More Japanese History...from Feudal Lords to WWII.

Last week, I was away on travel to Marine Corps Air Station, Iwakuni, in the southern region of Japan (it's roughly the distance from Washington, D.C., to Jacksonville, FL). If you've ever been to a USMC base, you know that they're always surrounded by absolutely nothing, which is a good way to keep young Marines out of trouble. MCAS Iwakuni is no different - it's kind of like the 'countryside' of Japan. Living so close to Tokyo makes me forget that there is almost as much diversity of people and land here in Japan as back in the USA, so this was a good trip to remind me of that. The picture above is of the Kintai Bridge, Iwakuni's major historical landmark. Originally built in the 1500's, it's significant because it's the first bridge in Japan built with 20th century technology - it uses arches, and wood that's reinforced with iron plates; for hundreds of years after this, most civilizations were not using these methods yet. Also, at the top right of the picture, is the local castle, on top of the mountain behind the bridge. From that position, the Feudal Lord of the area could see his enemies coming from pretty much anywhere.




Back on base, this was definitely one of the cooler things I've seen. This is an original airplane hangar/bunker used by the Japanese (when the base was still a Japanese Navy Air Station) in WWII. Inside, is a replica of a Zero (the same kind of plane that took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor). It's neat to see how they crammed each plane into it's own bunker - very tight, and a good way to protect them from attacks when they weren't flying.






Here's a description of the plane...this is what Mitsubishi built before they went into the car business.












The gouges in the wall of the hangar are from U.S. attack planes making bombing/strafing runs on the bunkers during WWII - definitely surreal to see these in person.