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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
July 22, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| July 15, 2005 |
In Pictures – Photo Tour IV of Life Onboard |
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To many mainland Japanese, the popular song “Shima uta (Island song)” by The Boom evokes an image of Okinawa as a set of beautiful islands in southern Japan. The lyrics, however, hold an underlying message belying Okinawa’s history of occupation by both mainland Japan and the United States military. Daini Nakahara, a Peace Boat staff member, explained the song’s lyric “red hibiscus blooming in the wind and storm” represents Okinawa under occupation and war. Formerly the independent Ryukyu kingdom, Okinawa was absorbed into Japan and it effectively became Japanese territory during the 1870’s. During World War Two, the US military invaded Okinawa on June 23, 1945. 230,000 people were killed, a quarter of the island’s prewar population. While the war memorial day for mainland Japan is August 15th, the Okinawan war memorial day is June 23rd, the day all its islands were occupied by the US military. Today, Okinawa is burdened with the highest number of US military bases in Asia. When Mr. Nakahara went to Okinawa he asked a local man what he could do to help. The man told him to “to share the burden and start a movement to relocate US military bases to mainland Japan”. With this plea in mind Mr. Nakahara has been active with Peace Boat and other civil organizations to demonstrate against US military bases in Okinawa and Japan. |
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Art classes are held twice daily. Matt Muirhead, the instructor, is a working artist who has been painting for 15 years. “The purpose of my classes is to use color and form to create personal introspective images,” says Matt. Prior art experience is not required. Many of the projects require students to create patterns and shapes, and students must use their creativity to find a logical form inside the work they are doing. “We like to use a lot of recycled materials in class,” noted Matt about the types of art materials used. Often times the class has been compared to a kindergarten art class. “Time just flies by,” marvels one student, “I completely lose myself in class; it’s like meditation”. After the completion of an art unit, an exhibition of the artwork is displayed and the students gather together to talk about what they have accomplished. Due to its popularity, art class fills up very quickly, and unfortunately students can only attend one art unit throughout the voyage. |
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Journalist Mr. Atsushi Murakami came aboard Peace Boat to raise awareness about global environmental issues. Previously he worked in a marine engineering company where he first saw the appalling condition of waste disposal in Tokyo landfills. “I was shocked how the environment was being damaged and contaminated in Japan. So I made the conscious decision to move to Germany, a country where environmental awareness and activism is high”. While Japan interprets environmental issues in terms of recycling and environmental protection, in Germany it relates to energy. As Mr. Murakami began to research policy initiatives in this area, he became firmly aware of oil’s influence in social and political as well as environmental affairs. In his lectures, Mr. Murakami introduced concepts of alternative energy sources including solar and wind power. |
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