VOX POPULI: Fast trains close the distance, not the dream

Midway through the Meiji Era (1868-1912), Tokyo and Aomori became linked by rail. The train ride took a full day and a night. Early in the Showa Era (1926-1989), Osamu Dazai (1909-1948) left Tsugaru, Aomori Prefecture, to enter Tokyo Imperial University saying, "I want to be a writer and depict women." Many aspiring young people followed the same path to try their luck in Tokyo.

"Thinking I want to go to Tokyo/ I gently put my hand against my heart/ Was it the initial palpitation/ Or the sound of whistles of locomotives in Aomori Station all blowing at once?/ I heard a shrilling sound."

This is a verse from "Ri Kojun," a poem by Shuji Terayama (1935-1983).

While he longed to be a boxer, Terayama went to Tokyo and entered Waseda University, armed not with a punch but his ability to compose haiku. During the late Showa Era, Mainoumi Shuhei left Aomori Station in a shower of confetti thrown by his classmates to enter Nihon University. He told his father, "I will make my name in sumo." While riding a night train, he must have renewed his determination to enter the dohyo.

The Tohoku Shinkansen Line will be extended to Aomori in December. The train that will travel between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori stations from next spring is to be called "Hayabusa" (falcon).

Two years from now, the train will travel at 320 kph, the fastest speed among Japanese trains. Trips in which young people going to Tokyo boosted their fighting spirit and braced themselves for new life in the big city will only take 3 hours and 5 minutes.

In response to East Japan Railway Co.'s invitation to the public to name the new train, it received some 150,000 entries.

The most popular was "Hatsukari" (first wild geese of the year), after the name of the now-defunct first limited express train in the Tohoku region.

Hayabusa, which was the name of the overnight express train with sleeping berths that remained in service between Tokyo and Kumamoto until last spring, ranked seventh. But given the train's selling point is speed, JR East chose Hayabusa over Hatsukari with the approval of other JR companies.

According to plans, going through the Seikan tunnel, the Tohoku Shinkansen Line will extend to Shin-Hakodate (tentatively called so) by fiscal 2015.

"From the moment I got off the night train that left Ueno Station/ Aomori Station had been under heavy snow." The closer the northern region gets, the farther the desolate scene described in the Showa Era hit song "Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyu Geshiki" gets.

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 13

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.