Chapter 7

Emperor's Birthday: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/162157563?searchTerm=hakone%20maru

About an hour . before we landed at

Singapore we were interested spectators

on tho 'Hakone Maru' of celebrations

in honor of the birthday of the present

Emperor of Japan. Just before 11 a.m.,

bearings were taken, and marks chalked

on tho promenade deck to indictate the

exact direction of Tokyo. The captain

and as many of tho officers and crew

as could be spared, then lined up at at

tention. Exactly at 11 o'clock, each

man turned in the direction of Tokjo

— tho Emperor's home — and, with an

arm extended, sang the Japanese Na

tional Aft them, a simple dignified tune,

in which we, having been supplied with

copies of words and music, did our best

to join^ There was no mistaking tho

patriotic fervour of the little brown

men, as they performed this obeisance to their beloved Emperor.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/171471752?searchTerm=hakone%20maru

After spending a couple of days, as

a freelance now that our party had

disbanded, 1 boarded the Hakone Maru,

travelling on this Japanese steamer as

far as Singapore. I spent a very

pleasing and interesting day at Moji

and Shimonoseki, at the entrance to

the Inland Sea of Japan, and then one

lovely sparkling day I watched, with

some feeling of regret, the rocky

shores of Nippon fade away from

view. Two days later v,'e awoke to

find ourselves steaming between the

banks of the river at Woosana

(China), the forts of which were re

duced by the Japs, in 1931, when they

shelled Chapei, on the outskirts of

Shanghai. Half-an-hour later we tied

up beside the wharf at Shanghai, ami

were soon ashore in that very im

portant city, anxious to see how con

ditions in China compared with those

Fix this text

in Japan.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/171472026?searchTerm=hakone%20maru

Next morning we were unfortunate

enough lo be held up by fog, which

descended just as the 'Hakone Maru'

was about to cross the Woosung Bar

on the route to Keelung (Formosa),

and here we were kept at anchor, un

able to either proceed, or to see more

of Shanghai, for nearly a day. Even

when, next day, the journey proceeded,

and also during the following day, the

fog followed us, so that half speed was

maintained, and our nights were made

hideous with the ship's siren Masting

every three minutes. The journey to

Keelung was without other feature.

Here we fouiid ourselves once more in

Japanese territory, for the Island of

Formosa (or Taiwan) was ceded by

China to Japan following the latter's

victory in the Sino-Japanese war of

ISifa. This war, Uiougli it added a

total of 143 million yen (nearly eleven

million pounds Australian) to the Jap

anese national debt, paid Japan hand

somely in the acquisition of Formosa

alone, for this huge isiand, off the coast

of which we steamed for three days, is

very fertile, and provides Japan with

much-needed food supplies. Readers

will note that on every occasion that

Japan has clashed with China she has

emerged with a useful slice of Chinese

territory — Formosa in 1895, Manchuria

in 1932, and now it looks like Chahar

and Hopei, at least, becoming virtually

under Japanese control in 1937.

Keelung lies at. the foot o£ steep

hills at the extreme end of a wedge

shaped harbour. It is quite a pretty

harbour, the encompassing hills being

richly closed in sub-tropic growth not

unlike that of our own North Coast

brush. Unfortunately, misty rain fell

during the few hours we had there, so

we saw Keelung at a disadvantage

even at that, the hills are very beauti

ful. As soon as we anchored a Jap

anese soldier was placed on deck, and

this man kept us all under obviously

close surveillance. There is every sign

that foreigners are not encouraged in

Formosa. Keelung was the scene ol

an incident which threatened compli

cations between Japan and Great

Britain a year ago, when sailors from

a British man-o'-war were severely

handled by Japanese police there, and

the matter bad, when we were there,

only recently oeen semen uv an nuvi

oiisly grudging apology by Japan.

Whether this caused reserve I do not

know, but certainly the warm wel

come offered to us in Japan itself was

entirely lacking at Keelung. My Air

Force companion and I landed, but

within one hour were glad lo return.

The town is incredibly dirty, and the

stencil of the streets overpowering.

Whilst, however, one was able to en

dure the smell, one found the town

quite interesting. It is an old Chinese

town, on which the modernising in

fluence of Japan lias not yet been

stamped to any extent. The brick

buildings are colonnaded over the

footpaths, making a series of pillars

and arches all along tlie streets. Jn-.

^tend of our shallow gutters, there are j

derp stone box-drains, and in these .

waste water lay stagnant and putrid,

and into these also any refuse was

articles sold by tlie shops were dis

played on the open footway beneath

the colonnades, as was also cooked fish

and other morsels of food, oblivions of

this all-pervading stench. The foot

ways, too, were crowded with innum

erable and more or less naked child

ren of the shopkeepers, supplemented

by cats, dogs, and an occasional goat.

Most of the shops themselves were

miserably dirty and disorderly, and

their proprietors well in keeping with

the part. Whereas in Japan we freely

inspected and bought in the scrupu

lously clean and neat shops, here no

thing would persuade us to enter a

shop. There was, however, a trading

market which provided a shining cosi

trast to the squalor and filth of the

privately-owned shops. This was

housed in a modern concrete building,

and proved to be a most interesting

place. Booths were arranged around

the four inner walls, and another set

of booths formed an inner square.

