Archive of the Kumamoto International Facebook group, 2011–present.
I'd like to write a bit about the Little Free Library movement and consider the possibility of helping it take root here in Kumamoto. I became interested in the topic after listening to an NPR (U.S. public radio) segment about the death of Todd Bol, who began the movement by simply building the little outdoor bookshelf you see in the photo, filling it with books, and putting it outside his home for the use of anyone who might stop to look at it.
https://www.npr.org/2018/10/19/658962057/little-free-library-creator-todd-bol-dies
It was interesting to me that he didn't get much of a response at first but that the idea eventually took root and has spread all over the world:
https://littlefreelibrary.org/ourhistory/
The official account of the Little Free Library movement's history says that it has spread to 85 countries worldwide. Reading that made me wonder if it had spread to Japan (and, of course, most importantly, our own Kumamoto). Well, I haven't been able to verify the project's spread to our neck of the woods, but it has definitely come to Japan.
Here's an article in Japanese about a man in Nagasaki who is working to build Little Free Libraries (「小さな図書館」 or 「マイクロライブラリー」 in Japanese):
https://www.nishinippon.co.jp/nnp/nagasaki/article/398425/
Here's another Japanese article about Todd Bol's visit to Japan to talk about the idea:
http://current.ndl.go.jp/e1603
As I wrote above, I haven't been able to confirm the idea's spread to Kumamoto but I have a few people in mind to whom I'd like to propose the project. I would be very happy if readers of this post who like the idea would tell a friend about it -- particularly if that friend is in a position to actually push for implementation. :)
-- Kirk
I like jogging, and often my course takes me around the castle. It's a lot bigger than most realize. A hospital, a high school, and other facilities have been incorporated into its former grounds - but it's these outer grounds, I've found, that are the most attractive. Kumanichi has a story on the historical extent of the castle with a useful map. (Red = current extent; blue = maximum extent.) Explore! - William
ＮＨＫ跡に展示施設案 熊本市「構想」、城の価値など発信 | 熊本日日新聞 - This kiji is
熊本市が借り受け、熊本城の石垣などを置いているＪＴ熊本支店跡地（中央）。右奥が旧ＮＨＫ熊本放送会館。左奥は県立美術館分館＝熊本市中央区 熊本市は１９日、旧熊本城域にある旧ＮＨＫ熊本放送会館と日本たばこ...
Our friend Claire Sezaki reminded us that Tamana is not just strawberries, and goldfish are from Nagasu, not Tamana (apparently, the denizens draw a large distinction).
She also informed us of a festival soon to be held on November 3 at a Buddhist temple, Rengein, located in Tamana. Having visited many temples, I've learned to distinguish between those that exist solely for tourism and those that are, like, really religious. Rengein is decidedly of the latter. Apparently, you can take the train to Tamana Station and then a free shuttle bus to the temple for the festival, which features many traditional Japanese martial arts such as sumo and guys with pointy things. An English-language introduction to the temple is at the link. Thank you, Claire, for clarifying. - William
http://rengein.jp/about/english.php
Tamana is not a location that arises in most people's minds when considering Kumamoto. Tamana has strawberries. And goldfish. The two don't go well together unless you're into extreme cuisine.
But they do have Kanakuri Shisou (金栗 四三, かなくり しそう), who was actually from Nagomi but attended school in Tamana as, at the time, (around 1900), Tamana was the closest place where schools existed. Kanakuri-san is famous for many reasons but primarily for introducing athletics to Japan, and is the origin of the name of our main stadium, KK Wing (Kana Kuri).
Anyway, NHK has this morning drama called "Taiga Drama", (大河ドラマ), always from 8:00 and which my wife would rather die than miss. Their next series will produce a representation of Kanakuri's life, and Kumanichi reports that preparation has begun of a set in Tamana. Northern Kumamoto is a rather ignored location. Perhaps this series will bring greater attention to the strawberries and goldfish. - William
玉名市「大河ドラマ館」が着工 「いだてん」放送に合わせ | 熊本日日新聞 - This kiji is
「大河ドラマ館」の建設が始まった旧市役所跡地。プレハブ平屋の基礎工事が進んでいる＝１７日、玉名市 来年のＮＨＫ大河ドラマ「いだてん」の放送に合わせて開館する「大河ドラマ館」の建設が、熊本県玉名市繁根木...
