2021-06-15 13:30 JST 2021 ↗ View original post on Facebook For a link to the original post on Facebook, open this page on a computer. Reactions: 38 · Comments: 8 · Shares: 5 ← 2021-06-15 00:28 JST 2021-06-15 18:25 JST → Around this time … 2021-06-18 19:48 JSTThe Azuchi-Momyama period (安土桃山時代, 1568 to 1600) was not so much a "period" as the final phase of the Sengoku period (戦国時代, 1467 to 1615), as Oda Nobunaga entered Kyoto in 1568 and Tokugawa clinched victory at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, establishing the Tokugawa Shogunate and beginning the Edo period. Ruins of a 16th c. castle in Kosa Machi (甲佐, which literally means "armored support") Jinnochijyouato「陣ノ内城跡［じんのうちじょうあと］ have been nominated as a National Historic Site. I can't imagine how Kosa would have figured into the fighting far north; perhaps I'll look into it. Kosa is a lovely, often overlooked town. I'll write more about it later. Let's hope this brings more tourists to their oft-overlooked town, a gateway to central Kyushu; it will certainly bring me. - William https://kumanichi.com/articles/277160 2021-06-17 21:01 JSTOn the 7th (Monday of last week), it seems that a sun halo was visible in Kumamoto and other parts of Kyushu. I didn't see it but saw something about it on a news program I had recorded and wound up looking at today. A halo is "the name for a family of optical phenomena produced by light (typically from the Sun or Moon) interacting with ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere." Even in the summer, I guess that very high (and thin) clouds can produce this kind of effect. -- Kirk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_(optical_phenomenon)P.S. The photo is from the following page:http://weathernews.jp/s/curation/detail.html?cuid=202106070055 2021-06-17 18:57 JSTJoe Tomei here. The 2021 Spring YOKA, a publication of Kumamoto JET program participants is available athttps://kumamotojet.com/documents/YOKAs/2021SpringYOKA.pdfBack issues are herehttps://kumamotojet.com/reiwa/category/yoka/Thanks to Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland for allowing me to share it here. 2021-06-17 17:13 JSTLooking up the English translation of 晩白柚 (banpeiyu), I came up with "Citrus maxima" and "Citrus grandis." I suppose either would do if viewed from the outside, but once peeled, it's no bigger than a grapefruit. A farmer in Yatsushiro came up with a 5.4-kilogram (about 12 pounds) maximus Citrus maxima. Without the rind, though, it's probably a pound. - William重さ５キロ超、バンペイユがギネス認定 熊本県八代市の前田さん栽培 ｜ 熊本日日新聞 2021-06-15 18:25 JSTWhen I go for quick errands during rainy season, I often go barefoot (裸足, hadashi). Part of it is cultural - Californians regard bare feet as a sacred right - but part of it is practical: it's much easier to dry off bare feet than to dry off shoes. Those who notice look at me strangely as if I weren't wearing pants, which have an entirely different function. What is your opinion about going barefoot in Japan? - William 2021-06-15 13:30 JSTPost (this post) 2021-06-15 00:28 JSTWeb spiders are good at what's call "ballooning," in which they allow gusts of wind to send the aloft in the hope of meeting mates elsewhere. Apparently, they can reach the stratosphere and return to earth, saying, "'Sup, dude?" on a different continent. But hunting spiders are not capable of this. Long ago, they had to walk, but human transportation has given them a, uh, lift? The black widow spider, a hybrid of web and hunting spiders, is know for hitchhiking its way from its native Australian to various locations via lumber trade. They are known for their hourglass-shaped abdomen and for residing in dark, dank places. My grandfather, a famous etymologist, had one bite him once and had to be hospitalized (that's how they studied spider toxicity in the day). Apparently, they've shown up in Kumamoto. If you see any spider that looks like this, call the authorities. - William https://kumanichi.com/articles/271471 2021-06-13 23:11 JSTI haven't been there for a long time but I'm fairly sure this is Dazaifu Tenmangu (太宰府天満宮), a Shinto shrine in Fukuoka. Every time I visited in the past, I remember lots of people being there. The weather is nice and the shrine looks beautiful in this little smartphone video but the area is eerily empty, presumedly because of the pandemic. -- KIrk https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=822159455078028&ref=watch_permalink 2021-06-13 17:06 JSTHere's something that came to me via a friend on Facebook. It's about a free, online event on the topic of career