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William. I had thought of Kumamoto shipbuilding as only in Arao, but apparently there is a shipyard in Amakusa near Misumi of all places. It is called Shinozakizousen and produces mostly medium-sized ships for domestic freighting. It is also in charge of maintaining the gates on the seawall. Recently, as Kumanichi notes, it floated a medical ship intended for extended use in the Marshall Islands to provide dental, health, and emergency care for the islanders; it is now being fitted out in preparation for its voyage. Its name is Polynesian, "Liwatooon Moura," which apparently means, "No ship, no health."
The article is an interesting read, pointing out that Kumamoto once flourished with shipbuilding until ships turned from wood to iron. Photo below is of the medical ship. The first link is to the Kumanichi article; the second, to the company's Website. Those interested in the history of maritime Kumamoto should have a look.
https://kumanichi.com/articles/413881
https://www.shinozakizousen.com/works

Kirk here with some more copying and pasting:
"Tests at restaurants and bars will be conducted in 12 prefectures -- Hokkaido, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Ishikawa, Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Okinawa. Tests covering small concert venues and small theaters will take place in four prefectures -- Hokkaido, Aichi, Osaka, Kumamoto."
Japan plans tests to ease coronavirus restrictions | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News
NHK has learned the Japanese government plans to stage tests as it moves to ease coronavirus restrictions.

Kirk here, demonstrating my ability to copy and paste. First, some text . . .
"Kumamoto Prefecture will continue to ask eateries in Kumamoto city to close by 8 p.m. until Oct. 14 because the city’s hospital bed occupancy rate remains high. "
. . . and now the URL . . .
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14450162
P.S. Dear Asahi Shimbun:
In the phrase "the city’s hospital bed occupancy rate" the word "city" does not need to be capitalized because it's not part of a proper noun. "Kumamoto City," on the other hand, is a compound proper noun, that is, the name of a place that is made up of more than one word, so you have to capitalize "city" in this case. You got it right with Kumamoto Prefecture so perhaps this was just an oversight. At any rate, I see this mistake a lot so I thought I'd point it out.
Booze to flow again at eateries Oct. 1 as state of emergency ends | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
All of Japan’s 19 prefectures currently covered by the COVID-19 state of emergency are expected to allow restaurants and bars to serve alcoholic beverages from Oct. 1 after the declaration is lifted, sources said.

Kirk here with an election update: Fumio Kishida will be Japan's next prime minister.
Here are some notes about how RKK reported the Kumamoto side of the election today. The LDP party members in Kumamoto voted as follows:
Kishida: 6109
Kono: 6012
Takaichi: 2783
Noda: 743
In addition to party members, the votes of Diet politicians accounted for about half of the electorate in the national vote. Of six LDP politicians from Kumamoto three supported Kishida.
As I'm not a big fan of right-wing politicians, I was glad that Takaichi (the person on the left in the picture) didn't have a lot of support in Kumamoto. Here's a blurb about Takaichi from Japan News:
"Takaichi, a former internal affairs and communications minister, is known as one of the most conservative LDP members, calling for highly conservative policies, such as maintaining male-only Imperial succession, visits to Yasukuni Shrine, and Japan’s possession of precision-guided missiles and armed drones. Yasukuni Shrine, which enshrines Class-A World War II criminals along with the war dead, is considered a symbol of Japan’s past militarism, particularly in China and Korea."
https://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0007776111
In case there's any doubt about whether her patronage of Yasukuni has meaningful policy implications, check out this sentence from an Asahi article:
"Her security policies include developing a preemptive strike capability to counter threats from China and North Korea."
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14448535
The one Diet member from Kumamoto to support Takaichi was KIHARA Minoru. Here's part of a statement that appeared in the Washington Post that he signed:
“The ianfu (comfort women) who were embedded with the Japanese army were not, as is commonly reported, ‘sex slaves.’ They were working under a system of licensed prostitution that was commonplace around the world at the time.”
https://www.japan-press.co.jp/2007/2533/history2.html
I won't take the time to explain how this misrepresents what has been documented. I'll just say that there's lots of evidence to the contrary.
The support for Takaichi was quite high among LDP diet members (sorry, I forgot the exact numbers). I'm glad that the extreme right doesn't seem to be quite as popular here in Kumamoto.
2 women, political opposites, vying in race for Japan PM | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
The inclusion of two women among the four candidates vying to become the next prime minister seems like a big step forward for Japan’s notoriously sexist politics. But their fate is in the hands of a conservative, mostly male governing party--and the leading female candidate has been criticized by...

