Seeing Kasumigaura reminds me of things wartime. People who know about the Japanese military might pick up on the connection. There is a well-known wartime song that mentions Kasumigaura in the first verse.
I remember it from among the numerous war songs I learned back in the 1960s.
When I was in a yakitoriya one time—I’m always in some yakitoriya, right? Lot’s of stuff going on there—a right-wing thugmobile truck drove by playing that song at somewhere over the pain threshold and with about 35 percent distortion.
Feeling mischievous, I commented to the guy sitting next to me (another regular) “I know it’s wrong. I really do know it’s wrong, but when I hear these rousing war songs, I’m overtaken by an urge to go to China and stab babies.”
The fellow immediately launched into all the reasons why I should not repeat the horrible mistakes made by the Japanese military during World War II, apparently feeling compelled to warn me of making the same mistakes.
Sarcasm and black humor don’t work in Japan.