http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201606150021.html
2016-06-15 22:28 JST 2016 http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201606150021.html Evacuees move to relief housing in hard-hit town in Kumamoto：The Asahi ShimbunKUMAMOTO--In a welcome respite, evacuees in quake-damaged Mashiki began moving into temporary housin https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201606150021.html?utm_i … ↗ View original post on Facebook For a link to the original post on Facebook, open this page on a computer. Reactions: 8 · Comments: 0 · Shares: 7 ← 2016-06-15 14:12 JST 2016-06-16 07:11 JST → Around this time … 2016-06-17 18:08 JSTJoe Tomei here. The brass band of the high school affiliated with KGU (Gakufu) had their concert cancelled because of the earthquake, and it has been rescheduled for tomorrow (Sat) at the Morio Takahashi Hall in building 14 at Kumamoto Gakuen University. Doors open at 1:30 and the concert begins at 2. 2016-06-17 12:46 JSTIida yagura, shown in the photo below, is that five-story turret resting precariously on a single column of cornerstones which has come to symbolize the resilience of Kumamoto following the quakes. The entire structure weighs 35 tons, with that single column bearing the weight of 17 tons. This is clearly untenable, and concerns over continued aftershocks and weather-related effects have added urgency to stabilize the turret.The Kumanichi reports that engineers have devised a plan to stabilize the structure to allow rebuilding of the walls. This will be done by wrapping the entire turret in a steel frame to allow three cantilever beams to be inserted into the foundation of the turret, relieving the weight from the stone walls. Work began on June 10, is expected to finish in July, and will cost about 8 million yen. Upon completion of this work to prevent total collapse, methods for full-scale restoration will be considered.The video at the link shows construction of the foundation for the frame as well as tumbled rocks which have been carefully numbered to allow their proper replacement.http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20160616006.xhtml 2016-06-16 13:06 JSTKato Kiyomasa, considered the founding father of Kumamoto, had a crest called "eye of the snake" ("eye of the tiger" had apparently already been copyrighted by the band Survivor in the 16th C.) http://www.manyou-kumamoto.jp/contents.cfm?id=449 After Tokugawa Ieyasu decided that they were no longer BFF and had Kato mysteriously die, Ieyasu installed Hosokawa Tadatoshi with the promise that he and his successors would play nice (which they did); the Hosokawa crest is similar to the Kato crest, only with more circles. http://www.manyou-kumamoto.jp/contents.cfm?id=457 This is why you will often see black circles as symbols of Kumamoto.This leads us to Kumamon. His creator, Mizuno Manubu, and producer, Oyama Kundo, have collaborated to produce a new image to aid in the reconstruction of Kumamoto. The image shows Kumamon holding a flag with markings that resemble both his face and the crests of Kato and Hosokawa and the phrases "Ganbaruken! Kumamoto Ken!" - a play on words, with the first "ken" a Higo dialect exclamatory term and the second referring to Kumamoto Prefecture (ha ha! clever!). Its use for commercial activities can be licensed from the city government. - Williamhttp://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20160615007.xhtml復興へ旗振るくまモン 県がシンボルマーク作成－熊本のニュース│ くまにちコム 2016-06-17 07:20 JSTWilliam wrote about this last night. Here's an article about Kumamon's new flag from the Asahi Shimbun:http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201606160058.htmlFlag-toting mascot bear symbol of hope in Kumamoto：The Asahi Shimbun 2016-06-16 07:11 JSTLessons in managing disasters from Kumamoto 2016-06-15 22:28 JSTEvacuees move to relief housing in hard-hit town in … (this post) 2016-06-15 14:12 JSTWhat to do about Route 57 through the Tateno Gap? The road has been closed since massive landslides did what they do, and the guys in charge seem to have determined that recreating a four-lane road in that area would be inviting more disaster, given the propensity of the slope to slough off into the river below.Instead, as the Kumanich reports, a proposal has been floated to create a new road originating near the Milk Road entrance that would bypass the gap altogether. This would require creating several kilometers of tunnels, so it is not going to happen soon. However, various entities have come together to investigate possibilities. A map is at the link. - Williamhttp://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20160614008.xhtml国道５７号迂回ルート整備へ 大津町から阿蘇市－熊本のニュース│ くまにちコム 2016-06-15 07:33 JSTTemporary housing units opening for Mashiki's … 2016-06-14 23:04 JSTTonight, on the two-month anniversary of the 4/14 foreshock, I thought I would repost what I had written immediately after, sitting on my sofa with my life rattling around me and my dog in a panic. I have seldom been so wrong (hey - 猿も木から落ちる, as they say). Otsukaresama to all who have ridden out these tough two months. - WilliamIf you live in Kumamoto, you probably noticed an earthquake. In fact, you're probably aware of the aftershocks now. DO NOT BE ALARMED. Kumamoto's techtonics are dominated by the Futagawa fault, which has a theoretical maximum magnitide of 7 - which means it couldn't get much worse. We'll ride this out. There will be aftershocks, but it will not get worse. http://www.jishin.go.jp/…/katsudan…/f093_futagawa_hinagu.htmページが見つかりませんでした | 地震本部 2016-06-14 21:35 JSTSakura Machi - the area encompassing Kotsu Center - is under massive redevelopment, and apparently some are not enamored with how the project is proceeding. Kumanichi reports that workers found seven gun shell casings within the grounds of their two-story prefabricated headquarters at 8:00 AM on 6/14 and sensibly called police, who subsequently determined from holes in walls and broken windows in the prefab itself that they were not dropped there by accident (six hits were found vs. seven shell casings, leading to the question: how do you miss a two-story prefab?!). The prefab was unoccupied during the incident, so no one was injured, and the dismantling of Kotsu Center and the attached department store is expected to proceed as planned.It's a shame the yaks would assault Kumamoto companies at any time, but particularly now, on the second-month anniversary of the foreshock.http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20160614005.xhtml桜町のビル解体現場に銃弾６発 熊本市－熊本のニュース│ くまにちコム 2016-06-14 18:27 JSTLike Kumamoto Castle, the Shirakawa Komine Castle of Fukushima suffered serious damage to its stone walls after the 2011 quake."Shirakawa Komine Castle suffered serious damage in the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and for a long while it was closed to the public due to restoration efforts, but from 2015, it was reopened. However, as of July 2015, it was still undergoing partial construction."http://planetyze.com/en/japan/fukushima/shirakawa-komine-castleRecently, on a local news show, I saw a report about the mayor of Shirakawa City visiting Kumamoto to offer support and advice. On the TV show I heard that the visiting mayor had recommended that the restoration process be made open to the public to the extent possible. This struck me as a great idea because the restoration process seems likely to take a very long time. Making the restoration itself something that visitors (and residents) can learn about and observe may give people a new reason to visit the castle area until the work is done.Unfortunately, though, I couldn't find an article documenting this, even in Japanese. I did, however, find this Japanese article about a group of experts recommending an open restoration process:http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/kyushu/news/20160606-OYS1T50026.htmlThe article says that the experts pointed to the example of the construction of Gaudí's Sagrada Família in Spain. Though the project is yet to be concluded tourists can observe and learn about the construction process when they visit.One more Japanese article I found is about how the mayor of Shirakawa promised to send restoration experts (with experience working on Shirakawa Komine Castle) if requested:http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20160610-00000032-fminpo-l07My impression was that Kumamoto's Mayor Onishi was in favor of the idea of a restoration process that is open to the public, at least partially. I hope it gets underway soon.-- KirkShirakawa Komine Castle - Fukushima Travel Guide | Planetyze
