As the article explains, this international event is slated for November, 2019. -- KIrk
2017-12-30 20:55 JST 2017 As the article explains, this international event is slated for November, 2019. -- KIrk Promoting Kumamoto with Handball - NHK WORLDPeople in Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture are excited about hosting a major international sports event two years from now. They see the World Women's Handball Championship as a great way to promote the region. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/editors/6/promotingk … 📅 Event details Event:International eventDate:2019-11-01 ↗ View original post on Facebook For a link to the original post on Facebook, open this page on a computer. Reactions: 1 · Comments: 0 · Shares: 0 ← 2017-12-30 18:30 JST 2017-12-30 23:18 JST → Around this time … 2017-12-31 18:53 JSTIt may not be entirely appropriate to use this old "editor wanted" post to write a thank you note to everyone who has helped with the editing of the page this year, but I'd like to combine a "thank you" post with an invitation to join the team.I started the "Kumamoto-i" mailing list about 18 years ago and then moved to Facebook more-or-less as my own pet project, though I got lots of help at each stage along then way. I'm very happy that many thoughtful and talented writers have come on board to help with the care and feeding of the page and that, in the process, the page has become less of my own pet project and more of a community forum. I am particularly grateful for the posts of other editors during periods in December when I was preoccupied with other matters and unable to post myself. Many people have posted thoughtful, interesting, and well-written posts during the past year but I'd like to thank William in particular for all of the energy he has put into the care and feeding of the page. There are many others I would like to thank as well but I'm afraid that if I try to name everyone I'll forget one or two and I don't want anyone to feel slighted or left out. Please know, though, that I appreciate each and every contribution.One regret I have is that there were a couple of instances when I received requests to help publicize events, etc. but I failed to do anything in time. I'd like to apologize for all such failures and invite people who would like to utilize the page to promote their own projects to come on board as editors. You won't be asked to post regularly but the capability to post will mean that, when the time comes to get the word out about something, you won't need to wait for me to help you get the word out.Thanks and best wishes for a happy 2018!-- Kirk 2017-12-31 14:05 JSTIf you've any length of experience in Kumamoto, you've seen Aramoto-san (新本さん). As a baker, he bakes a lot, but unlike others of his profession, he then gets on his bicycle to hawk his muffins all around town. He's 62 now and has been doing this for 30 years. If you see him pass by, a wave and a smile will be promptly returned. Better, stop him and buy a muffin.He was recently portrayed on NHK. It's a tear-jerker of a video, so please watch. - Williamペダルを踏んで届ける元気~熊本 自転車販売のケーキ職人~【Human】 2017-12-31 12:00 JSTBest wishes for a happy and prosperous Year of the Dog (inudoshi, 戌年) to all of our Kumamoto International friends. 2017-12-30 23:18 JSTBreaking news! Editor William's whippet receives a Kumamon blanket from his daughter (William's, not the dog's) and appears not displeased. 2017-12-31 06:47 JSTHere's another way to enjoy the castle:https://en.rocketnews24.com/2017/12/17/miniature-kumamoto-castle-exhibition-lets-you-marvel-at-its-remarkable-architecture-up-close/-- KirkMiniature Kumamoto Castle exhibition lets you marvel at its remarkable architecture up close 2017-12-30 20:55 JSTAs the article explains, this international event is slated …Promoting Kumamoto with Handball - NHK WORLD (this post) 2017-12-30 18:30 JSTHere's some information that was sent to Kumamoto International by Olivia Saputra. Thanks Olivia! -- Copied and pasted by Kirk--- begin quote ---Hello Kumamoto International 😊My family went to Ashikita area at beginning of this month. It was not as cold as now when we visited there. It was our first time visiting the town, and we loved it.The town offers both beauty of the sea and mountain. There is big park called Otachimisaki Park. And there is an Onsen nearby. We went to view the stars in the night nearby the onsen, but it was cloudy, so we only saw the moon. We didn't check out the inside of the park because my oldest Son was not so interested in checking Parks anymore 😅So we went straight to Luge Park and Playground. The town has English Page, so everyone can check it out. http://www.nihon-kankou.or.jp.e.wp.hp.transer.com/kumamoto/434825/detail/43482cb3282025751Parking entry cost 500 yen, and kids will enjoy Long hours running around and burning their energy in the playground.It will be great