Kirk here with a photo of damage caused by heavy rains last year. The article is about what LDP politicians have to say about disaster preparedness. In that context, Kumamoto is a poster child of sorts. The photo caption reads as follows: "Buckled tracks on the JR Hisatsu Line near Watari Station in Kumamoto Prefecture after heavy rains on July 5, 2020 (Jun Kaneko)."
Kumamoto also comes up in relation to candidate for party head (and, by extension, prime minister) KONO Taro:
"Taro Kono, the minister of administrative reform and one of four candidates for the LDP presidential election on Sept. 29, was in charge of disaster prevention and mitigation when areas in Kumamoto Prefecture were hit by a cluster of massive earthquakes in 2016. In a book he wrote, Kono made some notable proposals, including a program to train experts in disaster risk management."
EDITORIAL: How to respond to disasters key issue for LDP candidates | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
One important role of political leaders is to plan and promote measures to ensure the nation is better prepared against natural disasters and limit potential damage to a minimum. Voters need to hear the candidates for the leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party discuss their plans in depth...

Kirk here with a follow-up to my post about Hansen's disease in Kumamoto. That post is here:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/6029416413798407
Anett wrote in a comment that she recommends visiting the Riddell & Wright Memorial Hall. I haven't gone yet but it's been on my list of places to visit for a long time now. The poster you see with this post indicates that an exhibition is in progress to celebrate 125 years since the facility's establishment. But, as I write below, they seem to be closed now for COVID-19. Their website says they will reopen on October 1st.
Here's a picture of the memorial hall:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Riddell-Wright_Memorial_Hall.JPG
And here's the best English-language page that I have been able to find about the facility:
http://www.qsr.mlit.go.jp/suishin/story2019/english/06_3.html
There's an announcement on the Japanese website for the facility that says that, as I wrote above, it has been closed due to COVID-19 but will open again on October 1st, 2021:
http://riddell-wright.com/memorial-hall/
It's also possible to find the complete text of a book about Hannah Riddel that was published in 1937. I used the text to make a long pdf file that I plan to read on my iPad.
http://anglicanhistory.org/asia/jp/riddell1937/

Kirk here with some news / history. Important events in the history of Hansen's disease (leprosy) have unfolded here in Kumamoto. One such event was the 2001 Kumamoto District Court ruling that held that the central government’s segregation policy was unconstitutional.
That was a big step forward but this article indicates that there's still a lot of work to be done.
Survey: Fearing prejudice, 38% of leprosy patients use false names | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
Nearly 40 percent of leprosy patients are still living under false names to shield themselves and their families from prejudice and discrimination, an Asahi Shimbun survey showed.

Kirk here with a note about Daikichi Irokawa. He has a clear connection to Kumamoto (Minamata disease) but I'm a fan for a number of reasons. If you're interested learning more about the life of an outstanding progressive intellectual, read the article.
VOX POPULI: Remembering the pioneering historian Daikichi Irokawa | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
Historian Daikichi Irokawa, who died on Sept. 7 at age 96, broke free of the restraints of academia to blaze a trail in modern and contemporary history.

