Dear Friends and Family,
After a hectic few weeks
of office work and then receiving 24 new
missionaries, we were charged to
accompany a newly-arriving senior couple, the Johnstons of Atlanta, to their
field of labor in Kagoshima near the southern tip of Kyushu Island. Kagoshima is a city on a large bay featuring
in its center (the bay, that is) an island containing an active volcano, Mount
Sakurijima. It experiences maybe two
explosions a day, with the last significant eruption showering rocks and dust
onto the city of Kagoshima last July. From
an overlook the day we were there, we peered through a hazy atmosphere and
could just make out clouds of smoke emerging from the south summit of
Sakurijima. Japan stretches 1200 miles
along the unstable Pacific Rim and contains 10% of all the world’s active
volcanoes. We loved hosting and getting
to know the Johnstons. The local
membership was thrilled with the arrival of a senior missionary couple and went
all out to provide a comfortable apartment and to make them feel welcome.
We stayed the night
in Kagoshima and took a couple of days to explore southern Kyushu and find our
way back home. We visited a famous
Shinto Shrine at Udo built in a cave overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Legend
describes this as the landing place of the first emperor Jimmu where he was
nurtured for a time at two breast-shaped rock formations. 15 meters below the
shrine, lies a rope forming a one meter diameter circle atop a rock formation
just above the crashing waves where you can test your throwing skills. Men throwing from the left and women from the
right, try to land small clay balls purchased at the shrine within the circle. Successful
throws bring good fortune. We tried 10 clay balls at 20 yen apiece, and each of
us succeeded in placing one clay ball within the rope fence. Good luck is on its way!
Driving up the east coast, we saw
many palm trees and experienced a very pleasant climate. Warm ocean currents flow out of the south Pacific
northeastward along both sides of Kyushu Island giving it a near tropical
climate, much different from what we experience at the northwest corner of the
Island where Fukuoko is located.
After staying the
night in the coastal city of Nobeoka, we proceeded inland into the mountains of
central Kyushu. The mountain village of
Takachiho features a cave where the sun goddess Amatersu hid herself at the
time of the Savior’s crucifixion. After
three days she was lured out of her cave and brought light back to the world.
Below the village is a deep gorge containing a beautiful stream of turquoise water.
Driving on we passed
through many tunnels and bridged many deep chasms in the shade of beautiful
forests. 68% of Japan is covered in forests,
making it the 3rd most-forested nation in the
world, just a skosh behind Finland and Sweden.
40% of their forests are commercial plantations of mostly cryptomeria
japonioca, Japanese cedar, an indigenous species and the national tree of
Japan, highly prized as a source of lumber. Millions of these cedars were planted after
the war to facilitate rebuilding, but their harvesting has proven uneconomical
in recent years leaving vast plantation forests to grow unchecked. We observed
mile after kilometer of these beautiful arborvitae-like trees covering the
mountainous regions of central Kyushu, interspersed with clear-cut patches and
cut through by an excellent system of highways often banked with enormous,
unsightly retaining walls to prevent erosion.
Farmers have constructed extensive arrays of terraced farmland patches
on the hillsides lying on the forest fringes.
It was a kind of escape, an
unexpected opportunity to celebrate our 51st anniversary, and it was
great to get away for a couple of days from the 12-hour-a-day office regimen
which had characterized the previous few weeks. Firmly ensconced back in the
office and re-shouldering the workload, we send our love and friendly greeting
across the kilometers, your faithful far-eastern correspondents, the Beuses
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