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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
July 19, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| October 13, 2004 |
In Pictures – Photo Tour 10 of Life Onboard |
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| Iwashita Miho(L) and Kato Soujiro(R) acting on stage |
On the last leg of the 46th voyage, participants were treated to a performance of a romantic historical
play. The drama, called "Love and Death," was based on a book written around 1912 by the
Frenchman Roman Rolland. The story takes place in France, during the turbulent period of the French
revolution. About 15 amateur actors and actresses took the stage, with the heroine played by Iwashita
Miho and the hero played by Kato Sojiro. The play was directed by 77 year-old Hamayoshi Hirotoshi,
who is a professional drama director in his native Japan. The play was in production for almost two
months, with Hamayoshi giving advice to the budding stage stars and helping them practice several
hours everyday. Another 20 participants supported them in back of the stage with costumes, live music,
props and play bills. Their play premiered on October 14th, playing twice to a packed audience of
350 people. Later a video of the play was shown in the ship's free space, attracting another crowd. |
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| A talk with Okinawan Fukumine Hiroichi(L) and Endo Hiromi(R) |
In order to understand different sides of Japanese culture, a series of discussion talks were given.
Entitled "I Love Japan," the series focused on three areas of Japanese society. In the first
event, the group of several hundred watched a documentary about Koreans who were brought to Japan
as forced laborers during World War II, and their struggle for equal rights. The next meeting presented
the perceptions and realities of Japan's foreign aid program, known as the Official Development Aid
(ODA) ministry. Peace Boat participant Kida Hiroshi, who worked for the ODA for twelve years in South
East Asia, spoke ODA's present activities. Kida argued that the ODA is not as useful as it could be
for developing countries, and that the ODA is sometimes actually adding to the problems of the receiving
countries. The last event in the series was called "Think About Okinawa," a performance
about pacifism through songs and personal messages. As an extra event, the Japanese Constitution Article
Nine, the "Peace Clause" was read aloud by various people from around Japan in their local
dialect. Through this series, many participants remarked that they came to have a deeper understanding
of the government's influence in other countries and conflicts in their own society. |
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| CC Morikawa Yuko(L) and GET teacher Anna Wojtalewicz(R) make recycled paper |
On September 2nd Peace Boat participants celebrated "Bunkasai," which means cultural festival
in Japanese. This festival is traditionally held once a year in schools all across Japan. Both participants
and staff got together to work on many kinds of events in all of the ship's spaces. People walked
around taking in the dance performances, deck games, an all-day movie festival, comedy show, a Global
University lecture, live music, a sports competition, several cultural booths by the foreign language
teachers and a very popular "haunted house" attraction. For the music festivities a total
of 17 groups performed items from classical music to guitar playing and chorus. Aso Yukari, the Bunkasai's
MC, reported that the festival was a success in contributing to a lively and interactive atmosphere
on board. |
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| GU student Hiroyuki Katsuma performing a skit |
During the two week journey across the Pacific Ocean the Global University students held a final presentation
based on the six-point proposal they presented at the United Nations on September 10th. Entitled "From
Antiwar to Pacifism," the group also expressed their thoughts on how the current system of economics
and politics contributes to the possibility of war and social inequality in contemporary society.
The group discussed building a society that goes beyond objecting to war to not needing to go to war.
They focused on society becoming independent from the force of violence at both the government and
individual level. Their proposal included reconsidering United States military bases in Japan, being
critical of the media, to shop wisely for fair trade products, to start a little garden in their own
backyards. Communicating their messages through a variety of media, such as skits, quizzes and a power-point
presentation the students showed that they have not only discovered a deeper understanding of the
world, but also how to spread that learning and express themselves. |
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| Participants met one of the local tortoises |
From New York City, more than 90 Peace Boat participants took part in a tour of the Galapagos Islands
- the 46th voyage's biggest overland trip. The group traveled by plane to the islands, where they
embarked on a charter boat. More than 1000 kilometers off the Ecuadorian coast, this chain of sixteen
islands are home to colorful animals not found anywhere else in the world. The group spent five days
exploring five islands, three of which are uninhabited. With over 7,782 square kilometers of natural
habitat, the area attracts around 60,000 people every year to learn about its diverse ecology. The
group was headed by a trained naturalist guide, which is required by law to explore the islands. On
the islands they met some of the native wildlife that inspired Charles Darwin's book "The Origin
of the Species," including many animals not found anywhere else, such as the blue-footed Booby.
Although visitors are not allowed to go off the trails or touch animals, participants were able to
see animals such as tortoises more than 100 years old, iguana colonies and seal pods. Yasuhara Hazuki,
a tour leader and translator, said the magnitude of the place left a big impact on her and other visitors. "The
biggest thing I remember was the sound. It was so quiet and I could appreciate the birds crying and
sea turtles breathing, which you never hear in your daily life." |
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Media Team Contributors:
- Aya Hiromura
- Tomomi Kusakabe
- Hiroyuki Katsuma
- Tamiko Hirata
- Tim Wagner & Ryo Kawabata
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