This
is Fukushima.
Yes,
that Fukushima (福島). The prefecture in northern Japan brought to
such suffering by the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in
March 2011, since when it has joined a very long list in the company
of places like Chernobyl, or Hiroshima, or Jonestown, wherein the
very mention of the name evokes fear and disquiet. Wherein its entire
story, its entire identity, in the eyes of those not in the know, is
reduced to one defining calamity.
But
let us get some perspective. Fukushima is large and diverse, the
third largest prefecture in Japan, and is divided into three regions:
to the west, historic and mountainous Aizu; in the centre, the
well-connected Nakadōri; and to the east, the coastal
Hamadōri. Of these, the nuclear disaster exclusion zone
covers a segment of Hamadōri, and the vast majority of the
prefecture is still safe to visit.
 |
| Aizu (red), Nakadōri
(green), and Hamadōri (blue). |
I
recently had the good fortune of a weekend visit to Aizu
(会津),
which warrants special discussion in its own right. Historically Aizu
was not only a separate domain, but a leading power in its
neighbourhood overshadowed only by the
rise of nearby Sendai under Date Masamune,
who briefly occupied
parts of it during his conquests. During the Edo Period (1603-1868),
when Japan was unified under the Tokugawa shogunate, the Aizu lords
became very close to the Tokugawa family and turned Aizu into one of
the shogunate's most dedicated and loyal domains in the country. It
was – and is – a proud territory, whose heritage reverberates to
this day with echoes of the samurai and bushido
warrior spirit.
This
close relationship with the shoguns, however, transpired to Aizu's
great sadness. Aizu is perhaps best known for its bloody defeat
during the 1868-9 Boshin War, during the Meiji Restoration, in which
the Tokugawa shogunate was overthrown and the Japanese emperor
restored to power. Even after Edo (Tokyo) fell to the imperial
forces, whose leaders and members came mostly from the southwestern
domains of Chōshū and Satsuma, Aizu continued to fight on the
shogunate's behalf at the core of a coalition of northern domains.
Long one of the revolutionaries' bitterest enemies due
to its extreme loyalty to the Tokugawas, Aizu put up ferocious
resistance until it was crushed after a month-long siege of its
capital at Aizu-Wakamatsu (会津若松).
Given
the southern domains' special hatred for it, Aizu was dealt
exceptional brutality during and after this conflict, with many of
its people massacred, tortured, imprisoned or sent into exile.
Furthermore, in an insult as unpardonable as insults came, the
survivors were prohibited from tending to the bodies of their fallen,
and these were left to decay in the streets. Aizu' defeat made the
northern coalition untenable,
and what
remained of the
Tokugawa loyalists
fled Sendai for Hokkaido by sea, pursued by the imperial forces to
their
final destiny at Hakodate.
 |
| Tō no Hetsuri (塔のへつり),
in Shimogō, southern Aizu. |
I
have seen
it written that to
this day, significant
enmity, or
even hostility,
towards
Chōshū and Satsuma remains in the hearts of many people in Aizu, who
find it hard
to forgive this
ruthless treatment. For
example, in 2006, this commentator observed
the following:
A
few weeks ago when I was in the city of Aizu in Fukushima, Japan,
there was a panel discussion which included the mayor of
Aizu...(involving) a letter from the mayor of the city that would
have been the capital of Choshu
(presumably Hagi) asking the
governor of Aizu whether they could forget the past and just get
along. The incidents were over 130 years ago. There was a heated
debate that involved a lot of cheering and jeering from the audience,
but it was clear that Aizu would not forgive these two clans...The
panel pointed out that it was the victim that should reach out for
peace, not the aggressors...The conclusion of the panel was that
there would be no “forgiveness” but that “dialog” should
continue.
Ouch.
The
same account goes on to mention that because tending to the bodies of
fallen Aizu soldiers had been forbidden, they were never commemorated
at the Yasukuni Shrine, as is the custom for Japanese war dead. This
supposedly gives many people in Aizu a uniquely negative view of
government officials' visits
to the controversial shrine; including by the current Prime
Minister, Shinzo Abe, who in a further twist, happens to come from Yamaguchi Prefecture – that is, Chōshū.
Under
the Meiji government, the old system of feudal
domains was abolished, and replaced by what
would become today's prefectural system. This was the end of
Aizu as an independent domain, for it was joined
to the rest of what would become Fukushima Prefecture, but to this
day it remains highly conscious of its historical clout. It tells its
stories and exhibits its identity at every opportunity, retains the
name of Aizu in many place names and railway stations, and has built
up a very strong tourism sector upon this heritage.
 |
| Akabeko,
a symbol of the Aizu region. |
Alas for unforeseen consequences.
When Aizu was incorporated as part of Fukushima, nobody could have
predicted that some hundred and forty years later the March 2011
Triple Disaster, in particular the spectre of nuclear radiation,
would batter that tourism sector in the stomach for no more reason
than this mere association of names. Even though Aizu was not so
directly affected by the disaster – indeed, Aizu-Wakamatsu now
shelters some thousands of people evacuated from the nuclear
exclusion zone – its status beneath the very name of Fukushima has
frightened off hundreds of thousands of visitors, both Japanese and
foreign, especially because of the lack of rigour and transparency in
how radiation safety was assessed and communicated.
Nonetheless,
I hope that this article can provide a few insights and images, and
help persuade you that a journey to Aizu, Fukushima is not only quite
safe but certainly worth your while. Unfortunately
my own trip was short; time and resources limited me to a small
exploration of its south (Minami-Aizu, 南会津),
and I did not get the chance to go to Aizu-Wakamatsu. Nevertheless, I
saw splendid things. Click below for the full article.