A note from the Kumamoto International Earthquake Cluster Desk (merged with the Typhoon Cluster Desk due to budget cuts):
No, that wasn't just you! Yes, there have been a number of earthquakes recently, most centered around the Uto Peninsula. For example, there was a 3.6 at 5:00 this morning, which I didn't notice as my dog was kicking me in the face, and a 2.6 around 8:00, which I did feel as its epicenter was directly under my house. (Lower photo caption: directly under my house.)
We'll keep you updated. - William
This is what I refer to as “ALT gold”. A simple letter elegantly written. Jay Onyskin
Shimin Byoin (市民病院) was so heavily damaged during the quakes that they decided to relocate the whole thing to Higashi-Ku. Now under construction, ironically, it was found that the oil dampers - huge devices installed at the base of a building designed to absorb seismic shocks - were among those manufactured by KYB, whose products have been under scrutiny for quality falsification. So investigation into swapping them out is underway, Kumanichi reports.
Coincidentally, a quality assurance manager at a major Japanese electronics company which has also suffered from falsification scandals visited yesterday, and we discussed this very topic: false (adj); falsify (vt); falsification (n). Loss of trust: irretrievable. This continuous stream of scandals threatens the Japanese brand. - William
建設中の熊本市民病院に不正免震装置 ＫＹＢデータ改ざん | 熊本日日新聞 - This kiji is
２０１９年秋の開院を目指し、熊本市東区東町で移転新築工事が進む市民病院＝今年４月５日（高見伸） 油圧機器メーカーのＫＹＢとその子会社が免震・制振装置の性能検査記録データを改ざんしていた問題で、熊本市は...
Here's an article about Yuka Ogata's most recent difficulties in the city council. It quite old now but I think it's fairly detailed and worth a read if you're unfamiliar with the issue.
If you understand Japanese, I'd like to repeat my invitation to listen to the following interview with Ms. Ogata:
http://www.fmc.or.jp/sound/qic20181014c.mp3
For more about this very interesting (in my view) local internet radio station, see my original post at
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/2174661142607306?__tn__=-R
The lozengate issues has quieted down a bit, but I'm fairly confident that we haven't heard the last of it. Since I've last written about the issue here, I've learned more about what Ms. Ogata was trying to do as a politician when her colleagues shut her down over the use of a cough drop. She was advocating for the establishment of a 議会基本条例 (gikai kihon jorei; a basic law governing council deliberations). Most local governments in Japan now have such a law so Kumamoto is behind the curve. The law would function as a "constitution" for the city council and require more openness (explanations about reasons for decisions instead of just pass-failure pronouncements, etc.). Openness is good for citizens but not so good for politicians who don't like being in a fish bowl. So, the argument can be made that part of what the flap was REALLY about was shutting down a call for openness that most of the members of the city council were not happy about. I learned about this listening to the radio interview I reintroduced above and also from a couple of personal conversations with Ms. Ogata. Interestingly, even the local Japanese newspaper (the Kumanichi) hasn't written much about the call for the new law requiring more openness. I'm planning to ask someone I know at the newspaper why they don't go deeper and explain what is really at stake.
That's all for now. I'll try to write again when something new comes up.
-- Kirk
https://soranews24.com/2018/10/02/japanese-city-councilwoman-who-took-baby-to-work-kicked-out-of-conference-for-using-cough-drop/
Japanese city councilwoman who took baby to work kicked out of conference for using cough drop
Other members call for immediate suspension of meeting due to breech of etiquette, take eight hours to decide on her increasingly stupid punishments.
I work at a private JHS/HS once a week. This is a school where I don’t use Katakana and I speak mostly English. This week, The students chose the lesson which was music. I brought in my Iphone and hooked it up to a nice audio speaker. I told the students to pick their favorite songs and discuss. The students really got into this as in singing their favorite song while it was playing to being a tad embarrassed about their favorite jam. This lesson was so groovy that students themselves brought the teachers into the lesson. And the teachers actively participated with no complaints. The age divide became noticeably evident when one teacher played some Bossa Nova but the last one was hilarious because he picked Metallica’s master of puppets. Towards the end of lesson I picked one of my favorite jams for us to sing. The song is a mid tempo indie jam by Jets to Brazil called Cat Heaven. I broke the students into 3 and each set of 3 sang a verse and the chorus of the song. The teachers not wanting to be out done sang the song also.Everybody did great and a few times I was on the verge of tears. Jay Onyskin
Joe Tomei here. Been asked to post this on the list, as always, please contact the address given below,
=====
Magic English School in Shinmachi is looking for a native speaker to teach adult and kids lessons on Saturdays ( 9am- 6:30pm, November or December start).
