Coming to the Contemporary Art Museum . . . -- Kirk
2018-12-22 11:00 JST 2018 Coming to the Contemporary Art Museum . . . -- Kirk Takashi Murakami Explores Traditional Japanese Art Movements in "Bubblewrap" ShowPractices that spurred his 'Superflat' practice. https://hypebeast.com/2018/12/takashi-murakami-bubblewrap-co … ↗ View original post on Facebook For a link to the original post on Facebook, open this page on a computer. Reactions: 7 · Comments: 0 · Shares: 1 ← 2018-12-22 07:54 JST 2018-12-22 14:25 JST → Around this time … 2018-12-24 13:14 JSTKirk Here. I'd like to follow up on William's post about the recent tsunami in Indonesia. I saw a TV report that emphasized the fact that the tsunami in Indonesia was not preceded by an earthquake. It was hypothesized that the event may have been caused by a collapse of a flank of Krakatau, as happened in Kumamoto in 1792. Here's a Wikipedia description of that event:"The 1792 Unzen earthquake and tsunami resulted from the volcanic activities of Mount Unzen (in the Shimabara Peninsula of Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan) on 21 May. This caused the collapse of the southern flank of the Mayuyama dome in front of Mount Unzen, resulting in a tremendous tsunami, killing 15,000 people altogether. It was also called Shimabara erupted, Higo affected (島原大変肥後迷惑), (Shimabara means the central mountain of the Shimabara Peninsula) since many people were killed by this tsunami in Higo (Kumamoto Prefecture, situated 20 km away across the Ariake Sea)."Recently, it has become clear that, indeed, the Indonesian tsunami was caused by such a collapse:https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-24/what-caused-the-indonesian-tsunami/10665790https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1792_Unzen_earthquake_and_tsunami1792 Unzen earthquake and tsunami - Wikipedia 2018-12-23 14:03 JSTReports arrive on a tsunami in Indonesia caused by Krakatoa that has left scores dead. I'd recently watched this video of the 1883 eruption which postulated an interesting theory. Most super-volcanoes, such as that which created the Aso caldera, achieve such explosive velocity due to water drawn down by subduction, heated to supercritical temperatures, then flashing into steam when a smaller eruption relieves pressure on the magma chamber. The theory for Krakatoa was that the upper magma chamber was connected to a much deeper one, resulting in a flood of magma from the mantle that blew the island away. The video is worth a look; not just Aso but many other nearby volcanoes are active or dormant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrEIT66oPqU&t=4479sOur thoughts go out to the victims in Indonesia. - WilliamKrakatoa - The Great Volcanic Eruption 2018-12-22 17:51 JSTThe Art Blakey festival happens this Sunday once again at the versatile Navaro live house. It’s an all day event featuring some of Kumamoto’s most popular bands like Do It Science(art/indie rock)to the Spazzmatics(Black Flag influenced Japanese punk). There are also several out of town bands or artists and one of my faves is Marron. Marron hails from Kyoto and plays a mixture of art flavored King Crimson progressive rock to Santana Latin flavored grooves.I gotta work all day and so I will miss this event. By the way the Acid Mothers were pretty good but I could hardly enjoy them because I messed up leg(Bonenkai shenanigans)!http://navaro.info/home/schedule/1223sun-art-blakey-fes/ Jay Onyskin今後の イベント – 12/23(SUN) ” Art Blakey Fes 2018 “ – NAVARO 2018-12-22 17:23 JSTKumamoto Zoo has reopened most of its animals’ exhibits.Here is picture of Japanese Racoon dog (ホンドタヌキ)-Olivia- 2018-12-22 14:25 JSTJapanese for whatever reason love running; they also love team sports. Thus, the "ekiden" - a long-distance relay - was invented. Premier is the Hakone Ekiden (箱根駅伝), a two-day race from Tokyo to Hakone in Kanagawa and back whose teams consist of university students of five legs each held on 1/2 and 1/3. It is broadcast in its entirety, so prepare your kotatsu and mikan.The race was founded in 1920 by man named Kanakuri Shizo (金栗 四三 ), born in 1891 in Nagomi, a village in northern Kumamoto, but who is often associated with Tamana, where he attended school. He is best known as the Father of the Japanese Marathon (日本マラソンの父, as seen in the photo