Yokohama Navy Exchange was where?

No, I was quite straight the whole trip. The airline World Airlines [ or something like that] didn't serve drinks on board. It was a nice plane but a bit of a cattle car. Many of the men on board were continuing further "south" we avoided the Vietnam word.
Coming over I was held up at Oakland Army Terminal. Yes it was as grim as it sounds. Almost a week waiting for a flight. On the day I was finally called I had decided to check in at the office to see if anyone had lost me.
Arriving at my unit in Yokohama I introduced myself to the guys and asked ' who wants to buy me a beer'' ? Got back a bunch of strange looks. I was asked" Where are you from"? Told them, Another guy spoke up " Im from Boxford. [the next toun over from mine.]

Small world, our unit has about 10 guys in it, half from within 50 miles of where I grew up. So.. I headed out on my own, and found a place called the Zebra Club. The rest is not History.

My favorite place in 52-54. Much has changed since then. This map has a good street view of the area today. http://www.mustlovejapan.com/subject/motomachi/
Anyone heard from Steffi-san or Barbara-san?

Motomachi [shopping street] was just across the bridge from my first apartment on the edge of Chinatown. It was, and probably still is the "upscale" shoping area of Yokohama. The name Motomachi, is also used in other cities. I would use the name Motomachi to the cab drivers when I wanted to get near home as I didn't know the name of the street I lived on. So I strolled the street many many times especially in 1967.

I remember a shop that sold woodblock prints and I guess I would say that there is where I fell in love with the art form. I bought a print of the Great Wave there, and had it framed when I returned . That print is now hanging from where I can see it as I write this. I have often wondered what an original print of Hokusais Great Wave would cost. I understand there is one in the Metropolitan Museum in NYC. And has become an Icon. I almost bought a tie with the inmage it on .

Just before we returned to the states, we went to a jewelry store on Motomachi to have made two strings of pearls for our two mothers. We wanted them longer than the standard strings and stood there as the Japanese technician strung the two necklaces. I was more interested in the delicate handwork of the woman than the pearls themselves. Watching hands do delicate work expertly is a fascinating thing. The two strands set us back $65 each. Very fair but busted our budget.

There was an Antique/ Art store there. And there was this statue of the Goddess of Mercy Kannon. It was bronze and about 5 feet high and superb and magnificent. The woman shopkeeper knew that we couldn't afford it but we had to appreciate it anyway. I made a call home to see if there was an "export" plan for this one item that I could put together. The statue would be shipped for free along with our other household goods. The funding didn't happen. Oh well. I was
very surprised that a statue of this quality and size would even be on the market.
It was One Million Yen. $ 2,300 if I recall
and today that would be a bargan. Im a little sad it didn't happen but it was not ment to be. I would have had to sell it anyway, and in that it would have been hard to part with. The detail was incredible.

Motomachi took a bad hit during the WW@2 air raid and I really couldn't understand how much wonderful hard work had gone into its renovation, even given the years. Remarkable.
It was perhaps not the place for bargans but it well spoke to the elegance and class of Japanese fine arts, beauty products and such.

One night we even found a bar that had psycholodilic lights, done very cleverly with reflections off of a pan of water and colored oil.

Evenings we would walk the 2 minutes from our apartment that was a former Chinese Drs, Office [ Dr Po I was told.] We would window shop for and hour or two marveling at the wonderful offerings. All new and strange for a couple of 'Kids" from rural New Hampshire.

As for Steffi. I email her about once a month. She is well, living in New York City.

I think this movie clip is most beautiful Sankeien garden. It's same as 50 years ago, Spring is soon and cherry blossoms in full bloom.

I want many US Navy families who lived in Yokohama to see this link.

Spring of Sankeien garden;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTYycm1sXyc

ALIEN MOUNTAINS OF SNOW

IS THIS REALLY

MY HOME ?


[ Here in New Hampshire and all of new England we have had blizzards and unprecented
amounts of snow]

I sure would love to walk around Sankien Gardens right now.

Hope everyone is well.

I remember all the "trendy" shops that had very fashionable clothing. Another store in Motomachi in the early to mid-1980's was an Ethan Allen furniture store. On the sidewalk outside the store was a VERY large, red dining room-style chair. I have a picture of my friend, Donna standing beside it. I also still have a pullover sweater that I bought at one of the shops - I guess you could call it a boutique.

As I mentioned I made frequent trips to Motomachi, which was across a bridge and minutes from my apartment.

I recall one time especially. I crossed the bridge and headed the one ''block'' up to the main street. As I got closer I continued on for about another block just to see what was there. Then, rising from the end of the alley were these steps. Going way up to the top of the hill that I couldn't see. There seemed to be a couple of hundred steps.
Now, even though I was in good shape and wanted to see what was at the top of the steps, I didn't climb them. perhaps I was just lazy and didn't think they would go anywhere. I didn't know about the Bluffs.

So I skipped it and went back to Motomachi.
Oh how I wished I had taken the time to climb these steps. What would have come of it, we will never know.

