Kurusunoumi - The Ocean Cross

On a cape near the city of Hyuga in Miyazaki prefecture on the eastern edge of Kyushu you will find a peculiarly shaped geological formation. It is know as Kurusunoumi, from the Portuguese word for cross and the Japanese word for ocean (クルスの海). The coastline of Miyazaki is just as elsewhere in Kyushu quite stunning. Friends of history will remember that the first European contacts of Japan was with Portuguese traders, who also introduced guns, the secret of gunpowder and even christianity to the Japanese islands. So we have the seafaring skills of the portuguese to thank for our Japanese ninja, the original keepers of the secrets of gunpowder. Eventually the were banned from Japan for preaching too aggressively, but foreign trade kept on in the able hands of the Dutch and a smattering of English “factors”, mainly in the Kyushu area. I include a screen shot from Google Earth showing roughly the same cross from above. I wish I was a better nature photographer, alas I feel my skill lies more in the portraiture of people than in the photography of geology!

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