capital of honshu

was a watercolour, depicting a stream flowing past the foot of a mountain, which was densely covered with trees. On the other side of the stream was a small path which passed over an overhanging rock, parts of which were tall, parts uneven, with rocks of different sizes, and where creeping plants and wild flowers of different colours grew in a line along the rock.

Further down, on a large rock almost touching the water, sat two figures. The scene was depicted from a distance ... In the bottom corner in small letters was the word 'Mitake'.

- From 'Khang Lang Pharp' by Sri Burapha


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As our group trudged along the narrow and winding lane that was so quiet we could hear only our breathing, historian Charnvit Kasetsiri turned to us and uttered softly: "Do you see now why Sri Burapha chose Mitake for the [climatic] scene of his novel?"

Charnvit's remark echoed what a Japanese companion had asked him over 20 years ago. In 1984, he and a friend paid a visit to Mitake, a lovely secluded park where the character Nopporn revealed his fiery passion for MR Kirti, the heroine in Sri Burapha's classic novel Khang Lang Pharp (Behind the Painting). The popular resort town of Nikko, for example, would have been too chaotic for a lady as enigmatic as Khunying Kirti. And perhaps, too, for a writer as refined as Sri Burapha.

We were on an atypical mission - coming to places in Japan rarely visited by Thai tour operators. Led by Charnvit, the idea of our trip was to trace routes associated with relationships between Thailand and Japan since the diplomatic ties were first established between the two counties 120 years ago. At first glance, Mitake seems a rather unlikely choice - isn't Khang Lang Pharp just a tragedy about an impossible romance - that between a 22-year-old man studying in Japan and a much older woman who is the aristocratic wife of his father's friend? What does it have to do with bilateral relations? What could a novel penned over 70 years ago offer modern Thailand beyond nostalgia or a means to kill time?

Sri Burapha, the pen name of Kularb Saipradit (1905-1974), arrived in Japan in 1936, four years after the revolution that ended the absolute monarchy in Siam. He had been invited by Asahi newspaper to study Japanese journalism for six months. According to some biographers, the overseas excursion was deemed a wise move to avoid the political heat in Thailand at the time. Phibulsongkhram (who would shortly become prime minister) was rising in power. Kularb's critical stance toward Phibulsongkhram was widely known and seemed to have raised the ire of the powers that be. On his return to Thailand, the writer found he had lost his job at Prachachart newspaper (which later closed), along with other progressive-minded friends.


The ties that bind. The relationship between Siam/Thailand and Japan is particularly strong in relation to the country's monarchs. Rama VI, Rama VII and His Majesty the King have each played a pivotal role in deepening bilateral ties, which were first acknowledged six centuries ago.


The quiet beauty of Mitake, a secluded natural park a couple of hours from Tokyo, was the perfect setting for the climatic scene in Sri Burapha's classic novel `Khang Lang Pharp' (Behind the Painting). ― VASANA CHINVARAKORN

Early efforts by the Japanese at raising silkworms and running small grocery shops in Thailand did not fare well. In contrast, Japanese companies nowadays have become an integral part of Thailand's economy.


In Khang Lang Pharp, which was initially penned to be a serial in a daily newspaper, Kularb cleverly weaves in his observations about Japanese society and what it provides as a model of development for the Thais. In the story, on that fateful Sunday morning when Nopporn takes MR Kirti to Mitake, the young man explains why so many Japanese families are at the train station: They are on their weekly outing to the countryside.

"I think that finding a way for people to occupy their free time in a harmless way is one of the main factors in making Japan a strong nation," said Nopporn to his beloved. "The government makes it possible for the people to buy worthwhile pleasure like this at a low cost and with every facility provided. Even those on a low income have the chance to find relaxation. When I first came to Japan, I didn't think about it, but now that I've been here several years I'm really well aware of the benefits. Most Japanese know their country well: They're hard-working and their children aren't lazy or dull because they occupy themselves in their leisure time in a useful way."

Indeed, Sri Burapha was not the first to recognise the contribution Japan could offer its Asian neighbours. In 1911, a group of junior army officers staged an abortive coup (now known as the Ror Sor 130 coup), a year after Rama VI ascended the throne. In a document written by two of the ring leaders, Japan appeared to be their source of inspiration. Rapid progress took place in that country, the young officers wrote, since it had become a constitutional monarchy. The Japanese now boasted flourishing trade and global influence - be it in politics, military, social or cultural affairs. Chaos, on the other hand, prevailed in Thailand because power was concentrated in only one person's hands. Thus, the soldiers saw the need to introduce a democratic regime in Siam.

