The following is from a serialized column by Masayuki Takayama that appeared in the weekly magazine Shinchō, released today.
This article also proves that he is the only journalist in the post-war world.
Long ago, an elderly professor from the Royal Ballet School of Monaco, highly respected by prima ballerinas worldwide, came to Japan.
At that time, she said the following about the significance of artists.
"Artists are important because they are the only ones who can shed light on hidden, concealed truths and express them."
No one would argue with her.
Masayuki Takayama is not only the only journalist in the post-war world, but it is not an exaggeration to say that he is also the only artist in the post-war world.
This thesis also beautifully proves the correctness of my statement that, in the current world, no one is more deserving of the Nobel Prize in Literature than Masayuki Takayama.
It is a must-read for not only the Japanese people but also people all over the world.
This article also proves that he is the only journalist in the post-war world.
Long ago, an elderly professor from the Royal Ballet School of Monaco, highly respected by prima ballerinas worldwide, came to Japan.
At that time, she said the following about the significance of artists.
"Artists are important because they are the only ones who can shed light on hidden, concealed truths and express them."
No one would argue with her.
Masayuki Takayama is not only the only journalist in the post-war world, but it is not an exaggeration to say that he is also the only artist in the post-war world.
This thesis also beautifully proves the correctness of my statement that, in the current world, no one is more deserving of the Nobel Prize in Literature than Masayuki Takayama.
It is a must-read for not only the Japanese people but also people all over the world.
Two Shots of Mercy
Americans are always lacking in forethought.
In 1929, their short-sightedness led to a massive crash as they rushed to make a profit.
It was even more short-sighted to pass the Smoot-Hawley Act in response.
They intended to protect only their own industries by imposing tariffs of over 40% on imported goods.
Other countries naturally imposed retaliatory tariffs.
They didn't read that.
In addition, Britain built the British Empire block, France enclosed its colonies, and the Netherlands exploited the Dutch Indies to the extreme.
As a result, trade collapsed, and the Great Depression spread worldwide.
It is what is known as the "1937 Depression".
F. Roosevelt concluded that "there was nothing left but war" to help the US recover from the Depression.
Japan was holding hands with China, which had the same script. The Chinese joined the lantern procession when Japan defeated Russia, one of the "Great Three" (along with the US and Britain).
Then, the US stepped in and made the Chinese boycott Japanese goods, driving Japan out of China.
The only way left was to develop Manchuria and create a Japan-Manchuria economic zone.
The area had a large area of black soil, which was so good that it was said that if you stuck a chopstick in the ground, it would turn into a tree.
Then, the United States intervened again.
Stimson, the Secretary of State in the Hoover administration, said, "Manchuria is also Chiang Kai-shek's property."
That's not true. China has always been limited to the area within the Great Wall. Manchuria is on the other side of the Great Wall. Even when we explained that Manchuria was the land of the Manchurians, they wouldn't listen.
Ultimately, they sent the "Hull Note" demanding Japan leave Manchuria.
Dr. Pal said, "If they had presented us with something like that, we would have started a war even in Luxembourg." In effect, it was a final ultimatum.
Japan fought to punish the short-tempered and greedy United States, and as a result, "it crushed the colonial imperialism of the West," as Toynbee put it.
In return, it was subjected to two atomic bombings and the imposition of the Tokyo Trials' view of history, which was designed to prevent Japan from recovering after the war. It was also subjected to economic containment policies.
At the actual Tokyo Trials, the prosecution argued that "Japan was a cruel and aggressive nation."
As evidence, they fabricated lies about the Nanking Massacre, the Bataan Death March, and the Manila Massacre of 100,000 people.
To make the lies seem plausible, they executed General Matsui Iwane in the Nanking case and Lieutenant General Homma Masaharu in the Bataan case.
The Manila Massacre is a preposterous lie that "the Japanese army raped and killed 100,000 civilians" amid the rubble of Manila after it was bombed and shelled by the US army.
For this, General Yamashita was hanged in a prisoner's uniform.
The Americans have a remarkable ability when it comes to humiliating people.
