Natsukashii: Uchinaa Nu Umui: Old Times: Reflections of Okinawa

By Stephen A. Mick McClary

NATSUKASHII: Uchinaa nu umui / Old Times: Reflections of Okinawa offers you an extensive up close and personal experience as you follow me day by day, throughout my last five trips to Okinawa. I detail what it's like to live and play on the island by way of reading daily accounts complemented by historical details that are woven into my dialogue as well as links to hundreds of my videos that allow you to accompany me on adventures from underwater caves to the majestic top of Rainmaker Mountain.

Ride along as I take you on windshield tours along the Okinawa Expressway and down country roads of remote outlying islands. Sail with me as I ferry to Ieshima or slog through the mud with me at a rice field festival. Traipse along through tall grass or laze at a chimujiruban. This book will get you as close as you can get to the real Okinawa without actually being there - which is kinda nice now since COVID has shut the door on vacation travel to Japan.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9781665523554

Stephen A. Mick McClary

Stephen "Mick" McClary grew up and traveled widely, including three years in Europe, in a military family. It was in his adult life, and during his own military career that his first exposure to Okinawa occurred. He lived in Japan's southernmost prefecture, on the island of Okinawa, for over seven years in the 1970s and '80s. His love for Okinawa wasn't instantaneous. Arriving on Okinawa the first time in 1972 as a newlywed and soon thereafter as a new father, Mick didn't delve into Ryukyu's rich history right away. He had things like family and job obligations that occupied the majority of his time until his departure in 1975. Such a pity that there wasn't someone there to prod him along, to encourage him to learn the language, to get out and explore. Ah, but there was someone who would have been happy to do the prodding, if only he had asked. His fascination grew during the 1980s and it has been a love affair with Okinawa and an Uchina learning experience ever since. Only after departure from the island in 1990 did Mick realize how much he had not accomplished throughout the seven years of living there. As is the case for many of us, he didn't appreciate the opportunities at hand when they were at hand. That came later. As one might say, it grew on him over time. It was during the span of 1986-1990 when he was back on Okinawa as a busy Family Practice clinician that he began his infatuation with the history and culture of Okinawa's old Ryukyu Kingdom. Even during over four years of living on island there never seemed to be time to explore and to learn. Only after leaving the island a second time did he recognize and regret having missed chances to be more intimately involved in local history culture. Recognizing how sad it is that so many people who currently live on the island do little more than their job and when they're not working they grouse and gripe about having "nothing to do." They say that they can't wait to "get off this rock and back home." Mick created a website in 1996 dedicated to much of which he learned about the islands and the people. In 2013 he made his first trip back to Okinawa after a physical absence of twenty-three years. Four subsequent return trips in recent years, each lasting from 5-7 weeks, have given him further opportunity to immerse himself amid the people and to more deeply explore and learn. Now, with this book, Mick hopes to be the one to prod and to encourage folks who are already there, folks who are on their way, and those who are contemplating a trip to Okinawa. Mick and his wife, Debb, currently reside in west central Montana. They began their family with the birth of their two sons, DyLon and Zachary, both of whom were born on Okinawa. After returning to the States they adopted their first daughter, Brittney, from Calcutta, India, and shortly thereafter returned to Okinawa for another four years. During that time on Okinawa their second daughter, Kinsey, came along. Kinsey was adopted from the Philippines. Kinsey flew with them aboard an Air Force medical evacuation aircraft from Clark Air Base in the PI to Kadena Air Base on Okinawa. Her adoption was completed in Japanese Family Court, then re-adoption (to get official U.S. documentation) in Fort Benton, Montana. Finally, their third daughter, Ashley, came to them through adoption in Great Falls, Montana.

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ISBN: 978-1-6655-2354-7 (sc)

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Published by AuthorHouse 05/20/2021

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Contents

2014

2015

2017

2019

Stephen Mick McClary grew up and traveled widely, including three years in Europe, in a military family. It was in his adult life, and during his own military career that his first exposure to Okinawa occurred. He lived in Japan’s southernmost prefecture, on the island of Okinawa, for over seven years in the 1970s and ‘80s. His love for Okinawa wasn’t instantaneous.

Arriving on Okinawa the first time in 1972 as a newlywed and soon thereafter as a new father, Mick didn’t delve into Ryukyu’s rich history right away. He had things like family and job obligations that occupied the majority of his time until his departure in 1975. Such a pity that there wasn’t someone there to prod him along, to encourage him to learn the language, to get out and explore. Ah, but there was someone who would have been happy to do the prodding, if only he had asked. His fascination grew during the 1980s and it has been a learning experience ever since. Only after departure from the island in 1990 did Mick realize how much he had not accomplished throughout the seven years of living there.

As is the case for many of us, he didn’t appreciate the opportunities at hand when they were at hand. That came later. As one might say, it grew on him over time. It was iduring the span of 1986-1990 when he was back on Okinawa as a busy Family Practice clinician that he began his love affair with the history and culture of Okinawa’s old Ryukyu Kingdom. Even during over four years of living on island there never seemed to be time to explore and to learn. Only after leaving the island a second time did he recognize and regret having missed chances to be more intimately involved in local history culture.

Recognizing how sad it is that so many people who currently live on the island do little more than their job and when they’re not working they grouse and gripe about having nothing to do. They say that they can’t wait to get off this rock and back home. created a website in 1996 dedicated to much of which he learned about the islands and the people. In 2013 he made his first trip back to Okinawa after a physical absence of twenty-three years. Four subsequent return trips in recent years, each lasting from 5-7 weeks, have given him further opportunity to immerse himself amid the people and to more deeply explore and learn.

Now, with this book, Mick hopes to be the one to prod and to encourage folks whoa re already there, folks who are on their way, and those who are contemplating a trip to Okinawa.

Mick and his wife, Debb, currently reside in west central Montana. They began their family with the birth of their two sons, DyLon and Zachary, both of whom were born on Okinawa. After returning to the States they adopted their first daughter, Brittney, from Calcutta, India, and shortly thereafter returned to Okinawa for another four years. During that time on Okinawa their second daughter, Kinsey, came along. Kinsey was adopted from the Philippines. Kinsey flew with them aboard an Air Force medical evacuation aircraft from Clark Air Base in the PI to Kadena Air Base on Okinawa. Her adoption was completed in Japanese Family Court, then re-adoption (to get official U.S. documentation) in Fort Benton, Montana. Finally, their third daughter, Ashley, came to them through adoption in Great Falls, Montana.

