Posts

William Kumanichi reports that this years kousa (黄砂 - fine particle matter blown from the Gobi across Japan) is particularly bad. It has certainly walloped me. Stay indoors, wear a mask, and see a specialist if needed.
https://kumanichi.com/articles/578309

William Today's Kumanichi post. It might not be of import unless you are a ladybug. (They're called "tentoumushi" in Japanese, perhaps because they have ten toes, but like all insects, they have only six.)
https://kumanichi.com/articles/577246

William As the (very proud) father of a daughter, I observe Hina Matsuri every year. Generally, offerings are offset at rivers following the festival. Though the sentiment is understood - that one's daughter mist follow the flow of life bestowed to her - we keep hers here and set them up every year. Her home is here, and it will remain so, wherever for for however long she she may live.
She is a true Higokko. Encourage your children to embrace that identity.
https://www.nippon.com/en/features/jg00031/

William　Just this.

William Good news for train lovers. The "SL Hitoyoshi", which runs between Kumamoto and Tosu (Saga Prefecture), is slated to restart after equipment repairs. It is a slow way to go nowhere, but those journeys are generally the best.
https://kumanichi.com/articles/577061

Kirk here with an English article about the lighting of Kumamoto Castle with the colors or the Ukrainian flag. It's been a few days since William posted about this (and got a HUGE response -- Reach: 4,478; Engagement: 814; Shares: 41) and now it seems that the Mainichi is trying to follow his lead. ;)
The article says that Saturday, March 5th, will be the last evening to see the colors with your own eyes.
Original Kumamoto International post:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/6956103971129642
Mainichi copycat ( ;) ) article:
Japan's Kumamoto Castle lit in Ukrainian flag colors to mourn invasion victims - The Mainichi
KUMAMOTO -- Kumamoto Castle in this southwest Japan city is being lit in the colors of the Ukrainian national flag to show condolence for the victims

Kirk here with news about the extension of the so-called "pre-emergency measures" ("man'en boushi tou juuten sochi" [まん延防止等重点措置] in Japanese or "manbo" for short) in Kumamoto. The measures will end on March sixth in many nearby prefectures (Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Miyazaki and Kagoshima) but continue in Kumamoto until Marchi 18 in Kumamoto:
Pre-emergency measures to be extended for 18 prefectures | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
Japan will extend pre-emergency measures for a majority of the 31 prefectures scheduled to see the restrictions end on March 6, including for Hokkaido, Tokyo and Osaka, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on March 3.

Kirk here with a little news about a local business trying to support the people of Ukraine:
"NANKAN, Kumamoto -- A bamboo chopstick manufacturer in this southwest Japan town has launched an initiative to sell products in the colors of the Ukrainian flag and donate the proceeds to the country. The 150 pairs available for the initial pre-order on Feb. 28 sold out in about two hours."
Speaking of donations, I have no idea where to donate. If anyone has some information, please post it in a comment.
Japanese firm makes blue and yellow chopsticks to support Ukraine, first batch sells out - The Mainichi
NANKAN, Kumamoto -- A bamboo chopstick manufacturer in this southwest Japan town has launched an initiative to sell products in the colors of the Ukra

Kirk here with an inquiry that the page received: "Hello! I called the waste management office of Kumamoto to register my mattress for disposal and they told me I will be paying 10,900. I went to the konbini to get stickers as instructed from the call but they showed me a 500-yen and 900-yen sticker. I am a little confused about the ¥10,900. Should I buy stickers that would total to ¥10,900?" Does anyone have any insight? Does the fee sound about right?

This morning, Kumamoto City was shrouded in heavy fog, giving the castle a rather mystical look.
https://blog.rkk.jp/sorairo/2022/03/

William Most are no doubt aware of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In display of support for those facing invasion of their country, Kumamoto Castle has been lighted in the yellow and blue of Ukraine's flag. How long this will continue is unclear. https://kumanichi.com/articles/574386

