Posts

Weed recycling? A dangerous business in Kumamoto. -- Kirk
Kumamoto: President of recycling firm nabbed for growing marijuana
Kumamoto Prefectural Police have arrested the president of a recycle firm over the alleged cultivation of marijuana in Yamaga City

I've been surprised during my recent commutes to Yatsushiro at Kumamoto's vast number of rivers, many of which I didn't know existed. They fill with sediment, which must be removed or the rivers will overflow. There are few, narrow timespans during relatively dry periods when this is possible, and the engineers are out working like crazy from dawn to dusk to get it done. Pictured: a whole lotta sediment to remove. I have no idea what they do with it. - William https://kumanichi.com/articles/253846

If you've never heard the sublime sound of our friend Jeff Cairns on shakuhachi, you are missing out on infinite sublimity. He will play on June 6 at the Kumamoto City Theater; doors open at 10:00 AM. PM for details. - William

Following the wonderful Facebook page, "Ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world)," I wondered if there was an ukiyoe of Kumamoto. I think this is one: apparently, it is a depiction of the Hōgen Rebellion, when various groups dissatisfied with the dominance of the Fujiwara clan sought to overthrow it (hint: they lost). Apparently, there were really big fish those days. But seriously, the painting shows the terror Japanese held of the ocean in the 12th c. - William
https://www.facebook.com/groups/121576588004753/?hoisted_section_header_type=recently_seen&multi_permalinks=1948189622010098
https://www.touken-world-ukiyoe.jp/mushae/art0015080/

I'm teaching at an all-female high school in Yatsushiro now. It suits me as I grew up in an all-female household - even my cat was female. Perhaps that is why my marriage is successful: I am the only male able to understand my wife. This video has nothing to do with Kumamoto other than it features a bear: in my hometown of Los Angeles, a bear appeared atop a wall, seeming to threaten a few small dogs, and a 17-year old girl thrust him away. Never, ever underestimate girls. Video at the link. - William
Shove off: California teen pushes away bear on top of backyard fence
Hailey Morinico, 17, sprang into action when she saw a large bear facing off with her family dogs at her home near Los Angeles

I’m all for truth in advertising but just maybe, in the case of this delicacy at your nearby Seven 11 store, a little white English lie might advance this product‘s prospects better? At least translate the “30% reduced salt” part for the heart healthy-conscious. —CM

My grandfather was an arachnologist (someone who studies spiders - kind of a niche field), so I grew up around a lot of spiders. Tarantulas are tame (I had one as a pet. His name was Chewie, after the Star Wars Chubaka); black widows, though small, you ignore at your peril. Now is spider season in Japan. My strong suggestion is to allow spiders free-reign, particularly the big guys. There are no dangerous spiders in Japan. Which do you prefer, spiders or cockroaches? - William

I'm teaching four and 1/2 hours in a row at a local high school and have assistant teachers who assist, two hours each at a time. It occurred to me that perhaps teaching four hours in a row is illegal under Japanese union rules. I don't mind it - I love my students, and my fellow teachers are very helpful, and I wouldn't change it anyway - once one gets the ball rolling, it's best not to halt it. But just out of curiosity, does anyone have any info about the legality of the situation? - William

I'd written that post about how my wife, Sawako's, ancestors were 山伏 (yamabushi - mountain samurai), and she got angry: "No! They were true samurai!" Perhaps she's correct, but either way, I've learned not to argue with her. (Pictured: yamabushi and samurai. Hard to tell which was more bad-ass.) - William

I never had the pleasure of meeting my wife, Sawako's, mother as she'd died before I'd arrived on these shores, but I showed Sawako the post I'd written about the bus connecting the city and Yabe, and she exclaimed, "Oh, that's the 赤バス (red bus)! It's the one that goes to Yabe! Every time my mother saw that, she was filled with a yearning to go home!" People from Yabe are called 浜っ子 (hamakko -the historical name of the town was 浜町, hamamachi), and their denizens draw a great line between themselves and those who live in the city. Sawako's mother, from what I hear, never got over leaving the town. Hamakko have VERY long historical memories, particularly regarding genealogical lines, are extremely stuck in their ways (if you're a farmer, I suppose that makes sense - try something new and you could lose a year of income), and are suspicious of outsiders (but I have an in: I'm Kikukawa-san's daughter's husband, as everyone knows, even though she's been dead for 40 years). - William

Our friends at KumaVisit are in the news!
https://kumanichi.com/articles/251884
The article is about this "Point & Speak" sheet:
https://www.facebook.com/kumavisit/posts/2865918093659818
Good work!!
-- KIrk

The "diamond Fugendake" 「ダイヤモンド普賢岳」is an atmospheric phenomenon in which atmospheric moisture creates a halo-effect around the sun as it sets behind Mt. Fugen. It seems to have occurred the other day. Kumanichi reports on it. - William
https://kumanichi.com/articles/251016