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IMPORTANT NOTICE:

In an effort to enhance your reading experience I have included many embedded hyperlinks to YouTube videos that supplement and complement the story that I offer you. Unfortunately for readers of the eBook version, I and my publisher have recognized that due to technological limitations beyond the control of this author and of AuthorHouse, LLC, any of the hyperlinks that contain an underscore will not work by simply tapping the URL link. For example, you can see the underscore (the _ between the j and the 5) in this link - https://youtu.be/fuj_5X-eJDA

If you are curious enough, and I certainly hope that you will be, please manually type the complete URL into your browser bar being certain to include the underscore.

All of the other links that do not include an underscore will take you directly to the video with a simple click or tap.

For those of you who have the print version of NATSUKASHII: Uchinaa nu umui, please know that I sincerely appreciate the time and effort that you will put into expanding your Okinawa experience by manually accessing my supplemental offerings. Happy reading and viewing!

With kindest regards,

Mick McClary

A travelogue, by definition, is a narrative that presents one’s personal impressions and experiences accompanied by material images. Its purpose is to articulate those places and events in such a manner that the reader comes away with the sense of having shared those same experiences. Mick McClary’s NATSUKASHI is all of that, and more.

It delivers the expected – an adventure in a foreign land, a discovery of unique places, its people, their customs and ceremonies, providing the reader with extensive insight into their culture and their native environment. In addition, readers of the online or downloadable eBook edition are treated to the technological bonus of embedded internet links leading to external reference sites and sources, plus a virtual library of the author’s fascinating real-time imagery, both static and video.

But NATSUKASHI doesn’t stop there. In a style having more relation to history than ordinary travel literature, Mick takes us a step further, or rather back… back before the here and now, giving descriptive and often startling glimpses into the chronology of Ryukyu, a 4,000 year old society, and its gradual civil evolution to modern day Okinawa.

So, whether it’s an outdoor adventure with old or newfound friends, a weekend retreat in a local village, a guided tour of an off-shore island, a humorously challenging shopping experience, sightseeing trips to 4,000-year-old, off-the-beaten-path cultural sites, or a carefully sourced historical treatise, NATSUKASHI has it all.

NOTE: The author served two tours of duty in Okinawa at Kadena and Chatan as a Captain in the United States Air Force and still visits regularly.

Michael J. Alexander

Having followed McClary’s carefree windshield tours through the years on his YouTube channel, this is the perfect companion book for the armchair traveler—or to read on your own overseas flight to Okinawa. This book will be stashed in my carry-on as a guide for the next trip.

Christine Kriha Kastner, author of Soldiering On—Finding My Homes, Memoir of an Army Brat

NATSUKASHII: Uchinaa nu umui

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Haisai! Chaa ganjuu yamisheemi?

Hajimiti yaibiinyaasai!

Where to begin?

I began this little narrative with a few questions in mind. Why do I even want to do this book? To whom do I want to address my commentary? What do I have to offer that you may not have already seen or read somewhere else? Why should you even want to read this? And the one question that we all ask for which we never quite get a good answer: What is Growth Hacking?

Hey, Mick! Why do you want to write a book? Because I have some things to share about my experiences on Okinawa. I’m old and may not be around much longer. Some who know me may miss my subjecting them to stories and anecdotes about that little island out in the middle of Nowhere that I love so dearly, so this narrative might serve to pick up where I’ve left off. Maybe we can just say that this is a legacy project. But, no, it transcends the simplicity of wanting something to be around after I’m an urnful of ashes. I want to reach people who I think may be on the fence about pursuing their latent curiosity about the great Ryūkyū Kingdom. I hope to stimulate them a bit and spur them into action. I’ve known so many people during my years on Okinawa who just sat around and whined about being stuck on this rock with nothing to do but who never worked up the gumption or even the curiosity to go out and look for the countless adventures that existed all around them. Now, ten or twenty, or in some cases forty or fifty years later, I read their lamentations about having never taken advantage of opportunities while there and how now they want to go back to the islands so that they can see, do, and eat the things they so fervently wish they’d have done when they had the chance. It’s a pity that most of those who wish they had, will never do so.

So then, to answer the second question, who am I trying to reach, I would include those people for sure but I think there are many others who could use a bit of a nudge. For example, folks who are currently living on island but have yet to get out and about. For those who have just begun to get out and about, I hope to give them some inspiration and maybe some guidance on where to go, what to see and, of course, what I think are great things to eat! I have my favorites but would never presume to tell anyone what’s the best, or where’s the best places for truly adventuresome sight-seeing or dining. Those are decisions made by each person for themselves and what they deem to be the best is a very personal thing. But for gosh-sakes, at least get out there and try a bit of everything!

There are folks who once lived there and want to go back. A lot of them are discouraged by what they’ve read about how the island just ain’t the same as when they were there in the 1950s, ‘60s, or even eight years ago! Sure, it has changed, but so has your home town, my home town, everyone’s home town. Only the most remote, and probably most unexciting places have remained unchanged. I believe that in each and every one of those changed places, if you look hard enough, and if you ask enough questions of the locals, you can find pieces of the past that are still alive and well. I will be happy to know that I’ve reached some people who have never been to Okinawa but are considering it for a vacation adventure. After reading more about some of the places to go and a bit of the history associated with those places, they might be more inclined to decide that it’s well worth making the trip.

Knowing some of the history before seeing a place makes for a much more rewarding experience. It’s one thing to be at a particular location, to see and admire what it has to offer on its surface, and to take a few photos, but I believe that the experience will be much more fulfilling if you have a handle on the history of what you’re seeing. The more you can immerse yourself in Okinawa’s history the greater the appreciation and reward. In that respect, this book offers you such an opportunity.

I am far from being an expert of any sort but do hope to share what little knowledge I might have with you and hopefully I’ll stimulate the inquisitive nature you possess. If I can spark your curiosity and whet your appetite to learn more about Okinawa then my mission will have been accomplished.