William. The Aso Volcano Archeology Museum has announced it will host something called the Aso Night Museum this weekend and a few weekends following. The link does not provide the time, but I guess it's at night. It looks fun - if you have a car. Scroll down on the link for wonderful photos.
阿蘇火山博物館 × ネイキッド 阿蘇ナイトミュージアム
阿蘇火山博物館とネイキッドがコラボレーション。夜の阿蘇火山博物館と阿蘇の大自然の中をめぐるナイトウォーク。

William. China's President Xi announced that the country will stop funding overseas coal projects and try to itself become carbon neutral by 2060. This puts a bit of pressure on Kyushu's largest power company, Kyuden, to eliminate coal from its energy mix as well. Here's a quick look at major Kyushu power plants and their type. There are two coal gas power plants nearby, in Ashika and Matsuura. Kyuden's got to get moving.

Kirk here with an article about Aileen M. Smith, Eugene Smith's wife, whom Andrew heard speak the other day:
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210907/p2a/00m/0et/015000c
Here's a like to Andrew's post:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/5995116257228423
'Justice will see the light of day': Minamata disease book coauthor Aileen M. Smith - The Mainichi

Kirk with a one-sentence summary of a Japanese news article: A local (in Kumamoto!) company has developed a COVID-19 vaccine that they think they can make available (that is, get through testing required by the government; chiken [治験]) before the end of 2022.
But don't wait for it! If you're not vaccinated, get whatever is available. :)
https://news.goo.ne.jp/article/kumanichi/region/kumanichi-dr403697.html

Douglas here. Taking into account the present interest in the film, "Minamata", I thought some of you might be interested in getting hold of the book, "Minamata Bay, 1932" by Norio Iriguchi.
The book is hard to get as it was printed in 2012 and is now out of print.
The ISBN number is ISBN978-4-535-58622-2. Amazon Japan has it listed at https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/Norio-Iriguchi/dp/4535586225/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Minamata+Bay%2C+1932&qid=1632187593&s=english-books&sr=1-1
I had the honour of proof reading it, and having many additional suggestions included in the book.
I found the description of the Minamata area and its history to be extremely interesting. I even got my name mentioned in the Acknowledgements!

Kirk here with a note about the full moon and the lunar calendar. Tomorrow (9/21) we should be able to see the full moon (though there may be some clouds) -- and it's free! According to the old lunar calendar (kyureki / 旧暦 or taiinreki / 太陰暦), this particular full moon appears on August 15 (which, again, is 9/21 this year in our modern calendar). "Jugoya" in the explanation from the Kumamoto International Foundation that I quote below refers to the 15th (jugo / 十五) evening (ya / 夜) of the month. Since it was a lunar calendar, the 15th was always a full moon. The correspondence with the harvest season gave it special significance as a time to give thanks.
There's a song about "jugoya" that I think most Japanese people are familiar with from their childhood:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYZl86wD6Q4
The following is the explanation from the Kumamoto International Foundation. It came to me in a mailing list I'm subscribed to ("Anshin-Anzen disaster prevention and daily life information e-mail magazine"). I think it's great that they send the original Japanese text along with the English translation. If you're studying Japanese, you can refer to the English as you read the Japanese.
----- text from the International Foundation -----
【Moon Viewing 】
　Jugoya is an event that we appreciate for harvesting in fall, enjoying the beautiful moon at Full Moon Night. The moon that night is called “the harvest moon”, and it is said to be the most beautiful of the year. It is customary to offer Japanese pampas grass, dumplings, and crops.
Japanese pampas grass : We think of them as ears of rice and pray for a good harvest. They have sharp cuts, so they are said to be amulets.
Dumplings : Their round shapes describe the full moon. 。
Crops : We offer farm products that were just harvested, for example, taros, chestnuts, and young soybean pods to thank for the harvest.
It is said that we are able to take good health and happiness by eating dumplings and crops that we offered after viewing the moon. There are some similar events in other countries in Asia. People eat mooncakes in China and Songpyeonin Korea.
【お月見について】
　十五夜は秋の美しい月を観賞しながら、秋の収穫に感謝をする行事です。この時の月を「中秋の名月」と呼び、一年で最も美しい月だと言われています。お月見には「ススキ」、「お団子」、「農作物」を供える習慣があります。
ススキ・・・稲に見立てて、豊作を祈念します。また、切り口が鋭いので魔除けになると言われています。
お団子・・・丸い形が満月を表します。
農産物・・・里芋や栗、枝前といった収穫したばかりの農産物をお供えして収穫に感謝します。
お供えしたお団子や農産物はお月見の後に食べることによって健康と幸福を取り入れると言われます。
お月見は他のアジアの国でもあります。中国では「月餅」を、韓国では「松餅」を食べます。