to visit here again when the weather gets warmer. I plan to do so 😃I would avoid visiting here during Golden Week though because I heard it is one of the busiest time for them. We drove a bit to Tanoura area for our culinary experience. My family loves Japanese Food and we love to try new dishes. The Michi No Eki at Tanoura city sells Fried Tachiou (LargeHead Hairtail) Set Dish. One should try it out. Their Shirasu Donburi was great too (for Fish Fan). My Husband sticked to Fried Tachiou. He was not a big fan of Shirasu 😃 2017-12-29 21:00 JSTThe Year of the Dog (inu doshi) is rapidly approaching. You'll often see these two kanji to represent the new year:犬 - pronounced "inu" or "ken". This is the most common for actual physical barkey-lickey-take-me-for-a-walk kind of dogs; those who keep dogs will often have a government-issued sticker above their door with this kanji. One theory of its usage is that it's onomatopoeic - that the "ken, ken!" sound dogs make resulted in its adoption. It can be used to represent the zodiac year, but the kanji below is more common.戌 - this kanji is used for both the Asian zodiac and the 9th month of the lunar calendar (October/November in the Gregorian). Apparently, the kanji is a conflation of two axes ("ono", 斧); how it came to mean "dog" is unclear, but perhaps the brush clearing requiring axes conducted in autumn was equated with canines (I'm sure they enjoyed it).Note: A third kanji, 狗, is on occasion seen. It is the most common Chinese kanji for dog. That the two languages did not settle on a single character for such an indispensable animal (as they did for others such as cow 牛, horse 馬, chicken 鶏, fish 魚, etc.) is interesting. - William 2017-12-29 13:50 JSTHere's an update on the "baby-in-city-council" issue. In response to the attention Ms. Ogata's case has focused on the lack of daycare facilities within the Kumamoto City Hall building, Kumamoto City is reported to be planning the establishment of a daycare on the 3rd floor of the Shiyakusho (city hall) building. The Mainichi Shimbun article reports that one factor in the city's decision was over 500 letters / messages that individuals sent to the city after the media began to cover Ms. Ogata's case. Many of those messages called for the establishment of daycare facilities within the city hall building. Moreover, in response to a survey of more than 6000 city employees that was conducted between September and October (that is, before the media frenzy over Ms. Ogata's case), 86% replied that such a facility was needed in the building.This is actually rather old news. The Mainichi article I'm quoting came out on the 16th of December and, since then, many other media outlets have covered this development and its implications for government facilities throughout Japan. Still, I came up empty handed when I searched for news articles in English on the topic via Google. I found the following articles (December 25th and 23rd respectively) but neither mentioned the concrete progress that has resulted from Ms. Ogata's actions:"Baby in assembly" raises controversy in Japanhttps://english.kyodonews.net/news/2017/12/dcb4bb523a75-focus-baby-in-assembly-raises-controversy-in-japan.htmlMen still making houses as women try to leave homehttps://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/12/23/national/media-national/men-still-making-houses-women-try-leave-home/#.WkXCHyOB3_QCome on, English media (Kyodo, Japan Times, etc) -- get your act together. You guys are supposed to be professionals. ;) -- Kirkhttps://mainichi.jp/articles/20171216/k00/00m/010/204000c熊本市:市役所に保育施設設置へ 働き方改革で対応加速 - 毎日新聞 2017-12-29 10:48 JSTEveryone loves kanji. Kirk's post below regarding the documentary on Richard Brezina, 天草の鳥人 ("Birdman of Amakusa"), used a stylized form of "bird" and brought to mind the four recognized stages of kanji development:甲骨 (kōkotsu) - literally "shell/bone," this earliest form was used by shamans to divine the future;金文 (kinbun) - literally "metal character," this dates from the bronze age, when making a mistake on a piece of metal would annoy your boss;小篆 (shyouten) - literally "small engraved," this is a stylized form often used on seals even today;楷書 (kaishyo) - literally "square writing," is the block-style characters currently in use.As an example, the character for "bird" written in 楷書 is 鳥, but in the advertisement is written as 小篆 (which is a font impossible to use on Facebook). Kanji evolution of the word "bird" can be seen in the four characters below. - William 2017-12-29 10:13 JSTMinamata disease (aka mercury poisoning) is normally Kirk's territory, but I'll go ahead and post this, a good primer. I remember a few years ago with my wife in Minamata eating oysters we'd pried off rocks ourselves and suddenly locking eyes: From the sacrifice of these victims comes a better world.Aging Minamata disease victims continue to convey lessons