I have included links to photo albums and videos of most of the places I’ve visited during my four most recent trips back to Okinawa. I hope that you’ll take time to view them. It’s good to read about a place before going and there are many resources available for doing just that. I believe that it will be so much more rewarding and pleasurable though if I can give you that little extra something to help instill a more comprehensive understanding of and a greater appreciation for the experience.

I’ve included hundreds of videos to complement my writing and I do recognize that it may be cumbersome for you if you have the print edition of my book. I know that you’ll have to manually type in the URL for each of my offerings but I hope that you’ll find it worth your time and energy to do so. If you have the eBook edition then it’ll be just a tap away. In either case, please enjoy the opportunities. I think that it’s important for me to mention that I have not monetized any of my YouTube videos and I do not plan to do so in the future. So, rest assured that I’ll make not one penny when I invite you to see my videos. PLEASE NOTE: In April 2021, I noticed that ads have been appearing in my YouTube videos. I have not monetized my videos and cannot get an explanation from YouTube as to why the ads appear. If someone is being paid for those, believe me, it ain’t me!

While recognizing that some readers who are familiar with Okinawa might find it annoying, or may even accuse me of mansplaining, I have included some explanatory details for the benefit of those who have not been to Okinawa and are not familiar with nuances that are well-known to veteran Okinawaphiles.

What I offer with this book is not a story per se nor is it a typical travelogue. I want to give you my first-person account of some of the things I’ve done, places I’ve gone, and people I’ve met and cherish. Along those lines, be prepared to read a lot of I, me, and my as you travel through these last five trips that I’ve made. Just for fun, I’ve counted how many times I’ve used the word "I: 4,293; I’ve: 128; me": 594; and my: 1,130 times! So, yeah, it’s kinda all about me – ooops! Make that 595. Kiddin’ – it’s all about and for you!

With that, ikimashō (let’s go)!

It was hard to believe that twenty-three years had elapsed since I’d last had my feet on the soil of that remote Pacific island.

One day in 2013, my wife, Debb and I decided that the time was right for finally going back. The kids were grown, and I had retired. There was no reason to put it off for another day. We had lived on the island for just over seven years in the early 1970s and late ‘80s. It was on that island where our family began. Two boys, both born at the army hospital on Camp Kue (Kuwae) were the first of our five kids, all of whom by 2013 were grown and gone, pursuing their own lives. So, with no excuses for not pursuing our long-time desire to return, we just said, Let’s do it and that became our mantra.

It was November, and the Montana winter was setting in. November on Okinawa is magnificent. Yeah, let’s just do it!

Space-A is a wonderful perk. As a military retiree I was eligible for the privilege of flying for free on any military aircraft and any commercial flight chartered for U.S. military personnel and family members. Free airline rides from home to Okinawa and back – what a deal! Well, maybe not entirely free. I paid for our in-flight meals. Living expenses add up along the way too. We got stranded at Yokota Air Base in Fussa, Tokyo, Japan for five days – four days longer than we had hoped – waiting for another flight out of there. With a bit of persistence and a lot of patience we finally got selected for a flight leaving for Kadena Air Base (KAB) on Okinawa, and after a few hours we were there!

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Kadena’s AMC (Air Mobility Command) terminal.

Yes, we were finally there but, thanks to the delay at Yokota, we arrived on island too late for the Yomitan Matsuri. That was my favorite seasonal festival. While that was taking place we were at Yokota, putzing around trying to find ways to entertain ourselves on a strange base in a strange mainland Japanese town. Dang!

After having been laid over at Yokota for so much longer than anticipated, Debb was worried about how long it might take if we got similarly delayed at Kadena to get back to Montana in time for Thanksgiving. We had no sooner arrived on the island than she wanted to be sure that we were signed up to catch a flight out. I submitted my Space-A application right away and got tentatively confirmed on a flight scheduled to depart in just a few days. So, with that, we were obligated to cram as much as she cared to see, do, and eat into those few days. I was already planning my next trip – a much longer visit than this one was to be.

Inspired by the ever-popular Travelocity gnome, I brought along a traveling companion of my own who appears in many photos over the ensuing years. I had been harboring a stuffed toy surgeon in my one of my exam rooms for years that I used to distract and entertain kids during the examination. When I retired, the little guy got stuffed into a box and there he reposed for three years. I thought of him one day when I saw a Travelocity ad on TV and thought how cool it would be to take him around to all the places that I travel to. Dubbed Doctor Bung, my little bear in surgical garb is small enough to be easily stowed in pockets or carry-ons. He was at my side for most of my roaming around the islands. I didn’t bring a videocam for the 2013 trip but Dr. Bung saw to it that I showcased him in scores of photos. Here’s his first album, most of which are images around Yokota Air Base:

◆ Dr. BUNG’S PHOTO ALBUM - Getting to Okinawa: https://youtu.be/oYGbhCJhi98

November 5, 2013

Back in Koza

Our first foray into Koza where we had spent so much time when we lived on island was startling. Not much had changed except for the boarded-up windows, lack of people and loss of katsuryoku (vitality).

What had once been a bustling Chuo Park Avenue (the old B.C. Street - B.C. for Business Center) and Gate 2 Street (National Route 20), the main road when exiting Kadena Air Base’s Gate #2 during our earlier days was by 2013 a depressing ghost town. There was an absolute dearth of humanity on those streets and in the shops and cafes. I went several times, hoping to find life; during the daytime, in the evening – even on a week-end – and each time I found the malls and covered sidewalks nearly empty. At one point I saw a couple of locals sitting at a table on the sidewalk outside of a bar, sipping their Kirin and Orion. I couldn’t understand their conversation; perhaps they were debating which was the better beer. A slight bow of my head and a cheery Konbanwa! (Good evening) brought a smile to their faces and a hand gesture of greeting in return. They promptly went back to their conversation.

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Thus was Gate 2 Street in Koza, Nov 11, 2013.

In one boarded up establishment that had once been a café or restaurant, I saw a red A sign through a window that proved years of dinge and neglect. In 1953, the U.S. Military Occupation authorities had established a system of identifying businesses which had passed U.S. inspection for health and welfare standards. If the proprietor met those standards an A sign would be awarded which would be displayed by the proprietor therewith assuring Americans that they were authorized to safely do business there. The signs came in three colors. A blue A was awarded to bars and nightclubs. A red A was for restaurants, and a black A for stores that sold meat and vegetables.