These stalls displayed a remarkable

variety of fish, meat (mostly pork), and

many fruits and vegetables, which

were entirely new to us. Fish aPHC-urs

to !?» a staple article of food to the

Formosans; at any rate huge quanti

ties' were offered at these stalls. In

one deep rectangular glass vessci a

variety of live eels slithered and

twisted round and round the glass,

until one, having been sold, would be

seized and dragged from its temporary

home, in another glass %ressel an out

size in frogs was distinctly limited in

its movements, for it was actually 'krg-

roped' — tied '-y a string attached to its leg. The stalls displayed also large quantities of repulsive looking octopuses — evidently a delicacy--:ind large shark fillets, besides many other varieties of fish. leaving this orderly clean and interesriiig luarkut, our rather improved respect for the town

was promptly destroyed when we turned into another street and found similar foods displayed (or sale on open stalls viRht in the middle of the odoriferous thoroughfare. We had seen enough. Climbing a stone stairway on which was the accumulated filth of years, it. seemed, we were glad to reach the fresher, air of the railway square above, soon to join a launch which carried us back to our steamer.

Had the day been line we wbulfl liave engaged a car to visit the Capital, Tohoku, situated some miles up in the hills, and said to be quite an attractive city. Soon after rejoining our ship we once more steamed down the beautiful harbour and were on our way

Sumako Fukao (poet)

boarded the Hakone Maru from Kobe in mid-March 1939 as a cultural envoy for friendship between Japan, Germany and Italy. It was a second class cabin.

"I don't usually care about ships at tea parties, dance parties, and even movie nights, trying to get rid of the monotonous days of water and water. Movies are used in American comedies and in Japan and other routes. The scenery of the land along the road, and the old things such as the beginning of Japan's dance. It's not interesting at all. I want you to devise something. ”

However, even on the international flight just before arriving in Japan, such an introduction video of Japan It was being washed away. He continued,

"The sukiyaki party on the A deck was fine. I decorated the handrails with bonbons and cherry blossoms, and pulled around the red and white curtains (manmaku), and now I feel like I'm in my home country in mid-April. It may be a taste of remembering.

Japanese and Westerners are sukiyaki-like on the Indian Ocean, where four or five people form a group by laying a railing on the deck and setting up a chabudai . The sukiyaki scene has already been introduced in the Yasukuni Maru section, and the cherry blossoms on the railing are in the Kazaki Maru section, and the photos will be introduced later. The ship is different, and you can see the scene as it is written.

Also, because the Belgian ambassador to Japan was on board this ship, the Belgian flag was hung alongside the Hinomaru during the voyage. It was an international practice to raise the national flag of the country when boarding the ambassador.

Medical Issues

Mine technician Kurata Kamenosuke went to Hakone Maru from Kobe on July 22, 1926 (Taisho 15th year) in order to study at Assen University in Germany. The book "Traveling in Europe and America" ​​(January 1934, Sugino Ryuzo) mentioned that when he was sailing in the East China Sea from Shanghai, he was unwell, showing symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting. When it was time for the diagnosis and treatment, he asked the ship doctor to come for a diagnosis, took the medicine, and warmed his abdomen with a furnace. At this time, the ship's doctor told him that within ten days of sailing, half of the passengers had "unexplained" diarrhea.

Communication

Telegraph

Source: Sumako Fukao (poet)

Sumako Fukao (poet)

boarded the Hakone Maru from Kobe in mid-March 1939 as a cultural envoy for friendship between Japan, Germany and Italy. It was a second class cabin.

It was Hakone Maru the last time I went to Europe for the third time, more than ten years ago. The music box that informs me of tea and food is the same as on the previous voyage and I am a little disappointed. When the ship leaves Moji, telegrams from Yaso Saijo and Sonosuke Sato are delivered. It was possible to contact Japan by telegram even on board. Imagine it was quite expensive. 

Apparently NVK lines, including Hakone Maru, had imprinted envelopes for the 1940 olympics, orginally slated to be in Tokyo. see https://aicolympic.org/wp-content/uploads/SOC-Publications/Torch-Bearer-XII-Olympiad-1940-Japan-2007-1.pdf

Food.

From blog post about a menu:

Yokomitsu, was based on this experience of traveling to Europe, so I thought I would read it for a long time. I took out the "European travelogue" that did not open the page.

My dining table is Kyoshi Takahama and her daughter, Junichi Uenohata, the director of the engine, and myself.

As you can see, Kyoshi Takahama was on board this ship, and Kyoshi had a banquet, so Yokomitsu also participated and wrote the following phrase in Singapore.

Buffalo in a car

Buddha mulberry is a hibiscus, but it seems that the heat has responded to the voyage just below the equator.

I ate tempura in the heat every day, so my stomach hurts. Uncomfortable all day long. The devil's sea. It's the most boring around here. Horrible fatigue.

Also, after arriving in Paris, he wrote as follows, and it seems that Yokomitsu was not good at Western food like this menu ...

The biggest problem is food. When I'm hungry and have a fork, I don't feel like eating anymore. If you don't eat it as it is, you will soon become hungry. I can't rely on the fact that I can't just make coffee.

Yokomitsu is said to have failed while aiming to build a "Japanese principle" that can overcome the modern Western era, but I think it was fatal that the meals did not fit in the first place ...?

Possible lounge drawings: http://nhironworks.blog.fc2.com/blog-category-6.html