Kumamoto International Archive

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

William with an unusual version of Kumamoto springs: Where is the Water? Our city is known globally for its spring water -the largest in the world whose drinking supply is entirely artesian. The cause is the granite substratum created by Aso eruptions which keeps rainfall close to the surface, where it pops up willy-nilly.
But as the world is quickly noticing (particularly in my native California), fresh water is not unlimited.
Kumanichi reports on TSMC's, the Taiwan-based semiconductor manufacturer (a water-intense industry), new Kikuyo fab to draw 12,000 cubic meters of groundwater daily - about 2.7% of our groundwater supply. Given an average Olympic- sized swimming pool capacity of 2,500 cubic meters, about five pools.
Groundwater-recycling technology has advanced greatly, though. In my Californian hometown, most tap water used to be poop. JASM has proposed two methods to deal with the issue:
- an advanced water recovery and recycling system to recycle some 70% of its water;
- a flooding project to fill the farmland before and after planting for recharge.
Obviously, the opportunities that TSMC will bring to Kumamoto are great. We hope that the company and governments honestly deal with water issues - what has been proposed to date is quite vague.
Photo: the fab and its surrounding land.
https://kumanichi.com/articles/730090

Kirk here with a little weather forecast. The image you see is for Kumamoto City tomorrow (Tuesday), but the forecast is pretty similar, I think, for the whole prefecture: Heavy rain in the morning.
https://tenki.jp/forecast/9/46/8610/43100/3hours.html
This International Foundation sent out this information via their mailing list (you can sign up, if you like):
Heavy rains are predicted to arrive in Kumamoto. Evacuation shelters opened from 18:00 on July 18th (Mon).
When preparing to go to a shelter, please remember to bring with you the necessities such as food, water and prescription drugs.
※ When the shelter closes , please remember to take with you any garbage that you accumulated.
（1）List of evacuation shelters:
【Chuo Ward 中央区（ちゅうおうく）】
　・Sunlife Kumamoto　サンライフくまもと（さんらいふ　くまもと）
　　096-354-3511
　・Gofuku Community Center 五福公民館（ごふく　こうみんかん）　
　　096-359-0500
　・Ohe Community Center 大江公民館　（おおえ　こうみんかん）
　　096-372-0313
　
【Higashi　Ward 東区（ひがしく）】
　・Takuma Community Center 託麻公民館（たくま　こうみんかん）　
　　096-380-8118
　・Akitsu Community Center 秋津公民館（あきつ　こうみんかん）
　　096-365-5750
　・Tobu Community Center 東部公民館（とうぶ　こうみんかん）
　　096-367-1134
【Nishi Ward 西区（にしく）】
　・Seibu Community Center 西部公民館（せいぶ　こうみんかん）　
　　096-329-7205
　・Hanazono Community Center 花園公民館（はなぞの　こうみんかん）
　　096-359-1261
　・Kawachi Community Center 河内公民館（かわち　こうみんかん）
　　096-276-0133
　・Yoshino Community Center 芳野コミュニティーセンター（よしの　こみゅにてぃーせんたー）
　　096-277-2001
【Minami Ward 南区（みなみく）】
　・Hinokimi Cultural Center 火の君文化センター（ひのきみ　ぶんか　せんたー）
　　0964-28-1800
　・Tomiai Community Center 富合公民館（とみあい　こうみんかん）
　　096-357-4580
　・Akita Community Center 飽田公民館（あきた　こうみんかん）
　　096-227-1195
　・Tenmei Community Center 天明公民館（てんめい　こうみんかん）
　　096-223-0118
　・Kohda Community Center 幸田公民館（こうだ　こうみんかん）
　　096-379-0211
　・Nanbu Community Center 南部公民館（なんぶ　こうみんかん）
　　096-358-0199
【Kita Ward 北区（きたく）】
　・Ueki Community Center 植木公民館（うえき　こうみんかん）
　　096-272-6906
　・Hokubu Community Center 北部公民館（ほくぶ　こうみんかん）
　　096-245-0046
　・Tastuda Community Center 龍田公民館（たつだ　こうみんかん）
　　096-339-3322
　・Shimizu Community Center 清水公民館（しみず　こうみんかん）
　　096-343-9163
（2）This information was released at 20:00, 18th July.
Kumamoto International Foundation
4-18 Hanaba-cho Chuo ward Kumamoto 860-0806
096-359-2121
[email protected]

