William A reminder about Tuesday’s lunar eclipse, but first: The shachi (鯱 - a mythological animal with the head of a tiger and body of a fish, its tail fin always facing the sky and covered with layers of sharp thorns on its back) was commonly used atop castle gables as guardian gods to prevent fires: if not frightening away calamity, at least the shachi could (theoretically) spout water from its mouth to stop its spread. The two which now adorn the castle are replacements for the pair shattered during the quakes and measure 120 centimeters in height and 100 kilograms in weight. The full moon Tuesday evening seen from Ninomaru will rise behind the keep, appearing at about a 45° angle over the keep from 20:00, the greatest extent of its eclipse. Bring your camera and send us your photos! (Photo from a sadly long-extinguished blog, though Nishinippon Shinbun has a video on shachi replacement: https://www.nishinippon.co.jp/item/n/406704/.)