Your writing makes me feel like I’m walking those steep hills of Nagasaki with you. The way you weave the heavy history with the vibrant, living city today is truly moving.
Your letter on Nagasaki is so good thank you. I spent a couple of days there last year, feeling rather uneasy most of the time. Reading your letter today was delightful if that's the right word.
Hi Burcu, your Nagasaki post made my morning brighter here, in Amsterdam; where we have a gloomy, grey, cool day(so typical Dutch weather). Thanks for details about the history. Reading Japanese - Dutch relations reminded me how Dutch are good at trading. Basically they did not involve in religion spreading acitivites but focused solely on trading on their relations with Japan.
Netherlands - Japan relationship is still fine today, just like Turkish/Dutch communities, there are Japan/Dutch communities live in the Netherlands, particularly around the cities like Amsterdam-Zuid, Amstelveen and the Hague.
Thank you so much, your articles are always super interesting.
I am planning to come to Japan in late October and I am still undecided about where my journey will lead me: North to Sapporo or south to Okinawa. If I decide for the south, Nagasaki will surely be on my list.
What stays with me from this is the detail of Yosuke Tetsukawa, a Buddhist architect, designing the churches at Sakitsu and Egami. There is something quietly extraordinary about a tradition absorbing the formal language of another and producing buildings that belong, unmistakably, to both. Your description of the Goto churches as still feeling a little reluctant, as if hiding, captures that better than any history book I have read on the region. I have been thinking lately about how objects and places hold contradictory histories without resolving them — the half-standing torii, the camphor tree that sprouted again, the fumi-e tablet preserved in a museum that once would have condemned the person stepping on it. Do you find, when you return to Nagasaki, that the city reveals different layers each time, or that it is rather you who arrives newly attentive to what was already there?
While traveling through Asia this past winter, I spent a week in Nagasaki (more precisely, three nights at an Airbnb in Nishi-Urakami and three nights in Nagasaki itself).
I was blown away by how well preserved and distinct Nagasaki is. Having spent time in Hiroshima, I was expecting something similar, a city with a distinct history focused around the bomb. That is there, but only to the north, where the Peace Park and Museum are located (both well worth a shout).
The city of Nagasaki itself is a wonderful blend of cultures (Dutch, Chinese, and Japanese), a wonderful place to get lost in as one navigates the steep mountain-side streets and tight alleyways.
And of course, fhe food, like everywhere else in Japan, is top-notch.
Your writing makes me feel like I’m walking those steep hills of Nagasaki with you. The way you weave the heavy history with the vibrant, living city today is truly moving.
Brilliant, as always, in both words and photos. x
As always, thank you for your time and kindness! Nagasaki is a wonderful place to visit.
Your letter on Nagasaki is so good thank you. I spent a couple of days there last year, feeling rather uneasy most of the time. Reading your letter today was delightful if that's the right word.
Manana, thank you so much! I can also easily relate to how the city made you feel. It has so many different layers.
Very well written. I have been living in Tokyo for 11 years, and I have not visited Nagasaki yet. Looks like an amazing destination.
Hi Burcu, your Nagasaki post made my morning brighter here, in Amsterdam; where we have a gloomy, grey, cool day(so typical Dutch weather). Thanks for details about the history. Reading Japanese - Dutch relations reminded me how Dutch are good at trading. Basically they did not involve in religion spreading acitivites but focused solely on trading on their relations with Japan.
Netherlands - Japan relationship is still fine today, just like Turkish/Dutch communities, there are Japan/Dutch communities live in the Netherlands, particularly around the cities like Amsterdam-Zuid, Amstelveen and the Hague.
Thanks for your letters and have a great day!
Thank you so much, your articles are always super interesting.
I am planning to come to Japan in late October and I am still undecided about where my journey will lead me: North to Sapporo or south to Okinawa. If I decide for the south, Nagasaki will surely be on my list.
I wish I could stay for much more than 2 weeks!
Stefania, as always thank you for your interest and time. Tough choice - I would at that time of the year would probably pick Tohoku area.
Thank you for your precious advice!
What stays with me from this is the detail of Yosuke Tetsukawa, a Buddhist architect, designing the churches at Sakitsu and Egami. There is something quietly extraordinary about a tradition absorbing the formal language of another and producing buildings that belong, unmistakably, to both. Your description of the Goto churches as still feeling a little reluctant, as if hiding, captures that better than any history book I have read on the region. I have been thinking lately about how objects and places hold contradictory histories without resolving them — the half-standing torii, the camphor tree that sprouted again, the fumi-e tablet preserved in a museum that once would have condemned the person stepping on it. Do you find, when you return to Nagasaki, that the city reveals different layers each time, or that it is rather you who arrives newly attentive to what was already there?
While traveling through Asia this past winter, I spent a week in Nagasaki (more precisely, three nights at an Airbnb in Nishi-Urakami and three nights in Nagasaki itself).
I was blown away by how well preserved and distinct Nagasaki is. Having spent time in Hiroshima, I was expecting something similar, a city with a distinct history focused around the bomb. That is there, but only to the north, where the Peace Park and Museum are located (both well worth a shout).
The city of Nagasaki itself is a wonderful blend of cultures (Dutch, Chinese, and Japanese), a wonderful place to get lost in as one navigates the steep mountain-side streets and tight alleyways.
And of course, fhe food, like everywhere else in Japan, is top-notch.