Bridges and Ehime, Japan

Outside the Ehime University hotel window towers a tree-filled simple hill. A tall human-made electric tower is situated at a lower portion with a torii (a Buddhist gate) occupying center position at the peak of this hill.

The Japanese characters (kanji) for Ehime represents a princess (ohime) and love (ai). The place can therefore be translated as the land of the princess of love. It must have had a beautiful history related to its name. Knowing more about this place and about the people in this place is one reason to start to build cultural bridges with the faculty and students of this national university, the biggest in this area.

Prof. Hideyuki Kurita and his other colleagues, our cohai (younger schoolmate) at the University of Tsukuba, Prof. Norihiro Nakamura, Prof. Yuka Tsuchiya, Prof. Nariko Sugaya, Prof. Takeshi Narahayashi and Ms. Shizuka Suzuki are interested to encourage their undergraduate and graduate students of their proposed Global Studies Program to do field work in the Philippines and other countries. Prof. Kurita himself is a Philippine specialist on Resource Management and Development, doing continuing researches in various places of the Philippines such as the Cordilleras and Bohol. Prof. Sugaya is also a Philippine specialist, researching about Filipino women in the 18th Century. The rest of their colleagues are area specialists as well, of China, of America, among others. Three of Prof. Kurita’s students, Yukino-san, Hitomi-san, and Shimatani-san, are studying about the Cordilleras and Filipino streetchildren, respectively.

Despite his busy schedule, Ehime University President Prof. Masayuki Komatsu granted us time to meet him about the plan to build this cultural bridge between Ehime University and the University of the Philippines as a starting point. Building this cultural bridge among students, faculty and various peoples of the world is worth exploring and implementing among our own students, faculty and people as well. There is really no substitute for direct personal meeting and friendship to create a more peaceful, more harmonious world. The sooner more of these cultural and personal bridges are constructed and forged, the better these will be for us all and for our world.

Ehime is located within the island of Shikoku, the southern island separate from the rest of mainland Japan. The term shikoku means "four countries" or "four kingdoms". The island is at present divided into four prefectures (equivalent to our provinces).

Our entrance to this beautiful simple mountainous island known for its mikan (oranges) was via the long bridge built across the inland sea of Seto from Okayama. The bridge has several layers, the top being a road for land transport while the lower portion built for trains, for rail transport. Crossing the expanse of the beautiful blue Seto inland sea is like crossing the vast Mactan Channel that is linked by a long bridge to other provinces.

Building such physical bridges in our country will not be so farfetched with modern technology, which is one of Japan’s most significant contributions to the present world. Our own engineers and scholars will surely be able to build bridges and roads over troubled or peaceful waters, linking not only provinces but people as well. Physical bridges are, after all, cultural bridges. And thanks to these physical and cultural bridges, we were able to have the joy and pleasure of visiting and meeting colleagues at Ehime. It was a pleasant discovery as well of Shikoku at the southern portion of Japan.

Being a sociologist as well, Prof. Nakamura and his wife kindly toured us through the DOWA district, the area of Japan’s and Shikoku’s outcaste. Historically, they were called the "eta" (untouchables) relegated to the bottom of the social ladder because they did the dirty jobs of slaughtering animals, forbidden by their Buddhist religion. Today, they are referred to as the DOWA (peaceful harmony/unity).

Seeing their community brought us back to the urban slum areas of Metro Manila or Cebu. In contrast to the glittering neon lights of the central area, the generally unlit, dilapidated houses of the DOWA community are situated along the side of the river. Some of them survive by gathering garbage which one notices are collected in front of their wooden, old houses —a familiar scene for Filipinos.

Prof. Nakamura and his wife then brought us to the traditional red district area in the place, situated near the famous Dogo onsen (hot spring) of Ehime. Dark and quiet, in a nearby street lines with bars, there were a number of elder women who served as pimps, offering young, beautiful foreign ladies at Y10,000 for 40 minutes (close to P4,000) and Y10,300 for an hour’s service. Then, we were transported to the modern red district area where the fee per hour rose to Y2,5000 (close to P10,000) per hour for service by young beautiful Japanese ladies.

At another higher mountain viewed from a distance stood the well-lit Ehime Castle, lording over the whole place and populace the whole day. We were told that the castle lights were turned off before the night was over. And before ours ended, we smiled as we reflected about how our first trip to Shikoku and Ehime was a beautiful journey across bridges, physical, cultural, historical, contemporary and personal.

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