Interestingly, well before the ill-fated Ror Sor 130 coup Japan had already been recognised as an Asian model for a civilised nation. In 1885, Prince Prissadang, then ambassador to France, and a few other aristocrats submitted a so-called Political Development Plan to King Chulalongkorn, which included a proposition to introduce constitutional monarchy:

"We need to reform the country, to protect our interests and bring progress to the people in the boundaries of our Kingdom. We have to earn recognition from the Europeans like the way the Japanese have achieved it. The European nations will thus allow us to enjoy benefits on the same level as the Japanese. Such progress will also protect Siam."

King Chulalongkorn was apparently dismayed by such a bold suggestion; he removed Prince Prissadang from his ambassadorial position. It is worth noting, however, that two years later, on September 26, 1887, he sent a younger brother, Kromluang Thewawong Waropakarn, in his capacity as Siam's foreign minister, to Tokyo to sign the first Declaration on Amity and Commerce between Siam and Japan. A new chapter of bilateral relations had been set in motion.

In retrospect, the story of Thai-Japanese relations has been far from straightforward. There is intrigue, romance, scandal - with lots of tragic and/or comical anecdotes in between.

Such melodrama was a feature of the two countries' bilateral relations, the first official record of which comes from six centuries ago when, in 1419, the king of Ryukyu (now part of Okinawa) sent a letter to the king of Siam complaining about unfair treatment by Siamese officials of their merchants. Whatever the results of that first trade negotiation, the two kingdoms went on to engage in much sea trading, with Siamese ships reported to have sold over 100,000 deer skins each year along with tonnes of sappanwood to the Japanese, while Japanese ships brought Chinese ceramics, silks and swords to Siam. Curiously, Thai rice became a crucial ingredient for making a unique form of sake called awamori.

A few centuries later, during the reign of King Songtham of Ayutthaya, legends developed about a Japanese man named Yamada Nagamasa. He was said to have played a key role in Siamese court politics and to have risen to the high rank of Ok-Ya Senapimook. He was eventually sent to oversee Nakhon Si Thammarat, where he died, allegedly after being poisoned. For a number of Japanese, Nagamasa was deemed a national hero; his dramatic feats in a foreign land were made into films and books and a shrine was built in his honour.

A woman of mixed Japanese-Portuguese parentage who later earned her own place in Thai history was Marie Guimard. She married the controversial Constantine Phaulkon, aka Chao Phraya Vichayen, a Greek national and an influential government minister during the reign of King Narai (1656 to 1688). After her husband was executed when the throne changed hands, Guimard ended up working in the palace kitchen. In time, she was made chief palace cook. Now known as Thao Thong Gib Ma, she is credited with devising recipes for "Thai" sweetmeats such as thong yib, thong yawd and foi thong.

The Edo period government policy closed Japan to outsiders for around 250 years, with trade kept to a minimum. Ayutthaya, meanwhile, was embroiled in a series of conflicts, internal and external. Its fall in 1767 led to the moving of the capital to Thon Buri, followed with the rise of the Chakri dynasty.

Historical change is a matter of force, often against personal wishes or desires, and suddenly both Siam and Japan had to confront the age of Western colonisation. The arrival of Admiral Perry and his ships in 1853 prised open the parochial world of Japan. Two years later, in 1855, Rama IV signed the Bowring Treaty, ceding his monopoly over international trade and granting extra-territorial rights to British subjects. The Siamese monarch and his successor, Rama V, would go on to sign several more treaties with other Western powers as well as a treaty on trade and shipping with Japan in 1898.

The 1898 treaty with Japan was significant in more ways than one. By that time, Japan had rapidly and effectively responded to the age of modernity - in less than half a century, the island nation had become a regional superpower enjoying equal status with Western powers. Historian Charnvit noted that one of the very first modernisation efforts undertaken by Japanese leaders was to translate as many Western books as possible; they knew that the minds of Japanese people needed to be nourished for the good of the country. They were not at all afraid that exposure to "science and democracy" might result in intellectuals who would turn against the Establishment.

Another wise approach the Japanese took, Charnvit noted, was to lay down infrastructure, notably a railway system. He pointed out that Siam at the time was trying to adopt a similar line of "reform". The country's first train service, between Hua Lamphong and Pak Nam Pho, went into operation in 1898, the same year as the signing of the treaty with Japan. However, years later, Thailand's aspiration to become the "Detroit of the East" stunted the potential of train travel through the government's focus on automobile transport. "Nowadays, it takes only a few hours to travel from Tokyo to the other side of the island [Honshu]," Charnvit remarked with a chuckle. "It still takes a whole day, sometimes more, to go from the North to the South of Thailand."



