Kidnapped in Nagasaki. Nippon Maru framed by Blue Sky and Brassica napus. Nagasaki, Japan
Rapeseed - Brassica napus - is very popular here as a Spring ornamental for park borders, for roadsides and the sidings of railways. Mustard seed's wonderful yellow forms a beautiful combination, too, with blue skies. And it's a good bottom frame for this photo of the Nippon Maru.
Walking along the harbor and admiring what was left of the Tall Ships Show of the last few days in Nagasaki - how could I not be reminded of Robert Louis Stevenson's (1850-1894) novel Kidnapped (1886)! (Especially, too, of course, because for someone with a bit of etymological knowledge 'rape' doesn't have to have that modern sexual connotation but can 'merely' mean 'stolen' or 'kidnapped'.)
I've been fortunate enough to visit Hawes Inn in South Queensferry on the Firth of Forth near Edinburgh where Stevenson had David Balfour's adventure take its maritime turn. But long before that I'd dreamed of his kind of story...
Whatever the case, here I am in Nagasaki on an adventure of another kind. My heroes now are the sailors and scholars of Dejima and scientists such as Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796-1866) - also a spy -, and his daughter Kusumoto Ine (1827-1903), the first 'western' obstetrician in Japan. They all travelled here on sailing ships under many hardships...
My heart beat faster remembering both novel and history as I walked the quay here yesterday and today.
But the sails of the Nippon Maru weren't unfurled... and there was no call for me... much less a kdinapping. I guess I should be grateful!
Kidnapped in Nagasaki. Nippon Maru framed by Blue Sky and Brassica napus. Nagasaki, Japan
Rapeseed - Brassica napus - is very popular here as a Spring ornamental for park borders, for roadsides and the sidings of railways. Mustard seed's wonderful yellow forms a beautiful combination, too, with blue skies. And it's a good bottom frame for this photo of the Nippon Maru.
Walking along the harbor and admiring what was left of the Tall Ships Show of the last few days in Nagasaki - how could I not be reminded of Robert Louis Stevenson's (1850-1894) novel Kidnapped (1886)! (Especially, too, of course, because for someone with a bit of etymological knowledge 'rape' doesn't have to have that modern sexual connotation but can 'merely' mean 'stolen' or 'kidnapped'.)
I've been fortunate enough to visit Hawes Inn in South Queensferry on the Firth of Forth near Edinburgh where Stevenson had David Balfour's adventure take its maritime turn. But long before that I'd dreamed of his kind of story...
Whatever the case, here I am in Nagasaki on an adventure of another kind. My heroes now are the sailors and scholars of Dejima and scientists such as Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796-1866) - also a spy -, and his daughter Kusumoto Ine (1827-1903), the first 'western' obstetrician in Japan. They all travelled here on sailing ships under many hardships...
My heart beat faster remembering both novel and history as I walked the quay here yesterday and today.
But the sails of the Nippon Maru weren't unfurled... and there was no call for me... much less a kdinapping. I guess I should be grateful!