Andrew here. I was lucky enough to get a ticket to see Minamata, the film about the disease and the efforts of Eugene Smith to publicise it globally, yesterday in Minamata city.
I didn’t know a great deal about the disease before seeing the movie but I found it both informative and touching, helping me to understand the horrors of the disease and the impact it had on the victims, their families, and the community. This was made even more poignant for me by somebody affected by the disease being present at the screening and Aileen Smith, the wife and collaborator of Eugene during his time in Minamata, giving a short talk after the movie had finished.
While the movie is clearly tailored towards a Western audience, the Japanese audience members I spoke to afterwards all enjoyed it and thought it captured what the people of Minamata went through. They all hoped that as many people as possible would see this movie so they could learn about the tragedy that unfolded here and the corporate indifference which perpetuated it.
I highly recommend it to all. It is not just a movie about a tragedy that took place in this prefecture, but it is also a moving story containing lessons about environmental pollution and human dignity which resonate to this day.

William. Minamata is one of the most beautiful towns in Japan. Its seacoast is splendid, and I found myself cracking oysters from the rocks and nibbling them up - and then I thought, maybe this is not the wisest thing to do. The first sign of the mercury poisoning in Minamata was cats going into convulsions - they had consumed the mercury-contaminated fish. Fortunately, the source of the pollution is gone, but its legacy remains.
Minamata's Message to the World (1976)
This award-winning documentary by director Noriaki Tsuchimoto describes one of the first and most dramatic cases of mercury contamination, affecting fishers'...

William. Kumamoto's oldest human just turned 112. Hayashi Shinobu (林シノブさん) was born in 1909. Her husband died when she was 34, and she worked to raise her three children by herself. Many females from that era had katakana names as their parents were illiterate; money had to be spent for a scribe to assign a kanji, which was often done for sons but not daughters. Here's to a life well done. https://kumanichi.com/articles/398990

Kirk here with some information on Japanese classes. The image you see was converted from a pdf that is linked to from the following page on the International Center's website:
https://www.kumamoto-if.or.jp/kiji003349/index.html
I'm not sure if there's an English version of the same information but the important point is that there are many venues that offer Japanese classes and that you can call the phone number or send an inquiry to the e-mail address shown at the bottom if you are looking for a class that will meet your needs.
This list of opportunities is not complete. Please feel free to add notes regarding other opportunities in comments to this post.

Kirk here with some news about the Hanabata Hiroba (downtown near the Kotsu Center). They were planning on embedding brass plates with little history lessons on them but that plan has been cancelled. The plates (already made and installed) have the names of venerated historical figures and, because they were to be embedded in the pavement, people would wind up stepping on those names. That caused a backlash and so the plan has been scrapped -- after spending lots of money to make and install the plates. Personally, I'm less bothered by having the names embedded in the pavement than I am by the name that had been given to the plates: Rekishi sign (歴史サイン). Rekishi, meaning "history" is fine but whether we're taking about the English "sign" or the Japanese "サイン" (a loanword offspring that has declared independence from its English parent), "rekishi sign" just doesn't sit well with me as something to be embedded in pavement. Or is it just me?
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/b9bec17c4f11ad15533282d202fb6a1b3d1d2c49

William. A friend of mine recently visited Crater Lake in Oregon. It occurred to me that, if Tateno gap had not opened, the Aso caldera would also be a huge lake. Maybe that would have been cool.