Around that time, the Siamese kingdom was considered a key area in Japan's imperial ambitions. To Japan's rulers, the expansion of their country was necessary as its population was bursting at the seams. Thailand, meanwhile, enjoyed an abundance of fertile land and was more or less the only non-colonised place in Southeast Asia. In 1896, the same year that he was appointed to be the first Japanese envoy to Siam, Inagaki Manjiro showed his far-sightedness when he proposed to his compatriots that commerce and diplomacy (toward its Asian neighbours) must be healthily balanced if the Japanese empire was to prosper: "Even if we win the war, if we have failed in diplomacy it will do us no good at all," he was quoted as saying.

The following years then saw a series of efforts to link the two kingdoms, with varying results. On the Thai front, in 1900 Rama V decided to share the holy relics of Lord Buddha that he had received from the British India with Japan. In 1904, a temple was built in Nagoya named Nittaiji (Japan-Thailand temple), where a commemorative rite for Rama V (whose statue stands in front of the main chapel) continues to be held on October 23 every year.

In 1902, Crown Prince Vajiravudh (later Rama VI) visited Japan after his nine years spent studying in England. During his one-month stay there, he seemed to have been impressed by the education of Japanese women. Upon his return, and with financial support from envoy Inagaki, the Queen's School was set up (now known as Rajini School). The crown prince's mother, Queen Sripacharintra Baromrajininart, also sent a few young men and women to study in Japan in the fields of art, handicrafts and textiles.

The ties between the two monarchies have continued smoothly. In 1931, Rama VII and Queen Rambhai Barni visited Japan. The royal couple planted a pine tree next to the one planted by Rama VI on the open ground in front of the famous Daibutsu (big Buddha) in Kamakura. A year later, the People's Party staged a coup in Thailand that abolished the absolute monarchy.

Japanese attempts to transplant their people and certain industries to Thailand have had mixed results. A Japanese junior officer tried twice - and failed miserably - to bring fellow poor farmers into Thailand to grow rice at Saladaeng (near Silom today). A few of the Japanese immigrants died and others found different work or moved to other countries. (The officer himself later caused a scandal: After being ordained as a monk, he embarked on a pilgrimage to Isan, Laos and Hanoi, but not before asking to "borrow" a sword that Rama V had given to Chao Phraya Surasak Montri, the former agricultural minister. It was discovered later that the officer had pawned the family heirloom in Kobe. Chao Phraya Surasak had to pay both the principal and interest in order to reclaim the sword.)

Other Japanese endeavours did not fare much better. The first cinema in Siam was opened by a Japanese national, but the business folded a decade later. Similar cases occurred with a string of small grocery shops and a short-lived plan to launch a silkworm raising and textiles weaving industry in Isan. (However, the new hybrid silkworm taken home by the Japanese researchers boosted silk production in Japan.)

But the will and determination to maintain links seems to have prevailed after all. Despite a chequered history and bitter memories - from the Second World War to the protest against "the Yellow Peril" in the early seventies - Japan now has more or less a firm foothold in Thailand. In her speech at an event celebrating the 120th anniversary of Japanese-Thai diplomatic relationships in Tokyo, economist Pasuk Phongpaichit said, "There is no doubt that Japan is our single most important economic partner. Over recent years, Japan has contributed between a third and a half of all our foreign investment. It is no exaggeration to say that the health of our economy depends crucially on the export of manufactured goods made in Japanese plants in Thailand, including automobiles and parts, electronics, machinery, rubber products, chemicals and plastics. Because of direct Japanese investment, Thailand now counts among the top 10 exporters of automobiles in the world."

Moreover, the Japan has become more subtle and sophisticated in exerting their influence. From the rigid samurai approach to business, the "Japanisation" process, especially in Asia, has been cleverly implemented through art and cultural avenues. Thus, younger generations no longer feel threatened by a Japanese presence in their daily life; they readily embrace J-pop, manga, sushi and avant-garde fashions. As a result of shrewd and well-coordinated marketing campaigns, Japan is now one of the most popular tourist destinations for Thais.

But will this new era of friendship be a more healthy one? Over a century after the 1887 declaration of amity, there remain worries about unequal treatment - Thailand seems to be always on the receiving end, a source of resources as well as a receptacle for the Japanese to dump anything they don't want. The controversial Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement, signed in April this year, is a case in point. Civil groups in both countries have been protesting vociferously against the undemocratic manner in which the bilateral deal was inked, and the potential risks - to the environment and people's livelihoods - that its implementation may result in.

