Sunday, September 22, 2024

FROM JAPAN WITH LOVE AND PEARLS

In  l965, standing on  the  spot where the  atomic bomb  exploded above  Nagasaki on  August 9 , l945, destroying a third of the city and  killing  or injuring 150,000 people , an   Australian tourist , who  described himself as  "Uncle at Large" wrote his  thoughts  about  the momentous event on the back of  a  Peace  Statue  postcard, one of  many he bought  and sent home .

 He said it was a  queer sensation to stand  there and try and  imagine  the  horrendous  blast.  

One of  the  many  places in  which  he  stayed  was  the  " beaut " Hiroshima Grand Hotel, that  city  also obliterated by an atomic bomb on August 6, l945. 

On the back of a postcard, he  penned  what he  suggested  might be judged  "crazy", wide - ranging  samples  of  the   Japanese   way  of  life.  This  was  in  the form of a  long list  of subjects , with  yes or  no  after  each  one  , seemingly  indicating   each  had  or  had  not  been   tasted,  seen , watched,  sampled ,  experienced.  

It  included  Raw fish (yes), Saki (no) ,Tempura fried fish (yes),  Geishas (no) ,Turkish bath (yes), Strip Show (yes) , FastTrain / Bullet-130mph-(yes), Oyster Girls (yes ) .

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Included  in the  many  views of  temples , scenic countryside and  geothermal  activity was the above  postcard  of " seawoman", presumably the Oyster Girls listed above ,  picking  pearl shell at the Ise-Shima National  Park , which  included  the  birthplace of  the Mikimoto cultured  pearl  business .