During the 1960s and early 70s, Koza was a major hang-out for American troops shuttling in and out of Vietnam. B.C. Street was famous for its pits of exotic and erotic entertainment. By the time that I first encountered Koza, in 1972, it was by day a booming community of gift shops, china shops, clothing stores, tailors, music shops, cafes and restaurants, photography shops, and myriad other retail establishments. By night, it was bars and nightclubs with live bands and, yes, centers of adult entertainment. Day or night, pedestrian traffic in the area was elbow-to-elbow with loud music blaring from every establishment. Koza was a boom town. In 2013 – it was dead. So sad.

I had secured a suite at the Shogun Inn, the Air Force’s transient living quarters (base hotel) on KAB for the duration of our stay. I’d rented a little Nissan Note, toured the base, and revisited many of our old haunts on and off the base.

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◆ Dr. BUNG’S PHOTO ALBUM – Shogun Inn and views around KAB: https://youtu.be/z1IhPYzQkIo

◆ Dr. BUNG’S PHOTO ALBUM – Mystery Knoll and Koza After Dark: https://youtu.be/nN5E08VZ8go

November 6, 2013

Yomitan and Nakagusuku

I picked up the rental car and we started checking out the sights but not before I spent about an hour or so driving around in the relative safety of KAB to get reaccustomed to driving on the left side of the road. After a 23-year absence it all came back in surprisingly short order. One thing that to this day still annoys me whenever I go back to Okinawa is that from time to time, when I signal a left turn the windshield wipers spring to life. (If you’ve been there, done that then you know what I’m talkin’ about.) Because the steering wheel is on the right side of the car, the lever that operates the wipers and the lever for the turn signal are reversed.

We had lived on the Yomitan Peninsula back in the mid-1980s so, of course, revisiting there was high on our list of priorities for this trip. We tried to locate our old house in Aza Oki, visited Torii Beach, and drove out to the Zanpa Misaki lighthouse on the far northwestern point of the peninsula. (Sometimes I find a reference to the cape by the name Zampa, with an m instead of n.)

We hoped the old house and Shinjo-san’s house across the street were still there. We couldn’t find them! Shinjo was a cool old guy who owned the house that we rented. It was a newly constructed two-story job. I had the upstairs and a dentist from KAB lived downstairs. Shinjo-san had goats on the hill up behind our place back then.

SHINJO’s GOATS – Never say Debu - I wrote this account back in September 1998 for my website:

When I returned to Okinawa in 1986, Debb and I had decided to wait until a house in Stearley Heights came open for us.

For those of us who were newly assigned to the island one of the first things we had to concern ourselves with was, of course, finding somewhere to live! Oh, we didn’t go homeless the first night there! We moved into Temporary Living Quarters (TLQ) which was comfortable but not a place any family should want to stay for very long. In fact, a guy couldn’t stay there very long. Although the quarters were adequate and the staff accommodating there was a limit to just how gracious and generous they cared to be.

Every newbie being assigned to Kadena Air Base gets a sponsor. The sponsor is a peer who has been on the island a while and knows the ropes. His job is to assist the new pup with base in-processing, base and duty section orientation, finding housing, helping to obtain transportation, etc.

Stearley Heights is one of the housing areas on Kadena Air Base (KAB). The first time I was stationed on island, in 1972, we were newlyweds and stone cold broke! We’d drive through the Stearley Heights area and drool over how nice it was. But it was untouchable for me back then - a lowly Buck Sergeant. Stearley Heights was officer country and I always felt like the residents in there would turn their dogs loose if they knew an enlisted swine was driving through their territory! Things were different back in the early 1970s! Well, anyway, here we were, back on the Rock and this time I was back as a captain. I could just smell Stearley! Truth is - whereas it really is a nice area, it›s no big deal.... yet I was gonna wait for it!

I could have got base housing somewhere else within a year of being back on island, but it would take an extra year to get into Stearley! There weren’t all that many houses in there and the waiting list was long. I could have moved into a duplex, 4-plex or one of the new high-rise towers but, Nahhh!! Gonna wait!!

My sponsor was exceptionally helpful - almost to a fault. He drove us all over the place looking at off-base houses for rent. Most of the available houses or apartments were way too small or way too expensive! I ended up with a house that was way too small and way too expensive! But it was new – had just been completed and was owned by a kind old Okinawan man by the name of Shinjo. Shinjo-san lived in a traditional older Okinawan home, right across the street from this new place that I was in. He had a big garden which he tended to much of the time and he had goats. Up on the hill behind my house was a pen. Inside there were three goats. They were cool! Brittney, my then 3-year old daughter also thought they were cool! Up beyond the goats was Higa Park. There are some stories to tell about Higa Park too - but that’ll have to wait a while. We’re talking about Shinjo-san now!

It was a nice house in a great neighborhood! It was in Aza-Oki Yomitan-son on the Yomitan Peninsula. I learned later that Aza-Oki is right smack dab in the middle of the beach that was invaded on a quiet, sunny Easter morning back in 1945. Now, 41 years later, it was a small village of mostly older people but with plenty of younger families and their children. The elementary school age kids were cute in their school uniforms and yellow rain hats. We called ‘em little ducks. The Okinawan children were so much fun! One of Brittney’s best friends was Miho, the daughter of a Japan Self Defense Forces man who lived in an apartment complex just down the road from us. Brittney spoke no Japanese. Miho spoke no English, yet they played for hours on end and enjoyed every minute of it!! Either Brittney was at her house or Miho was at ours. How I wish everyone could get along the way those two did!!

Okay, on to Shinjo-san and our infamous visit. Debb and I had been out walking with Zac and Brittney. We used to like to go down to the mama-san store where Brittney delighted in looking at all the colorful and inviting Japanese candies. Felix gum!! Oh, how we all loved Felix gum... and sadly, we have darn near run out of what was last sent to us. Thank you, Kym and Alan, for that last CARE package from Okinawa!!!