Experience teaching EIKEN and TOEIC an advantage, but not essential.
There is also the possibility of weekday lessons becoming available.
Please contact Barry on 096-221-3479 or email
[email protected] for more details.
http://www.magicenglish07.com/#2
Kumanichi reports that scaffolding is being removed from the castle's main keep as exterior restoration is complete, 2.5 years after the quakes. The reconstructed keep includes earthquake-proofing features such as X-bars. Preliminary visits are expected to commence from October of next year, and, uh, complete completion in 2021.
A funny story my wife told me: as we walked by, she heard a worker call out in Kumamoto dialect 「はまったばい！」, which means "It fits!" Work on the stone walls continues apace, with 107 of 790 stones of the main keep's walls returned to their original positions. Now is the time to view them, each carefully numbered, before they are returned. - William
熊本城天守、真新しく 石垣積みなおし復旧着々 | 熊本日日新聞 - This kiji is
真新しい屋根や壁が見えるようになった熊本城の大天守。４階以上の工事用足場が取り外されている＝１６日、熊本市中央区（高見伸）大天守１階に設置された「クロスダンパー」積みなおしが終わった大天守北面の石垣 ...
Chikae-san at Out of Step bakery and cafe (take the densha to Kawaramachi and turn left) has prepared some pretty scary Halloween treats, like these fingers and these eyes. Then there's her son, lil' Johnnie, who's not yet even a teeny bit scary but likely aspires to be so. (This is, apparently, his "sexy look".) Shop info can be found at the below link. - William
https://www.facebook.com/outofstepbagels/
Yes, I use katakana in my lessons. It’s really something that gets me kind of bummed out to the max,like you know...But I just don’t have the time to put some phonics into the lesson. I do throw phonics in sometimes but largely it’s throwing a huge curveball at the students. But I also use katakana for the Japanese teacher who is usually afraid to talk and most of the time is gonna sit in the back staring at their watches(hopefully not). And now for the humdinger.... I use katakana to keep a speaking ratio of 60 percent students and 40 percent me. First of all, I made sure that the students understand the meaning of said lesson. Next it’s written up on the wall and put into the mix. The mix is usually a pass game or a standing game or a quiz game to make it a little fun. I will not do such games as Yama-Michi that will turn any English lesson back into a Japanese Lesson. But think about it...Your a part timer ALT now teaching 1st grade elementary to 3rd grade Junior High..And probably doing some Eikaiwa stuff afterwards(Thank you cheap BOEs and Greedy Dispatch Companies)...Time and effort are not quality resources any longer. Throw some katakana in to help you save your voice for one thing...But I also find it gets the students and teachers more involved because it’s familiar. Jay Onyskin
Kumanichi reports on the slow pace of permanent housing being constructed for those displaced in the quakes. Apparently, just 651 of 1,733 planned units spread in an area from Uto to Ozu have been completed.
Blame is being placed partially on the difficulty of obtaining craftsmen, which is understandable, but also on legal issues preventing obtaining land, which is less so.
Kumanichi has a chart of various townships and their targets, their completion rate, and expected date of fulfillment at the link (hint: much of it will come later than the Olympics. Priorities). - William
熊本地震の復興住宅、着工は４割弱 全戸完成は来年度末 | 熊本日日新聞 - This kiji is
県内で最初に完成した西原村の災害公営住宅。県産材１００％の木造平屋１２戸が立ち並ぶ＝６月、同村河原（上杉勇太、小型無人機で撮影） 熊本県内の１２市町村が熊本地震の被災者向けに計画する災害公営住宅（復興...
Some of you may have noticed that quake this morning - it was an M4.1, so no big deal by our standards. What worries me is location - the Uto peninsula, this time to the south, near Matsubase (previous recent quake clusters have been to the north).
