Kumamoto International Archive

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

Today, October 11, is the International Day of the Girl Child. I saw something on the web reminding me of that fact a few minutes ago and thought I'd check to see if anything had been planned for Kumamoto. I searched in both English and Japanese but came up mostly empty-handed in both languages. This post is from five years ago.
As I see it, there are many places in the world where girls face far more severe challenges than they do here in Japan. Still, it seems like a nice occasion to send positive, encouraging messages to the girls of Kumamoto. Perhaps next year some event will be planned. :)
-- Kirk
Celebrating the International Day of the Girl Child in Tokyo
Did you know the UN has over 60 information centres around the world? From time to time, we promote their activities and special events on this blog. The first-ever International Day of the Girl Ch…

Hello all - I just wanted to piggyback on Mark and Kirk's posts and share a bit more information about the Kumamoto Mizuakari festival with you, as it's an event that's very close to my heart (and I'm sad not to be in Kumamoto this year to experience it). If you're in Kumamoto and didn't get to see all of the lights and lanterns yesterday, please think about going today!
The festival was started in 2004 as part of an effort to celebrate the unique beauty and heart of Kumamoto and the diverse people who live there. In recent years it has featured over 50,000 candles, thousands of lanterns, and the hard work of thousands of craftspeople, volunteers, and organizers. I first saw it in 2012 only a few short weeks after arriving in Kumamoto. It was my first time living in another country, and to say that I was stressed is an understatement. The Mizuakari festival was one of the first events that made me feel like I was living as part of a community, and it will always be one of my dearest memories.
This year and last year, though, it's taken on a deeper meaning as a symbol of support and perseverance in the face of the damage caused by the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes. Not only does it show the creativity and dedication of the crasftpeople and volunteers who make the festival possible (not just in Kumamoto but also around the world - thanks, Mark!) - it's also a way for people to come together and express hope for the future. Working together is what makes us strong.
I wanted to share a short video with you about last year's festival. If you can read Japanese, you'll note that many of the lanterns are decorated with messages of love and support in face of the earthquakes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MhyGvI3u24
I also wanted to share one of my Mizuakari photos from when I was living in Kumamoto. If you were able to go this year, please think about sharing some of your photos with us!
-Grace

Hi everyone, joe tomei here. Apologies for the slightly selfish post, but it is less than a month to The Sinfonietta concert, a all Brahms concert featuring the Brahms Double Concerto and Brahms 3rd Symphony. The concert is scheduled for Sun Nov 5th doors open at 1:45, concert starts at 2:30. I do have tickets for pre-purchase. Feel free to contact me at tomeiter (at) gmail
The Sinfonietta is a local orchestra so if you play an instrument (especially strings) and would like to join, please let me know. We play one concert a year and you can see the rehearsal information and previous concerts at this website
http://www.the-sinfonietta.org/

This images shows the morning route for Monday's festival parade. Personally, I'd recommend the beginning at about 6 AM that day. That's when everyone is fresh, sober (for the most part) and looking their best.
-- Kirk
P.S. I took the image from a pdf put out by the police to show areas where traffic will be restricted that day:
http://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/police/page1060.html

I don't share all of the news leads that I get about medical research at Kumamoto University but this one is especially intriguing. In this and other articles, research at Kumamoto University is cited as having the potential to lead to an actual cure -- not just a treatment -- for HIV infections.
The first article I saw on this topic (which I'm not sharing this time) sounded a bit sensationalistic so a did a little more digging on the web and found the following article on a medical website:
A new method for removing cells infected with the AIDS virus
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-10-method-cells-infected-aids-virus.html
It looks like the claim of "promise" is legit.
-- Kirk
http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/new-breakthrough-could-one-day-lead-to-aids-cure/
New Breakthrough Could One Day Lead To AIDS Cure
HIV affects 1.1 million people in the US, and around one in seven of these people aren’t aware they have it. So far, there is no cure for the virus, but ne

"Born in 1954 in Nagasaki but educated in Britain, Kazuo Ishiguro is known for, among other things, his lyrical prose, his acute sense of place and for his masterful parsing of the British class system."
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/books/nobel-prize-literature.html
"He earned a Master’s degree in 1980 and became a British citizen in 1982, the year he published his first novel, 'A Pale View of Hills,' which is set in Nagasaki after the atomic bombing."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/kazuo-ishiguro-wins-nobel-prize-in-literature/2017/10/05/c9869a30-a91b-11e7-92d1-58c702d2d975_story.html
Nagasaki isn't Kumamoto . . . but it's pretty close! :)
-- Kirk
Kazuo Ishiguro Is Awarded Nobel Prize in Literature
The British author’s best sellers include “The Remains of the Day” and “Never Let Me Go.”