As we were walking back from the store, we encountered Mr. Shinjo in his yard. We exchanged polite Konbanwa (good evening) and O genke desu-ka? (How are you?) Before we knew it, Debb, Zac, Brittney and I were invited to go in for a visit with the Shinjo family. We gratefully accepted his invitation.

We removed our shoes at the door and were ushered into the first room which was cluttered with odd & ends - typical of the small homes in which most Okinawans live. This home was not dirty or even messy - just cluttered, as was my house!! In the center of the room was a kotatsu (low table) positioned on a tatami covered floor. A low hutch was beyond the table and a few colorful plastic boxes containing a variety of household items was to the right. Shinjo-san gestured for us to sit and so we sat, cross-legged at the table. Mrs. Shinjo brought in a small lacquerware tray bearing tiny cups and a bottle of awamori, a distilled spirit similar to sake.

It had been many years since I’d been on Okinawa and what little Japanese that I remembered was matched by Mr. Shinjo’s broken and limited English. Nevertheless, between the four of us, we were able to carry out a rudimentary and polite introduction. We understood as Shinjo-san introduced his wife. I regret that I cannot remember her name.

It was my turn: "Watakushi-no namae wa Mick desu," I said, hoping that it made sense and that I hadn’t mispronounced something that meant your zipper’s down or some other equally gauche blunder. But, Shinjo repeated, «Sou-sou, Meh-kee?"

I thought it odd, that he had repeated it back and had added the ee but figured that almost all Japanese words end with a vowel, so perhaps it’s just easier to say the word with ee at the end. No biggie! I mean, it’s not that I’d get confused with all the other Micks in the neighborhood, right? So, I smiled and said, "Hai! Meh-kee!"

Now, with a little hesitation, I introduced my wife. I know now that when referring to someone else’s wife, it’s okay to say Oku-san but that word isn›t used when referring to one›s own wife. But, at that time I didn›t know that, so I said, «Watakushi-no oku-san no namae wa Debb desu." Now, don’t e-mail me telling me how grammatically pitiful that is. But that’s what I said and apparently it was close enough for the Shinjo family to understand.

Shinjo-san picked up a curved flask-shaped earthenware bottle and gestured as to inquire if I wanted more awamori. With pleasure I held my cup up and he poured. He then offered some to Debb who shyly declined. Only then, after we were served did he pour himself another.

A young girl entered the room and offered a tray which held some small, tan wafer-like crackers with tiny green chips on top and which had a very glossy glazed coating which made them shine in the relatively dim light of the tatami room. (by the way, those salty, sweet crackers became one of our most favorite snacks!) Not wanting to offend anyone, I bowed my head - more like an exaggerated nod - smiled and said, "Domo arigatō! Likewise, Debb took one, nodded and said Domo!"

It’s common courtesy among the Okinawans to serve oneself last or for two or more to serve each other. For example, let’s say Shinjo-san and I were at a club and had ordered a couple of Orion beers: the waitress would bring the beers, set them in the middle of the table and would set a glass in front of each of us. It is then proper for me to have taken a bottle and poured into Shinjo’s glass and he would reciprocate. Kinda nice, isn’t it? Just another example of their gentle nature.

Mr. Shinjo then turned back to Debb and me and questioned, "Debu?" I had just introduced her as my wife, Debb. Well, we thought, here it is again - Debu instead of simply Debb. Easier to say... ends with a vowel. So, I nodded, Debb smiled and I said, "Hai!! Debu!"

With that, Mr. and Mrs. Shinjo broke into broad smiles which quickly turned to stifled polite giggles. Shinjo-san summoned his daughter who came back into the room and knelt between her parents. In hushed tones, Shinjo was chattering to her and Debb and I most certainly couldn’t understand a thing. At one point during the chatter, he gestured toward my wife and enunciated the word Debu! Then all three laughed aloud. They abruptly stopped the laughter and the young Miss Shinjo, still giggling with her hand held daintily across her mouth, scurried off to parts unknown.

Perplexed, we smiled and bowed and toasted with awamori. We visited for another 15 - 20 minutes then excused ourselves as it was getting past Brittney’s bedtime. I didn’t know how to say that, so I just pointed to my daughter then laid my head against my praying hands and closed my eyes. It worked!! He knew what it meant as he gestured toward the clock on the wall and immediately stood to usher us out. All in all, it was a wonderful visit and we had finally got to meet our new landlord. We had rented through a rental agency and had not previously met the owner.

Once back in our own house, Debb and I both agreed that it was a little weird that they had called in the daughter then laughed about my wife. We simply trusted that whatever it was, it was well-intended and not anything to worry about.

The following morning, I related the story to Toshie, our Japanese receptionist at the Family Practice clinic. She listened intently as I recounted the previous night’s visit with our new landlord. As I was getting into the part of the story when I had introduced my wife, Toshie covered her mouth with her hand and began to giggle. You didn’t told Shinjo-san your wife name is Debu?

Yes, Toshie, I did!! And what’s so funny about that!?

Gentle readers, if your name, or the name of any one dear to you is Debb, introduce her as Debbie or Deborah or even Gladys.

In Japan, debu means fatso!!!!

That story had more to do with the Shinjo family than it did his goats. There isn’t a lot to say about the goats other than the fact that they were there, we heard their daily bleating, and our young daughter Brittney loved to go up to visit with them. We always remembered to bring plenty of carrots.

I had often wished that the lighthouse out on Zanpa Misaki (cape) had been open to the public when we lived on the peninsula. Amazing cliffs, and punishing waves continually batter the rocks and it seemed like the wind was always blowing out there on the point. One year in the 1980s my son, Zac, and I went out to Zanpa Misaki during the waning stages of a typhoon for the simple pleasure of watching the East China Sea beat the tar out of those rocky cliffs! I remember thinking how great the view would have been from atop that lighthouse.

◆ Dr. BUNG’S PHOTO ALBUM – Zanpa Lighthouse: https://youtu.be/uigmGPiyF2A

I also remember how often we would learn of misfortune at Zanpa. More recently, on September 23, 2019, 54-year-old Higa Kenyu was found in the East China Sea near the cliffs of Zanpa Misaki. Weather was fair but the seas were high. He may have been swept from the cliffs while fishing. The rocky crags at the cape are commonly speckled with fishermen.

I would soon discover that what I had wished for back then – access to the lighthouse - would become a reality.

