Good morning, fellow Kumamotians! You might notice heavy rain accompanied by thunder. This will likely continue through noon. I hope you don't have any plans for the AM. - William
Posts
If you’re in the Kumamoto area and interested in Japanese history and philosophy or if you just want to get outside of the city for an afternoon, I always recommend visiting Reigando (霊巌洞), a cave where the famous Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi is purported to have written The Book of Five Rings in the mid 1600s. The Book of Five Rings became an important philosophical and strategical work and is still much read and studied today. Translators have circled back to it many times in an attempt to wring out the simple beauty and careful precision of the text, a task that is much more difficult than it might sound.
Musashi spent the last few years of his life in and around Kumamoto and was associated with the Hosokawa clan residing in Kumamoto Castle at the time. His gravesite is also in Kumamoto and is now located within a park that bears his name - Musashizuka Park (武蔵塚公園).
Even for those not familiar with Musashi, Reigando is a beautiful place, and it’s easy to understand how someone might go there and be inspired. The cave is nestled in the hills overlooking the ocean to the northwest of Kumamoto and sits beside an ancient Buddhist temple called Unganzenji. To get to the cave you must walk through the temple and past a rock face covered in hundreds of time- and weather-worn statues. When I was living in Kumamoto I went several times, including with visiting friends and family, and it was always an incredible experience.
Reigando can be reached by car or by bus, though it’s important to note that some walking, including up quite a steep hill, is required from the nearest bus stop. A decent amount of information is available in English and I’ve provided some links here.
To get to Reigando by bus, take the 新6 from the central bus station and get off at the 岩戸観音入口 (Iwato Kannon entrance) stop. It usually takes between 30 and 45 minutes to get there depending on the traffic. From the bus stop the cave is a 15-20 minute walk up the hill to the left, and there are also some nice views and stopping points along the way.
- Grace
https://kumamoto-guide.jp/en/spots/detail/109
http://www.explore-kumamoto.com/reigando-cave-and-unganzenji-temple/
https://en.japantravel.com/kumamoto/reigando-cave/3496
Reigando Cave
It is Kumamoto City Official Tourism Website. We will introduce the charm of Kumamoto City including tourist spots such as Kumamoto Castle and Suizenji Park and also cooking, events and special products.
A 90 million year-old fossilized tooth that belonged to a critter in the genus Deltatheridium has been found in Kumamoto. These possum-like animals were ancestors of modern marsupials that frolicked with (correction: did their utmost to avoid being eaten by) dinosaurs. They are thought to have originated in Asia before finding their way to Australia and becoming kangaroos. This is getting a good deal of news coverage because it's the first such discovery in Japan. The finding was reported by the Mifune Dinosaur Museum on the 24th. I saw it on the NHK evening news (national broadcast) that evening.
If you'd like to read a bit more about this critter here's a BBC article you might enjoy:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/226722.stm
-- Kirk
https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2017082400396&g=soc
熊本県御船町の白亜紀後期（約９０００万年前）の地層から、カンガルーなどの有袋類を含む哺乳類のグループ「後獣類」の化石が見つかったと、御船町恐竜博物館が２４日発表した。見つかったのは有袋類に進化した系統ではないが、後獣類の化石は国内初という。同博物館の池上直樹
From the Kumamoto International Kumamon Affairs Desk: The Kumanichi has reported on images of a newly kitted-out Kumamon to welcome the rugby World Cup event to be held here in 2019. I particularly like the image of Kumamon dressed as Kato Kiyomasa - considered the founding father of Kumamoto. You can read more about him here (this is a go-to site for all things medieval Japan): https://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=Kato_Kiyomasa - William
https://this.kiji.is/273271515654899194?c=92619697908483575
くまモン、日本文化発信 海外意識の新イラスト - 熊本日日新聞
県が発表したくまモンの新イラストの一部。上から加藤清正、ラグビーボール、聖火ランナー（県提供） 県は２３日、県のＰＲキャラクターくまモンの新たなイラスト１９種類を公表し、利用申請の受け付けを始めた。２０１９年に県内でも開催されるラグビーＷ杯...
The team to which Shugakukan lost in the Koshien tournament made it to the finals but was defeated by Hanasaki Tokuharu from Saitama. As I did with Hiroshima's Koryo, I took at look at how "local" the Hanasaki team members are for comparative purposes. Here's the page I referred to:
http://apapnews.com/famousmember/member/363/
Five of the 18 players listed are from Saitama and another 5 are from nearby Tokyo. So, the winning Hanasaki team seems to be considerably more "local" than Shugakukan. On the other hand, Saitama alone has a population of 7 million and Tokyo has 9 million, so a case can be made that Shugakukan needs to draw its players from much farther away in order to have access to a analogous population base. Even with Saitama and Tokyo to draw upon, Hanasaki also has players from as far away Osaka and Hyogo.
On a separate but (I think) related point, this tournament was characterized by a number of batting records being broken or equalled. First, the record for the number of solo home runs hit during the tournament was smashed with a whopping 56:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20170820/k10011105491000.html
Second, Shosei Nakamura of Koryo broke two records and tied one:
"Its loss also ruined a story-book ending for Shosei Nakamura, the Koryo catcher who set individual records for most home runs (6) and most RBIs (17) in a single tournament. He also tied the record for most hits at 19."
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201708230048.html
As I see it, the origins of the players and the increase in home runs are both indications that the Koshien tournament has become one in which schools with professional coaches and training facilities prepare highly select groups of young men to compete against one another at a semi-pro level of play. I guess this environment is the backdrop that helps explain why Shugakukan has put a team together that lacks a single local player.
-- Kirk
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2017/08/23/baseball/hanasaki-tokuharu-captures-first-summer-koshien-title/
Hanasaki Tokuharu captures first Summer Koshien title | The Japan Times
Manaya Nishikawa went 3-for-6 with four RBIs to lead a 16-hit attack as Hanasaki Tokuharu beat Hiroshima's Koryo 14-4 at the National High School Baseball
William wrote about someone going through a mental crisis:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1569101186496641
A while back I began to look for information about counseling services but then got busy and failed to put the information together in a post. Here's what I have. Some of the services are based in Kumamoto while others are based elsewhere but provide counseling via telephone, etc:
http://www.kuma-koku.jp/hpkiji/pub/List.aspx?c_id=3&class_set_id=1&class_id=528
The International Consultation Corner is operated through the Kumamoto International Association as commissioned by Kumamoto Prefecture.
http://www.bluejava.com/tell/index.html?screen=results&module=-1581215855&catId=1544&prefId=1398
Dr Kazumi Kutsuna
Kumamoto Psychological Counseling Center Nishikisakuramachi Building 6F 2-37, Sakura-machi, Chuou-Ku Kumamoto
http://telljp.com/counseling/
TELL counseling provides confidential and comprehensive mental health services for the increasingly diverse international community in Japan.
http://telljp.com/lifeline/
Every day for over 40 years TELL Lifeline has been providing important connections and support to people all across Japan. We save lives.
http://www.suicide.org/hotlines/international/japan-suicide-hotlines.html
The International Consultation Corner is operated through the Kumamoto International Association as commissioned by Kumamoto Prefecture.
Guide <leaflet version> of victim (should be "for crime victims")
http://www.pref.kumamoto.jp.e.qp.hp.transer.com/police/page63.html
-- Kirk
Personal note:
Grading tests now. An Indonesian female student chose as her essay topic the immense isolation she feels and how it has led to a mental crisis. I've experienced that more times than I want to remember - it becomes existential to the point that you simply want to drown yourself to end it all. Living in a foreign country gets easier - and actually quite enjoyable - with practice (and it's funny - it doesn't matter where you live as they're all foreign places, meaning different customs, languages you do not comprehend, and no family or friends for support; it's learning how to respond), but those first steps are often very painful.
