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2017-05-06 15:10 JST 2017
Kumamoto's Kikuchi Gorge shines like an emerald on Greenery Day - The Mainichi
KIKUCHI, Kumamoto -- With the national holiday Greenery Day falling on May 4, it is worth noting the stunning verdant beauty of Kikuchi Gorge, located here.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170504/p2a/00m/0na/00 …
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Around this time …

  • 2017-05-14 00:41 JSTThis is a Kumanichi (the local Japanese newspaper) article about a British dentist named David Fujiwara who visited master sword smith Matsunaga Genrokuro in northern Kumamoto. I have had the pleasure of visiting Matsuaga-sensei's home to learn about sword making and swordsmanship and know many non-Japanese who have studied with him quite regularly and intensively. Through his openness to non-Japanese pupils and other activities, Matsunaga-sensei is continuing to make an important contribution to international understanding and the promotion of traditional Japanese culture.
    -- Kirk
    P.S. For more information in English go to
    http://www.matsunaga-sword.org/about.html
    英国サムライ「真剣」修行　荒尾市　７年ぶり技磨く - 熊本日日新聞
  • 2017-05-11 23:47 JSTThe other day, NHK did a major story about this hospital in Kumamoto. After ten years, it remains unique. The NHK program mentioned, as this article does, that efforts to established a second such baby hatch failed because no doctor could be found to take on the role that Dr. Hasuda plays here. He's truly a special person. -- Kirk
    http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/05/09/national/social-issues/kumamoto-baby-hatch-accepted-125-babies-nine-years-since-launch/#.WRR3mVKB1uU
    Kumamoto 'baby hatch' accepted 125 babies over nine years since launch | The Japan Times
  • 2017-05-11 22:22 JSTAt 8:25 this evening we had a magnitude 4.3 quake that was Level 4 on the Japanese scale in Minami-ku (South Ward) of Kumamoto City. To me (in Chuo-ku), it felt like it was approaching from fairly far away and rumbled for several seconds before settling down.
    -- Kirk
    http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/6/20170511202535495-112021.html
  • 2017-05-08 22:43 JSTThis article came out several weeks ago but I seem to have neglected to share it. One thing I learned from it is that there's a law that "stipulates that temporary housing can only be used for up to two years." With thousands of people still in temporary housing, a lot of progress needs to be made in the next year. -- Kirk
    http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/04/13/national/caught-off-guard-deadly-quakes-kumamoto-still-learning-lessons-one-year/
    Caught off guard by deadly quakes, Kumamoto still learning lessons one year on | The Japan Times
  • 2017-05-07 16:07 JSTThe image is from a Japanese article predicting kosa (黄砂; yellow sand) being blown in from China today:
    https://weathernews.jp/s/topics/201705/060105/
    The article warns about sand in this area tomorrow and says that visibility was reduced here this morning.
    The yellow sand particles tend to be a problem this time of year but sandy days become very rare after the rains begin to wash the particles from the atmosphere in June:
    http://www.data.jma.go.jp/gmd/env/kosahp/kosa_table_1.html
    -- Kirk
    https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170507/p2g/00m/0dm/033000c
  • 2017-05-06 15:10 JSTKumamoto's Kikuchi Gorge shines like an emerald on Greenery … (this post)
  • 2017-05-06 07:07 JSTThe article says that a "total of 2,282 people in Kumamoto and the neighboring prefecture of Kagoshima have been officially recognized as sufferers of the disease." The number of certified patients, however, is far lower than the number of people affected. That number is more difficult to calculate (the definition of "affected" can be debated) but one interesting indication of the scale of the disaster is that, between May of 2010 and July 31 of 2012 over 45,000 people (45,933 to be exact) applied for compensation for health effects they had suffered:
    http://www.minamata195651.jp/pdf/kyoukun_2015/kyoukun2015_07.pdf
    The huge discrepancy between the official certification numbers and the numbers of people who have applied for some kind of compensation is indicative of governmental and corporate collusion in the artificially suppression of the numbers of people who could become certified. (There is ample historical documentation of this collusion, by the way.) Given this history, I think it is irresponsible of journalists to merely report the number of officially certified patients without reminding readers that those people are arguably less than 10% of the actual total number of people who have been adversely affected.
    -- Kirk
    http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/05/02/national/social-issues/kumamoto-marks-61st-anniversary-since-minamata-disease-recognized/
    Kumamoto marks 61st anniversary since Minamata disease was recognized | The Japan Times
  • 2017-05-05 17:43 JSTKumamoto is a major producer of igusa, the material used in the production of tatami. It's not normally considered to be a food. The idea of making edible, tatami-flavored chopsticks seems wacky enough to be an April fools joke, but this seems to be legit, at least as far as I can see. The YouTube video in the announcement even has English subtitles.
    -- Kirk
    http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kumamoto-japan-develops-worlds-first-tatami-flavored-edible-chopstick-made-out-of-igsa-rush-grass-300449209.html
    Kumamoto, Japan, Develops World's First "Tatami-flavored" Edible Chopstick Made out of "IGSA" Rush Grass
  • 2017-05-05 14:22 JSTI think it's great that this little art museum in southern Kumamoto has been featured in a national publication. If you have a chance, stop by!
    Here's an English page that includes a Google map:
    http://japanese-museum.com/tsunagi-art-museum-kumamoto/
    -- Kirk
    http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2017/05/02/arts/openings-outside-tokyo/amigo-koike-exhibition-higashi-nihon-kumamoto-still-3-11-2011/
    'Amigo Koike Exhibition: From Higashi-Nihon to Kumamoto — Still 3.11 2011' | The Japan Times
  • 2017-05-05 12:47 JST"There was an earthquake in Kumamoto in 744, according to 'Shoku Nihongi' [an official chronicle mainly of the Nara period (710-784)]. The chronicle says, 'In Yatsushiro and Amakusa, more than 470 houses and more than 1,520 people were swept into the water and sank. Landslides could be seen at over 280 locations, which crushed to death more than 40 people.' It seems the Yatsushiro coastal area was damaged by tsunami and cracks in the ground."
    This lengthy article includes extended comments by Earthquake archaeologist Akira Sangawa, haiku poet Yuko Masaki, and Kazufumi Onishi, Kumamoto City Mayor. -- Kirk
    http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0003652981
    Thoughts 1 year after Kumamoto Earthquake
  • 2017-05-05 00:10 JSTThe earthquake we had in the afternoon was a Level 4 in Misato. The magnitude was 4.1. See
    http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/6/740/20170504142600495-041422.html
    for details. -- Kirk
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