where cider meets condensed milk: Close Your Eyes. Yamato.

where cider meets condensed milk

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Close Your Eyes. Yamato.

Sujoy and I went to Onomichi, in Hiroshima prefecture, to see an almost-full-size replica of the battleship Yamato. It was used in the WWII movie "Otokotachi no Yamato" (The Men of Yamato). The Yamato was the biggest ever built, went out to sea, was destroyed, and the war ended about a week later. We were able to tour around the boat, and then went through the museum and movie-set promotion area. They showed clips from the movie, mostly of sailors dying in a horribly graphic and bloody manner. I do want to see the film, but Chris saw it in Japanese and didn't understand a thing, so I will look for a subtitled screening. All through the exhibit, they kept playing the theme song to the movie, as advertised above by this shirtless singer guy. Nothing says war and sadness like bleached spiky hair, pecs, and a touch of bling. Close your eyes...

At the front of the ship-- is it weird for an American to be posing with the peace sign in front of a Japanese battleship? Does this qualify as irony? The flag here is the same one used by the ultra-nationalist groups who yell things on megaphones from their scary black vans, and I believe it symbolizes loyalty to the emperor.

The boat is sitting in the harbor in Onomichi now, and there were crowds and crowds of people there to see it. A rather amazing replica down the details, but a very odd experience to walk on the boat and then see scenes from the movie, with blood splattering all over the deck, guns clattering, bodies flying into the air, and men running out from the control room on fire. Yamato is also the name of the worst junior high in my town, home of the infamous Inbred Farm Kids, where I taught for a term before pawning it off on Madam sensei. His most troubled students have thus far run around with knives, chased other students with yellow oil paints, and tried to start fires in class. Also, the entire school smells like a combination of bleach and urine. Has nothing to do with the battleship, except that I kept thinking of the (delinquent) Boys of Yamato when I looked at the name of the ship posted everywhere.

With Sujoy/Hamu-chan and some girl, inexplicably in a kawaii pink bunny suit. I have no idea what she was doing at the Yamato museum cafe.

They were putting the little flags into the curry boats, so I asked specifically for one to put in the ice cream cone. Special YAMATO dessert: Ra-mu-ne softo cream. My dictionary says that means "soda pop" flavor, but it was more like dentist flouride mint. Hey, this softo cream tastes like defeat...

posted by Raychaa @ 12:12 AM

2 comments:

At 2:34 PM, Chris C said…

Isn't that the no-longer-used Imperial flag of Japan? The one that signal's military pride?

Are you sure that boat was indeed just a replica? 8-0
At 11:52 AM, pallaver said…

I actually have a friend who lives in Fukuyama who works with a ship company and went through ship school, and it was interesting to hear that the ship, although somewhat realistic looking, is full of flaws that would point the keen eye to realize that it is a poor excuse for a model and in fact not a ship (despite the attempts to make it a real model).

Interesting. Just thought you might find that something to chew on.

I have joined the hashi-carrying club, but I need a better hashibako then the 100yen sadness I am sporting now.