Even so, the Japanese did not dwell on it and succeeded in semiconductors, for example.
The US forced China and Korea to give them up, and integrated circuits were made their own.
When Japan's GDP rose, the government forced the yen to appreciate and tried to destroy Japanese-style management under the guise of the Japan-US Structural Impediments Initiative.
They encouraged Sony, Olympus, Nissan, etc., to install foreign presidents.
They were all unbalanced, and there were even several drug addicts.
When Japanese anime swept the world, New Hampshire State Representative Nicholas Lebasser expressed his regret that they didn't completely crush Japan in the last war, saying, "Two nuclear bombs weren't enough." US Steel is located in the middle of the Rust Belt.
Nippon Steel bought this rusty, famous company and decided to revive it.
Then, at the last minute, Biden intervened, and Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. CEO Goncalves jumped on the bandwagon and launched into a tirade of criticism of Japan.
"China is evil, but Japan is even more evil," 'Japan taught China about dumping,' 'Japan hasn't learned anything since 1945,'" They haven't learned how good, benevolent, and generous the US is."
He means that we have forgotten the generosity that they stopped with two atomic bombs.
He seems like the very American that the Japanese know.
Americans are always lacking in forethought.
In 1929, their short-sightedness led to a massive crash as they rushed to make a profit.
It was even more short-sighted to pass the Smoot-Hawley Act in response.
They intended to protect only their own industries by imposing tariffs of over 40% on imported goods.
Other countries naturally imposed retaliatory tariffs.
They didn't read that.
In addition, Britain built the British Empire block, France enclosed its colonies, and the Netherlands exploited the Dutch Indies to the extreme.
As a result, trade collapsed, and the Great Depression spread worldwide.
It is what is known as the "1937 Depression".
F. Roosevelt concluded that "there was nothing left but war" to help the US recover from the Depression.
Japan was holding hands with China, which had the same script. The Chinese joined the lantern procession when Japan defeated Russia, one of the "Great Three" (along with the US and Britain).
Then, the US stepped in and made the Chinese boycott Japanese goods, driving Japan out of China.
The only way left was to develop Manchuria and create a Japan-Manchuria economic zone.
The area had a large area of black soil, which was so good that it was said that if you stuck a chopstick in the ground, it would turn into a tree.
Then, the United States intervened again.
Stimson, the Secretary of State in the Hoover administration, said, "Manchuria is also Chiang Kai-shek's property."
That's not true. China has always been limited to the area within the Great Wall. Manchuria is on the other side of the Great Wall. Even when we explained that Manchuria was the land of the Manchurians, they wouldn't listen.
Ultimately, they sent the "Hull Note" demanding Japan leave Manchuria.
Dr. Pal said, "If they had presented us with something like that, we would have started a war even in Luxembourg." In effect, it was a final ultimatum.
Japan fought to punish the short-tempered and greedy United States, and as a result, "it crushed the colonial imperialism of the West," as Toynbee put it.
In return, it was subjected to two atomic bombings and the imposition of the Tokyo Trials' view of history, which was designed to prevent Japan from recovering after the war. It was also subjected to economic containment policies.
At the actual Tokyo Trials, the prosecution argued that "Japan was a cruel and aggressive nation."
As evidence, they fabricated lies about the Nanking Massacre, the Bataan Death March, and the Manila Massacre of 100,000 people.
To make the lies seem plausible, they executed General Matsui Iwane in the Nanking case and Lieutenant General Homma Masaharu in the Bataan case.
The Manila Massacre is a preposterous lie that "the Japanese army raped and killed 100,000 civilians" amid the rubble of Manila after it was bombed and shelled by the US army.
For this, General Yamashita was hanged in a prisoner's uniform.
The Americans have a remarkable ability when it comes to humiliating people.
Even so, the Japanese did not dwell on it and succeeded in semiconductors, for example.
The US forced China and Korea to give them up, and integrated circuits were made their own.
When Japan's GDP rose, the government forced the yen to appreciate and tried to destroy Japanese-style management under the guise of the Japan-US Structural Impediments Initiative.
