(by Nishino Takashi, nippon.com, October 22, 2021)
In 1854, US Commodore Matthew Perry landed at Hakodate, Hokkaidō, in the northern part of Japan. Two members of his crew who had died from disease were buried on the slopes of Mount Hakodate—the beginning of the foreigners’ cemetery there.
The Protestant section of the cemetery features several headstones with a peculiar symbol carved into them: a compass and a right-angle ruler, both used as tools by stonemasons. This is the symbol of Freemasonry, with the compass representing truth and the ruler morality. Freemasonry has its origins in medieval times, when the stonemasons’ guild was established; it spread widely with…
read more:
