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Today marks the eight anniversary of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami resulting in 15,896 deaths, 6,157 injured, and 2,537 missing. The pastor at my church this morning struggled to find God's reasoning, but the scientist in me could only find cause: the Pacific Plate is subducting under the plate beneath northern Honshu at 8 to 9 cm per year but not smoothly, and accumulated stress resulted in a seismic slip-rupture event which was the fourth most powerful ever recorded in the world. The Earth's movement at that moment was so powerful that:
ーSeismic energy sufficient to electrify a city the size of Los Angeles for an entire year was unleashed;
ーHonshu was moved 2.4 m east;
ーThe Earth's axis shifted between 10 and 25 cm and its rotational speed was increased by 1.8 µs per day;
ーHonshu's Pacific coast sank roughly a meter.
However, after about three years, the coast rose back and continues rising to exceed its original height. Japan exists due to earthquakes, not despite them. Many still struggle in Tōhoku, and time is still required, but its people, too, will eventually rise taller, as they always have. - William

Kirk here. I hope I'm not bugging you (clever, huh?) by posting another article about the (supposedly) edible insect vending machine in Kokai. This article is somewhat unique in that it contains animation of a man's taste test, which I thought was mildly amusing. It also led me to believe that sometimes it's OK to be a prisoner of your preconceived notions, as I intend to remain in this case.
Eating a bag of Rhino Beetles from Kumamoto's bug-food vending machine【Taste test】
Our intrepid reporter completely loses his cool biting into the sizable bugs.

Leanne shared that wonderful video yesterday, Kumamon is constantly in the news, and tourists are flooding in. Kumamoto is becoming a brand.
Kumanichi has an interesting once-monthly series on castle reconstruction. I mention this for two reasons. One is the series' elegant logo, shaped like the castle but reminiscent of Kumamon - and with a heart. The other is the kanji used to delineate each article - they are written in what is called "daiji" (大字), alternative kanji used for numbers. For example, 一 can easily be counterfeited as 二 or 三, but try forging this character: 壹, which equals 一, while 貮 equals 二 and 參 三. A full list can be found at the Wikipedia link below. - William
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A7%E5%AD%97_(%E6%95%B0%E5%AD%97)

I recently came across this beautiful video of Kumamoto. Enjoy.
Leanne

Kumamon is popular in the Chinese sphere (China, Taiwan, Hong Kong), with licensing bringing Kumamoto substantial revenue. A question has been what to call Kumamon in Chinese.
Chinese usually uses phonetic equivalents of their kanji, known in Japanese as "ateji" (当て字 - perhaps the most famous is that for Coca Cola, 可口可乐, which directly translates as "drinkable and enjoyable" - good choice). Kumamon's ateji thus far has been "酷ＭＡ萌" - Kumamong. Whoever chose this should be fired; in effect, it means "Rough MA Indication." So bureaucrats got on it and have filed for trademarks in these three countries under a new moniker: 熊本熊 (Xiong Ben Xiong, literally, Kumamoto Bear). This is a good choice: rather than a nonsensical ateji, it is eloquently balanced Kanji that the locals can understand which will raise awareness of Kuamoto in these countries. Kumanichi reports that trademarking procedures may take up to two years. - William
くまモン、中国名「熊本熊」に　「酷ＭＡ萌」から変更 ｜ 熊本日日新聞
熊本県は７日、くまモンの中華圏での名称を「酷ＭＡ萌（ｋｕ・ｍａ・ｍｅｎｇ）」から「熊本熊（ｘｉｏｎｇ...

Participating in the "Three Sectors, Three Approaches" symposium last night (the event sponsored by the Japan Foundation in which prominent Japanese Americans were invited to come as speakers) was a welcome opportunity for me to meet people whose names I see here on Facebook but either have never met or don't get to see often. One of them was Taiji Matsunami, who posted the following pictures on the Facebook page of his NPO, Kumamoto Machinami Trust. Actually, Machinami Trust(a trust related to the "townscape" preservation or architectural integrity of Kumamoto) sounds a lot like "Matsunami Trust" (trust Mr. Matsunami), which, of course, having met him, I do. ;)
-- Kirk
https://www.facebook.com/kumamoto.trust/posts/2530615480300340?__tn__=-R

A reminder from our Irish friend, Ruth: tonight (3/8), she will hold an Irish dance lesson on the eve of the St. Patrick's Day parade (3/9) starting from Kamitotori at 2:30 (gathering begins at 2:00 - just look for the people in green), after which there will be a party at Salvatore Cuomo and Bar. Time to get your Irish on! Ruth's message is below. - William
Come join the 13th Annual Kumamoto St.Patrick's Day Parade on Sat., 9th March!! 🍀 The night before we'll have an Irish Céili Dance Session (Friday, 8th March) at Kumamoto International Center・熊本市国際交流会館 from 7-9:30pm, so grab a green top and get ready to toe-tap all weekend - at the céili and the parade✨🍀🎻👣🎶 Live music, easy dances and good, green genki fun 💚 Check out the details!!

A note from the Kumamoto International Desk of Cuisine (located near but not in the kitchen as my wife doesn't allow me entrance unless unwashed dishes await, in which case I'd better respond with alacrity): Japanese sour cream is both expensive and too stiff for most western recipes. She found that, blended at a 2.5:1 ratio (or so - experiment to your taste) with plain yogurt, which is much cheaper, the resulting consistency and taste is remarkably like American sour cream.
That is all. - William

Kumamoto has seen record numbers of visitors, particularly with recent improvements to Yatsushiro Port facilitating cruise ship arrivals. This article mentions that Yatsushirogu, the main shrine in the city, had resorted to restricting entry to non-Japanese at certain times, a policy the city opposes, but has recently tried to work out measures to accommodate both worshipers and tourists.
While the article focuses on raucous behavior of visitors, my take is it's mainly a result of cruise-ship tourism rather than culture. Unleashing a few thousand tourists at once under a strict time limit is not a good idea, as even many cities in the US have found (and their customers are fellow Americans). Perhaps efforts can be made to split numbers and better coordinate movement. Yatsushiro is discussed under the "NO-FOREIGNERS POLICY SPREADING" subsection. - William
Bad behavior forces facilities to reject foreign group tourists：The Asahi Shimbun
A growing number of tourism facilities in Japan are refusing to accept non-Japanese group travelers

Hi! Kirk Here. I had a chance to meet the speakers for Thursday nights symposium. At that get meeting, Britt Yamamoto, who was involved in organic farming here in the 1990s asked me if Paul Henshall is still in the area. He used to farm in Kikuchi, I believe. If anyone has any information, Britt would appreciate it. Thanks.
By the way, in regard to the symposium, the more the merrier. If you're available and interested, please stop by.
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/photos/a.129499733790134/2460064540733630/?type=3&theater

Over the years, I've posted quite a few time about the "Kumamoto Artpolis" project. I didn't realize, however, that Arata Isozaki, who has just won the Pritzker architecture prize, was intimately involved in it:
"Kumamoto Artpolis is an innovative urban planning and architecture project that has garnered a lot of international interest and praise since its inception in 1988. World famous architects such as Tadao Ando have contributed work to the project.
The Kumamoto Artpolis project was the brainchild of the then Governor of Kumamoto, Morihiro Hosokawa, and architect Arata Isozaki. Hosokawa later became a Prime Minister of Japan, and Isozaki was Commissioner of the project until 1997 when Toyo Ito took over."
https://www.japanvisitor.com/japan-city-guides/kumamoto-artpolis
-- Kirk
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/mar/05/buildings-that-defy-categorisation-arata-isozaki-wins-2019-pritzker-architecture-prize
'Buildings that defy categorisation' – Arata Isozaki wins 2019 Pritzker architecture prize
The 87-year-old, known for his visionary ideas including an inflatable concert hall, wins architecture’s Nobel prize equivalent

Suizenji Park has a venerable history. When the first Hosokawa lord of Higo, Tadatoshi (細川 忠利), was scoping about for a suitable location for a teahouse in 1636 (the Hosokawa clan is renowned for its cultivation of culture), the burbling springs of the area and its proximity to the castle made the choice a no-brainer. Starting from that simple teahouse, the park grew to include a shrine and a garden of the Heian style, in which the entirety of Japan is represented. It then acquired its full moniker, Suizenji Jyoujuen (水前寺成趣園,すいぜんじじょうじゅえん), derived from a poem by the Six Dynasties period Daoist poet Yuanming Gui Qu Lai Ci: 'Yuan ri she er cheng qu' （園日渉以成趣, The garden becomes more venerable and stately day by day) in his poem of 405 CE「帰去来辞」, which might be translated as "Poem of Wanderings."
Of course, a mini Mt. Fuji was required.
Flash forward to 1877 and the Seinan War. The top of mini Mt. Fuji, the highest point in the area, was lopped off to create a gun emplacement. When the dust had settled, the mount was reconstructed, but then dust was again disturbed during the quakes and the reconstructed portion, never properly bound to the base, slid off. Kumanichi reports that reconstruction of the reconstruction is underway. - William
熊本地震で陥没の築山、復旧始まる　熊本市の水前寺成趣園 ｜ 熊本日日新聞
国の史跡や名勝に指定されている熊本市中央区の水前寺成趣園を管理する出水神社は４日、熊本地震で頂上部が...

Late Saturday night I posted about a symposium to be held this Thursday (March 7) starting a 6 PM. If you missed that announcement, you can find it here:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/photos/a.129499733790134/2460064540733630/
One of the three presenters, Britt Yamamoto, has what I think is an interesting connection to Kumamoto. He came here as a young man and wound up studying with Dr. Yoshitaka TAKEKUMA (竹熊宜孝). Dr. Takekuma is a medical doctor who has put a lot of energy into improving health and wellness by promoting organic farming. One of Britt's PowerPoint slides says that he lived with Dr. Takekuma in Shisui (slightly north of Kumamoto City) and "learned about Japanese organic farming and traditional Japanese health and wellness." If you take a look at his profile on the following page, you can see that he has continued to combine organic farming with health studies and then added leadership programs for Japanese young people:
http://ileap.org/who-we-are/staff-board/britt-yamamoto/
I haven't been able to find much about Dr. Takekuma in English but there's plenty in Japanese. Here's a page with a list of his many books:
http://www.takekuma.com/honshoukai.html
His one-page bio lists many television appearances. Apparently, he's gotten a good deal of attention as the "farming doctor," a physician who practices organic farming and has worked hard to convince others of the importance of healthful eating.
Here's a page with more about him in Japanese:
http://www.ruralnet.or.jp/ouen/meibo/079.html
I'm eager to meet Britt and the other two speakers, whom I think will be equally interesting to listen to but whom I haven't had time to post about yet.
If you are interested in hearing from and getting to meet Japanese American movers and shakers like Britt (you're welcome to attend a reception after the talk), please come! Again, here's the address of my previous post with the details:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/photos/a.129499733790134/2460064540733630/
-- Kirk

We volunteers at KI occasionally receive requests from descendants of Japanese wartime diaspora looking for kin. To date, we've been unsuccessful, most often as, even if located, the kin are reluctant to contact.
Kumanichi has a touching story on Emi Arawa. He was born in New Caledonia in 1939, then under French rule, to a local mother and a Japanese father. Two years later, winds of war ripped the family apart - his mother died, and his father vanished into the maelstrom but apparently returned to Japan in 1946. Emi-san himself was sent to a detention center in Australia. After the war and returning to New Caledonia, French priests in care of him burned his documentation to hide his Japanese identity from a revenge-seeking citizenry.
Now 80, Emi-san desires to visit his ancestral tomb. Surviving documents from his internment in Australia indicate his father was named Terada Tatsuji (the documents do not record the kanji), born in 1892 in Kumamoto. In New Caledonia, the father was a baker; perhaps he continued that occupation on return. A French-speaking volunteer from Texan Christian University is accompanying Emi-san on his first visit to Japan to aid in his search. It is a long shot, and the story is quite complicated. That events from that era continue to reverberate is amazing. Kumanichi provides photos and an email address for any with info. - William
「熊本の父の墓参りたい」　戦争で離別、ニューカレドニアの日系２世 ｜ 熊本日日新聞
南太平洋のフランス領ニューカレドニアに住む日系２世の男性が、日本国内にあるとみられる熊本県出身の父親...

We got a question about Johnny Depp sightings in Kumamoto. This photo seems to have been taken on a set in Serbia (!). Johnny Depp is looking a lot like Eugene Smith and Serbia is looking a lot like Minamata, 50 years ago.
Here's my source:
https://front-row.jp/_ct/17251001
P.S. When I first looked at the article I missed the note about where the movie is being filmed. Kaori Saylor pointed out that the article says that the filming is being done in Serbia! Thanks Kaori! After I realized that the photo was probably taken in Serbia, I rewrote the first part of this post.
-- Kirk

Here's an important bit of news that I seem to have missed. Thanks to Fiona Minami for the heads up!
-- Kirk
https://www.fukuoka-now.com/en/news/kumamoto-city-to-recognize-lgbt-partnerships/
Kumamoto City to recognize LGBT partnerships | Fukuoka Now
Kumamoto City will begin officially recognizing the partnerships of LGBT couples from April 2019. According to the statement of Kumamoto City Mayor Kazufumi Onishi at a press conference on Dec. 4, the city is aiming to provide a more comfortable living environment to the couples as well as to nurtur...

There is a section of this page called "Visitor posts." To view it on my computer I have found that I need to go to "Kumamoto International" (https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/) and then click on "Posts" (on the left side of my computer screen -- not sure where this would be on a phone). In the past, I have tried to share such posts so that they get more eyeballs but, to be honest, I've been a bit negligent about that in recent months. So, to try to catch up, I'll post links to some recent visitor posts as comments below. Here are the topics:
* Jobs (one inquiry about finding a job and one announce about a job opening)
* Inquiry about how to dispose of an old appliance
* Inquiry about Johnny Depp coming to Kumamoto for filming
* Announcement about tax services for Americans
-- Kirk
Kumamoto International
Kumamoto-i is a forum for the exchange of information about Kumamoto in English.

Here's something from my friend, Yuichi Yoshida. He's trying to raise funds to help 74 people with mental handicaps participate in the Special Olympics World Games which will take place in Abu Dhabi beginning on March 14:
https://www.specialolympics.org/about/press-releases/countdown-to-special-olympics-world-games-abu-dhabi-2019
The goal is to raise 10,000 per person -- a rather modest amount. The interface is in Japanese but not too difficult. You need to register (either with Facebook or with your e-mail address and a password of your choosing) and then donate an amount (small or large, as you see fit) with a credit card.
Thanks!!
-- KIrk
P.S. By the way, Yuichi is a very cool guy who, in addition to his involvement in the Special Olympics, is a great English teacher (including the interesting posts about English on his Facebook page) and, as if that didn't keep him busy enough, runs marathons in his spare time. As a matter of fact, he's running in the Tokyo Marathon today! Go Yuichi!!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2212708782101365&set=a.234403573265239&type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/sunny.yoshida/posts/2186796598025917

Congratulations to Kumamoto's own Miyabi Onitsuka! Not only is she a great snowboarder, but she's become great despite her location here in Kumamoto, which is not exactly a snowboarding mecca. I once saw a TV show that described how she has basically lived out of her car for extended periods of time in order to be in locations where she could practice.
-- Kirk
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/03/02/more-sports/winter-sports-more-sports/miyabi-onitsuka-places-third-womens-slopestyle-final-u-s-open/
Miyabi Onitsuka places third in women's slopestyle final at U.S. Open | The Japan Times
Miyabi Onitsuka placed third in the women's slopestyle final Friday at the U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships at Vail Mountain Resort in Colorado. Zoi Sa

This page has a video where you can enjoy hearing former rugby footballer Scott Quinnell introduce Kumamoto facilities for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and construction in downtown Kumamoto in his beautiful Welsh accent.
-- Kirk
Scott Quinnell: Kumamoto Is A Taste Of Real Japan
The 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan is just over six months away and on the south island of Kyushu, the city of Kumamoto is getting ready to host Wales v Uruguay in Pool D on October 13th and France v Tonga in Pool C on Oct 6th. Former Wales and British & Irish Lions No.8 Scott Quinnell recently accom...