STONEWALK JAPAN 2005
By Bruce Nichols

Fukuoka Prefecture

Dear Family and Friends,

Not all of you may be aware that I am currently in Japan and on the road again. This trip is a bit different than some of my previous ones for, though I am walking, I am doing so with a group. You can find some basic background by visiting the website www.stonewalk.org and choosing the Japan link.

We are walking from Nagasaki to Hiroshima - a distance that I think is around 300 road miles. I am currently writing from Fukuoka about 1/3 of the way along. This journey started on July 2 and will conclude in Hiroshima on August 4, two days before the 60th anniversary of the dropping of the Atomic Bomb on that city in 1945.

For those who do not visit the Stonewalk site, What we are doing here in Japan is moving a granite memorial stone to "Unknown Civillians Killed in War" on a caisson (or wagon) between those two cities. This work is accomplished by human power alone. The stone weighs about 1400 pounds and the caisson another 3000 plus. So the total weight we are pushing/pulling is close to 5000 pounds. Sort of like pushing one of those vintabe 60's cadalliacs with the big tail fins from New York City to Portland, Maine. Sounds like fun doesn't it.

	Above: (Left to right) Jim Margolis, Andrea LeBlanc, Dot Walsh, Yoko Watkins, Bruce Nichols, joined by Stonewalkers in Fukuoko Prefecture, Japan, July 11th, 2005.

But there is a purpose in our labor. And that is simply to call attention to the incredibly high cost of war on civilian populations that has been the rule in the 20th and now the 21st centuries. Stonewalk is the work of the Peace Abbey in Sherborne, Mass. And this walk is being done in conjunction with September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows and a number of organizations in Japan including those of Hibakasha (survivors of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). I walked for a month last year from Providence,RI to NYC with a Stonewalk organized by Peaceful Tomorrows joining coincedentally on August 6, the anniversary of Hiroshima.

There are 6 of us here from the US who are doing the whole walk. Dot Walsh is program co-ordinater at the Peace Abbey and is the only person who has walked every mile of all the Stonewalk projects beginnniing with a Sherborne, MA to Washington DC walk in 1999. Andrea LeBlanc is a member of Peaceful Tomorrows. Her husband, Robert, was killed on on of the jets that crashed into the World Trade towers. Jim Margolis got involved with Stonewalk last year when the stone and cassion happend to stop at his church in Brookline, MA overnight. He came out the next day to push a bit and wound up staying for a good part of the journey. Yoko Watkins is a Japanese woman married to an American. Her family was in Korea with the Japanes occupation during the second world war and she has written some moving childrens books about her harrowing escape from Korea as child. Isshi Bashi is a Japanese Buddhist monk who now lives in NYC. And I am the sixth. Later in the journey we will be joined by others from the US - mostly Peaceful Tomorrows members and should be close to 20 in number when we reach Hiroshima in August.

The stone weighs about 1400 pounds and the caisson another 3000 plus. So the total weight we are pushing/pulling is close to 5000 pounds. Sort of like pushing one of those vintabe 60's cadalliacs with the big tail fins from New York City to Portland, Maine. Sounds like fun doesn't it.

The experience in Japan has been both difficult and wonderful. While Japan is a modern country in ever sense of the word, there are many cultural differences. One that has become quickly obvious is the Japanese concern for schedules. If something is supposed to begin at 8 pm, it is expected to begin promptly on the hour. Our more laid back US approach to scheduling has required some adjustments on the part of our hosts but more so on our part. We have had to make know to the Japanese organizers that there are certain things that we need to do to ready the stone for travel and to pack things up at the end of the day, that were not taken into account when we first began. There were a few early on 9 am departures where we arrived at or departure site at 5 minutes to 9 and then were expected to be underway promptly at 9 even though it takes 20 to30 minutes to get things ready to roll. So there were many anxious moments with our Japanese companions anxiously looking at watches while we tried to dothe best we could and felt a bit frustrated ourselves wondering what the big rush was all about. But, 11 days into the walk some of these things are beginning to sort themselves out. Though the schedules still are very full and organized to the minute.

On the other side of this equasion is the wonderful way we have been taken care of here in Japan. We are much dependent on our hosts along the way. It is very much a journey of faith since we rarely know the schedule or the route we will be following. Even where we will be staying from night to night or when or what we will be eating is mostly unknown. So we just put our trust into the process and keep moving on down the road. We have slept in Buddhist temples (quite a few), a very rustic cabin in the mountains, a beautiful traditional Japanese hotel with traditionally matted floor (actually most of the places we stay have these mats in the sleeping rooms), one private home, and a couple of churchs. I've slept outside on a porch a least once but we have had shelter - usually quite wonderful - every night. And we have been fed very well. From formal dinners in temples to a raccous pot luck in the Baptist church in Saga. Lots rice, vegatables new and old and certainly prepared in ways not encountered before. But always good food and plenty.

The weather here has been hot and humid and wet. Of the 11 days walking so far, it has rained on more than half and sometimes quite hard. For the three days before yesterday my feet were constantly wet and I would pull off my socks at stops and wring them out. The road has been mostly flat but there have been some significant climbs. The first day out of Nagasaki included a long up hill and then a tunnel. On our third day as we left Nagasaki prefecture (sort of like a state or oversized county) we had a climb of 4 or 5 miles. But the numbers of stonewalkers was good and though it was a long pull, it was accomplished without too much struggle.

The roads we travel have been mostly busy. A lot of the first week was on Route 34 which is probably the equivalent of US 1 in Connecticut. Lots of car dealerships, convenience stores, and businesses and heavy traffic. Not ideal walking but you make due with what you have and RT 34 was what we had.

The route followed a valley floor surrounded by mountains and high hills that would drift in and out of the mist. Humidity 100% temperature in high to mid 80's , rain or worse, hot, hot muted sun that made the air feel even heavier. Sometimes it felt like you almost need to swim through it move forward. Rice paddys, old temples and shrines along the roadside, new vistas and smells with every mile. Even in the unifromity of the roadway there were constant new experiences.

And our Japanese companions have been a most wonderful treat. In a culture that is perhaps more cautious and less outgoing than our American version, our fellow Japanese walkers have been very welcoming and friendly. Indeed we would not be able to move at all without them. I'm feeling very much like this is really their walk and that we are here more in a support capacity. Yesterday as we walked into Fukuoka we were greeted and joined by a number of Hibakusha (I'm sure I'm spelling this wrong.) It was very moving to meet these survivors of the bombing now in their 60's and 70's. They bought two rainbow flags that bore the words "PEACE" and several joined us at the bars while Jim and one of their group walked ahead with the peace flags.

There are so many details I've left out, so many experiences and reflections ommitted. Net access had been amost non existent on this trip and I do not know if I will be able to get off more updates. But I hope you will keep Stonewalk and our retinue in your prayers. I hope to share more of this journey in words an pictures when I return to the US.

Peace, Blessings, and Love to all,

Bruce