[This is the story of a young teacher who travelled to Japan on her own. Joyce and I were in the same class at Normal School in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She has given us permission to use her story. A more detailed story about Joyce can be seen in “After School: Lives of Manitoba Normalites, Class of 1950-51”.]
I was young and foolhardy, but wanted adventure. I lived in Yellowknife, NT, Canada, and I wanted to see what everyone else in the world was doing. Another girl and I decided to go to Japan, and perhaps Australia, and see what was happening. Well, my partner opted out and I decided to venture alone. Now, how foolish is that? Japan had signs saying “Americans, Go Home.” Well, I was a Canadian; but my mother made sure I carried plenty of Canadian pins.
So, on a September day in 1959, I boarded the Hikawa Maru on its last voyage to Japan. I did not know at the time that it was carrying missionaries to Japan. However, I managed to meet four men who were not missionaries, but also on their way to Japan. In those days, streamers, confetti, and music were all a part of the take-off. It was very exciting! It was not like boarding a cruise ship these days. There I was flanked by these four gentlemen on my way to a new and different land, throwing streamers off to my friends on shore. Of course, my friends had sent flowers and other gifts to see me off. I soon got to meet the young gentlemen. One was an interior designer, one a ballet dancer, one a traveller, and the young one was off to teach in a missionary school in Kobe. I was very fortunate to meet them for in my stay in Japan, we hooked up; and it was definitely better to be travelling with a male escort.
Since the ship was quite small and accommodated only 333 passengers, accommodation was not great. In tourist class, we had to specify the time we wished to have a bath; and only at that time could we have one. When it was time for my bath, the bath man would knock on my door and call “ofuro” (the polite form in Japanese for “bath”). My first time I rushed down and was a little bewildered by the basin and pitcher of water with soap on a small table; therefore, I jumped into the tub of water with the soap. However, the soap would not lather and the water felt slightly heavy. In spite of this, I did my best to wash myself with soap just seeming to grip at my hands. It was a most unsatisfactory bath, and that evening as we met in the lounge, I proceeded to tell my friends about the terrible experience I had. They laughed uproariously and said, “You dirty girl, you are supposed to wash outside the tub. Did you not see the basin and pitcher of water? There are slats on the floor so, as you wash, water will drain away. Then you get into the tub of saltwater, nice and clean and soak. Now they will have to drain the tub and put in new water.” Well, that was my first experience with Japanese bathing!
We travelled up near the Aleutian Islands. The ocean was rough and it was very cold. Often ropes secured the dining tables and many people were very ill. The food was mostly Japanese; and, although it was beautifully decorated, I had difficulty eating it. Soups were a swirl with brightly carved and decorated vegetables. However, I had difficulty with the taste and could eat very little. The menus were beautifully decorated. Now, I wish I had kept them as I have never seen anything like them since.
Most of the missionaries were very nice to us, but they had trouble between the sects. As there were few extra rooms to conduct services, they often bickered as who should conduct the service or have the room. One Baptist girl came sobbing to my cabin as she had been told by another religious sect that Baptists were not the real Christians. We assured her that she was Christian and not to take notice of such an idea.
An amusing incident occurred during a church service. The bath man in his singlet and cloth tied around his head marched right up to a very lovely lady and tapped her on the shoulder saying “ofuro”. Apparently on this particular boat, you can pray anytime; but your bath is sacred and your time must be kept if you want to bathe. We all had a good laugh at that.
We arrived in Yokohama one bright warm day. We were fascinated with the sounds, smells, and all the different things we saw. Most of the people were in kimonos or a type of sarong. Business men wore suits, but near the harbour there were few to see. Boys on bicycles and rickshaws whistled past us, carrying bowls of steaming food on trays. I wondered how they did not drop them, but they balanced them with one hand as they sped along. I broke my high heel on the cobblestone, but it was soon repaired by a shoemaker sitting by the side of the road.
The trip to Tokyo was horrendous. I did not think I would make it alive. The squealing of tires, honking of horns, and near misses made me a total wreck as I disembarked in front of a lovely hotel. Chocolates on the pillow, paper in the morning, iced water, and turned down sheets were sheer luxury! I did explore Toyko on my own. However, most people gave me a wide berth. I am sure they thought I was some dreadful American and wanted nothing to do with me. I did feel uncomfortable but determined that I would explore on my own. I entered a coffee shop, but only men were in evidence. I hardly saw Caucasians during my stay. I felt uncomfortable. They gave me a roll of hot cloth to clean myself and then coffee. I did not stay long. The streets were crowded. People in modern dress and kimonos and people with covers over their mouth crowded the streets.
The stores were elegant. Women at the end of the escalator were bowing and smiling. The washrooms were for both men and women. I attended a kabuki show and went to a very wonderful restaurant where we had tempura and a great beef dish.
I visited Nikko to see their magnificent shrines. The road up is narrow and very high and scary. I met a doctor and his wife from the Philippines who were very kind to me and went with me to visit the shrines. One shrine had the three monkeys on it: Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.
I also visited Osaka. Whenever one bought anything in Japan, no matter how big, small, or expensive, they wrapped it in exquisite paper. I wish I had kept it all but thought it would be the same wherever I travelled not so. I do not remember much about Osaka, but the night I left was very stormy.