So I set her test aside and emailed her to ask for a meeting. I hope that she responds. But reach out when you see someone flailing. We're all in the same boat. (Although I suppose one doesn't flail if one's still in the boat - sorry; mixed metaphores. But you get the idea.) - William
This news item is by no means limited to Kumamoto but I'm sure it will be of interest to many of the expats who read this page. The image you see is from a pdf document that can be found at the following URL:
https://www.nenkin.go.jp/international/english/index.files/leaflet.pdf
I learned about the change (and URL for the pdf) at Debito.org:
Good news: Japan’s National Pension scheme lowers minimum qualification time from 25 years to 10!
http://www.debito.org/?p=14704
Some readers of this page may find Debito.org to be a bit too polemical and political for their tastes but activist / author/ blogger Arudo Debito does a good job of pulling together information that should be of interest to many expats living in Japan. I think this is one such example of why Debito's page is valuable to expats. I looked for information on this issue on the internet but, aside from Debito's post, could not find a news article about this 25 to 10 year change for foreigners. Perhaps it's been covered but after numerous searches I was only able to come up with this article from February:
Japan’s pension payments system set for overhaul
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/02/03/national/japans-pension-payments-system-set-overhaul/
I assume that this change is part of the overhaul referred to in the title but the article doesn't seem to mention it explicitly. So, kudos to Debito for getting the word out on an important change that other news outlets seem to have missed.
-- KIrk
A heat warning has been issued for the Kumamoto region today (Wednesday) - it will be 35°C, which kind of makes one long for the times when it was 35°F, and very sunny. My suggestion: Air conditioning, and do not go outside. Maybe even don't get up at all. Take care, all. - William
熊本の速報ニュース │ くまにちコム
熊本日日新聞社 公式サイト。熊本のニュースを中心に温泉やグルメ、イベント情報も掲載。
Let me start with a few quotes from Wikipedia:
"Kanō Jigorō (嘉納 治五郎, 28 October 1860 – 4 May 1938) was a Japanese educator and athlete, the founder of Judo."
"In January 1891, Kanō was appointed to a position at the Ministry of Education. In August 1891, he gave up this position to become a dean at the Fifth Higher Normal School (present-day Kumamoto University). One of the teachers at Fifth Higher between 1891 and 1893 was Lafcadio Hearn."
"Kanō was also a pioneer of international sports. Accomplishments included being the first Asian member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) (he served from 1909 until 1938); officially representing Japan at most Olympic Games held between 1912 and 1936; and serving as a leading spokesman for Japan's bid for the 1940 Olympic Games."
If you visit the campus of Kumamoto University, you may be able to find a small monument commemorating Kano's contribution near the entrance to the gymnasium where Kumadai's judo club practices. I met with a friend recently who pointed out to me that Kumamoto has largely ignored Kano's connection to the community. Much has been said and written about Lafcadio Hearn's and Natsume Soseki's connections to Kumamoto but, by comparison, Kano Jigoro is hardly ever mentioned.
But there are some who have been trying to point out the importance of Kano's time in Kumamoto. If you read Japanese, please check out the following page from the "Kumamoto Human Resources Network" (「熊本人財ネットワーク」 ）:
http://www.jinzai-brand.com/2016/11/柔道を「国際化」した教育者%E3%80%80嘉納治五郎/
-- Kirk
P.S. The picture of Kano engaging in judo is from the second site, not Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanō_Jigorō
"The number of passengers on the railway plummeted to 40,000 in fiscal 2016 from 260,000 the previous year, mainly because Tateno Station, which offers a link to the Hohi Main Line of Kyushu Railway Co., remains closed."
Copied and pasted by Kirk
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/08/21/national/kumamoto-railway-struggles-rebuild-devastating-2016-quake/#.WZt4Vq2B2Cc
Kumamoto railway struggles to rebuild after devastating 2016 quake | The Japan Times
A railway in Kumamoto Prefecture is working hard to win back passengers 16 months after a series of powerful earthquakes rocked the area. Minami-aso Railwa
For those of you who will be in Kumamoto this weekend, the Honda plant in Ozu will be holding its annual summer festival on Saturday. Festivities kick off at 4pm and run until the end of the fireworks show, which starts at 9.
Entry is free and there will be loads of fun and entertainment, including live stage events, a visit from Kamen Rider for the kiddies, and a raffle with drawings at 8:05pm. No word what the top prize will be this year, but it seems that last year's winner walked away with an Honda motorbike!
You can drive directly there and park in one of the 4000 available spots, or take a free shuttle bus from the JR Higo Ozu station.
Here is the address and the event poster in Japanese.
〒869-1293 Kumamoto Prefecture, Kikuchi District, 大津町Hirakawa, 1500
- Sara
This article is from May but just this morning the Asahi Shimbun published an article in Japanese about the practice of making kids whose hair is not naturally jet black prove that they are not dying it by submitting a "natural hair certificate" ("jige shomeisho"; 地毛証明書):
http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASK815T7FK81UTIL04X.html
The article is critical of the practice. Several people interviewed (two experts and one teacher) characterize it as an abuse of the rights of the child. One criticism that is mentioned in the article is that the practice encourages students to focus on differences in appearance instead of helping them to learn to look beyond them. I might add that the burden of having to document the natural condition of one's hair and the implied message (even if unintended) that having a different color of hair is somehow abnormal or undesirable are also problematic.
Human rights activist Arudo Debito has also written about this:
REPORT: Immigrant children and Japan’s Hair Police
http://www.debito.org/?p=412
I don't know if kids in Kumamoto are required to submit such certificates. My kids were not. (Correction: My wife has informed me that our daughter was indeed asked to submit such a form -- with a picture as evidence! As if the word of my wife and the fact that her father is of a different nationality isn't enough!) Still, I thought this might be of interest to current or future parents in Kumamoto, especially if your kids' hair is not naturally jet black.
-- Kirk
http://www.businessinsider.com/japanese-students-hair-color-2017-5
Most Tokyo high schools demand students prove their real hair color, study finds
Some Japanese students are prohibited from having permed, dyed, or unkempt hair. The measure is designed to uphold strict standards for physical appearance.
The Kumamoto JET website has an events page. I may not be able to share the information here in a timely manner so, if you're interested, you may want to bookmark it and check in from time to time.
-- Kirk
http://kumamotojet.com/shin/index.php/category/events/
Events September Events in Ashikita August 17, 2017 Published by: kumamoto Ashikita Music Festival Date: 10th September 2017 Venue: Yume moyai （芦北町女島活力推進センターゆめもやい） Doors open at 16:00 Performance starts 17:00 Tickets are ￥3000 in advance (need to be booked by phone) or ￥3300 on the day To book, p...
Sorry about not giving you all a heads up before hand. This event occurs every year so, if you're interested, mark your calendar for next year.
-- Kirk
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170817/p2a/00m/0na/020000c
1,000 dancers light the way at Kumamoto Pref. festival - The Mainichi
YAMAGA, Kumamoto -- About a thousand women wearing traditional summer yukata and lanterns on their heads danced during the traditional Yamaga Toro Matsuri lantern festival here on Aug. 16.
Hirata is a company which makes industrial robots and has some facilities in Kumamoto, which is featured in their latest commercial. The tagline is, "The world is not yet compete. We're working to make it so."
Okay, good luck with that - but it is a beautiful, short CM. - William
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjNt-wy8QH0
.
平田機工 東京証券取引所 第1部 市場変更のCM(熊本,栃木,滋賀)
Here's part of an e-mail announcement from the Kumamoto City International Center about an opportunity to study Japanese:
=== start quote ===
KIF Japanese Information
※Intensive Japanese Course on Daily Life Japanese for Beginer
Without basic Japanese ability, living in Kumamoto can be hard! We are now offering an intensive basic Japanese course for people who have just come to Kumamoto and have trouble communicating, or people who have lived here for a while but have not yet studied the language seriously.
Date ㈰Sept 10th 9:30-12:30 ㈪Sept 16th 9:30-12:30 ㈫Sept 22th 9:30-16:30
㈬Sept 23th 9:30-12:30 ㈭Sept 24th 9:30-16:30 ㈮Sept 26th 9:30-12:30
㈯Sept 29st 9:30-16:30
Place Kumamoto City International Center
Applicants Foreign residents who want to study Japanese.
Fee 3,500 yen ※ materials fee included
Capacity 10 people
Application In person at the Kumamoto City International Center
※Please apply personally until a week before starting the class.