My little apartment was semi-furnished but lacked " living room" furnature, so one day off I ventured to a Japanese furnature store downtown. There they had room displays of Japanese style tables and chairs. There was one table that I will never forget. We would call it a ''coffee table''. This one was tipically low and mostly square. But most remarkably, it was made of a single slab of petrified wood, perhaps 4 inches thick and had this ''rustic edge'' It was beautiful wild and rough looking even while highly polished. I steped up on the display area to heft it, couldn't, like solid stone, it weighed perhaps 800 pounds. I marveled at it like something out of the petrified forrest. Finally a salesman came around. he told t it [ in Japanese of course and I understood nothing. Except the price. It was about
$ 1800 , way out of my league.

I did finally buy a wooded lacquered table, that we kept for years and fit just right. And was affordable. But I will never forget that petrified wooden table-slab.

I suspect that others of us have recollections of things that we would have liked to have done but didn't, or things that we might have purchased but didn't. So...

Lori

The red chair is still there, I was there in June of last year 2014

If you use street view in google maps, you can stroll down Motomachi. Mostly new shops, but still some old ones remaining from the 80's

Hi, Lori-san


Today's Yokohama is cold.

This link is Motomachi's red chair. try it;

http://www.yokohamakagu.com/%E3%83%9A%E3%83%AB%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A3%E7%B5...

The Red Chair is from after my time. Motomachi was mostly wooden buildings with wooden pull-out display cases during 52-53 when I lived in Yokohama. Cheap fireworks and a grocery where you could buy crackers and cookies by weight out of a bin are my favorite memory.

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.yokoham...

Hello Again.
I posted about my Mt Fuji climb and about taking cd discs and a cd player to my Mother and bringing music back into her life. She turned 90 in October, which was wonderful unfortunately, she became sick in December and was forced into the hospital where she passed away after a five day stay. My Mother did not want to go into the Hospital. I think Hospitals are death sentences for the elderly. Sorry, I am a little bitter.
Peter, you asked for a remembrance from an item or picture. My Mother had a small ivory cut figurine of two sumo wrestlers locked in battle. I had bought it for her Birthday at a store near the restaurant, Scandia, in Yokohama. She loved Sumo wrestling, had admired the figurine many times in the window, and I knew she wanted it. Right before her Birthday, she looked for it and it was gone from the window and she was so sad. Of course, I had already taken it home and wrapped it. When she died, I went to her home and took it out of her curio cabinet. I would keep it for her.

Louann

I am sorry to hear about your mother. 90 is a pretty good run, depending. Its obvious you miss her.

The Ivory figure sounds like a netsuke.
They were worn on the kimono as a ''fob''
Look to see if there are two small holes in the back, These would have held the string to
tie the netsuke. With older ones that have been used these holes might show some wear.
Also look at the bottom, [soles of the feet]
If they are also carved, this would indicate
a high quality [and authentic] netsuke.

Dear Peter,
Thank you for your kind words. My Mother did have an excellent run and I miss her everyday!

The ivory sumo wrestlers figurine does not seem to be a netsuke. There are not two holes in the back, plus the figurine ends on a flat circular platform. In researching this, I found that the figurine is called a okimono, ornament for display; objet d'art, decorative object. An okimono may be a small Japanese carving similar to, but larger than netsuke. Unlike netsuke, which had a specific purpose, okimono were purely decorative. Netsuke were more popular.

Thank you for your help, Peter!

P.S. The okimono was signed in red ink on the underside of the platform that the wrestlers stood upon. I would guess it was the signature of the ivory carver.

I purchased 2 exquisitely wood carved buddah statues 18" high, one was the happy buddah and the other the wise buddah at a shop on Motomachi in 1969. Paid $35 for each. I still have the wise buddah.
Is there a way to post the .jpeg of the carving on this thread?

Hi, Joe

You can post your pictures by photobucket or another SNS. Upload pix and copy and paste URL to this link.I want to see your buddah.

http://photobucket.com/learn/upload

Cheers

Hello Karou & thank you for your reply.
Here's the pictures...hope the link works:

http://i1139.photobucket.com/albums/n543/JGaraPhotography/Buddha%201.j...

http://i1139.photobucket.com/albums/n543/JGaraPhotography/Buddah%206.j...

Joe

Love the statue, wonderful rich wood carving.

As I looked at it, it reminded me of one of the seven gods of fortune, popular in Japanese mythology.

The one that it reminded me of was Jurojin. This diety is perhaps the patron of long live or longevity. Jurojin is often portrayed with a long staff, a fan, and an elongated head.

Your statue has the fan and the head but I can't tell what is depicted in the right hand
part of it almost looks like an ear of corn, but that would notseem to fit.

Perhaps Kaoru-san might help define this piece a little better. Japanese mythology
is pretty complex. Im not sure that this strictly a representation of "Buddah".

Never the less, its really beautiful.

Hope everyone is well. We have had a very hard winter in NH. Record snow and deep cold.
Two days ago it got above freezing, the first time in two months. The snowbanks are still six feet high. The last snow to melt at the end of the driveway might be toward the middle of April. They say we are not done yet.

re; Jurojin

I said the fan was there ..its not.

The staff is in the right hand. Whats in the left ?

Everything here is fine...thank you. Re: what's being held with the left hand: looking at the front, if I turn the piece clockwise, it looks like a fish head or two (?).

Thinking back to when I acquired it I believe you are right...the lady in the shop did mention it was "long life" and, to the best of my recollection, "wise".
Perhaps one of the contributors to this site, there aren't many, may be able to shed more light on it.
Best wishes,
Joe:)