Again, if that segment of the fault ruptures, it will have great effects on Kumamoto City. Perhaps the smaller quakes, though, are gradually relieving stress - or they may be foreshocks. - William
Well, Country Gold is next week at Aspecta in Minami Aso on Sunday,October 21st. Starts at 9 am and tickets are 8,000 yen on the day of the show. This festival is in it’s thirtieth year and at first it was drawing first tier acts along with big crowds. The crowds have gotten sparser over the years maybe due to bands that might be considered a second tier band playing or a non-major label band headliner and even a somewhat pricy ticket charge.This year’s headliner is Rounder Records Dailey & Vincent. They sound like a great mix of old school country, gospel and bluegrass. Here is their Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dailey_%26_Vincent . Also here is a video of Charlie Nagatani playing at last year’s festival. https://youtu.be/E5PshCMAHug . Music has alway been a hard business and it’s super duper harder now. Some recommendations would be to make this festival more diverse. Add all kinds of country influenced bands out there like The Mavericks, Calexico, Ryan Adams, X, Rev. Horton Heat,Wanda Jackson with some of the more older almost retiring acts that are looking for one more ride into the sunset. And let’s not forget some good ol’ Japanese bands that can play some killer country and hell...I would throw some Japanese Rockabilly in there too.Jay Onyskin
Dailey & Vincent - Wikipedia
Dailey & Vincent is an American bluegrass music group composed of Jamie Dailey (guitar, bass, vocals), Darrin Vincent (mandolin, guitar, bass, vocals), Aaron McCune (guitar, vocals), Jeff Parker (mandolin, guitar, vocals), Patrick McAvinue (fiddle), Shaun Richardson (guitar, vocals), Bob Mummert (dr...
A few weeks ago I came up with a crazy idea to build my own escape room. Escape rooms are a worldwide phenomenon, originating in Japan, but much more popular overseas. There are a couple in Fukuoka, but none elsewhere in Kyushu.The basic premise is that you are trapped inside a room and have to solve problems and puzzles in order to escape before time runs out. Some rooms come with scary clowns or serial killers; others have themes such as pirates, Sherlock Holmes, bank robberies, schools of magic, Breaking Bad style meth labs...you name it! I've actually been to all of these rooms, and many more.
For my own escape room I was somewhat limited by the only available space being my English school, and a budget of 10,000 yen. I scoured local recycling shops, Daiso and the internet for the props I would need: assorted locks, chests, second-hand books; and then set about creating all the puzzles and the story to link everything together. My students were quite puzzled by the gradual transformation of their classroom, with strange books and mysterious items appearing around the room. On the whole, I think they welcomed the distraction from their studies, especially when they got a chance to have a go at some of the puzzles themselves.
The pop-up room ESCAPE FROM BRITZ opened at the end of September, and has welcomed teams of players keen to test their skills. So far, the fastest team to find all the treasures and complete the game did so in 1 hour and 3 minutes. No-one has managed to do it within the hour...yet! There's a prize for any team managing to make their escape in under 60 minutes.
With Halloween and Christmas round the corner, not to mention writing deadlines for the book I'm currently working on, the game will be dismantled soon, and my classroom returned to its normal state. The final chance to play Kumamoto's only escape room is Sunday October 21st. Teams of up to 6 players, 1000 yen per person, open all day Saturday and Sunday, plus weekday evenings, every day this week. If you know someone who might be interested, please spread the word, or get a team together and take the challenge yourselves.
Thanks for all the interest so far!
Fiona Wall Minami
Hai Mu Dan, the performance group composed of dancer Kim Rihye, percussionist and vocalist Kim Dong-Won, and shakuhachiist Jeff Cairns, played to a standing--room only crowd at B-Plesu tonight. It was the first time I'd seen them, and the beauty of the music and dance, the blending of Korean and Japanese cultures, the shear brilliance left me in tears.
Again, they'll be performing again Sunday night in the square behind Swiss on Kamitori. I strongly recommend viewing their performance. You'll likely leave in tears as well, or breathless. - William
It was a sunny day today here in Kyushu. This led to a surplus of energy production from solar power facilities. One cause of the surplus was the power generated by the Genkai nuclear reactors in Saga.
-- Kirk
Solar power generation suspended in Kyushu- News - NHK WORLD - English
Suppliers of solar electricity in Kyushu, southwest Japan, have suspended power generation to help balance supply and demand.
