Newsletter No. 1000
Special Edition
April 29, 2008
A VIRTUAL VISIT TO KITAKYUSHU
By Michael Penn
The Shingetsu membership lives
in many countries around the world, and it is not so easy to
just come out and visit us here in Kitakyushu. Nevertheless,
as we have reached a very important landmark today, we decided
to send each and every Shingetsu Member a first-class ticket
to Kitakyushu, Japan. Regrettably, however, when we then realized
that our empty coffers could not support such a course of action,
we settled for the next best thing -- a virtual visit to Kitakyushu!
Getting off the train at Kokura Station, you can see me standing
there waiting for you. The big red letters to the left of me
read: Tokubetsu Keikaichu (Special Security Measures
in Effect). You may not have known it, but Kokura Station is
apparently a major target for terrorism. Any day an Al-Qaida
suicide bomber might appear and destroy the Kiosk or the cake
shop behind me. Indeed, that girl in the tan jacket might be
calling Usama bin Ladin right now! Can you provide any definitive
proof that she is not calling Al-Qaida?
Even richer targets might be found over this way. Today they
are holding some kind of Okinawa food fair right in the middle
of Kokura Station. Would you like to take a look at it before
we move on?
And this, my friends, is the heart of Kitakyushu city, just
outside of Kokura Station. It’s a beautiful spring day.
Doesn’t Kitakyushu look just like something right out
of The Jetsons? The City of the Future. The large building
on the left was originally a Sogo Department Store when I came
here eight years ago. Sogo went bankrupt and the building was
empty for a couple of years. More recently, it was an Isetan
outlet, but they too failed some months back. It has now been
taken over by rival Izutsuya.
That monorail track to the right
travels straight to The University of Kitakyushu, among other
places…
And now we have arrived on campus. This is the main lawn and
green area. Students are sitting on those benches. Behind me,
partially obscured by the trees, is the university library.
But I, however, am based on the second floor of Building Number
3. This is also the graduate school building.
Can you guess that this is the door to my office? I am at the
end of the hall in a nice, quiet corner. I always thought that
I had one of the best offices on campus.
Ahh! My pride and joy! I’ve read every one of those books
on the shelves behind me from cover to cover. That’s about
twenty years of effort! Mostly, it’s history and politics.
Here I am in my command center. This is the very spot where
most Shingetsu Newsletters (including this one) have been written.
The poster on the wall is that of Ryoma Sakamoto, one of my
favorite characters from Japanese history.
In his youth, Ryoma and one
of his buddies decided to assassinate a man named Kaishu Katsu
for the crime of consorting with foreign knowledge. The young
Ryoma had it in his mind that he was a Japanese patriot, and
that an impure man like Katsu should be killed. However, when
Ryoma and his friend entered this man’s residence, Katsu
(who understood very well what the two had in mind) called out
and said: “Look! Give me five minutes to explain myself.
If you still want to kill me after that, I won’t resist
you.” The two would-be assassins agreed and listened to
what Katsu had to say. They ended up talking for hours. At length,
Ryoma and his friend gave up their murderous intentions, fell
to their knees, and begged Katsu to become their teacher.
Openness to a different perspective;
the quality of intellectual and moral growth: What can be better
than that?
Here’s another great man that we happened to see in the
hallway. He is Shinichiro Noriguchi, professor of American literature,
and one of my best friends in this city. Frankly, it’s
not so easy to really connect with most Japanese people. This
guy, however, is rock solid by any standard.
OK, let’s blow this place! Here at the bus stop behind
my office building is a good place to catch a taxi…
A five-minute taxi ride brings us to the Shingetsu Institute
office in the Jono district of Kitakyushu. Great mailbox, eh?
Who knows what secrets lay inside!
Here’s our discussion table in the office. Truth be told,
I only come to this office about twice a week. There’s
no computer here yet, and we have no staff. I use this room
for storage and the occasional language class.
On the other hand, every single book on the top three shelves
is about Japanese-Islamic relations. This is our mostly-unused
lending library. The book in my hand was published in the 1930s.
We have some older stuff too.
Over here is the cabinet in
which we keep archival materials for researchers. As you can
see, some of these shelves are a little bare. Let’s call
it room for growth!
Feeling hungry? I know a great
place…
Welcome to my little piece of the Ottoman Empire in the heart
of Kitakyushu! It is the Restaurant Ertugrul in its full glory!
I was the financial backer for
the establishment of this restaurant in the summer of 2006.
It serves good Turkish food, and is the only Middle Eastern
restaurant on the entire island of Kyushu. Regrettably, however,
the citizens of Kitakyushu don’t seem to appreciate it
as much as I do, and business has been light. Like the Ottoman
frigate for which it was named, it has sprung some leaks and
is now in serious danger of going under. To be honest, this
has been one of the saddest things for me in recent months.
Although the Shingetsu Institute has prospered as an intellectual
venture, the Restaurant Ertugrul has been a financial anchor
wrapped around my neck.
For now, however, I can still console myself with a delicious
bowl of Turkish red bean soup. The people in Kitakyushu are
crazy! This is a great restaurant! Why aren’t we packed
every night? We’ve got doner kebab, pilaf, white beans,
baklava, and many other delicious tidbits.
Now we share a glass of raki and black olives with my close
friend Barbaros Evren, who owns the restaurant. I am the “Chairman
of the Support Committee.” In fact, I am the Support Committee!
Barbaros is a Turk from Istanbul,
and we have been friends ever since I came to Kitakyushu about
eight years ago. He loves to talk to the customers and tell
them about Turkey and its culture. His Japanese conversation
skills are much better than mine. Just listen to him talk!
Oops! What are you doing on the floor? It looks like you’ve
drunk a little too much raki, my friend!
Well, that being the case, I
guess it’s time for you to say goodbye to Kitakyushu!
Ya’ll come back now!
