Job's Page - 1948-1951 Tokyo (with comments from current Tokyo by Lyle
H Saxon)
"Wool, Cotton & No Air-Conditioning"
In 1949, summer meant changing from wool
uniforms to cotton, both fabrics have been replaced with man-made
fibers, at least in army uniforms. Few people or businesses had
air-conditioning at that time and electric fans were small and a
luxury. People still dressed properly when in public, and shorts
for both men and women were not seen. I wonder if these extra
pounds are what's making me feel hotter.
Job
Job's book, "At Mama-san
House" can be found at Amazon.com
"Ikebukuro & the Allied Personnel Car"
Reviewing Ikebukuro photos:
In 1949 little of interest to Americans was to be seen there, but G.I.s
enjoyed hearing the station speaker pronounce it as we passed through
on our way to Asaka, or the other direction to Tokyo
Station. Invariably we would repeat "Ikebukuro" and laugh.
Even if a comfortable Allied Personnel car was attached on the rear of
the train, we chose the crowded cars and stood up as they were much
more interesting.
Did I ever mention that Keio or Keno
University (closer to Yokohama that Tokyo) [probably the Hiyoshi campus
of Keio University, which is in fact in Yokohama, between Yokohama
Station and Shibuya Station on the Toyoko Line] was occupied and used
as a school for radio repairman and cooks/bakers school. While in
the M.P.s I attended the radio repairman course, but was far too young
and empty headed to do better than wash out. I recall that area
was bleak and ugly, same as my brain.
Job
LHS: The Hiyoshi area of
Yokohama is quite a nice area as I write this in 2007. Tokyo
& Yokohama both change very rapidly, so the decades have basically
made a new city, with not many traces of the old. Many of the
university buildings seem to be quite old though - so they may well be
the same.
Job's book, "At Mama-san
House" can be found at Amazon.com
"Tatami Mats"
In 1966, on my Rest & Recuperation leave
of absence to Tokyo from
Viet Nam. I found that tatami floors in the new hotels were gone,
as
well as space, and giggling females, a disappointment.
Taxi drivers in Tokyo knew of no traditional
hotels so I
took the
train to Zama where a taxi driver dropped me at a traditional
hotel.
Each room was modern with private toilets and (solitary) baths, but
with tatami throughout, bed on the floor, and practically no
furniture.
It was pleasant and relaxing. However, I had hoped for the
traditional
hotel communal bath where after baring most of one's secrets, perhaps a
social contact might be initiated.
Old Japan offered so much.
Job
Job's book, "At Mama-san
House" can be found at Amazon.com
"Trains & Paved Roads"
LHS: I was watching some old Japanese
newsreels, and one from 1956 (or maybe 1955) showed conditions on a
train, comparing the a 3rd class car to a 2nd class car and then a 1st
class car. Were there three classes of train cars when you were
here too? Now there are only two; regular and "Green Car" (which
is what the previous 2nd class was I think...)
From
other
newsreels from the mid-50's, Japan looks like a very dusty place - with
most roads unpaved....
Job: I'm not sure if trains running about Tokyo in 1949 had three
classes or not. I knew only two.
The Allied Forces car attached to many trains
was very
comfortable, but no sales of refreshments as trains in Korea today
have. The rest of the train would be pretty lean with hard
benches (for the lucky), most people would stand. I never rode a
long distance train. Extra trains laid on for moving troops were
perhaps 2nd class with three person seats facing other seats. No
toilets as I recall. And no one had yet heard of air-conditioning.
No, most roads and streets were not paved and
yes they
were dusty. People wore masks almost everywhere to thin out dust
and a most common sight was shops and homes next to a road with
papa-san throwing water on the road or street to slow down the
dust. In rainy weather, streets were muddy and everybody wore
wooden shoes with high blocks to stay above the muddy water. I
kept a pair of them in the barracks to wear in the shower.
G.I.s were inclined to wear combat boots in
small towns,
however, Tokyo had paved streets so low quarter shoes were OK., and
easier to get off and back on when visiting "a mama-san house."
At that time, Yokohama was pretty basic and combat boots were in order.
LHS: They have people walking through
the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) with carts of food and drink for sale,
but recently people tend to stock up on things (at lower prices) before
getting on the train, so they seem to be selling less than
before. On the Odakyu Line "Romance Car" (reserved seat express
train), they used to always have people come through selling things as
well, but the last time I jumped on one in a hurry and was hoping to
buy a drink for the trip, the service wasn't in effect. I think
they still have it, but only for the busiest times - weekends,
holidays, etc.
Paved
roads...
everywhere in Tokyo is paved now! It's quite rare to find any
ground not covered with buildings, roads, sidewalks, etc. When I
visited Yushima-Seido, at one point, as I stood on the uncovered ground
there, I looked down at the dirt and grass in wonder, thinking "This
ground has never been covered over with concrete! Wow..." and not
in any sarcastic frame of mind either! There really are very few
times when you find yourself standing on grass & dirt in 21st
century Tokyo.
Job: My last message about dust needed additional comment.
Besides many roads not being paved, some were just worn out with broken
asphalt and potholes. Very few Japanese owned a car anyway and
traffic was mostly trucks, heavy motorcycles with small truck beds,
bicycles, and G.I. trucks and a few cars. Very few G.I.s owned a
car. But dust next to the roads was a problem. Many burned
over areas had not been rebuilt yet so they were just dirt and dust.
But things were moving and construction had
begun.
The Korean War was a blessing for Japan because war factories got
contracts for many things. Barracks were empty but American
Hospitals were busy, G.I.s coming in for a break spent money like crazy
and navy ships were using Japan as a base for repairs. Air Force
bases were busy. Japanese construction boomed and of course there
were new train cars and repaired roads.
