Okinawa Soba (Rob)
NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON'T --- The Bronze Horse at Suwa Shrine, NAGASAKI
I'm not big on Japanese Temple and Shrine views. You've seen one, you've seen them all. I'm also not a religious person, and always have a hard time trying to convince myself that "Religion" should somehow be excused because of the higher "redemptive value" of the art and architecture it produces. However, that argument always fails to convince me.
But, there's a deeper story to this one, so I post it.
The above view from the 1890s represents a typical image of the Bronze Horse in the Suwa Shrine grounds. And a pretty cool horse it is, with that stylized face and mane. Variations on this shot appeared from 1870 (when the Statue was presented as a gift to the temple) up until WW2. Album views, postcards, lantern slides, stereoviews, and many other souvenirs of the day carried the image of this horse.
"........The 1.8m bronze horse was donated to Suwa Shinto Shrine in 1870 to commemorate the establishment of the Nagasaki Iron Foundry, predecessor of the Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard. It was transferred to the entrance of Nagasaki Park (Suwa Park) in October 1928........" (NULC)
One day, while visiting Nagasaki, I asked about the horse. It would be cool to take a "Then and Now" type of shot. However, most people had no idea what I was talking about --- especially the younger folks. It was then that an "old timer" gave me the bad news.
During WW2, when Japan was running low on bombs and bullets with which to subdue their Asian neighbors on the one hand, and fight off the Western Allies on the other, this horse was turned over the the Military to be melted down to make more weapons of war.
During those days, a lot great Japanese works of art, and numerous ancient temple bells were destroyed for the sake of waging war. It is also said that a huge Statue of Buddha --- similar to the famous one at Kamakura --- was melted down to add some metallic weight to Japan's belligerent fist. How ironic. I'm sure Buddha was pleased with that dubious move (not).
In Okinawa, the Japanese Military robbed many temples of ancient bells that were originally gifts from Korea during the Kingdom days when Okinawa and Korea enjoyed friendly and valuable cultural exchange. Both of Korea and Okinawa had little regard for Japan and the Japanese. The Japanese were often caught trying to get into Korea by pretending that they were from Okinawa. Of course, when the Koreans asked them for details about Okinawa, the Japanese would always fail the test, and get tossed out. I'm sure that the Imperial Soldiers were more than happy to melt down anything made in Korea --- and so they did.
I should also mention that during WW2, the US Military also carried away (as war booty) some of the Bells that escaped recycling. But they were not the first Americans to make off with Okinawan treasures.
There was one fine temple bell that Commodore Perry "stole" from the Okinawans as a "souvenir" of his visit back in 1854. Western historical sources say it was "offered as a gift", but that is not exactly the way it happened. Ironically, while this "stolen treasure" was hanging ceremoniously at the Annapolis Naval Academy, it was spared destruction by the metal collectors of the Japanese Military during WW2.
In 1987, The Naval Academy returned the bell to Okinawa.
"........This bell had been forged in 1456, during the reign of Shō Taikyū. The inscription upon it reads in part '...May the sound of this bell shatter illusory dreams, perfect the souls of mankind, and enable the King and his subjects to live so virtuously that barbarians will find no occasion to invade the Kingdom...' It being part of the [protestant missionary] Bettelheim residence, which had been desecrated and not used as a place of worship for roughly eight years, the Ryukyuan authorities were willing [sic] to part with it; Bettelheim likewise expressed in his diary elation at seeing the heathen temple further dismantled. Intended by Perry to be installed in or near the Washington Monument then under construction, the associated committee turned down the suggestion, and the bell was instead donated to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, where it was kept and rung in celebration of Navy victories in the annual Army-Navy football game, until it was finally returned to Japan in 1987......."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gokoku-ji_(Okinawa)
Okinawa_Soba is happy to say that he played a small part in the successful return of the bell.
I wish I could have intervened on behalf of the Horse at Suwa Shrine; and in hindsight, it's too bad that some peace-loving Japanese hippie-types didn't steal it in the dead of night (with the purpose of saving it), so that it could have been returned another day. Of course, the thought of being executed on the spot for even attempting such a thing probably prevented anybody from even considering it.
Extrapolate that sentiment to everything of cultural, historic, and personal value that has been destroyed by man in the wake of war. And extrapolate further to every innocent life that has been, like that horse, erased form the earth for the sake of man's greed.
So much for the melancholy tale of Horses, Bells, and all mankind.
oldphoto.lb.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/en/target.php?id=4805
hikoma.lb.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/en/target.php?id=20
I now return you to your formerly happy state of mind.
NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON'T --- The Bronze Horse at Suwa Shrine, NAGASAKI
I'm not big on Japanese Temple and Shrine views. You've seen one, you've seen them all. I'm also not a religious person, and always have a hard time trying to convince myself that "Religion" should somehow be excused because of the higher "redemptive value" of the art and architecture it produces. However, that argument always fails to convince me.
But, there's a deeper story to this one, so I post it.
The above view from the 1890s represents a typical image of the Bronze Horse in the Suwa Shrine grounds. And a pretty cool horse it is, with that stylized face and mane. Variations on this shot appeared from 1870 (when the Statue was presented as a gift to the temple) up until WW2. Album views, postcards, lantern slides, stereoviews, and many other souvenirs of the day carried the image of this horse.
"........The 1.8m bronze horse was donated to Suwa Shinto Shrine in 1870 to commemorate the establishment of the Nagasaki Iron Foundry, predecessor of the Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard. It was transferred to the entrance of Nagasaki Park (Suwa Park) in October 1928........" (NULC)
One day, while visiting Nagasaki, I asked about the horse. It would be cool to take a "Then and Now" type of shot. However, most people had no idea what I was talking about --- especially the younger folks. It was then that an "old timer" gave me the bad news.
During WW2, when Japan was running low on bombs and bullets with which to subdue their Asian neighbors on the one hand, and fight off the Western Allies on the other, this horse was turned over the the Military to be melted down to make more weapons of war.
During those days, a lot great Japanese works of art, and numerous ancient temple bells were destroyed for the sake of waging war. It is also said that a huge Statue of Buddha --- similar to the famous one at Kamakura --- was melted down to add some metallic weight to Japan's belligerent fist. How ironic. I'm sure Buddha was pleased with that dubious move (not).
In Okinawa, the Japanese Military robbed many temples of ancient bells that were originally gifts from Korea during the Kingdom days when Okinawa and Korea enjoyed friendly and valuable cultural exchange. Both of Korea and Okinawa had little regard for Japan and the Japanese. The Japanese were often caught trying to get into Korea by pretending that they were from Okinawa. Of course, when the Koreans asked them for details about Okinawa, the Japanese would always fail the test, and get tossed out. I'm sure that the Imperial Soldiers were more than happy to melt down anything made in Korea --- and so they did.
I should also mention that during WW2, the US Military also carried away (as war booty) some of the Bells that escaped recycling. But they were not the first Americans to make off with Okinawan treasures.
There was one fine temple bell that Commodore Perry "stole" from the Okinawans as a "souvenir" of his visit back in 1854. Western historical sources say it was "offered as a gift", but that is not exactly the way it happened. Ironically, while this "stolen treasure" was hanging ceremoniously at the Annapolis Naval Academy, it was spared destruction by the metal collectors of the Japanese Military during WW2.
In 1987, The Naval Academy returned the bell to Okinawa.
"........This bell had been forged in 1456, during the reign of Shō Taikyū. The inscription upon it reads in part '...May the sound of this bell shatter illusory dreams, perfect the souls of mankind, and enable the King and his subjects to live so virtuously that barbarians will find no occasion to invade the Kingdom...' It being part of the [protestant missionary] Bettelheim residence, which had been desecrated and not used as a place of worship for roughly eight years, the Ryukyuan authorities were willing [sic] to part with it; Bettelheim likewise expressed in his diary elation at seeing the heathen temple further dismantled. Intended by Perry to be installed in or near the Washington Monument then under construction, the associated committee turned down the suggestion, and the bell was instead donated to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, where it was kept and rung in celebration of Navy victories in the annual Army-Navy football game, until it was finally returned to Japan in 1987......."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gokoku-ji_(Okinawa)
Okinawa_Soba is happy to say that he played a small part in the successful return of the bell.
I wish I could have intervened on behalf of the Horse at Suwa Shrine; and in hindsight, it's too bad that some peace-loving Japanese hippie-types didn't steal it in the dead of night (with the purpose of saving it), so that it could have been returned another day. Of course, the thought of being executed on the spot for even attempting such a thing probably prevented anybody from even considering it.
Extrapolate that sentiment to everything of cultural, historic, and personal value that has been destroyed by man in the wake of war. And extrapolate further to every innocent life that has been, like that horse, erased form the earth for the sake of man's greed.
So much for the melancholy tale of Horses, Bells, and all mankind.
oldphoto.lb.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/en/target.php?id=4805
hikoma.lb.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/en/target.php?id=20
I now return you to your formerly happy state of mind.