opportunities for foreigners in the regional tourism industry. Be aware, though, that everything will be in Japanese. -- Kirk P.S. Here's the link represented by the QR code on the left. A link to the form (the QR code on the right) is in that page.https://minamioguni.jp/archives/206751 2021-06-13 12:10 JSTKirk here, sharing some information regarding how to interpret evacuation warnings. This came to me via the K-SAFE e-mail newsletter, which is put out by the Kumamoto City International Foundation. Here's a URL with the entire newsletter (which includes other topics):https://secnet.kumamoto-net.ne.jp/frms/MailHaishinNaiyous?lang=en&hfDsp=OFFThis page also links to information about how to sign up for the e-mail messages.By the way, please note that the good people at the International Foundation have honored our request (well, my request, endorsed by many readers of this page) to add the original Japanese text to such messages. I'd like to express my appreciation to them once again. For some background information regarding the request for the inclusion of Japanese text in such messages please see:https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/5418368704903184OK, here's the evacuation information from the International Foundatioin:==================【Evacuation Information】 The rainy season has set in. During this season, it rains heavily and sometimes, storm surges and rainstorms may hit the suburbs in Japan. To prepare for these natural disasters, evacuation information that divided the alert levels into five is issued by the municipality. The new evacuation information system was introduced on May 20th. The evacuation information is 1 to 5 in order of low risk. ・Alert level １ Early advisory: You must pay attention to information on weather and natural disasters that may happen. ・Alert level ２ Heavy rain, flood, storm surge advisories You must check where and how to evacuate.・Alert level３ Evacuation of the elderly:Elderly people, those who are disabled, and those who need some time to evacuate must start evacuating. Everyone should start preparing for shelter, and evacuate from where you are now without hesitation when you feel any danger.・Alert level ４ Evacuation order:Everyone must finish evacuating. ・Alert level ５ Ensuring your safety:A life-threatening disaster is coming. You must ensure your safety.Alert level 5 is a level when you are already in danger and it is too dangerous to take shelter in the evacuation center. You must finish sheltering by the announcement of alert level 4. There are four places to evacuate as follows. 1、 Shelters that are designated by the municipality, for example, school or community center. 2、 Houses of relatives or your friends which are located in the safe place. （Please check the hazard map and discuss it with them.）3、 Hotels in the safe place（Please check the hazard map and make a reservation in advance. You will be charged）4、 Ensuring safety in your house If the hazard map says your house is in the safe area, you can evacuate in your house. Please pay attention to information on the natural disaster and decide where to shelter in advance.【避難情報について】 梅雨の季節は雨が多く、これから夏にかけて日本近郊では台風による高潮や暴風雨に襲われることもあります。このような災害に備えて市区町村から警戒レベルを５段階に分けた避難情報が出されます。その災害情報が5月20日から新しくなりました。避難情報は、危険度が低い順に警戒レベル１～５となっており、それぞれの対応は下記のとおりになります。・警戒レベル１ 早期注意情報 これから先の気象情報、災害情報に気を付ける。・警戒レベル２ 大雨・洪水・高潮注意報 避難場所、避難方法を確認する。・警戒レベル３ 高齢者等避難 避難に時間がかかる高齢者や障がいのある人は避難する。その他の人も避難の準備を始めて、危険を感じたら避難する。・警戒レベル４ 避難指示 みんな避難する。・警戒レベル５ 緊急安全確保 命の危機、直ちに安全を確保する。警戒レベル５ではすでに安全な避難ができず、命が危険な状況です。警戒レベル４の発令までに避難を行ってください。避難には下記の４つの方法があります。１、 行政が指定した避難場所への避難（学校や公民館等）２、 安全な親戚や知人宅への避難（ハザードマップで安全を確認し、普段から避難することを相談しておいてください。）３、 安全なホテルや旅館への避難（ハザードマップで安全を確認し、事前に予約をしましょう。料金が発生します。）４、 屋内安全確保 ハザードマップで安全が確認できれば、自宅の中でも避難することができます。災害情報に注意して、普段から避難先を確認しておいてください。 2021-06-13 11:46 JSTKirk here with a COVID-19 update from the Asahi Shimbun:"At a news conference on June 10, Kumamoto Governor Ikuo Kabashima announced his plan to ask only eating and drinking establishments that serve alcohol in Kumamoto city to close by 9 p.m. until June 30. Those establishments have been asked to close by 8 p.m.The prefectural government will stop asking restaurants and bars in Kumamoto city to refrain from serving alcohol and cancel the request for those in the prefecture, except Kumamoto city, to close by 9 p.m. after the measures end on June 13.'If anti-coronavirus measures are relaxed and social and economic activities become more active, then infections could spread again,' Kabashima warned."Quasi-emergency to end in Gunma, Ishikawa and Kumamoto : The Asahi Shimbun
