14 hours ago
Japan Times 1950: Kyoto's ‘Golden Temple' burns to the ground
100 YEARS AGO
Sunday, July 12, 1925
New road to Hakone, triumph of engineer's skill, formally opened; is splendid highway
Yesterday dawned at Miyanoshita to greet a world veiled in a light grey mist and curtain-drizzle, graceful, nodding trees heavy with the rain and the tinkle of tiny cataracts tumbling down the slopes.
It was a bad day for the opening of the new Hakone highway, for, of the two thousand invitations sent out, only about six hundred were accepted. Still, none of the auspiciousness of the occasion nor the pomp of the ceremony was detracted from by the rain and Hakone will long remember the occasion of the opening of the new road across the mountains.
At ten o'clock the Governor of Kanagawa (Mr. Seito) set out by motor car from Yumoto station along the new road to Miyanoshita. Most of the guests followed him in automobiles, taking their first passage over the road's smooth surface. The new highway is a credit to its builders: it winds through the loveliest country one could imagine, climbing up gentle slopes and slipping softly down into pretty, cloistered vales that seem to nestle shyly in the very bosom of the surrounding ruggedness. For the jaded city dweller there could be nothing more restful and soothing than gliding swiftly and smoothly over the new Hakone road. The evenness of the journey, the grandeur of the scenery and the soft silence of the great hills is a panacea of all business worry, a gentle restorative.
The announcement that Premier Kato, through unavoidable circumstances, was unable to attend the ceremony was received with regret by the people of the district; combined with the mercilessness of the Nyubai, it came as a keen disappointment.
The ceremony of the official declaration of the opening of the road was carried out in the beautiful gardens of the Fujiya hotel, where a huge canvas awning had been erected. A large dais stood at one end of the tent to accommodate the speakers, while rows and rows of seats were placed facing the dais, under the canvas.
The decorations were lavish but somewhat spoiled by the rain. At 11:30 sharp the head priest of the local Shinto shrine stepped up on to the stage and there followed a lengthy and elegantly solemn Shinto ceremony.
All the prominent personalities of the Hakone district mounted the steps to the stage and received a small sprig of leaves from the hands of the priest, which they reverently placed at the foot of the miniature shrine that had been erected on the dais. Then followed the representatives of the neighboring district, officials, the representatives of members of Parliament, government representatives and representatives of the Cabinet Ministers who had been invited and were unable to attend in person, all following the same procedure.
75 YEARS AGO
Monday, July 3, 1950
Famed Kinkakuji is totally razed by mystery fire
The 552-year-old Kinkakuji Temple or 'Golden Pavilion,' a national treasure built for Shogun Yoshimitsu of the Ashikaga Dynasty, was completely burned down in a mysterious fire during a heavy rain early Sunday morning. Incendiarism is suspected.
Also lost were a number of ancient wooden Buddhist statues of national treasure merit which were housed in the historic three-story wooden structure.
The Golden Pavilion, which stood by a pond in the middle of a large garden, was entirely aflame when nine fire-engines arrived on the scene shortly after the fire was spotted from a watch tower at 3:07 a.m. It was completely burned down by 4 a.m., except for a small portion of its framework.
More than 30 other structures in the temple compound, however, escaped the flames.
A party of police detectives and procurators was conducting an on-the-spot investigation Sunday. Incendiarism or mishandling of a fire by Shoken Hayashi, 21-year-old apprentice priest of the Kinkakuji, who has been missing after his last round of the temple Saturday night, is suspected to have caused the disaster. His ash-tray and other belongings were found near the burned temple.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Teiyu Amano told the press that the loss occurred at a time when the Education Ministry was contemplating the creation of a Cultural Assets Preservation Committee to safeguard this kind of structure. Two officials of the Ministry were rushed to Kyoto Sunday morning for investigation.
50 YEARS AGO
Sunday, July 20, 1975
International Ocean Expo opens in Okinawa
The International Ocean Exposition opened here Saturday with a fanfare and a tight security guard against leftist radicals vowing to crush the world's first full-scale sea fair.
The Crown Prince, honorary president of the exposition, officially declared the opening of the exposition, themed, 'The sea we would like to see,' for a six-month run, in a ceremony at the Portside Theater on the million-square-meter fair site.
The ceremony, held one day before the opening of the 36-nation exposition to the public, was attended by 1,200 Japanese and foreign guests under subtropical blue skies and scorching sun.
The leftist radicals, who claim that the exposition symbolizes Japan's colonization of Okinawa, had vowed to spoil the fair's opening but the ceremony went without a hitch.
In his opening address, the Crown Prince said, 'We have come to realize that the sea is not an inexhaustible mine of wealth — and is beginning to show that it has its limits.'
He also said that the Ocean Expo, therefore, provides a great opportunity for all countries of the world to 'cooperate and make a wider and deeper study of the sea to find the right way to utilize and conserve its riches.'
The Crown Prince's address followed the rendition of the national anthem, hoisting of flags and speeches by Prime Minister Takeo Miki, Gov. Chobyo Yara of the host prefecture Okinawa and foreign delegates, delivered on a floating stage.
Prime Minister Miki said Okinawa had been selected as the Expo site with the wish to commemorate its return to Japan and to contribute to the future development of the islands.
Yara expressed on behalf of 1 million people of Okinawa Prefecture his pleasure over the hosting of the fair which, he said, added a brilliant page to the history of the prefecture.
Representing the foreign participants, L. W. Lane Jr. of the U.S., chairman of the Expo Steering Committee, said, 'Our theme, 'The sea we would like to see,' sets an exciting, but demanding challenge for all of us,' adding the Expo 'must benefit mankind for generations beyond our short time here.'
Amid a fanfare and the sound of ship sirens over the emerald green sea, International Trade and Industry Minister Toshi Komoto pressed a button starting a symbolic 'musical fountain' by the Portside Theater.
Performances by the 20-member Tommy Bartlet water show team from the United States and Okinawa's folk-dance troupes followed, to add color to the 40-minute ceremony.
25 YEARS AGO
Thursday, July 20, 2000
Japan, EU vow to cooperate more closely in next decade
Japan and the European Union, at the end of their annual summit on Wednesday morning, issued a joint statement covering their common objectives in a wide range of areas.
In the statement, the two sides pledge to jointly pursue world peace and stability, to further enhance cooperation in trade and to wage war on poverty in the developing world.
The Japan-EU summit, top-level talks held annually between Tokyo and Brussels and designed to strengthen ties, took place ahead of the Group of Eight summit that begins Friday in Okinawa.
Among the EU delegates were European Commission President Romano Prodi, French President Jacques Chirac, European Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten, Commissioner for Trade Pascal Lamy and Javier Solana, high representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy.
'Compared with Japan-U.S. relations over the last 50 years, we must admit that Japan-EU ties have been weak,' Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori told a joint news conference after the meeting. 'In the next 10 years, Japan and the EU will strive to increase cooperation to achieve a genuine triangular partnership between Japan, the U.S. and the EU.'
The joint statement, which predicts the next 10 years will be a 'decade of Japan-Europe cooperation,' sets several objectives.
On promoting peace and security, the two sides will intensify cooperation in conflict-prevention, peace-building, arms control and disarmament, nonproliferation and U.N. reforms.
The two sides will continue to monitor the situations on the Korean Peninsula, in East Timor and in the Balkans, while working toward tightening regulations covering small arms and establishing an international framework to ban biological weapons.
Compiled by Mike Fu. In this feature, we delve into The Japan Times' 128-year archive to present a selection of stories from the past. The Japan Times' archive is now available in digital format. For more details, see
