Epochal Crossroads of History at the Downs

Every New Year, people disappear from Tokyo. I've loved the unique atmosphere of that town since I was a child. The reason the air seems so clear is not only the freshness and coldness of the New Year but also because there are fewer people on the streets. This year, at my father's sudden invitation to his newly purchased villa in Izu, I took the Odoriko train to Ito. It was a rare opportunity to escape Tokyo for even a half-day during the holiday.

On the way back, my sister drove, and we arrived home in a little under four hours. Although I've never been prone to motion sickness, I started to feel nauseous after an hour. I was concerned that if she worried about me, my nausea would only worsen. As she's a pediatrician, I feared that if I mentioned feeling unwell, she might start treating me as a patient. So, to avoid this, I spent the next two and a half hours pouring out a recent, perplexing story. I learned that even the most unreasonable stories can be surprisingly useful in unexpected situations. My sister, sitting next to me, had no idea that I was on the verge of vomiting. I'll probably never confess that I was feeling sick at that time. Unless, of course, she reads this.

It’s a typical family anecdote around New Year's. Apparently, my grandfather's notes from when he worked for Japan Shipping Company, NYK line, have surfaced. The handwriting was faded in places, making some parts difficult to decipher. I've read them. It was a memo my grandfather wrote in January 1980, reminiscing about an event that took place on 4th September, 1939, in the Downs of the Dover Strait in England.

The inaugural paragraph drew a parallel between Chamberlain’s pre-war cautionary remark against Germany in 1939 and Carter’s hawkish stance towards the Soviet Union four decades later. My grandfather’s perspective on this juxtaposition is intriguing. The latter half of the second paragraph was like the opening scene of a movie depicting the tense atmosphere when the British Navy was on high alert. It was a crossroads of history, where the epochal shift of war and the specific point in time and space where my grandfather was stationed at the Downs intersection.

Here's what my grandpa jotted down:

From the very beginning of January 1980, the atmosphere has been filled with a sense of unease. The situation is strikingly similar to 1939 when Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister, issued a stern warning to Germany and the Soviet Union. Just as then, Carter has now announced a tough stance against the Soviet Union. Germany and the Soviet Union suddenly invaded Poland. I checked the historical timeline to confirm my memory, and it seems to be accurate. On the early morning of 4th September, the Sado Maru, having departed from New York via the Bay of Biscay, anchored in the Downs of the Dover Strait. This was supposed to be the point where a pilot would board the ship to guide it into London, but instead, a naval officer accompanied by armed sailors boarded. As soon as they came aboard, they entered the ship station and sealed it off.

I thought my grandfather's writing was quite good. In fact, it was fascinating. As it was a letter from the past, talking about the past further back, it was hard to tell where the story unfolded. With its time frame at the beginning, it felt almost science fiction-like. It was captivating to see events I'd learned about in textbooks described through my grandfather's personal experiences.

January 1980,my grandfather left behind things that have made me sense a connection between the past and the present. To summarise, he began his writing by comparing the world situation in 1980 to the events of September 1939, when World War II was breaking out. That is to say, around the time of the outbreak of the war, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, consequently, Britain, bound by its alliance with Poland, declared war on Germany, thereby entering into the conflict,September. The letter describing the event of the morning of 4th September, 1939, the day after Britain's declaration of war against Germany, provided a raw and vivid account of a historic turning point. I made out his notes in January 2025.