In the closing chapter of the book 600 Years of Thailand-Japan Relations, which he co-wrote with Yoshikawa Toshiharu, Japanese scholar Yoneo Ishii raises a cautionary note:

"Expansion of material ties is not something to take express delight in - if and as long as those ties are not rooted in the deep spiritual ties between the peoples of the two countries.

"Historical facts will remain forever. No one can ever wipe them out. The gist of the matter is that whenever bitter feelings toward what has happened between the two countries arise, please try to recall the joyful experiences we have shared in the past, and then try our best to [re]build a better relationship for both [sides]."
Tokyo: In a leafy Tokyo suburb, a landlord visits his tenant only to discover a skeleton inside the apartment. The tenant had died three years before. None of the neighbours had noticed the man was missing. His bank kept on making rent payments until his account was empty and a rent check finally bounced, prompting the landlord's visit and the gruesome discovery.

Welcome to the macabre side of ageing Japan, where growing numbers of people are dying alone, uncared for and unnoticed in suburbs that are rapidly turning grey.

And nowhere more so than in Tokyo, the world's largest metropolis, where hostess bars and neon lights will dim in the coming decades as the population ages.

Lonely deaths such as the one in the Tokiwadaira district, on the outskirts of Tokyo, where the skeleton was discovered, will become more common as 60-and-70-something "children" with their own health problems find it difficult to care for their 80-something parents and understaffed nursing homes struggle to meet what is expected to be overwhelming demand.

Statistics suggest that already more than 20,000 people a year die alone in Japan -- 2 percent of all deaths.

This figure is expected to rise as the number of senior citizens living alone soars in Japan, the world's fastest ageing society. In 2055, around 40 percent of the population will be aged 65 and over.

"These are things we would rather cover up," said Takumi Nakazawa, 73, a community leader in the Tokiwadaira district where elderly residents have set up a neighborhood watch scheme.

Residents have been asked to report to authorities if they see neighbours' lights left on or off for a long time, clothes hanging out to dry for a protracted period and post boxes over-stuffed with newspapers and junk mail.

Such efforts have saved lives. An old woman who lost consciousness was rescued after a neighbour reported that she had not been seen and her television was on all day.

Tokyo turning grey

Tokiwadaira is one of the capital's greyest suburbs, but the rest of Tokyo's metropolitan area, home to a quarter of Japan's 127 million people, will soon take on the same hue.

By 2020, about 14 percent of the population of greater Tokyo -- around 4.9 million people of a predicted population of 35 million -- will be aged 75 or older. Currently only around 7 percent of the Greater Tokyo area are in this age bracket.

Within the next 15 years, the bustling city that never stops will be one of the world's greyest metropolises.

The suburbs of Tokyo, built by the government to accommodate people who flocked to the capital from the countryside as Japan's population exploded in the past few decades, will be hit hard as Japan's population shrinks to an estimated 90 million in 2055 from around 127 million today.

Experts predict that some of these suburbs of high-rise apartment complexes could become ghost-towns if the government doesn't swiftly plan for the city's grey future.

"There will be some areas where it will become almost impossible to do business," said Kosuke Motani of the Development Bank of Japan.

Tokyo suburbs are already bearing the brunt.

Some senior citizens who can afford to buy property in central Tokyo are moving out and the population is already starting to decline in some areas, hurting the local economy. Corner stores are shutting down and streets are often deserted.

"Our new town is becoming an old town," said a resident of one such community in Saitama prefecture, north of Tokyo.

Development experts say the Tokyo Metropolitan Government should start preparing now for the city's grey future, such as building old age homes for the millions of elderly people who will need nursing care as their health declines.

"Few local governments appear to recognize this," said Kosuke Motani, an expert on regional development at the Development Bank of Japan.

Some experts say the Tokyo metropolitan government, now busy with its bid to host the 2016 Olympics, is turning a blind eye to its likely demography in less than a decade.

Compact cities

Though Greater Tokyo does not yet have a clear strategy for dealing with its graying population, some other Japanese cities are already taking steps of their own.

Aomori, near the northern end of Japan's main island of Honshu, has banned development work in suburbs to bring those living on the outskirts back to the city centre.

Aomori's attempt to turn itself into a "compact city" by concentrating the dispersed population in the city centre near railway stations is seen as a model for many other cities in Japan and abroad that are facing steep drops in population.

The city of 300,000 has built a condominium with a clinic and nursing care service centre, and is also trying to transform the shopping mall in the city centre into a senior-friendly area.

The mall now has wheelchair ramps and benches for the convenience of senior citizens.

"It'll be bothersome to drive when you get old. Senior citizens will want to live in the city centre," said Hiroshi Kato, a local business leader. "What we are doing now will bear fruit in five to 10 years," he said.