On the train to Kyoto, I met a girl who wished to practise her English. She was a seamstress and told me that Japanese girls had a hard life. Her father drank and gambled and beat her mother. She did not wish ever to marry. Her friend had met an American and went to America for a better life. However, when she arrived there, she lived in a shack and changed from a diet of rice for potatoes. So she decided marriage was not for her. She showed me her yukata which she had sewn, a type of kimono worn indoors. It was white with large black dragons. She insisted that I should have it. I was overwhelmed. I have it to this day with her name in Japanese printed on the collar.
When I arrived in Kyoto, it was pouring rain. The cab driver hustled me to the steps of the Ryokan, where I took off my shoes and put on slippers. They hustled me upstairs, undressed me, put me into a kimono, and down I went to the bathroom. A large swimming pool faced me with showers around it. I was thankful that no one else was there. I realized that I was to shower and soak. I quicky showered; but, seeing the film of skin on the water in the pool, I could not submerge; so I quickly dried off, dressed, and went upstairs. A cup of tea and a biscuit awaited me. First, I had to take off my slippers to walk on the tatami, a Japanese bamboo mat. A Japanese girl came in to unroll a futon where I was to sleep. I spent three days there. I ate at a lovely laquer table where a Japanese girl fanned me as I ate. The food was Japanese. I could not eat it, but had a little rice. I think the girl was quite happy to spend as little time with me as possible . They were used to men patrons and certainly not American females. I was so tired of sitting on my knees, not having a chair, that I was quite happy to leave the inn. Even the mirror was on the floor, so I had to kneel in front to comb my hair and do makeup.
While I was there, one of the men from the ship came to visit me. He said he was quite fussed over by the women at his Ryokan. They washed his socks and treated him royally. I enjoyed the pottery shops and the scenery in Kyoto. The golden palace was quite beautiful. It had been an experience!
I finally ended up in Kobe, where I was to board the Japanese freighter to take me to Australia. At first, I stayed at a lovely hotel. I ordered an egg sandwich, but it tasted terrible. Then I was told they feed chickens fish so do not order eggs. The freighter was not leaving on time and money I had allotted for my stay in Japan was running out. I had to go to the YWCA to stay. No one there spoke English. The room was small and very hot. One night, I heard much chanting and marching. I was quite unnerved by this. The next day, I went to see my missionary friend to ask him what had gone on. He told me it was just a religious ceremony and no revolution had taken place.
Some of my shipmates came to see me, and we went out for fabulous meals. We had Kobe beef dinners for $1.25. Unbelievable in this day! I had never tasted anything so good. The meat melted in my mouth. I tried to buy clothing at the market. I was so tall they just laughed at me. I did manage to buy a rather delightful blouse.
They laughed at my big feet. I guess I looked monstrous to them. I remember we went to a restaurant to eat, and the children started to scream. We were asked to move. Once when I was walking down a street off the main streets, some children caught sight of me and started to scream. I think they had never seen such a tall white woman before.
I wanted to wash my hair at the Y. but could only think of “ofuru”. They laughed at this but got the idea and took me to a large cement hole with water in it. Somehow, I managed to wash my hair.
Finally, the freighter was ready to leave. There were eight passengers. One was a girl from Rhodesia whose parents had a large ranch, but they were afraid of the upheaval and sent their daughter ahead to find employment and, when they could, they would join her. She was about my age, so I was lucky. Aside from shuffleboard and reading, there was little to do on the ship. We did have one formal night and I wore the yukata. All the Japanese seemed pleased.
I must relate an interesting occurrence. The girl from Rhodesia and I were seated with a Japanese girl for meals. She watched us eat and tried to imitate what we did. She noted that the Rhodesian girl and I used our fork and knife differently. One morning, I ordered boiled eggs for breakfast. The Japanese assumed I would eat American style.They served it to me American style in a glass. The next day, the Japanese girl ordered boiled eggs. They served it to her in an egg cup, English style. She seemed perplexed. She lifted up the egg, looked at it, and did not seem to know what to do with it. Then, with a spoon, she smashed it, peeled it, and ate it. I thought what a funny way Japanese have of eating an egg. It was not till later I realized that she was mimicking what we were doing and did not know how to eat a boiled egg â la English style.
I was so used to seeing Japanese faces that, when an Australian doctor came aboard to make sure we were disease free, I thought what an ugly man he is! Now, I knew why those poor Japanese children who had never laid eyes on a Caucasian would find me quite frightening. And to end this tale, I must say I was very nervous and apprehensive in Japan; but, after spending some time with the Japanese crew, I realized how great they were and how silly I had been. The crew did tell me, however, I was lucky to be going to Australia as they were carrying silks and toys to Australia but, going back, they were taking cows.
This had been a great experience for me and I learned many things about acceptance and trusting people. When our City of Burlington twinned with Itabashi in Japan, we elected to board Japanese students. They were in their early twenties and came here to learn English. We had a girl and, later, two boys. What a wonderful fulfilling experience that was as we not only had our Japanese guests, we also met all the others and had many great experiences!