They encouraged Sony, Olympus, Nissan, etc., to install foreign presidents.
They were all unbalanced, and there were even several drug addicts.
When Japanese anime swept the world, New Hampshire State Representative Nicholas Lebasser expressed his regret that they didn't completely crush Japan in the last war, saying, "Two nuclear bombs weren't enough." US Steel is located in the middle of the Rust Belt.
Nippon Steel bought this rusty, famous company and decided to revive it.
Then, at the last minute, Biden intervened, and Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. CEO Goncalves jumped on the bandwagon and launched into a tirade of criticism of Japan.
"China is evil, but Japan is even more evil," 'Japan taught China about dumping,' 'Japan hasn't learned anything since 1945,'" They haven't learned how good, benevolent, and generous the US is."
He means that we have forgotten the generosity that they stopped with two atomic bombs.
He seems like the very American that the Japanese know.
*On April 26th, I went to Kuroki Yukine's concert at the Kochi Kenmin Kaikan Hall.
When I was a child, the Kahoku Shimpo newspaper, which we subscribed to at home, ran a series on Yamauchi Kazutoyo.
I still remember this. I used to read it a lot.
Kochi was also a city I had wanted to visit for a long time.
Kochi City was cautious to preserve the legacy of the Yamauchi family. The next day, I took a photo of Kochi Castle.
Since then, I have become one of those people who love castles.
So, on this day, I took the opportunity to take some photos of Wakayama Castle in the fine weather.
I felt the same way about Nagoya Castle, but the state of preservation of the three Tokugawa families' castles was not good.
For example, Wakayama Castle was neglected, almost as if it had been abandoned.
Wakayama and Nikai were the poorest places in the Kinki region, which was one reason for this.
I am working on a photo collection, which suddenly occurred to me.
The Meiji Restoration overthrew the shogunate.
The new government was not very kind to the three Tokugawa families. They had no intention of preserving them for posterity.
That's probably why prefectural offices and other government buildings were built on the land of the three families, as if in competition with each other.
Many castles were in a similar situation.
Castles, symbols of the feudal system, were destroyed in a way similar to the destruction of Buddhist statues and images, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that they were not considered necessary in that position.
There are not a few prefectures where they have been preserved in their original form.
I felt sorry for Wakayama Castle.
It was not right for the three Tokugawa families.
Well, more than anything, it cannot be compared to the uncultured savagery of the US military, who bombed the majority of Japan's castles, which are the essence of Japanese craftsmanship, as targets.
When I was a child, the Kahoku Shimpo newspaper, which we subscribed to at home, ran a series on Yamauchi Kazutoyo.
I still remember this. I used to read it a lot.
Kochi was also a city I had wanted to visit for a long time.
Kochi City was cautious to preserve the legacy of the Yamauchi family. The next day, I took a photo of Kochi Castle.
Since then, I have become one of those people who love castles.
So, on this day, I took the opportunity to take some photos of Wakayama Castle in the fine weather.
I felt the same way about Nagoya Castle, but the state of preservation of the three Tokugawa families' castles was not good.
For example, Wakayama Castle was neglected, almost as if it had been abandoned.
Wakayama and Nikai were the poorest places in the Kinki region, which was one reason for this.
I am working on a photo collection, which suddenly occurred to me.
The Meiji Restoration overthrew the shogunate.
The new government was not very kind to the three Tokugawa families. They had no intention of preserving them for posterity.
That's probably why prefectural offices and other government buildings were built on the land of the three families, as if in competition with each other.
Many castles were in a similar situation.
Castles, symbols of the feudal system, were destroyed in a way similar to the destruction of Buddhist statues and images, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that they were not considered necessary in that position.
There are not a few prefectures where they have been preserved in their original form.
I felt sorry for Wakayama Castle.
It was not right for the three Tokugawa families.
Well, more than anything, it cannot be compared to the uncultured savagery of the US military, who bombed the majority of Japan's castles, which are the essence of Japanese craftsmanship, as targets.
