Kumamoto International Archive

Archive of the Kumamoto International Facebook group, 2011–present.

I think this is a good introductory article for readers who are learning about congenital Minamata disease for the first time and also a good update for those already familiar with the topic. By sure to check out the slide show included with the article.
-- Kirk
More than 60 years on, Japan's mercury-poison victims fight to be heard
Shinobu Sakamoto was just 15 when she left her home in the southern Japanese fishing village of Minamata to go to Stockholm and tell the world of the horrors of mercury poisoning.

This article is similar to another one I posted on September 1st:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1578123352261091
Still, it's a new article with added details and so I thought some people might be interested.
-- Kirk
Mythical fish ready to adorn quake-hit castle in Kumamoto：The Asahi Shimbun
KUMAMOTO--Earthquake-damaged Kumamoto Castle is set to look better than ever when its main keep is r

The giraffe is the tallest terrestrial animal. There are six subspecies, each with its own fur pattern (a photo of their fur patterns is below). One subspecies is the Masai giraffe, of which there are only nine in existence in the country spread across four facilities; four Masai giraffe are currently at Kumamoto Zoo.
Among these four is Toma (冬真), who was born a year ago and has now reached a length of 3.5 meters and weight of 500 kilograms. Any bigger and giraffes become difficult to move, so now that Toma is weaned, he will be sent to live with a female at the Phoenix Natural Wildlife Park in Miyazaki in November.
The article contained two cute words I didn't know:
- ラブコール (love call): to call out to someone with love or good will
- 婿入り (mukoiri; literally, "entrance of groom"): to move in with one's bride's family
Farewell, Toma! The ラブコール has reached Kumamoto from Miyazaki, and now you will 婿入り with your new sweetheart. We look forward to the gamboling of Masai giraffe calves in the near future. - William
https://this.kiji.is/283035039473763425?c=92619697908483575

Birder Alert
Hello from Amakusa!
Due to the typhoon, our precious long weekend was pretty much a write-off.
Monday however was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed the day hiking and paragliding in Kuratake (the highest mountain in Amakusa).
During flight we were able to observe large groups of hawks circling together with our paragliders. These birds are called Akaharadaka (Chinese Sparrowhawks) and are currently migrating south to overwinter in the Philippines.
These hawks as well as various migrating birds including cranes can be observed flying over Amakusa at this time of year. The best location to bird watch in Amakusa is Mt.Rokuroji in the south of Amakusa. Be sure to bring your binoculars and fancy camera lenses! https://www.city.amakusa.kumamoto.jp/kiji0031394/index.html
Leanne Vibe

Our friend Ryohei-san would like your help with a short survey. If you have a moment, please lend him a hand by completing the form at the link below.
Hi! I'm Ryohei Matsumoto. I'm a fourth year student at Kumamoto Gakuen University. I'm writing a graduation thesis. The research content is differences between personality and culture. Please answer the questions on the Google form linked below. I need your cooperation! Thank you for your help.
https://goo.gl/forms/osq83rlZytfPfj0r1
Google URL Shortener

"'Some things happened that we could not have predicted until they actually took place. We learned many lessons,' Suzuki said. For example, the company now recommends that employees carry their wallets, purses, and home and car keys with them at all times. Many of the production line workers previously stored them in the locker room after changing into their uniforms. If an earthquake takes place, lockers may fall over and the room itself might be rendered inaccessible, leaving the workers stranded without money and unable to drive to or get into their homes."
http://www.nippon.com/en/currents/d00347/
I hope "the next big one" is far away -- both geographically and temporally. :)
-- Kirk
Sony High-Tech Plant Prepares for the Next Big One
As major earthquakes could take place anywhere in Japan, they are a significant risk for the country’s high-tech firms. Precision equipment in plants can be easily damaged. Following last year’s earthquakes in Kumamoto Prefecture, a Sony subsidiary is taking action to reduce the potential impact of…

Joe Tomei here, I'm posting something I posted on the KumAJET list, apologies if you get it twice.
I wanted to let all of you know that you can get a library card at Kumamoto Gakuen University and check out 5 books a week, as well as come in the library and use the facilities. The university charges 1000 yen a year, with the period tied to the school year, so if you joined now, you'd need to renew in April. You need some id and an address. It's a program that I tell people about, and posting it for the newly arrived JET participants made me realize that it might be good to post here. You can visit the library and just sign in (and save 1000 yen), so if you don't want to check out books, you don't need the library card, but filling out the form every time is a bit of a pain.
The holdings are good, and a range of English books, but the coverage can be spotty. You can search the holdings here
http://www1.lib.kumagaku.ac.jp/mylimedio/search/search-input.do?mode=comp&lang=en
The school cafeteria is next door, you just buy a ticket and get your food and it is quite cheap and the food is good. If you come and need any help, I'm sure I can get one of my students to help you.
If you are interested and need some help or have questions, please contact me offlist.
Material Search