Note The following people will be given priority: those who can attend all programs.
=== end quote ===
You can contact them at:
TEL: 096-359-4995 (9:00 to 20:00)
Email: [email protected]
-- Kirk
Koryo High School of Hiroshima has defeated Shugakukan of Kumamoto (Yatsushiro). The impression I got from the Japanese article I'm introducing is that Koryo was considered to be the underdog; though they could not overpower Shugakukan outright with power hitting, they were able to win with a combination of "smaller" techniques such as bunting.
Out of curiosity, I took at look at a web page showing the junior high schools from which the Koryo players graduated (making such information public seems to be customary in high school baseball):
http://apapnews.com/famousmember/1486/
Koryo also has a few players from other prefectures but the majority are kids from the local area. As I wrote earlier, that's something that's not true of Shugakukan. On the other hand, Koryo may not be all that different from Shugakukan. If you go to the Wikipedia page of the high school, you'll see a very, very long list of professional baseball players listed as notable graduates:
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/広陵高等学校_(広島県)
The NHK Koshien page says that they've made it to the spring and summer tournaments three times each:
http://www9.nhk.or.jp/koushien/school/
Hiroshima City has a population of over a million so they have a much larger pool of local talent to draw from than does Yatsushiro --- and even so they get some of their talent from places like Fukuoka, Osaka, and Okayama. When I think of it that way, perhaps a school from Yatsushiro trying to win at this game as a relative newcomer should be considered the underdog after all, regardless of where they find their players.
This confused little essay, which lacks a clear conclusion, has been brought to you by Kirk.
http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASK8K3RKMK8KUTQP013.html
「甲子園慣れ」秀岳館のミス突く 広陵、大技小技で圧倒：朝日新聞デジタル
（１７日、高校野球 広陵６―１秀岳館） 「秀岳館さんは甲子園慣れをしていて、どしっと構えている。ミスを突く野球を出来ればと思う」 試合前の、広陵の中井監督の言葉だ。 小技を絡めて、相手を崩しにかかった…
If you're non-Japanese and live in Japan for any longer than a few moments, the police at your local koban will recognize your existence. Sometimes they'll visit for mutual introduction, which is a good thing as then you're mutually introduced. I've had a few interactions with them (most recently, I smelled a gas leak at a vacant house near mine and called for a discrete inspection - it was near midnight - and a dozen emergency vehicles showed up in minutes with all their bells and sirens blazing). They thanked me as it turned out to be potentially disastrous.
The other day, an ear infection had left me disoriented, so I opted to drive to the ear, nose and throat clinic a kilometer down the street (the Japanese is a direct translation - "jibiiinnkouka" 「耳鼻咽喉科」）and, having neglected to seatbelt myself, was immediately stopped by a cop who called me by name. I explained my situation, and he said that, as he'd stopped me, he was required to ticket me, which he did, and I politely thanked him (verbally, at least) and continued on my way.
It was later that I noticed the "ticket" I'd received was not the green of the type I normally (and too frequently) receive - it was white. (Further research has unearthed a third type - red, which is issued for violations entailing criminal prosecution - fortunately, I'm not familiar with those; they're known respectively as "kotsuihan aokippu and akakippu" 「交通違反青キップ赤キップ」). Closer inspection showed that it was a warning ("kokuchihyo" 「告知票」), not a ticket, and as such entailed no fine nor license penalty point loss. All three types are pictured below.
Lesson: Be nice to your local police. If this had happened in a place where they didn't know me, I'd be a few thousand yen and one point poorer. - William
The mercury poising tragedy known as Minamata disease is not merely a matter of history; many issues related to the environmental disaster that occurred here in Kumamoto have yet to be completely resolved. Globally, the threat of low- and high-level mercury poisoning is still with us but the Minamata Convention on Mercury is an important step in the right direction.
-- Kirk
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170816/p2g/00m/0in/009000c
Int'l treaty to prevent mercury pollution enters into force - The Mainichi
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- An international treaty to protect human health and the environment from mercury pollution entered into force Wednesday, paving the way for regulation of the manufacture, cross-border trading, use and disposal of the chemical.