One man's crisis is another man's success.
Is it possible to see these old newsreels on
the Internet?
LHS: I saw some evidence of paved
streets in rough condition in Kurosawa's 1946 movie "Stray Dog".
As for the newsreels, I don't think they're on the Internet, but you
might be able to order them (Japanese only I think, without any English
translations) via the Internet.
Job's book, "At Mama-san
House" can be found at AMAZON.COM
"Lack & Overabundance of
Lighting"
One of my earlier impressions in
Japan was an amazement of how brightly lit interiors were/are at
night. The streets outside are brightly lit as well, but many
interiors are overlit to the point of being uncomfortable unless you
put sunglasses on! There are many theories as to why this is so,
but the most common one is that the country is still living down its
bad memories of the bad old dark days. This might indeed be the
case, as more subtle lighting seems to be appearing along with younger
people who have no memories of anything except bright lights and
abundance. Back in the late forties it was a different world:
Job recalls,
Late pictures from Tokyo and surrounding
districts tell me that
tonight every shop, street, and path will be illuminated. I mean really
well lighted. Perhaps modern Japan requires inescapable bright lights,
but in 1948,49, 50, and 51 there were no lights on residential streets
and very few on main streets, even Ginza was dim, mysterious, and
considerably romantic. In surrounding communities, shops would close
when daylight turned to twilight and most noise would cease. From train
stations, people hurried on foot along dark unpaved lanes to homes,
dinner, and maybe a visit to the local communal bath house identified
only by a dim paper lantern, as were restaurants and hotels.
Television and automobiles had not yet arrived
to violate quiet
nights and torment neighbors, but maybe one might hear a recording of a
girl's voice singing sadly of a lost or absent lover, (so it seemed to
me) and one might be lucky enough to hear a samisen and traditional
song.
Street crime was unheard of and one felt
perfectly safe on
nights when moon and stars chose to be elsewhere. As one walked through
the friendly dark, anyone met along the way meant only an exchange of,
"Konban-wa!"
It was a time of quiet nights unaltered by
lights, with
faint music that any young American soldier might find to be romantic .
. .
Lighting... how I envy the people who
were able to walk the streets and illuminate the inside of houses
before the advent of florescent lighting! I know it's efficient
for the same amount of illumination, but I would rather burn the same
power and use a dim bulb than blast myself with the horrible
light that florescent tubes provide. I don't know what it is
exactly, but something about those tubes is very unpleasant for
me. So the idea of a world without them sounds like
paradise! Street lights are all kinds of odd things these days,
the most irritating things being that some are so bright, they hurt the
eyes and ruin the atmosphere of the night.
Night? What is it anyway?
There is no night in Tokyo now - ever! Everywhere at all times is
brightly lit! I have to think back decades to even remember what
night is really (I've never experienced it in Tokyo). Ah... and
with the memory is the associated fear of the unknown dark - thus the
overlighting! Some happy medium would be nice!
Shamisen (I was about to change the
spelling in Job's story from "samisen" to "shamisen", but when I looked
it up in my Random House Dictionary, I saw that it's listed as
"samisen", so I'll leave it that way in Job's story, but for my own
text, I'll be stubborn and spell it "shamisen" which is the correct
phonetic spelling for the way it's pronounced in Japanese - since the
first sound unit is "sha" and not "sa")... I
had a traditional dinner once, where at the end of the meal, the wood
& paper
sliding doors behind us were opened to reveal a woman in kimono
who played
the shamisen and sang a couple of songs. It was a beautiful
experience that
I would love to have often, but so far have had just that one time.
Safe streets - it's still mainly safe
to walk the streets here at any time of day or night. Crime is
not nonexistent, but is lower than in most major cities in the
world. (I think... I haven't read up on this in detail lately -
certainly it's not particularly high here.)
LHS - 2007/04/22 - Tokyo
Job's book, "At Mama-san
House" can be found at AMAZON.COM
1948-51 Tokyo
My mental pictures of Tokyo area remain locked
in 1948-51.
I view with interest dozens of color pictures
of today's glitzy
Tokyo which to me are glimpses into the future and I like them, but my
recall is in black and white and a city where many people lived in
shacks, a result of the war.
Most people were poor and struggling, but
friendly and
trustworthy, no insurgents here. To me, Japan was two worlds, the
favored one being American military, but the two worlds met everyday.
For many Americans, first contact were with the hundreds of people who
worked on every army camp. Such as dentists:
My very first dental work was at Camp Drake
located north of
Tokyo by Asaka, a dusty village where souvenir and tailor shops for
G.I.s were the primary industry. The "Dental Office" was operated by
Japanese personnel who worked very cheaply with a few American G.I.s as
supervisors.
The building was long and open-ended, much
like a hay barn, with
a long row of dental chairs.
All chairs were filled at the same time and
the young Japanese
dentist would introduce himself and say "I sorry." His apology would be
repeated often and all day to the same patient and for good reason. The
poor dentist might get slugged, cause,
There would be no novacaine or any pain
killing aids.
Drilling a molar was performed slowly and
carefully with much
rinsing and profuse apologies mixed with the patient's winces, grunts,
and expletives. Smoke breaks for all patients (and dentists) would be
called at the same time, and everybody would go outside, stretch their
legs, walk about while gasping at cigarettes, and regain composure. It
would take all day for one tooth.
I got two fillings (two days) which
served me well for
many years.
Job
Job's book, "At
Mama-san House" is available through AMAZON.COM