Kirk here with mollusks (shellfish) on my mind. The so-called "clam scam" (asari mislabled as "harvested in Kumamoto") got me thinking about what caused the precipitous decline of asari that forced people to rely on imported clams in the first place. And that got me thinking about why it was that the numbers of so-called "Kumamotos" (oysters that are now popular in the U.S.) fell to the point that they had to be reintroduced from the States. Looking for information about oysters in the Ariake Sea led to what I'm writing about today: carmel candies. I'll write about Kumamoto oysters and reasons for the decline of asari clams some other day. What I'm writing about today is of no great consequence but I hope you enjoy this bit of Ariake Sea mollusk trivia. ;)
If you've been in Japan for a while, you're probably familiar with Glico (グリコ), a brand of candies. I think the box you see in the image must be from about 1929:
https://goldenyokocho.jp/articles/1138
https://www.glico.com/assets/files/201703-NL-glicohistory-2.pdf
If you can read the Japanese on the box, you can see that it's being promoted as healthy, not just tasty. If fact, it says you can run 300 meters on just one carmel -- good mileage! ;) The candy could be sold as a sort of nutritional supplement because it contained glycogen, which is abundent in mullusks such as oysters. In fact, the company name, Glico (グリコ; Glyco on the 1929 box -- not sure when the spelling changed), is an abbreviation of the Japanese word for this substance (グリコーゲン). The company founder, Riichi Ezaki got the idea in 1919 when he was in Saga and sampled glycogen-rich oyster broth given to him by local fisherman.
I'm not sure if the candies really had oyster juice in them or not but the article I read indicated that they did indeed contain glycogen. And, although I wouldn't normally recommend eating carmels to improve one's health, they certainly didn't seem to hurt Mr. Ezaki; he lived to the ripe old age of 98.
The place name "Kumamoto" doesn't come up in this story but Saga and Kumamoto are neighbors on the Ariake Sea and I don't doubt that oysters being consumed in Saga would have been eaten in Kumamoto at the time too.
Personally, I find it interesting that some modern snacks in both Japan and my own country, the U.S., got their start as healthfood. I think there are probably many examples but Dr. Pepper in the U.S. comes to mind. Today, Dr. Pepper is generally regarded as junkfood -- caffeinated sugar water -- but it got its start as an elixir that was supposed to "cure what ails ya," as they used to say.
Maybe Americans and Japanese aren't so different after all. ;)
Sources:
THE MEDICINAL HISTORY OF SODAS EXPLAINED
https://www.grunge.com/248371/the-medicinal-history-of-sodas-explained/
グリコ　有明海にヒント　創業者・江崎利一　カキ栄養素から考案　佐賀県
https://www.nishinippon.co.jp/item/o/278328/

Kirk here with some local reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I got a question about whether or not any local demonstrations were planned or had taken place so I did some looking. Via "Google news" I found an article about a protest that occurred in Kurume (just a stone's throw to our north):
https://www.nishinippon.co.jp/item/n/882727/
Then, searching on Facebook, I found this post about a group in Yatsushiro voicing their opposition.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3159192697694470&id=100008113128550
But so far I don't have any leads about upcoming events in Kumamoto.
On TV I've seen several protests in which Russian citizens (many of them quite fluent in Japanese) came out to demonstrate in solidarity with their Ukrainian brothers and sisters, one person saying it's Putin's war, not theirs. Apparently, resistance and opposition within Russia is stronger than expected. I'm glad about that.
Let's all pray for peace!
P.S. If you have any thoughts about what should be done here in Kumamoto or on this page, please share them in a comment.

Kirk here. Yesterday Atsuko wrote about a confection with the name "Musha Gaeshi" (武者返し). William has explained the meaning of this term in the past but I'd like to review it for anyone who may not know or may have forgotten and add a bit of information that I suspect will be new to most of you.
The image you see is from the following post by William:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/2230097940396959
As William has explained in other posts, the term "mushagaeshi" means "warrior repelling" (武者 [musha] is an old term for warrior and the verb 返す [kaesu] means to "repel" or "throw back"). The idea is that the increasingly steep incline would tend to repel any warriors that might try to scale the walls in an attack.
The image, however, tells a different story. In short, the idea is that the design was really intended to make the castle walls earthquake resistant. The image is from a documentary aired by NHK that I happen to have recorded and used in a class about Kumamoto that I teach to foreign students.
According to the program, curved castle walls were a new thing for KATO Kiyomasa. The walls of another castle Kato made a few years before he built Kumamoto castle are straight, not curved. That castle was Ulson Castle (built during Kato's invasion of Korea beginning in 1593). You can see the straight walls here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulsan_Castle
The change in Kato's approach came as a result of the Keicho-Fushimi earthquake of 1596, which occurred in the Kyoto area. This quake devastated the recently constructed Fushimi Castle and, according to the program, Kato saw the devastation with his own eyes. This led him to begin experiments with different methods of stacking stones to make them more resistant to shaking. I'm not sure how he might have done this, perhaps with smaller models, but, at any rate, the program indicated that the curved design was the result of such research.
In 2016 many castle walls fell but the walls that suffered the worst damage were those put up AFTER Kato's death; on the whole, his original walls have stood up to earthquakes quite well.
Given this understanding of the original intent of the curved design, the walls might as well be called "jishingaeshi" (地震返し; earthquake repellent). But, of course, no one says that. As Atsuko indicated, Musha Gaeshi is now the name of at least two kinds of sweets, a brand of shochu (distilled rice liquor), and has been made part of the design of Kumamoto Station (the point of William's original post). The phrase is more-or-less synonymous with Kumamoto. But, now you know the REAL reason for that lovely shape! ;)

William Camping in Japan is pretty relaxed. As long as you take care of fire (camping stove, not open fire) and trash, you can pretty much stake out a place and stay for free. (Be friendly.)
Kumanichi remarks on a new campground at Ubayama (産山). I don't recommend as I dislike established camping grounds, but the name "Ubayama" is interesting. Apparently, a couple of gods (well, probably one was a goddess) were getting it on and the result was the mountain.