Later in the day we headed south to Nakagusuku-jo (castle). A major excavation and reconstruction project was taking place when we got there. Stones from the old castle walls were laid out and organized by number so that they could each be put back in their original positions upon reconstitution - a daunting undertaking, I would imagine! Despite being barred from entering many of the sites within the fortification most of the walls were still accessible and, of course, the views were still as breath taking as I remembered.

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An enclosure within Nakagusuku-jo. November 2013

Nakagusuku-jo swims in intriguing history. Gosamaru aji, or alternatively anji, (the lord of a fief or domain), had been summoned from his home at Zakimi-jo in the north by the king of Ryūkyū at Shuri to come south so that he could keep a close eye on Amawari whom the king did not trust. Gosamaru built his fortress at Nakagusuku and alas, at that fortress he committed seppuku. Amawari, the lord of Katsuren-jo, was plotting to get rid of the king, Shō Taikyu. Gosamaru, with his castle at Nakagusuku positioned between Katsuren and Shuri, was in Amawari’s way. Amawari devised a plan to discredit Gosamaru in which he would send word to King Taikyu that Gosamaru was plotting against the Shuri throne. When word of such alleged treachery reached the ear of Gosamaru he was overwhelmed with grief; to think that Taikyu would believe such a thing about his most trusted, obedient and faithful follower. Despondent over the accusation, Gosamaru took his own life but before doing so he wrote a note to Taikyu explaining the entire affair. He wadded up the note and, knowing that Amawari would be delivering his head to the king, stuck it in his mouth. Shō Taikyu found the note, learned of Amawari’s fiendish plot and punished him accordingly. Historians are not in agreement regarding Amawari’s ultimate fate. I visited the tomb of Amawari a few years later during my 2015 return to Okinawa.

◆ Dr. BUNG’S PHOTO ALBUM - Gate 2, B.C. Street, KAB scenes, Royal Hotel in Yomitan, and Nakagusuku-jo: https://youtu.be/xr7lxpp8twQ

◆ Dr. BUNG’S PHOTO ALBUM - Tombs in Kitanakagusuku: https://youtu.be/VhcSyVtAGeQ

November 7, 2013

Zakimi-jo on the Yomitan Peninsula

Among the many gusuku-no seki (castle ruins) on the main island, Zakimi-jo is perhaps the first one that I had ever seen, back in the mid-1970s. While the Japanese words jo (or jyo) and gusuku are used interchangeably by Westerners in referring to castles it is my understanding that jo clearly refers to castles while gusuku is used to describe a castle or other fortification. Zakimi-jo has a rich history and distinction. In 1314 a new ruler ascended to the throne of all of Okinawa - a 19-year old man named Tamagusuku. He was the grandson of the beloved King Eiso but Tamagusuku turned out to be quite the loser. He was loose with women, was a drunkard, and a lousy leader. His subjects despised him.

His weak leadership gave rise to power-plays throughout the islands, with chaos and in-fighting among the aji/anji, the feudal strong men. The quarreling persisted throughout the reign of Tamagusuku and upon his death in 1336 the system of governance, theretofore referred to as the Gusuku Period, came to an end. The most powerful leaders in Okinawa created their own petty kingdoms spawning what is known as the Sanzan Period (Sanzan Jidai) – a period of three distinct principalities which lasted until 1429 when Shō Hashi united all of Okinawa.

Let me diverge for a minute to briefly explain the Gusuku Period. From the 12th to the 15th centuries, Okinawa was broken up into several small domains which were almost continuously at odds with one another, many times violently so. The aji, or chieftains who controlled the domains, began early on to build crude fortifications that were called gusuku. The word gusuku is used in the singular or the plural so its interpretation must be taken from the context of its use.

Such fortifications were initially used for the purpose of protecting an individual aji’s private residence. Others were built to defend entire villages. In fact, in the earlier centuries the word gusuku was used to describe the protective barriers around farming hamlets and villages. They evolved in the 12th Century into larger areas not only for protection of the aji’s home and the farmers’ fields but also to quarter the forces required to defend the domain. As such it was necessary for the gusuku to be greatly enlarged in order to accommodate the influx of defensive forces. As they grew in area the gusuku also grew in stature. Whereas they had been barely more than crude walls of stacked stones in the 11th Century, by the heyday of the Gusuku Period the structures had become higher, thicker, and more substantial. Such structures also required more work and more craftsmen to design the walls, to shape the stones, and to arrange them such that the finished stronghold was greater than that of the top banana of competitor domains.

Okay, back on track, during the Sanzan Period the three principalities were Hokuzan (Northern Mountain, later to be called Kunigami) in the north; Chūzan (Central Mountain, later Nakagami) centrally; and Nanzan (Southern Mountain, later Shimajiri) at the south end. That description suggests that there might have been only three mountains on all of Okinawa Island but that isn’t the case at all. Though not the Rockies or even the Adirondacks, for such a small island there are mountains aplenty. Speaking of mountains, for the adventuresome among us there are hundreds of scenic mountain trails around the island that offer not only picturesque panoramas but also excellent aerobic exercise!

The Hokuzan power base was at Nakijin-jo on the Motobu Peninsula while the Chūzan and Nanzan principalities had their seats of power at Urasoe and Ōzato, respectively. Chūzan dominated.

Zakimi, on the Yomitan Peninsula, was the area bestowed by Shō Hashi upon Gosamaru aji back in 1416. He had been a retainer of Hananchi, the powerful overlord up north in Hokuzan. Gosamaru abandoned Hananchi, joined with Shō Hashi’s Chūzan army and participated in the attack upon Hokuzan. Following the successful military action during which Gosamaru made quite a name for himself, Shō Hashi rewarded him with land at Zakimi. It was there that Gosamaru built his castle.

The fertile land at Zakimi however was so soft that castle walls couldn’t be built in the manner known as nunozumi that was typical of Ryūkyūan castle construction.

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Broad base and wide walls of Zakimi-jo.

When the stones were piled up at Zakimi they sank into the ground. Consequently, an entirely new method of constructing a stone foundation called aikitazumi was developed. That new method involved the use of polygon-shaped cut stone which increased the strength of the structure. The base of the foundation was widened such that it occupied 46% of the castle’s footprint. The upper surfaces of the walls are much wider than other castles that were built upon solid limestone bedrock.