Kirk here with some notes on Gohyaku (500) Rakan. The 500 rakan (disciples of Buddha) are near Reigando, where Miyamoto Musashi meditated some 400 years ago. The meaning of rakan in Zen Buddhism is described here:
https://www.japan-experience.com/plan-your-trip/to-know/understanding-japan/the-rakan-the-greatest-disciples-of-buddha
This video from Feel Fukuoka Japan includes a visit to Reigando and a brief look at the rakan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JjjfsicBvY
This picture I've selected for this post shows a rakan with his head chopped off. This sort of destruction of Buddhist culture occurred as part of this haibutsu kishaku (廃仏毀釈) (literally "abolish Buddhism and destroy Shākyamuni") movement of the Meiji period. You can read about that here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haibutsu_kishaku
The connection of the Unification Church to Japanese politicians (including Mr. Abe) reminded me of this older example of religion taking on political significance here in Kumamoto. Another example would be Aum Shinrikyo, which had a community in Aso for some time. And, of course, the persecution of Christianity in Amakusa is key to understanding the politics of the Edo period. Perhaps I can touch on those topics some other day. ;)
https://www.msubillings.edu/businessfaculty/harris/Japan/Kumamoto/Nov%2002/images/Gohyakurakan%2027_jpg.jpg

William Eminasu, the waterpark near the airport, is open for the season. It has a few water slides and one of those pools that go round and round. If you take your children there, they will love you more than they do now.
Hint: bring a groundsheet, a large picnic, and plenty of liquids. Lawn area is expansive but food pickings sparse.
https://kumanichi.com/articles/728214

William The Japan Meteorological Agency said on the morning of the 15th that a "linear precipitation zone" would occur in the northern part of Kyushu including Kumamoto Prefecture and the southern part of Kyushu from the night of the 15th to the morning of the 16th, and the risk of heavy rain disasters could increase sharply. It reminds us all to stock up on the normal suspects: https://kumanichi.com/articles/726887

Here's Wikipedia page and article about former Olympic long-distance runner Akemi Matsuno, who was elected to the Upper House from Kumamoto "as a Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) candidate in the proportional representation system." Though the article quotes her as saying that she wants "to tell the LDP: You’re wrong,” the Japanese Wikipedia page about her says she's in favor of changing Article 9 (renunciation of war) in the constitution.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akemi_Matsuno
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14667017
Gossip YouTuber, comedian and an athlete win seats in Upper House | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
While many lawmakers in Japan rely on inherited political support networks for their electoral success, a group of fresh yet familiar faces used their star status to clinch victory on July 10.

Liz here. I have been following all the informative posts and comments on the horrific assassination here, and reluctantly keeping up on covid, so I thought a post about tranquility and natural beauty might be appreciated . This is the lotus season and if you are looking for a slightly isolated spot to enjoy both a stroll around a large historically interesting temple , (with lots of statues and its own wikipedia page) , and a photo session at their modest lotus pond (which also has water lilies), then Kawashiri’s Daiji Zen Temple is the place for you. I don’t know if they have resumed their Sunday morning zazen sessions, but if you are
interested in joining them on a regular basis you should call (or have a Japanese friend call for you if you don’t speak Japanese.) The pond is behind the temple buildings and the area there is a bit unkempt at the moment. Try to get there before 10, as
the blossoms begin closing up later in the morning. Slather on your bug repellent, be prepared to be serenaded by cicadas and some very vociferous crows(so much for tranquility!), but above all be respectful of the wildlife and the temple.
link to the temple wikipedia page here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daiji-ji_

Kirk here with another installment of my ever-popular COVID-19 series. (Yipee! More COVID-19 news! ;) ) Numbers of infections are continuing to increase in Kumamoto. Yesterday there were 2561 new infections in the prefecture, a new record. And, as the following image shows, Kumamoto is now number 3 in Japan terms of new infections per 10,000 residents with an average of 703.56.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/special/coronavirus/data/#latest-weeks-card

Atsuko. Hello goat fans. The goats are back. It seems that they are hired by JR staff again this year.
Today, I passed under Nishi-Kumamoto station and meet two goats, one white and one black. I pass this way every day and the goats were scared of people and hiding in the back, so it looks like they have just started working.
A mother and son seemed happy to see the goats.I hope they will continue to graze a lot and share smiles and happiness with the residents this summer as JR employees this year also!ଘ(੭ˊ꒳ˋ)੭✧
Their work 2021
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=5542243505849036&id=123734781033296
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=5916351248438258&id=123734781033296