below), and he has a fascinating story.Having set a marathon world record of 2:32:45, Kanakuri was selected as one of the only two athletes that Japan could afford to send to the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. His journey, requiring a ferry and the trans-Siberian railroad, left him so exhausted that he dropped out of his race, being cared for by a farming family before returning to Japan without notifying race officials due to embarrassment. However, in 1967, he was contacted by Swedish Television and offered the opportunity to complete his run. He accepted and completed the marathon in 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes and 20.3 seconds, which remains the longest marathon time in history. Kanakuri remarked, "It was a long trip. Along the way, I got married, had six children and 10 grandchildren." His story is a lesson of eternal persistence.The popular NHK program held from 8:00 PM Sundays, "Taiga Drama", will take up his story from January, and in celebration, Kumamoto has emblazoned his figure on the free shuttle busses which circle the castle. And if you want to impress your Japanese friends, remind them that the "KK" of "KK Wing" stands for "KanaKuri."- William金栗大河ドラマに合わせラッピングバス 来月１２日から無料で - 熊本日日新聞 ｜ This kiji is 2018-12-22 11:00 JSTComing to the Contemporary Art Museum . . .Takashi Murakami Explores Traditional Japanese Art Movements in "Bubblewrap" Show (this post) 2018-12-22 07:54 JSTWelcome to the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year! The good news is that daylight will from now extend (tomorrow's daylight will be two seconds longer than today's - not a lot, but you take what you can get); the bad news is the extension will initially accumulate in the evening, leaving mornings dark and frigid. And it will get colder. But we've turned a corner. - WilliamSun & moon times today, Kumamoto, Japan 2018-12-21 15:51 JSTA student of mine brought this year-old news to my attention. Some 80% of Japanese igusa (the rush used to make tatami) is grown in Yatsushiro. However, a combination of igusa imports from China and a drop in demand for tatami as Japanese increasingly opt for wooden floors has put local growers on the mat, so to say.A growing option is alternative uses for the grass. One some entrepreneurial locals baked up is edible chopsticks. Apparently, they're crunchy and make a good dessert. Mainichi has more, including ordering info for those behind on Christmas shopping. - WilliamDone with dinner? Have your chopsticks for dessert - The Mainichi 2018-12-21 07:15 JSTI've been catching up on news recently and realized, belatedly, that the Dalai Lama was in Kyushu. Sorry I couldn't give you a heads up in advance:"The Dalai Lama will perform a religious ceremony Thursday in the southwestern Japan city of Fukuoka for the victims of a deadly earthquake that hit Kumamoto in 2016 and this year's series of deadly natural disasters in western and northern Japan."-- KirkDalai Lama urges China's "approach that corresponds to reality" over Tibet issues 2018-12-20 22:17 JSTKumamoto has an unfortunate history of false convictions for murder. The first, and most famous, to be reversed was the death sentence of MENDA Sakae. Details about Mr. Menda's case can be found at:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakae_MendaMr. Menda is still alive and I think he is living in Omuta City, just north of Kumamoto Prefecture. Here's the address of a lengthy article in The Indepedent about his ordeal:https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/i-spent-34-years-on-japans-death-row-1787340.htmlI'm glad that Mr. Miyata (pictured) is likely to be exonerated, though it has taken far to long to get to this point.-- Kirkhttp://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201812200053.htmlCourt expected to acquit man who served 13 years for murder：The Asahi Shimbun 2018-12-20 19:18 JSTJoe Tomei here, I'd like to pass this on to the list, it is a workshop on performance/improvisation for teaching. It will be conducted in Japanese, but there are a number of people whose Japanese is good enough and I think that it would be great for improving your Japanese as well as getting to know some of the Japanese teachers of English in town. If you do go, please feel free to share a report here.