The Iwashitas, Kesumi-san and Kaoru-san (袈裟實さん、カヲルさん) were both born in Aso Town in Taisho 6 (大正6年), which corresponds to 1917. They met, fell in love, married, and had two sons. He did office work for JA, she taught elementary school. 60 years ago, Kaoru-san began to have heart trouble, so Kesumi-san added housework and child raising to his schedule.
They now live in Jonan, two centenarians still together, alive and in love, and they were celebrated for it yesterday, Respect for the Aged Day. "They still have good appetites and are healthy. Taisho, Showa - they've lived through turbulent times, and all I have for my parents are words of gratitude. I'd like them to live even longer", their son said.
BTW, "ko" (子) was reserved for royalty until the Meji census reform in 1882, and most females (and even some males except for the first-born) were given names written in katakana. The ability to read was not prevalent among the poor of that time - not just the offspring but the parents as well - and official documents were usually dictated orally, with katakana considered more official than the more feminine hiragana. Parents would often pay big money to a scholar for a very fancy name for their first-born son: Consider Kesumi-san's kanji, 袈裟實. I wonder how old he was before he learned how to write that.
A bit of good news for a Tuesday back at work. - William
夫婦一緒に100歳、祝福に涙　熊本市の岩下さん夫妻 - 熊本日日新聞
夫婦で１００歳を迎え、お祝いを受けた岩下袈裟實さん（右）とカヲルさん＝熊本市南区　熊本市南区城南町の岩下袈裟實［けさみ］さん、カヲルさんが今年、夫婦で１００歳を迎え、１８日、同町の指定介護老人福祉施設「祥麟館」で家族や施設利用者らから祝福を...

Kumamoto wasn't hit as badly by the typhoon as some other areas but, as these photos from yesterday's RKK evening news show, areas outside of Kumamoto City such as Yamato-cho had some problems. The caption in the second photo says that roads became impassable at four points.
-- Kirk

If you've got connections to Montana in general or The University of Montana in particular, you may already have heard about the university sending non-renewal notices to a 30-odd professors in the past weeks. Though the professors are not necessarily being fired for sure, they've basically been reminded that their contracts are ending and that the university COULD decide not to rehire them for next semester depending on a variety of factors, including student enrollment in classes and programs. This is part of a series of actions the university is taking to deal with a budget problem in part caused by decreasing enrollment numbers.
I feel like the humanities often bear the brunt of such cuts, and looking at a list of the professors who were sent non-renewal notices paints a depressing picture about the university administration's views about these departments - of 33 letters, for example, 10 went to professors in the English and languages departments, departments that are already small and understaffed but which still strive to provide excellent programs for UM students. If you aren't connected to Montana in any way, you might not know that UM has a strong history of exchange with Kumamoto Daigaku. Both schools have rich humanities programs that attract students from all over the world, and I wouldn't be who or where I am today without their incredible professors and programs.
I'm not sure how much can be done to sway the UM administration's eventual decision about renewing contracts, but this is not how hard-working, dedicated professors deserve to be treated. I've shared an article about the letters as well as a link to a petition that, if it gathers enough signatures, might at least help the university realize how unhappy many of its alumni and supporters are about its behavior. Please think about adding your name!
-Grace
Here's a link to an article with some more information:
http://missoulian.com/news/local/university-of-montana-sends-non-renewal-notice-to-estimated-lecturers/article_53e30d72-4a57-50b7-80a7-e6f1430b1d7b.html
Stand with Anna Louise Stene
434 signatures are still needed! University of Montana Students : Protest the University of Montana's sending 33 lecturers non-renewal notices mid-year!

Our friend Jay hails from the San Francisco bay area, one of the great pâtisseries of the world (sourdough!). He and his wife, Chikae, have been gradually rolling out a full-service deli-style cafe, Out of Step, and will take a big step towards realizing their dream by adding hand-kneaded bagels to their menu of muffins, cupcakes and sandwiches (eat in or take out) from tomorrow, 9/19. Cream cheese is available; lox (home made, of course) and capers are envisioned in the near future.
You want to eat bagels. Jay and Chikae want to sell bagels. This is thus a very good thing. Their address is 2 kawaramachi, Kumamoto, 860-0023. Their phone number is 080-8380-3679. The menu changes daily, hours are unstable during the rollout, and special orders are available, so it might be a good idea to call ahead. Out of Step's Facebook page is at the link. Good luck, you two - and thanks for the bagels! - William
https://www.facebook.com/outofstepbagels/

Kirk had written about destruction of the basalt columns near Tateno by construction workers intent on stabilizing the gorge - ironic, since those columns, having been there for some 300,000 years, were not likely going anywhere. While construction workers being unaware of the geologic value of a cliff is understandable, that their superiors didn't realize this is inexcusable. Perhaps some disaster mitigation is possible.
Aso underwent four eruptions from 300,000 to 90,000 years ago; earlier eruptions led to creeping, slowly-cooling basalt that crystallized into hexagonal-shaped columns, while the last ejected an amount of material equivalent to the volume of Mt. Fuji which covered half of Kyushu and resulted in the caldera that we know today. (Still want to live in Tokyo, knowing that?)
Takachiho gorge displays basalt columns from the earlier eruptions topped by tuff deposited when Aso went complete kablooey in its grand finale 90,000 years ago; the two rock types are clearly seen in the below photo. Takachiho has made the list of the 11 most beautiful basalt columns in the world. See the article below for more info and beautiful photos. - William
P.S. - I know of a stunning location of crystallized basalt that plunges into the sea down in southern Kagoshima and is accessible to the slightly adventurous. If interested, PM me.
https://www.fromthegrapevine.com/nature/11-intriguing-basalt-formations-around-world