Kirk here with a follow-up regarding the Unification Church and Abe's assassination. I'll include a more direct connection to Kumamoto (my own encounter with the Moonies while living here) in this post but first I'll start with the national context.
The Japanese article I'm linking to shows a lawyer named Hiroshi WATANABE, of the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales. This group of about 300 lawyers complained to Abe last year that the video message he sent to the group formerly known as the Unification Church (統一教会) lends credibility to them and thereby helps them continue to bilk people of their money.
https://www.stopreikan.com/kogi_moshiire/shiryo_20210917.htm
A brief English-language account of the press conference can be found here:
Lawyers Rap Unification Church over Abe Shooter's Family
https://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2022071201114
Unfortunately, the English article doesn't have much data. The Japanese is far better in that regard. In short, the Japanese article explains how the Moonies use religion to sell stuff. Mr. Watanabe claims that sales or loses to clients (I'm not exactly sure which or how this figure was calculated) amounted to about 330,000,000 yen last year alone (over 2 million US). Individuals are duped into buying as much as 30,000,000 yen worth of goods (over 200,000 US), he says.
An article in today's Asahi Shimbun says that in the last 35 years, 34,537 complaints have been registered with Japan's various local consumer centers (消費者センター) regarding losses to the group totaling about 123,700,000,000 yen (about 900 million U.S.).
A victim who participated in the lawyer's press conference said that while she could never condone such a brutal murder, she understood the anger directed at Abe for supporting and praising the leadership of this group.
In this context, I cannot condone how the police and elements of the Japanese media have tried to present the assailant's anger at Abe as mere confusion. Here's how NHK quoted the police:
"The police see the motive as a one-sided delusion and are investigating when and why he changed his target (from the religious organization to Mr. Abe)."
警察当局は、一方的な思い込みから安倍元総理大臣を襲撃したとみて対象を変更した時期など詳しいいきさつを調べています。
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20220711/k10013712111000.html
It would seem that the police and NHK are more interested in protecting the legacy of Mr. Abe than they are in protecting ordinary people from the Moonies.
Finally, I'd like to report my own experience here in Kumamoto. Perhaps a decade or so ago, a young women came to the door of our house soliciting donations for something. My recollection about what she said the project was is a bit fuzzy now but I clearly remember that, after I declined and she left, I Googled the name of the organization she said she was from and found a Wikipedia article saying that it was a group affiliated with (or a cover for) the Unification Church. Being the a--hole that I am, I tried to get in her face about this. When I found her, supported by a man (a handler?), at another house, I yelled out "統一教会です。気をつけてください！" ("It's the Unification Church. Be careful!"). Again, being a natural a__hole, I stubbornly kept repeating my warning every few seconds or so. The handler (or whatever his role was) looked decidedly displeased with my activity but they finally got in a car and left the neighborhood. Good riddance.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/96b36f6cf3a6636b33be904b8f811078fac4ab5a
全国霊感商法対策弁護士連絡会が会見旧統一教会2世信者の苦悩、政治家との関係が明らかに（日刊ゲンダイDIGITAL） - Yahoo!ニュース
　安倍晋三元首相が8日、奈良市で街頭演説中に銃撃され死亡した事件。逮捕された山上徹也容疑者（41）の母親は1998年ごろから、世界平和統一家庭連合（旧統一教会）の正会員で、2002年に自己破産してい

Kirk here with more COVID-19 news. The numbers were up nationally and paricularly in this part of Japan. Nationally, it's been several months since the total for the country was at this level (76,011) or higher. And as you can see in the image, many prefectures in the western part of the country set new records today. The number of new infections in Kumamoto was 2,333.
【国内感染】新型コロナ 23人死亡 7万6011人感染 (12日18:45) | NHK
【NHK】12日はこれまでに全国で76011人の感染が発表されています。全国の感染者の発表が7万人を超えるのは、ことし3月3日以来…

William I've only met my neurologist a few times, but when I asked her for some powerful sleeping pills (I've been up 24/7 since my wife's been absent with cancer), the nurse came through. I then made my way home in an hour fine, and have zero memory of the subsequent six hours - the first sleep I'd had in three days! Clearly, this is a temporary thing until things calm down, but, wow, if you're in need of a good sleep but can't seem to get it, this is very beneficial. Living abroad, being in an international marriage, being separated from one's homeland may quickly lead to psychiatric or psychological issues. Though we are obviously not medical professionals, we can point you to where help is available 24 hours a day. PM any of us, any time. You are not alone.