Here's a blog post from our friends at the Kumamoto Islamic Center.
-- Kirk
Initiate collaboration, KIF visit Kumamoto Islamic Center to discuss some opportunity
Kumamoto (28/7). A meeting between Kumamoto International Foundation (KIF) and Kumamoto Islamic Center (KIC) was held on Friday 28 July 2017 at 11.00-12.00 am. From KIC, Br Rahmat , Br Imam Sheeraa…

The article doesn't mention it, but I think they'll probably train at the Aqua Dome:
http://kc-sks.com/aqua/floor.html
It's a 50 meter long, 10 lane pool -- probably the most suitable pool in Kumamoto for olympic athletes.
-- Kirk
https://swimswam.com/germany-make-training-camp-kumamoto-tokyo-2020/
Germany to make training camp in Kumamoto before Tokyo 2020
The German Swimming Association (DSV) is cooperating with the city of Kumamoto (Japan) where the immediate competition preparations before the 2020 Olympic

Apparently, Mashiki's earthquake data may have been fudged (falsified). I think the "jury's still out" on this one but questions have been raised.
-- Kirk
Researchers' work questioned after errors discovered in Kumamoto quake data | The Japan Times
Research by academics from two major universities has come into question after data from a notably strong earthquake in Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, was f

Fish kanji demonstrate deep imagination. Below is a link to a Japan Times article explaining the etymology of a few. One (or two, actually) refer to the Pacific saury (sanma, 秋刀魚 - yes, they've managed to use 3 kanji to make a 2-syllable word. This is called gikun 義訓, a reading of kanji that has no correspondence to the characters' individual on'yomi or kun'yomi). As you can see, it literally means "autumn sword fish" as it is caught in autumn, is shaped like a sword, and is a fish. The season's first saury catch, which occurs as they migrate from their summer waters north of Hokkaido into waters off Tohoku, is called "shin sanma" and is written 鰶 (here, 3 syllables with 1 kanji!), literally meaning "festival fish".
The Oe chapel of the Japan Lutheran Church will hold its annual sanma festival to benefit both Tohoku, which has graciously provided the sanma, and Kumamoto disaster victims, after services (noonish) this Sunday, 10/8 (take home or eat there; the chapel has a cafe cozily decorated with English antique furniture). The chapel is behind Kyushu Gakuin, everyone is extremely friendly, and all are welcome. - William
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2009/05/20/language/fish-kanji-help-you-hook-the-perfect-meal-2/#.WdQ6zlS0NEE

Joe Tomei here, we've been asked to post this job notice. Please contact the person listed below. Thanks
Hello. Maple Tree International School in Higashi-ku is looking for fun, energetic and dedicated teachers who love working with very young children. Our main students' age groups are from 1.5 year-olds to 6 year-olds. We offer different types of positions below and competitive wages.(Contact us for more details)
**Part time position(starting as soon as possible) ①Mon~Fri.15:00-16:30 (1.5h ¥3,750)
Approx. monthly wage:¥75,000 ②Mon~Fri.9:15~11:45 (2.5h ¥3,750)
Approx. monthly wage:¥75,000 ③Mon~Fri.9:00~14:00 (5h ¥7,500)
Approx. monthly wage:¥150,000 ④Tue.17:00~18:00 (1h ¥3,000)
Approx. monthly wage:¥12,000 ⑤Thu.18:00~19:00 (1h ¥3,000)
Approx. monthly wage:¥12,000 ⑥Fri.17:00~18:00 (1h ¥3,000)
Approx. monthly wage:¥12,000
**Full time position(Staring from April 2018 or earlier) ⑦Mon~Sat.8:30~18:00(Sat.9:00-17:00)
Please send us your resume and a recent photo of you to [email protected] Thank you in advance, Kenshi Narimatsu