These two photos show Tateno Gorge before and after government construction. If the gorge had been damaged by the earthquake that would have been one thing, but this seems to have been a human decision -- one in which not even the government of Kumamoto Prefecture was consulted:
"The restoration work in the area includes the construction of a new bridge designed to replace the Great Aso Bridge that collapsed following the Kumamoto earthquake disaster in April 2016. The central government, however, did not inform the Kumamoto Prefectural Government that it would be tearing down the naturally formed columnar joints in the process.
The vertical cracks, which were created after lava from nearby Mount Aso cooled down and solidified, are considered to be a geological phenomenon. The demolished cracks were discovered by a member of a citizens' group on Aug. 30."
-- Kirk
http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170914/p2a/00m/0na/024000c

The typhoon has made landfall on Kagoshima. It will probably hit Kagoshima and Oita harder than it will hit us, but this does not mean that people in Kumamoto have nothing to worry about. Some rivers in the southern part of the prefecture are near flood level. Take care!
-- Kirk
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/suigaimesh/flood.html

On September 6th, RKK's "JUST" (their evening news show) aired a segment about the establishment of "Kumamoto International School," led by Matthew Ohm. Mr. Ohm also runs Picasso International School, an English-language preschool. There are several English-language preschools in Kumamoto but many years have passed since the last international elementary school in the prefecture closed. Currently, it seems that the majority of the parents who are interested in enrolling their children are Japanese people who would like their children to become fluent in English but, of course, the school may also be a good choice for the children of expats.
According to the RKK report, there are plans for the establishment of international junior and senior high schools to allow the children to continue their education in English.
-- Kirk
P.S. I wish I could link to the video but it seems to have been deleted from RKK's website. When the program was aired, I had just left the country and have only now had time to view my recording of the news program.
School Vision | Kumamoto International School
From the principal In April, 2018, we will begin the next leg in our journey as a school. Picasso was founded in 2003 in downtown Kumamoto, on the third floor of an office building with no playground. We began with fewer than 15 students, and my own son was one of our first three graduates. In 2006,...

The storm is on our doorstep. The image you see represents current wind strengths according to http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com as of 5 AM Japan time. The site says that we are highly likely to experience tropical storm winds in the next 12 hours. The path is slightly to the south of us, which is good. Earlier this year we experienced a typhoon that came in just to our north, which caused it to have an impact that was disproportionate to its basic strength. Still, it's hard to know just how bad or mild the situation will be here. Right now it's fairly calm (light rain, not much wind) but that will change -- the only question is how much.
-- Kirk

The image is of a Google translation of evacuation information on a Yahoo page. It's hard to know just how bad or how mild the storm will be here in Kumamoto but it's better to err on the side of caution, especially if you are in a vulnerable area. Take care!
-- Kirk
https://crisis.yahoo.co.jp/evacuation/43/

Kumamoto City is the first municipality in the nation to say "no" to government calls for an evacuation drill in preparation for a possible missile attack from North Korea. Mayor Onishi has explained that he made the decision not to hold such a drill, in which sirens would blare and J Alerts would be sent to mobile devices, because he deemed it more important to avoid traffic accidents that might result from confusion caused by such a drill, which was to be scheduled for November:
"大西市長は「訓練のサイレン音やメールで交通事故などが起きるのを避けるため中止した」と説明しています。"
http://rkk.jp/news/index-google.php?id=NS003201709151940110111
Personally, Mr. Onishi's position makes a good deal of sense to me. I suspect that the government's call for drills is largely an attempt to be perceived as taking some sort of action, regardless of how much practical benefit can reasonably be expected from the action. Such a drill might function to heighten fear and thus make people more inclined to rally around (or at least not oppose) the government but do little to actually promote public safety. Given the current mood in the country, I think that, politically, it would have been easier for the mayor to go along with the proposed drill instead of refusing to participate. I admire the courage Mayor Onishi has shown in this regard.
-- Kirk

Rescheduled for October 9th due to the typhoon.
-- Kirk
藤崎宮秋の例大祭2017は台風接近の為“順延”引用元：http://fujisakigu.or.jp/藤崎八幡宮の公式HPからのリリースによりますと検討の結果、台風18号の進路・勢力等を考慮し本年の神幸式を延期する事と決定致しました。ちょうど開催日の17日に最接近してしまった台風18号。引用元：https://news

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/09/14/national/kumamotos-shattered-pottery-reborn-wajima-lacquer-twist/#.WbsM6q2B364
-- Pasted by Kirk
Akira Otaguro was organizing an online photo exhibition of pottery works with a potter friend in Kumamoto Prefecture when a series of powerful earthquakes