Kirk here. I hope I can be forgiven for writing about something that pertains to Japan as a whole and is only relevant to Kumamoto in the sense that Kumamoto is part of Japan. I'll try to keep such deviations from the main theme of this page to a minimum.
Last night on NHK and on TBS (and I assume on other major networks as well) anouncers explained that Abe's assassin was angry about Abe's alledged involvement with a "religious organization" (宗教団体) but did not name the organization. Today I looked at the Asahi Shimbun (Japaneses version) but their converage was the same -- mentioining some religious organization but not giving the name of the cult and not explaining whether or not Abe actually had any connection to it. In fact, at least one TV report said that police were claiming that the connection to the religious organization with something that the assailant "imagined" (思い込み). I just searched and such an explanation came up write away:
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/aa21d4a85c2a5a2afb03e11ce0e667c036bf45f2
"奈良県警は山上容疑者が、安倍氏はこの団体に近いと思い込み、一方的に強い殺意を抱いていた疑いが強いとみて詳細な動機を調べている。"
This, however, is extremely misleading. In fact, as a bit of searching on the internet quickly reveals, the "religious organization" is the Unified Church (so-called "Moonies"; 統一教会) and Abe's connection to it is far from "imagined."
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-tetsuya-yamagami-japan-prime-minister-shinzo-abe/
New details emerge about the man who assassinated former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe
---- start quote ----
There are also ties between both Mr. Abe and the LDP and the Unification Church, which quickly became a trending topic on Japanese social media Saturday. Many commenters resurfaced clips of a speech Mr. Abe gave at an event organized by the group last year, alongside former U.S. President Donald Trump and Cambodian leader Hun Sen.
Now officially known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, the church was founded by South Korean pastor Sun Myung Moon in 1954 and is known for cultivating ties with conservative politicians around the world. The group has had links to the LDP dating back decades, including to Mr. Abe’s father, former Japanese foreign minister Shintaro Abe.
---- end quote ----
Of course, I am appalled by the horrific murder and do not, by any means, wish to suggest that there was good reason for the attack. In addition, I can understand avoiding the publication of the attacker's complaint against Abe and thereby doing his bidding and also encouraging others to undertake henious crimes to publicize their grievances. But, at the same time, I have serious reservations about keeping the public in the dark -- or even seriously misleading the public with words like "imagined" -- about what has actually transpired.
One more point is that the self-censorship that concerns me seems to have started long before the attack. So, I think it's difficult to justify it only as a response to a horrific murder. It would seem that refraining from discussing Abe's connection to the Moonies is a long-standing policy -- not merely a response to extreme circumstances.
Any thoughts?
New details emerge about the man who assassinated former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe
Tetsuya Yamagami shot and killed Shinzo Abe with a homemade gun while the politician was giving a speech in Nara. He told police he had also hoped to kill a leader in an unnamed religious group

William When it comes to sports, Kumamoto is the perennial runner-up: SO close, but do you remember? (It took our most famous athlete, Shizo Kanekure, 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes, and 20 seconds to complete his marathon.) And who was victorious when Satsuma and Edo trampled? - actually, we didn't care: it was planting season. The whole "The Last Samurai" stuff happened HERE (look up Tabaruzaka: https://tinyurl.com/ycxb7uvu). We didn't even get a credit.
But one thing we do have is Fujisakidai Baseball Stadium. Built on what was Kato Shrine until things got all nationalistic and the shrine was moved closer to the castle, the stadium has (in my opinion) the best ambience of any in the world: It retains its 300-year old camphor trees (apparently, Kato Kiyomasa was fond of them as their leaves provided food for horses and their wood fuel - this is why Kumamoto Castle is known as the camphor castle - 銀杏城（ぎんなんじょ).
Even if you abhor baseball (as I do) and have no interest in high school sports (as I don't), you might want to drop by for a game, if not just for the history. Admire the camphor trees so carefully let be around the perimeter.
Update: Our friend Michael Rupp has noted that camphor are kusunoki (the Totoro tree) and ginkgo biloba are ginnan (the ones that turn yellow on Gakuen Dai and at the Kencho).

