corner of a large building, which houses the Yokosuka Arts Theater ( see here ) & the Mercure Hotel --- located across the street from the AEON Shoppers Plaza Mall.

The EM Club was a R&R (rest & relaxation) facility which served a similar function for the sailors of the Japanese Imperial Navy ---- and from 1945 through the early-1980s, the EM Club (also called Club Alliance) served as a unique place, located outside of the Navy Base, where Americans and Japanese came together.

      

The "forgotten story" about the EM Club is that, during the post-World War II years, a whole generation of now-famous Japanese musicians learned to play jazz music in the EM Club.  It was one of the few places where Japanese sax and trumpet players could let-loose, and watch their riffs make Americans dance on the tables.

I cannot do justice to this in one post, so more will follow in the future...    

Enmei-Jizo-Son --- The Tiny Shrine In The Middle Of The Honch

If you walk out the main gate of Yokosuka Navy base, and go cross National Highway 16, you will arrive in a shopping and entertainment street called "Dobu-Ita-Dori", or "The Honch."

Sailors of the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet, and others, have been partying, buying souvenirs, and relaxing in Honch establishments since 1945.

Down the street, on the way towards Keikyu Shioiri train station, and amidst all the money-spending, drinking, music, and cacophony, is a small island of peace and spirituality ---- a little shine for "Enmei-Jizo-Son"  延命地蔵尊 ...  (over my many years in Yokosuka, I must have walked past this place hundreds of times, never really knowing what it was)

          

Thanks to Mr. Yoji Kawashima, here is a description:

This tiny shrine at the wayside of Dobuita-Street is dedicated to the Jizoh (a guardian deity for children), whose particular name is “ENMEI-JIZO-SON” (the Jizoh of lengthening of life).  The shrine used to be called Donokuchi Jizoh and was located in Shiodome (currently called Shioiri), closer to the Shioiri Elementary School beyond Keikyu Line.  After the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, the Jizoh shrine was moved to the present place.

An old book titled “Shin-sen Sagami-koku Fudo-kiko (The Newly-edited History and Culture in the Sagami Province)” -- published in 1841, indicates that this Jizoh was enshrined between 1704 and 1710 as a part of the temple named “Enmyo-san (Lengthening of Life), Saioh-ji Temple, one of the subordinate temples of Ryocho-in Temple (located in Midorigaoka presently).
  　
Another old book titled “Miura Hanjo-ki (Note on Flourishing Miura)” -- published in 1908 indicates the Jizoh shrine is located at Shiodome-cho and is always filled with smoke from incense sticks offered by many people coming and worshiping, morning and evening -- including many girls from the gay quarters, too.

At the shrine, there are stone statues and monuments.  One of which is for the repose of souls of the victims of the Great Kanto Earthquake, on which 45 victims names were inscribed.  Another stone statue there, though very much weathered, of Mother and two Children was erected for the repose of their souls, who died by the fire at the back of the EM Club in the beginning of Showa era (around 1930) while Father was on an overseas business trip.  We see also many small Jizoh stone statues called “Mizuko Jizoh” in the shrine, which are guardian deities for the spirits of aborted and miscarried children.

We see many worshipers visiting here even these days.

Mysterious Mine-layer

In my 08 March entry here I started to examine and explain the large stone monuments which are lined-up along the edge of Yokosuka's Verny park.

The one which was the furthest from the water's edge was, surprisingly, a non-naval memorial to the poet Masaoka Shiki  ----  But the next one to its left, is all-Navy, and looks like this:

  















It is a monument for the Japan Imperial Navy Mine-laying warship, OKINOSHIMA.

From Wikipedia:

"Okinoshima (沖島) was a large mine-layer of the Imperial Japanese Navy, which was in service during the early stages of World War II.  She was named after the Okinoshima Island in the Sea of Japan and the earlier Japanese battleship Okinoshima.  She was the largest purpose-built mine-layer of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the first Japanese mine-layer to be equipped with a reconnaissance seaplane."

The full link is here.

Here is what Okinoshima looked like:

I will continue to check on it, but it is not apparent to me why this particular ship has been memorialized in Yokosuka.  It was built elsewhere -- launched in 1935 at shipyard in Hyogo Prefecture -- and it didn't survive very long into the war, being sunk in May 1942 (by torpedoes from a USN submarine.)

The memorial was erected on 05 December 1983 by a committee which was formed to commemorate Okinoshima.  A prayer and poem are carved into the stone-face, and on the back-side is a list of the names and hometowns of the 61 crew members who were KIA.  

Commodore Perry's Prophecy

If you have a chance to visit the Yokosuka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (YCCI), as soon as you enter, right there facing you in the lobby, is a display dedicated to Commodore Matthew C. Perry, who commanded the squadron (what we would nowadays call a Task Group) of U.S. Navy warships whose mission was to deliver to the Japanese Government, a formal request from the U.S. Government, to open-up diplomatic and trade relations.

Here is what the display looks like (the large rock is from the City of Newport, RI, Perry's birthplace):

The U.S. Navy ships were painted mainly black in those days, so when, in 1853, Perry's squadron suddenly appeared, close off the coast of Uraga Bay, in what is now southern Yokosuka City, the local Japanese (who were pretty spun-up) called them "KURO FUNE" 黒船, or "Black Ships"...

Yokosuka City has adopted the Black Ships' arrival as part of its history, and what makes it a special place --- i.e., "Yokosuka is where Japan was opened-up to the world, and modernization."

When Commodore Perry wrote his official expedition after-action report in 1856 (a copy of which is displayed at YCCI), he made a special "prophetic" comment about the Japanese, which is proudly displayed, in its entirety on a plaque in the YCCI lobby.  Here it is:

“In the practical and mechanical arts, the Japanese show great dexterity; and when the rudeness of their tools and their imperfect knowledge of machinery are considered, the perfection of their manual skill appears marvelous.  Their handicraftsmen are as expert as any in the world, and with a freer development of the inventive powers of the people, the Japanese would not remain long behind the most successful manufacturing nations.  Their curiosity to learn the results of the material progress of other people, and their readiness in adapting them to their own uses, would soon, under a less exclusive policy of government, which isolates them from national communion, raise them to a level with the most favored countries.  Once possessed of the acquisitions of the past and present of the civilized world, the Japanese would enter as powerful competitors in the race for mechanical success in the future.”