Turtles

2025/05/29

Ren Hirayama

Professor, School of International Liberal Studies, Waseda University; 1979 Economics

It has been nearly half a century since I began researching turtle fossils in graduate school. At the time, I never imagined I would continue researching this theme for so long. A major reason for this longevity is that an unexpectedly large number of turtle fossils are found in Japan, and almost all of them have been new species.

The turtle lineage first appeared about 230 million years ago, during the same era as the oldest dinosaurs. In recent years, there have been successive discoveries of dinosaur fossils in Japan, and almost without fail, many turtle fossils are found alongside them. I visit these sites to identify the species and ecology of the turtles found there. By doing so, the environment in which the dinosaurs lived becomes clear. Eventually (about 66 million years ago), the dinosaurs went extinct, but many turtles survived as if nothing had happened and continue to exist today. While the ecology and causes of dinosaur extinction remain full of mysteries, clues are being found from the turtles that lived alongside them. I hope that humanity does not follow the same fate as the dinosaurs.

Hiroo Sakurai

Vice-President, Minato City Mita-kai; 1991 Law

Are you familiar with Kamezuka Inari Shrine, located halfway up Hijirizaka, south of the Mita Campus? It is said to have been established when Ota Dokan built a watchtower on the site. Originally, it was reportedly located atop Kameyama in the nearby Kamezuka Park, so it must have offered an excellent view in all four directions. The Edo Bay would have been close below, and the Jomon shell mounds in the park remind us that the area was blessed with seafood. According to the Tokyo Shrine Directory, the shrine's origin story says, "Long ago, a turtle that appeared at Tsuki-no-Misaki (Mitadai-machi) turned to stone during a storm one night. The villagers enshrined the spirit of this turtle and built a small shrine." The sacred object is a turtle-shaped stone. I wonder if Yukichi Fukuzawa would have picked it up to examine it. I do not have that courage.

Nihonenoki-dori, the ridge road continuing past Hijirizaka, is lined with the Takanawa Imperial Residence, shrines, temples, churches, and modern architectural heritage sites. If you get tired of walking and feel hungry, you can munch on a bean daifuku or a baguette on a shaded bench. Unlike the end of the Edo period, it should be safe even for inbound tourists.

Gazing at the peaceful scenery, I continue to walk today. Like a turtle.

Ayako Kamisato

Director, Department of Medical Law and Ethics, National Center for Child Health and Development Research Centers and Institutes; 1996 Environmental Information

I have two turtles at home. Both are stinkpot musk turtles, but it is interesting because their personalities are quite different. They are 12 and 8 years old. As of the end of 2024, the oldest living turtle is 192 years old (on the British island of Saint Helena), so my life with these two will likely continue for a long time. Even so, why do turtles live so long? In 2022, a team from Denmark reported that for turtles kept in controlled environments with stable food and temperature, "aging" had almost no impact on "death" (Science 376). The average life expectancy of Japanese people has increased by 15 to 20 years over the last 60 years, but this is due to improvements in the living environment and medical systems; physical decline due to "aging" remains unavoidable. Research on turtles might provide hints for controlling human aging. However, if an "eternal youth and longevity society" were realized, what would it be like? According to the World Happiness Report, Japan's happiness ranking was 55th (2024 results). I sincerely hope for a society where people can live long and "happy" lives.

Akihiro Machida

(Professor, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Kanda University of International Studies; 2002 Letters (Correspondence))

The person everyone imagines as the hero of the Meiji Restoration is likely Ryoma Sakamoto. The Satcho Alliance is cited as Ryoma's greatest achievement. The starting point for the reconciliation between Satsuma and Choshu is said to be the purchase of military supplies by the Choshu Domain using the name of the Satsuma Domain, and the achievements of Kameyama Shachu have been highlighted significantly. However, the story that Ryoma came up with the idea and, with the consent of Takamori Saigo, the Kameyama Shachu he established in Nagasaki actually carried it out, is a later creation.

The reality of Kameyama Shachu refers to a group of masterless samurai from Tosa, other than Ryoma, who were under the command of Tatewaki Komatsu, a senior official of the Satsuma Domain. They operated warships purchased under the Satsuma Domain's name and simply identified themselves to the Choshu samurai as a group called "Keio Gijuku Shachu," acting strictly as a unit of Satsuma samurai. Furthermore, the name "Kameyama" was added during the Showa era. Additionally, Saigo did not have the authority to grant such permission at that time.

It is difficult to say that the Kameyama Shachu, as it has been told as historical fact, actually existed, and Ryoma was not in Nagasaki during this period. "Kameyama Shachu" is one of the Ryoma legends.