Kirk here with a belated bit of information about the new subvariant behind the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. If you'd like to hear an audio report on what makes the BA.5 strain different, check out the NPR link:
https://www.npr.org/2022/07/08/1110577348/a-new-covid-subvariant-is-now-dominant-in-the-u-s-heres-what-you-need-to-know
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14658353
P.S. Here's a more recent article about the situation in Japan:
BA.5 Omicron to Be Dominant Strain in Japan by End-July
https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2022070800844/
BA.5 subvariant leads resurgence in new COVID-19 cases in Japan | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
Novel coronavirus infections have continued to increase around Japan since health protocols were eased, a resurgence that prompted the Tokyo metropolitan government to raise its alert level for the spread of the virus.

William While not exactly located in Kumamoto, Nagasaki has sent some heavy stuff our way, mostly thanks to the Unzen volcano. In 1792, the mountain collapsed, creating a "bathtub effect" in which tidal waves bounced between the two coasts. It has been estimated as one of the deadliest tidal waves in history.
It also created a whole lotta islands, and in Japanese, a "whole lotta" goes up to 99 (think of the American "These go to 11"). Out of the detritus emerged "Kujuku Shima" - "99 Islands." (That's likely an imprecise figure, but let's stick with 99 - and it's not to be confused with other locations whose island number also deserves the moniker of "99".)
If you're looking for an inexpensive summer vacation, the ferry from Kumamoto New Port to Shimabara (https://www.kyusho-ferry.co.jp/world/index_en.html) is affordable and worth the price in itself. Bring bread for the seagulls and a floatation device such as a raft or Morrey Boogie which you hopefully won't need until you get there.

Kirk here with a quote from a news article from 1994:
"A suspected right-wing extremist fired a shot yards away from former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa yesterday in apparent protest over Mr. Hosokowa's open apologies for Japan's actions in World War II."
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1994-05-31-1994151053-story.html
I was reminded of the attempted assassination (?) of former Prime Minister Hosokawa, a man with deep, deep roots in Kumamoto, while watching TV coverage of today's horrifying assassination of former Primer Minister Abe. All in all, Japan is a pretty safe country but, at the same time, it is also true that there's a history of attacks on politicians and journalists. :(

William "Nihon Ichi" (日本一 - "Best in Japan") is something you'll come across often here, from kittens to cabbages. But one where you won't go wrong is what's colloquially known as "3333 Steps" (it's more; I've counted). Built in 1988 to access the Misakain Temple, the granite of pain is formally known as "shakainmisakayūhodō" (釈迦院御坂遊歩道), and you can't really say you're from Kumamoto until you've climbed it. (I left my sunglasses at the temple once so did it twice in one day.)
Kumanichi reports that a former bank employee, Yasuhiro Kukita, likely obsessed with numbers, has achieved the "climbing" 7777 times at the age of 77 on July 7 (which is 7/7).
If you've time and knees, don't miss the view: Ariake Sea and Yatsushiro Sea simultaneously.

William Volcanoes fall into that bucketlist "iffy" category: on one hand, wouldn't it be cool to climb one? - but on the other, dying in pyroclastic flow, akin to jumping into a pool filled with lighted charcoal, would be unpleasant. (I've climbed both Unzen and Sakurajima - seems that timing, totally out of one's control, is key.)
Unzen is in the news due to a movie regarding two volcanologists who died while doing what volcanologists do. Called "Fire of Love," its title is as ill-chosen as that pair's decision to venture up that day. Japan Today has a writeup: https://japantoday.com/category/entertainment/a-celebrity-volcanologist-couple-who-died-in-japan-spotlighted-in-new-documentary
Unzen was created by graben crustal faulting. Push the flesh of your forearm together to see how this works: the middle creates a valley while the edges create ridges. Debris blocks magma from the valley, causing the magma to emerge on either side. The result is Ariake Sea flanked with volcanoes (let's not forget that Kimpo is DORMANT, not extinct).
Volcano nerds might enjoy this study: https://earth-planets-space.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40623-016-0550-x

Kirk hee with some "insights" about the kinds of posts that get big responses on this page:
Posts having to do with springs, mountains and volcanos have all gotten all over 1,000 pairs of eyeballs recently, significantly above average for this page. And, as you can see, such posts also have higher than average "engagement" (clicking, sharing, commenting, etc.).
Conversely, anything about a spike in COVID-19 infections is decidedly on the unpopular end of the spectrum. After more that two years, I think we are all getting rather tired of this whole COVID thing, yours truly included.
One more "insight" (i.e. Facebook statistic): The page seems to have passed the 4,700 likes milestone recently. "My how you've grown! I remember when you were just a little guy." ;). Thanks to everyone (editors and readers) for participating!