◆ Dr. BUNG’S PHOTO ALBUM - Zakimi-jo: https://youtu.be/YncayNfmook

Yomitan-zan Soba Restaurant

I met up with a friend, Michael B. Martin, who was a long-time resident of Yomitan Township and we spent the afternoon at lunch followed by a few sites on the peninsula, many of which were new to me. Michael had been living in Aza-Furugen, Yomitan-son for many years with his Okinawan wife who had passed away some years before our meeting. He lived in a house located in what was once a U.S. military off-base family housing area known as Morgan Manor. It was a small, tidy concrete block house among many of identical design in a quiet part of the township which had long since been turned over to civilian ownership and he was surrounded by Okinawan friends and neighbors. As I looked around and photographed some of the houses in old Morgan Manor I noted how absolutely quiet it was – far different, I’m sure, from the days when military families’ kids rode their bikes, raced derby style in the streets with their home-made wooden crate roadsters, roller-skated, and played stickball. We had lunch at one of his favorite spots, the Yomitan-zan Soba restaurant.

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Michael and I at the Yomitan-zan Soba Restaurant

Mike was a friend of the owner and staff who provided a pleasing meal and homey atmosphere. Displayed inside the café were several pottery pieces that had been placed by local artisans, all of which were available for purchase. Tempting as it was to buy a unique pair of shisa I had to keep in mind that everything purchased during our stay on island would have to be carried back home. Flying Space-A on military flights carries with the privilege a limit on baggage weight. I decided to forego the opportunity to bring home a splendid one-of-a-kind keepsake.

In 2019, Mike finally gave in to his brother’s plea that he return to the family home in Iowa. Mike had been heavily involved in local activities and organizations in Yomitan and in Okinawa City. Dressing up as Santa Claus was one of his fun volunteer civic duties. After having been a stalwart neighbor, friend, and supporter of his Okinawan organizations, Michael is missed by many on the island.

◆ Dr. BUNG’S PHOTO ALBUM – Yomitan-zan Soba: https://youtu.be/39MCNVFa04M

After lunch Michael and I went around to a few places that he hoped I would enjoy seeing. I was entirely at his disposal, willing to go anywhere of interest. My traveling companion, Dr. Bung, has some photos of our visit to the Sugar Cane Man followed by a few shots along the Sunabe Seawall.

◆ Check ‘em out here: https://youtu.be/3_SgG3D3ZKQ

Yomitan 101 Gala Aoiumi

Next, we drove over to see the glass factory and the sea salt factory at Yomitan 101 Gala Aoiumi. Sea salt production hit high gear after the Japanese government, in response to push-back from private citizens and the medical community, gave up their monopoly on salt production in 1997. Small artisanal sea salt producers sprang up all across Japan. Okinawa was right there along with all the rest. When the Japanese government held the salt monopoly it was cranking out 99% sodium chloride salt. The smaller salt producers, using their methods of sea water salt production retain over 40 minerals and use lower temperature processing thus preserving mineral content close to that of natural sea water.

Salt has more purpose to the Japanese than its simple use as a seasoning for food. Salt is an important element of purification rituals, especially notable in Shinto ceremonies and as a purifying substance in a sumo wrestling ring. How many times have you seen salt being cast into the ring and wondered, Why’re they doing that?

Two methods of sea salt production are practiced on Okinawa. The first is called Shimama-su during which salt from bays in Mexico and Australia is imported and dissolved into Okinawa’s sea water. Since salt from bay waters contain many impurities the solution of bay salt and Okinawa’s sea water is filtered resulting in highly concentrated pure sea water. That water is then slowly boiled, evaporated and crystalized in large shallow pans. Then it is dehydrated resulting in what is called Shimama-su. After drying it is sifted, accurately measured, then packed by hand. Each package is passed through a metal detector (looking for foreign materials) and finally inspected by trained human beings.

The Aoiumi process uses Okinawa’s seawater pumped in from off shore. The water is slowly boiled down to crystalline form then follows the same process as described above.

The Gala Aoiumi opened to the public as a theme park-like attraction in 2005.

The park has a glass-blowing workshop too. I have always enjoyed watching glassmiths as they ply their skills to create colorful and unique pieces. It puzzles me every time I watch the artisans working their craft how it is that they can tolerate working every day in that oppressive heat … and I was there in November. July? No way!

◆ Dr. BUNG’S PHOTO ALBUM – The Glass Factory: https://youtu.be/8UljuRgKXsI

◆ Dr. BUNG’S PHOTO ALBUM – Sea Salt Factory: https://youtu.be/GCXaSJAbVL0

Japanese Surrender site on Kadena

On September 18, 1997 (U.S. Air Force’s 50th birthday), Kadena’s Peace Garden was rededicated.

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Peace Garden on Kadena Air Base. November 2013

Conforming with the general surrender executed by the Japanese government on September 2, 1945, the remaining commanders of Japanese forces in the Ryūkyū Islands unconditionally surrendered the islands to the U.S. on September 7th in a ceremony located at 10th Army Headquarters.

The Peace Garden is located in the Stearley Heights family housing area, just a couple of blocks from where I lived in the late 1980s. I had never seen it before but for good reason – the memorial site had not been built until after my 1990 departure. So, this was fun to see. At the time of the signing, that location was known as Morine, Goeku Township. The Stearley Heights housing area was named for Major General Ralph F. Stearley while he commanded Twentieth Air Force (1950-53), headquartered at Kadena Air Base.

