Traveling and experiencing another culture is supposed to be
about opening your eyes and mind to alternative perspectives. At least this is what I hope my endless
wandering around the globe will result in.
Last weekend, I had one of those moments that make a person stop and
look at the big picture.
A friend and I have found a quiet little British-style pub
in Toyohashi. It’s far enough from the
station to avoid the crowds, and we usually only share it with a few business
men stopping in for a martini to end their work week. Every so often, we’ll meet up there for a
couple of European beers and a quiet foreigner-free night out.
The owner is a very nice man who has spent many years in
England and, as a result, speaks very good English. This particular visit was the first time we
had spoken beyond the polite pleasantries of an introduction. It lasted over two hours, most of which filled
with nothingness I fail to recall. I do
remember a few minutes somewhere in the middle when I asked him, “How long have
you owned this bar?” Seems generic
enough, right? The answer was anything
but.
He told me that the bar, as we know it, has been around for
a few decades and has been updated many times.
The business, however, has been owned by his family long before the
Second World War. Now, anytime the war
comes up in conversation with the Japanese, I feel a bit uncomfortable. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had many wonderful discussions
about how each nation’s generations have moved beyond the conflict. Even so, my contributions to the conversation
tend to be more timidly presented than normal.
Having never visited Hiroshima or Nagasaki, I’ve avoided many of the
sensitive locals until that night.
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| The area around Toyohashi Station |
What few people know is that Toyohashi and Toyokawa were
very high on the list of targets for atomic bombs when the US military was planning
its attacks. Being powerful industrial
cities, Americans thought them perfect places at which to cripple the Japanese
economy and force the military’s surrender.
As we all know, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were eventually chosen as the
most effective locations and targeted as such.
Between the two atomic bombs, Toyokawa and Toyohashi were flattened as well
by American bombers. Much of the part of
my new hometown where businesses are centered today was covered by the ruins of
factories 70 years ago.
What I learned at the bar was that my favorite place for a
night out was the result of his family’s losses during the American onslaught. The original business owned by his family at
that same location was destroyed during the less-famous American bombing
campaigns between the two atomic bombs.
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| Ushikubo, the nearest JR Line station to my apartment. Located in the part of the city bombed by the Americans. |
I didn’t really know how to respond to hearing this. The conversation itself was completely
innocent. He didn’t mean for me to feel
uncomfortable, as he was simply answering my question honestly. Even so, I couldn’t help but feel a bit
sorry.
His pub will continue to be my choice location for a
Belgian-white, but I won’t be able to visit without thinking about its historical
connection to my country and, perhaps, its greatest “victory.”