Hi, Atsuko here with sweet news again.
I love original 武者返しMusha Gaeshi but the new one looks tasty too.(๑˃ᴗ˂)و♡
https://twitfukuoka.com/?p=195664
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Godiva collaborates with Kumamoto's famous confectionary "Musha Godiva collaborates with Kumamoto's famous confectionary "Musha Gaeshi" to launch nationwide
Godiva Japan will start selling "Musha Gaeshi Chocolate" from Godiva Monthly Chef's Selection, which Godiva develops together with chefs from all over Japan, at Tsuruya store (Kumamoto City) from Wednesday, March 2, 2022, and at Godiva limited stores in Kyushu from Saturday, March 19, 2022. In April, Godiva announced that it will expand the area and sell limited quantities at Godiva limited stores nationwide.
The new Godiva Monthly Chef's Selection is a collaboration with Kumamoto's representative confectionary "Musha Gaeshi", a pie confectionary with a blend of Japanese and Western influences, inspired by the stone walls of Kumamoto Castle, built in 1607 and a spiritual center for the citizens of Kumamoto.
Godiva collaborates with "Musha Gaeshi," a famous confectionary representing Kumamoto, to launch nationwide.
It is made with red beans from Hokkaido and a mild crusty sweet bean paste made with 72% cocoa dark chocolate from Belgium, wrapped in a crispy cocoa pie crust that is carefully kneaded by artisans.
It is not too sweet, but has a moderate sourness and bitterness from the chocolate, giving it a mature taste. You can enjoy the harmony of mellow red bean paste and chocolate.

In the prefecture, the product will be available from March 19 (Sat) at Godiva Amu Plaza Kokura, Izutsuya Kokura, Tenjin underground shopping mall, Daimaru Fukuoka Tenjin, Mitsukoshi Fukuoka, Iwataya main store, Hakata Hankyu (ATELIER de GODIVA), Marinoa City Fukuoka, Iwataya Kurume, and Yume Town Kurume.

Kirk here. It's a nice day so it's probably better to get out and enjoy the weather than to stay inside and watch TV . . . but if you'll be inside and you like basketball, you might want to turn on NHK at 2PM to watch the Kumamoto Volters play the Ehime Orange Vikings. (The image is a screenshot from https://www.volters.jp.)

Hi, Atsuko here with an article about a new souvenir from Kumamoto.
Regional-exclusive chocolate aims to raise funds for damaged samurai fortress.
Next month, as a new regional KitKat has just been announced, with an all-new flavour designed to take our taste buds on a trip to Kumamoto Prefecture.
ドーナツ棒 DONATUBOU, Brown sugar donut sticks and いきなりだんご Ikinari dango are both famous sweets in Kumamoto.
They are sold only in the local market, but now that they have been made into Kit Kat products, they will become even more famous nationwide.(๑˃ᴗ˂)و♡
New Doughnut KitKat captures the flavour of a Japanese castle town
Regional-exclusive chocolate aims to raise funds for damaged samurai fortress.

Kirk here with another photographic harbinger of spring. For the most part, February is the season of plum, not cherry blossoms, but this type, Kawazuzakura (河津桜; Kawazu cherry tree) blooms early. I took this photo in part of Ezuko. The tree itself was in the garden of a private residence but the blossoms were very accessible to passers-by.
Kawazu is a town in Shizuoka that is know for these early blooming trees -- hence the name. The tree I saw today isn't originally from Kumamoto; like me and many readers of this page, it's a transplant. Proof that not all transplants should be regarded as invasive species! ;)
https://kawazu-onsen.com/eng/

Kirk here with news that Amu Plaza, Sakuramachi Kumamoto and some other facilities downtown lost power for about 30 minutes yesterday. Kyushu Denryoku says that some sort of abnormality was detected and that caused the power to be shut off automatically. The report I saw didn't indicate the exact nature of the abnormality that caused the juice to get cut off.
In the video you can see people in a dark building climbing up a motionless escalator. I'm a little surprised that they weren't heading for the exists but wanted to go deeper into the powerless building.
商業施設が真っ暗に　熊本市で停電（KAB熊本朝日放送） - Yahoo!ニュース
商業施設が突然　真っ暗になりました。24日午後、熊本市で停電が発生し、複数の商業施設や公共施設に影響が出ました。 24日午後2時半ごろ、熊本市中央区城東町や熊本市西区春日周辺で停電が発生しました。