◆ Surrender site photos and history: https://youtu.be/OEWfLosriCI

We drove by the wedding chapels at Nikko Alivila, walked along the Sunabe Seawall, and rode the elevator to the topside deck at Upkitty Observatory. I was amused by how many people, probably Asian tourists and anti-American activists and sympathizers, were taking pictures of Kadena’s flightline from the Observatory deck. I think it rather unlikely that local Okinawans would feel such admiration and esteem for the air field that they’d bother to take photos of activities that have made their skin crawl for decades. With the stationing of Harrier jets, one of the noisiest aircraft in existence due to its higher frequency range and focusing of its exhaust to the ground, and the increase in the number of regional training exercises beginning in the late 1970s came an increase in the number of flights in and out of Kadena Air Base. As a result, on February 26, 1982, 601 residents near the base brought a lawsuit against the central government calling on it to stop nighttime flights and demanding compensation for the noise pollution to date. Subsequently another 300 residents from the communities of Kadena Town, Chatan Town, Okinawa City, Yomitan Township, Ishikawa City, Gushikawa City joined the group known as the Kadena Kichi Bakuon Boshi Jumin Kyoto Kaigi (Joint Struggle Committee of Residents Preventing Noise Pollution at Kadena Air Base) in the civil action suit, bringing the total to 907 people. The lawsuit demanded the following items be addressed:

• Flights and engine testing be banned between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.

• Noise over the level of 65 decibels would be banned in the areas where the residents live.

• Compensation amounting to 1,150,000 yen would be paid out to each resident who had problems with the noise pollution in the past.

• Residents would be paid another ¥33,000 per month until flights are stopped and noise prevention measures are put in place.

While recognizing the plaintiffs’ argument that there had been some noise pollution over 80 decibels and that the central government had a responsibility to compensate the residents, the court denied the ability to determine the exact health effects. It also rejected demands for future compensation as they could be influenced by unpredictable events and thus not possible to judge at that point. Moreover, the court shot down the demands to restrict flights as they were out of the court’s jurisdiction because they applied to a third party. The plaintiffs filed an appeal. On May 22, 1998, the Fukuoka Branch of the Supreme Court rendered its judgment on the appeal. The decibel limit was reduced from 80db to 75 and the court denied reward of damages to residents who had moved into the area. The difference between 75 and 80 is not simply 5 decibels, but in fact represents a sound that is 5 times larger because decibel rating is logarithmic in nature. A sound of 85 decibels can cause hearing loss. The court also decided that it was not possible to know with certainty that hearing problems and other health concerns such as the increased rate of births of unusually small children (under 2.5 kg or 5 pounds) were caused by the aircraft. In the end, with each side winning some of their arguments in the case, both decided not to appeal the decision.

Beginning Feb 25, 2005, approximately 4,000 residents near Kadena Air Base were compensated ¥2.8 billion in the costliest redress ever for an aircraft noise pollution suit.

All-in-all, it was a busy day, and I was grateful that Mike chose to spend so much of his time with me.

◆ Dr. BUNG’S PHOTO ALBUM – Upkitty Observatory, Wedding Chapels, and Zakimi-jo photos: https://youtu.be/YncayNfmook

In the evening, Debb and I went to American Village in Mihama, a shopping and entertainment complex that opened in 1998. From patio ale houses to 100-yen stores; sports shops to Red Lobster; specialty shops to outdoor cafés; from Sunset Beach to a 7-plex movie theater, there seemed to be a little something for everyone. What amazed me the most was that the entire complex is built on reclaimed land – occupying space that used to be water off Okinawa’s west coast on the East China Sea back in the days when we lived on the island.

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Displays at a shop in American Village.

◆ Dr. BUNG’S PHOTO ALBUM – American Village: https://youtu.be/R9QeVzSaR-M

Debb and I rounded out the evening with a drive south on Highway 58 (National Route 58, or better known to old timers as Highway 1) into Naha. It was fun to be driving again on the island. The scenes along the way were all so familiar and the hustle and bustle, and the bright neons of Naha stood in stark contrast to what I saw in the dying Okinawa City. It occurs to me now that places such as American Village, and later, the AEON Mall might well be reasons why Okinawa City’s renowned Koza area has lost its luster.

I wonder how the small businesses can be so easily forgotten, mere casualties in Japan’s growing economy. While goliath corporations do so well for themselves, the little guy struggles to simply survive, and many don’t. Maybe because in the final analysis it’s all about big money. Sony can buy Columbia Pictures while the little mama-san store that we used to do business with in Aza-Oki disappeared many years ago. The Mitsubishi Corporation snatches up the Rockefeller Center yet the small operation pig farmer in Awase was forced into early retirement. I suppose it is, after all, about the money. Amazon wrought ruin for book sellers. Netflix has put neighborhood video rentals out of business. And so on, and on, and on. I guess it is really no wonder then how papa-san and mama-san shops have gone the way of the horse and buggy, and the rice straw thatched roof. Sad.

There may yet be hope for the little guy though. If more top-of-the-line corporate leaders go to prison or hang themselves as they have in recent years, there may come a final collapse of the entire economy from which a new generation of papa-san and mama-san businesses may emerge.

November 8, 2013

Lunch with Rob & Kiki

Rob Avery, another ex-pat, is a good friend who I originally encountered through my website, or maybe in the site’s adjunct Facebook group. We had exchanged comments and correspondence over the course of months. While I was firming up plans for my 2013 return trip to Okinawa, Rob and I agreed that we should meet in person, finally, and together do some scouting around. He’d been living on Okinawa for decades with his Okinawa-born wife, Kinue (Kiki). Since that time, we’ve met on every occasion of my return visits and we’ve gone to some pretty darned interesting places.

A good day should always include time spent with good friends and this day was no exception. Rob and Kiki lived in Maeda back in 2013. They have since moved to the Yomitan Township.

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Rob and Kiki Avery

We started out at a local eatery where the food was amazing, and the wait staff were most pleasant, courteous, and swift. The place was packed and most of their patrons were locals. I saw very few Americans which made the experience much more authentic and enjoyable.

Manzamo

No tour of the region from Yomitan to Onna would be complete without a stop at Manzamo, the Elephant Rock close to Onna. The site is within the Okinawa Kaigan Quasi-national Park that extends along Okinawa Island’s west coast on the East China Sea from Hedo Misaki in the north to Zanpa Misaki on the Yomitan Peninsula.

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Manzamo – the Elephant Rock

A flat grassy meadow is situated atop Manzamo and is the place, according to legend, where the Ryūkyūan king Shō Kei would host a sunset-watching party for all the island locals, royalty and heimin (commoners) alike. The name Man-za-mo is said to be derived from man (10,000), za (presumably from suwaru – to sit), and mo (a grassland).

A brief story about Manzamo:

The Onna Nabe Myth

Upon occasion of the royal party coming through the countryside into northern Okinawa, a local poet