The 1930s were not a fun time to live anywhere, particularly in Japan, where its nascent export industries were devastated due to the Great Depression, leading to mass emigration, especially from Kumamoto. Some went to South America (mostly Brazil, where their agricultural skills came in handy), and my home state of California (where their agricultural skills also came in handy). My wife's grandmother went to Manchuria. I'd been there and was eager to engage in conversation, but she was extremely reluctant to talk about it. Some of them - or their scion - returned. Kumanichi has a fascinating article regarding this (as always, Google Translate is your friend). - William
https://kumanichi.com/articles/251035

As I've mentioned, I've been taking the conventional train to my job in Yatsushiro, not only as it is cheaper than the Shinkansen, but I can enjoyably observe morning commuters' two favorite hobbies: snatching a few more ZZZs or staring at their cellphones. It's worth the price of the ticket. But apparently, Japan is moving ahead with magnetically levitated trains that could reduce the travel time between Tokyo and Osaka to less than that of an airplane. (Fares will probably be, like, really expensive.) I hope that they build one between Kumamoto and Yatsushiro so that I can arrive an hour before I left. - William
The Fastest Train Ever Built: The SCMaglev
Get an entire year of both CuriosityStream and Nebula for just $11.79/year here: http://CuriosityStream.com/mustardSupport Mustard on Patreon: https://www.pa...

Seiwa Bunraku (清和文楽) is the only theater in Kyushu where we can see Ningyo Joruri drama (人形浄瑠璃).
Until the end of July 2021, you can see the new and original drama, “Higo Amabie Koiutaibun (肥後アマビエ恋歌異聞)”. You may have heard of Amabie. She is a Japanese folk monster which is believed to live in the ocean in Kumamoto. It is said that when plague spread in the past, Amabie told locals to draw her figure on a piece of paper and show it to others so that the epidemic would be ended soon. This new play is a creation which is about Amabie and her impossible love with young samurai.
For more information about the history of Seiwa Bunraku and its newest play, check out the link below.
- Chieko

Y'know when you're a really good samurai, but not quite good enough to establish your own domain? That was the Matsui clan of Yatsushiro, who cleaved onto the Tokugawa clan and managed to survive (useful to the shogun as it provided a check against the rebellious Satsuma). Judging by the uniform, it must not have been an easy gig. There is an exhibition of their stuff now at the 八代市立博物館. William
https://kumanichi.com/articles/248823

Cows are both interesting and interested - I brought my whippet, Devo, into a barn in Aso once, and the cows were fascinated by this strange animal, lowing and rolling their eyes as my dog did his best to stay away from them (I'd never seen him stick so closely to the center of a path), but - HAY! - apparently there is a phrase for the first hay harvested to tide over winter: 「１番草」(ichibangusa), and, according to Kumanichi, they've got that in the barn now, much to the relief of milk-lovers such as I. - William
https://kumanichi.com/articles/248836

My wife made me garden this morning. I was not gruntled (that is, disgruntled). Long ago, I'd planted some sasa, a diminutive type of bamboo - as is often the case, choose your kanji - 笹、篠、筱、筿 - to shield our window. (Apparently, bamboo have pachymorph rhizomes that develop into a new culm such that they'll sprout meters away, having traversed under the asphalt), and they drop a lot of leaves, which I have to pick out one by one from between the gaps in the bricks. This is what led me not to be gruntled. But I am happy that the sasa is doing well - it will no doubt outlive me. - William
http://bamboo-identification.co.uk/html/rhizomes.html

Liz here. I am sorry this is so close to the crowd funding deadline , but I hope some will be able to donate to this very worthy cause. Hiromi Chida was kind enough to translate the most important parts into English. Her page Kuma Visit is a wealth of information and worthy of a Like to keep you updated on her posts.

Just reposting a tidbit I put on my private page - William
My adopted hometown of Higo (now Kumamoto) occupies a somewhat precarious position, sandwiched between Hakata (now Fukuoka), which was always closely controlled by Edo (now Tokyo), and Satsuma (now Kagoshima), which alone among all Japanese domains was never controlled by any one clan but the Shimazu (still the Shimazu) - they were always like, "Come and get us!" to the shogun, and the armies that trampled back and forth did so in my backyard, Higo (now Kumamoto). Even today, the Hakata and the Satsuma retain a mutual dislike, and nobody likes Kumamoto, us poor Higo-ko, as we're still known. But that Tom Cruise movie, the Last Samurai, (very) loosely based on history, took place in my hometown. (Pictured: it's like, "Sure, invade us! We have impassable mountains and caldera lakes and live volcanoes, and we know where all of them are, but you don't!").