Kirk here with something for Crayon Shin-chan fans.
2023-04-11 10:30 JST 2023 Kirk here with something for Crayon Shin-chan fans. Popular anime Crayon Shin-chan themed playground to open in Kumamoto Pref. - The MainichiKUMAMOTO -- An indoor playground themed on the popular anime series https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230408/p2a/00m/0et/01 … ↗ View original post on Facebook For a link to the original post on Facebook, open this page on a computer. Reactions: 5 · Comments: 1 · Shares: 1 ← 2023-04-10 22:26 JST 2023-04-11 17:00 JST → Around this time … 2023-04-14 08:40 JSTKirk here with a general introduction to the prefecture that came up, for some reason, in a "news" search. It mentions three famous people associated with Kumamoto: Miyamoto Musashi (swordsman); Kawakami Tetsuharu (baseball player); Ishimure Michiko (author who wrote about Minamata disease).Kumamoto Prefecture 2023-04-13 11:20 JSTKirk here. If you or someone close to you is a Japanese citizen who needs a passport, you should know that it is now possible to apply for new passports online. Here's the page on the prefecture's website that explains it in Japanese:https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/70/161169.htmlhttps://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230327_02/Kumamoto is one of 16 prefectures to allow new applications online so I seems to be a bit better than average on this one.Online passport applications available in some parts of Japan from Monday | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News 2023-04-12 18:09 JSTKirk again with an update about the movie "Living." I got this e-mail from a friend who prefers not to post to Facebook: "I saw your post about the movie LIVING on Kumamoto-I. I just wanted to make sure you knew that the Ishiguro film is now showing at Toho Cinema in Sakuramachi downtown. I saw it day before yesterday. It was exquisite." Apparently, it won't be shown again in the TOHOs in Kumamoto until next week (not sure about other venues). Here a link (unfortunately, Japanese language only):https://hlo.tohotheater.jp/net/movie/TNPI3060J01.do?sakuhin_cd=021601And here's a link to yesterday's post about the movie, in case you missed it:https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid0H85edTTJFSqm6dYV5R2vTLUVTgucJ4DCK4Mv1Nm116f38SpgCtqzHqqozZ9HyWu9l 2023-04-12 11:40 JSTKirk here with news for sumo fans:"Seiun Fuji’s career is unique. He began Sumo when he was a junior high school student in Kumamoto Prefecture. He was a member of the sumo clubs at Buntoku High School and Meiji University, and after graduating from university he went to work for Toppan Printing."New juryo Fuji Seiun: "Rather than continuing to work and regretting it," new juryo Fuji Seiun "left his job as a factory worker at Toppan Printing to become a salaried wrestler" to become a unique wrestler. 2023-04-11 17:00 JSTKirk here with something for movie fans. This little post of mine is prompted by an interview I read in the Asahi Shimbun (Japanese version) with Nobel Prize laureate Kazuo Ishiguro. Mr. Ishiguro (who was born in Nagasaki) was discussing how his love of the Kurosawa Akira film "Ikiru" led him to write the script for "Living" with Bill Nighy in the leading roll. The Japanese actor in the original film was Takashi Shimura but Mr. Ishiruro said he found himself imagining what the film might have felt like if the lead had been played by the more subdued Chishu Ryu, who made many movies with Ozu Yasujiro -- the most famous being Tokyo Story (Tokyo monogatari). Then, he said that he though of casting Bill Nighy in the lead roll -- an artist he views as a Brittish Chishu Ryu.The references to Chishu Ryu reminded me that he is from Kumamoto:--- start quote ---Ryū retained the rural Kumamoto accent of his childhood throughout his life. It may have held him back early in his career, but became part of his screen persona, denoting reliability and simple honesty. When the columnist Natsuhiko Yamamoto published a deliberately provocative piece called "I Can't Stand Chishū Ryū", in which he derided Ryū's accent, there was a furious reaction, and his magazine Shūkan Shinchō (週刊新潮) was inundated with letters of protest.-- end quote ----https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chish%C5%AB_Ry%C5%ABThe photo of Chishu Ryu is from the following English-language YouTube video about him:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiAWJKgrAkoThe photo of Bill Nighy was taken from the following article:https://airmail.news/issues/2022-12-17/bill-nighyReading the Asahi article and preparing this post have made me that much more eager to see the film. :) 2023-04-11 10:30 JSTKirk here with something for Crayon Shin-chan fans.Popular anime Crayon Shin-chan themed playground to open in Kumamoto Pref. - The Mainichi (this post) 2023-04-10 22:26 JSTKirk here (following Atsuko's lead) with another item for the many Andrew Mitchell fans among our readership. As you can see in the image, Andrew will be one of two presenters in an English-language event to be held online on April 14th -- the anniversary of the start of the shaking in 2016. I will be in the zoom session primarily as a listener. If you would like to join us please write to Mr. Yagi of the Kumamoto International Foundation at [email protected]. 2023-04-10 20:30 JSTAtsuko here, sharing KEEP, (Kumamoto Earthquake Experience Project) post.🍀*゜https://www.facebook.com/kumadaiquakeーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーKEEP member Andrew Mitchell was recently interviewed by the Mainichi newspaper regarding his earthquake experience and KEEP's activities. The article was published online on Saturday and in the nationwide print edition on Sunday morning. Commenting on the interview, Andrew said, "It is a great honour to be featured in a national Japanese newspaper, highlighting both KEEP's work and the experiences of foreign residents during that time. I hope that many people will read this article, reflect on their own earthquake preparedness, and consider ways to make their communities safer for all residents, regardless of their nationality."English Translated web page.https://mainichi-jp.translate.goog/articles/20230408/k00/00m/100/127000c?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=enhttps://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=596306829192248&id=100064388094223&sfnsn=mohttps://www.facebook.com/kumadaiquake 2023-04-09 10:41 JSTFollowing Kirk's lead, I thought I should share this video from the days around the earthquake(s) of 2016.This may be of interest to anyone who has come to Kumamoto since 2016 and has not yet had the dubious pleasure of experiencing a rather large earthquake with all its scarey aftershocks.2016 Kumamoto Quakes Revisited 2023-04-09 10:06 JSTKirk here. We are approaching the anniversary of the 2016 earthquakes. Here's an article about kanrenshi (earthquake-related deaths that occurred after the shaking had stopped). The majority of deaths in Kumamoto fell into this category.Disasters can be deadly, but the aftermaths can be deadlier 2023-04-08 13:30 JST(Claire) If you didn’t come to Tamana’s Jagatani Park for the Cherry blossoms (1500 cherry trees) and can’t wait for the Iris Festival in late May/early June, then come see the Wisteria at Yamada shrine. Apparently a 1/3 of it was in bloom on the 7th April. (They have electric bikes to hire at shin Tamana station since last week.)