Here's something for the academics among our readership.
Sorry to be late to share this. Fortunately, there's still some time before the submission deadline.
-- Kirk

Here's a little reminder about the festival coming up this weekend. (I tried to share this earlier but something went wrong.)
-- Kirk

Hi! Here's a recent post about an employment opportunity. -- Kirk

The Kumamoto version of the Sumo Run For Fun event described here
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201707310023.html
will be held on October 22nd in Minami Aso. It seems that you need to pay 6000 yen to cover both entry and costume fees.
-- Kirk
https://irorio.jp/nagasawamaki/20170923/418564/
お相撲さんのスーツを着て走る「スモウラン」について、スモウラン実行委員会に取材した。南阿蘇で「スモウラン」開催へ熊本県南阿蘇村で10月22日（日）に仮装マラソンイベント「スモウラン」が開催される。力士を模したスモウスーツを着て走るチャリティーイベントで、村内のコース3.33キロメートルを絶景を楽しみなが

We share a lot of information on this page. That's good in a way, but it can also make it a bit hard to find information about events among all of the other posts. For that reason, I decided to begin organizing event information on a simple Google spreadsheet that I've made public. The entries are organized by event date and only brief summaries and links to posts about the events are provided. It's very simple (and so I hope it will be easy to maintain) but I hope you find it to be useful. If you notice that I have left out any events that you think should be included, please point that about in a little comment to this post.
-- Kirk
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1m0Cdax8HBG-E3OQr3sElW1glnqRUxEy_hz29-kRYaos/

Y'got your weasel family and y'got your bear family, but where raccoons fall in the evolutionary tree is unclear: they share closer physiology with the former but genetics with the latter (note: they are not to be confused with the tanuki, or raccoon dogs; both are basal canids with no close relation to extant species). Consequently, despite their irresistible cuteness, intelligence, and adaptability, the reality is that they are ferocious omnivores who WILL get their way, always, one way or another. And they bite and scratch and carry rabies and fleas and will finish off your crops in one night, from your tubers to your fruit.
Japanese authorities thus do what they can to prevent their spread here, but their efforts are no match for the siren song of kawaii, which creates a market of would-be owners for smugglers or domestic breeders. These owners then invariably dump their pets in the countryside with utmost haste the moment their cute kits reach sexual maturity and abruptly go total Mr. Hyde.
Anyway, the Kumamoto Department of Environmental Symbiosis (seriously - I didn't know the 環境共生課 existed either) is in a tizzy as one was recently spotted in Ueki, closer to downtown than previous sightings in Yamaga, Tamana, and Uto, raising fears that they'll soon follow the trail of twice-weekly garbage bags into town. There's really no way to eradicate an established raccoon population, so we'll just have to learn to coexist. If you see one, though, stay clear and maybe notify the authorities.
Below: Cuddly raccoon kit and the same species 18 months later - William
https://this.kiji.is/286680770097005665?c=92619697908483575

Amounts of memory on electronic devices tend to increase by powers of two (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, etc.). This page went from 1,600 last year to 3,200 this year. If there's a social networking equivalent of Moore's law, I guess we should expect to have 6,400 likes sometime next year. Well, that may not be in the cards, but, nonetheless, I'm glad to see the number of likes increase. Thanks for your support! 今後とも、よろしくお願いします。
-- Kirk

This is another article about an issue we have already discussed. See
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1594921240581302
and
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1595233820550044
This new article offers a few more details but, unfortunately, it's the same sad story.
-- Kirk
Rare volcanic rocks destroyed in Kumamoto rebuild effort：The Asahi Shimbun
MINAMI-ASO, Kumamoto Prefecture--Oblivious construction workers destroyed part of a rare 50,000-year

Here is a link to a rather bizarre cowmercial featuring milk from Kumamoto.
http://www.newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/121207.php
-- Leanne
Giant nipple squirts milk from U.F.O. in crazy Japanese commercial
Milk-giving alien cow nipple is everything we’ve come to love about ads in Japan.