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Years ago, I was in my hometown near Los Angeles waiting for my wife outside a Japanese supermarket and fell into conversation with an older woman distributing fliers for a shogatusu celebration, and it turned out she had emigrated from Kashima several decades previously. She was shocked to hear my stories of how Kashima had developed since then (huge shopping malls!)
Kumanichi has an article on Kumamoto diaspora in LA who have organized a group called "Kumamoto Reconstruction Assistance Hinokuni Festival IN LA Executive Committee" 「熊本復興支援火の国まつりＩＮ　ＬＡ実行委員会」to hold a festival coinciding with the Hinokuni Festival to raise funds for earthquake relief.
It's a small world. Hope the approaching typhoon will not adversely affect the festivities. Enjoy, everyone! - William
“火の国まつり”ＬＡでも　熊本市出身者ら企画　復興支援に - 熊本日日新聞
「火の国まつり」を冠したイベントのチラシを持つ安藤みちよさん（実行委員会提供）　熊本市の中心市街地で４～６日に開かれる「第４０回火の国まつり」に合わせ、熊本から遠く離れた米ロサンゼルスでも現地時間の５日、火の国まつりを冠したイベントが初めて...

The caption to this photo from the NASA site is sufficient: "NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik photographed Super Typhoon Noru in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean on August 1, 2017, as the International Space Station passed overhead. He shared images of the massive storm on social media, writing, 'Super Typhoon #Noru, amazing the size of this weather phenomenon, you can almost sense its power from 250 miles above.'" - William
https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/space-station-flyover-of-super-typhoon-noru

If you are a fan of either the Japanese science-fiction anime television series "Neon Genesis Evangelion" or of the art of Japanese sword making you may want to check out the traveling exhibition in progress at the Kumamoto Prefectural Art Museum. Here is the first paragraph from an article about the exhibition when it began in Paris:
"The Japan Foundation held the Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition in Paris from April through June, 2014 after the exhibition enjoyed a great popularity in Japan, and also organized the event in Madrid in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Japan-Spain exchanges from July 5 through September 28, 2014. In this exhibition where master craftsmen across Japan challenged the world of Evangelion: New Theatrical Edition, a popular animated film series, the swords and other sharp-edged weapons replicated with traditional skills such as the Lance of Longinus, Bizen Osafune and Magoroku Sword which are important items of the story as well as 20 Japanese swords and other items created by craftsmen who got inspirations from Evangelion and its characters were mainly shown together with 5 famous and traditional Japanese swords, accessories, the real-sized sculpture of Eva 01 and character image panels."
http://www.wochikochi.jp/english/special/2014/09/the-evangelion-and-japanese-swords-exhibition-from-the-perspective-of-a-spanish-manga-lover.php
-- Kirk
http://www.kab.co.jp/special/evangelion_tousyou/
「ヱヴァンゲリヲンと日本刀展」が熊本へ！2017年7月27日（木）より熊本県立美術館 分館で開催！

This is an image from a TV show (News Station) that I recorded last night. The point is that ocean temperatures around Kyushu are high and that this means that typhoon is likely to remain strong as it approaches. As I understand it, heat is the fuel that makes cyclones go so there is concern that global warming is giving rise to increasingly powerful storms.
-- Kirk

The image shows some of the devastation that Kumamoto City suffered as a result of intense bombing in 1945. Buildings that were well known at the time are marked in red. The Shiyakusho (City Hall) is the building marked on the far right. If we could see the castle, that would help us recognize this scene as being Kumamoto City but the castle had already been destroyed in the Seinan Civil War of 1877 and did not get rebuilt until 1960.
This image is from the following blog:
http://nasushoten.blog.jp/archives/8486354.html
I'm not sure if the exact same image is part of the display currently on view at City Hall (the downtown Shiyakusho) but I assume that many similarly interesting photos are. Here's a Japanese web page from Kumamoto City's site about the display:
http://www.city.kumamoto.jp/hpkiji/pub/detail.aspx?c_id=5&type=top&id=5917
It says that the panel display will be at the Shiyakusho until August 9th and then move to the Higashi Kuyakusho (East Ward Kuyakusho) until the 17th.
-- Kirk
http://livedoor.blogimg.jp/nasushoten/imgs/d/a/da985415.jpg

According to TropicalStorm.com, NORU (Typhoon No. 5 in Japan) is scheduled to arrive in about 4 days. It's a strong system and may be a category 2 or even 3 cyclone when it hits Kyushu. That's a good deal stronger than the typhoon we experienced earlier this year, the one that did a fair amount of damage. On the other hand, though stronger than the previous one, the angle of approach should reduce the impact that we feel here in Kumamoto.
http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com
-- Kirk
P.S. Here's the address of a previous post of mine in which I explain what it was about the angle of approach that increased the damage last time:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/photos/a.129499733790134.25925.123734781033296/1511645678908859/
http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com

Tamana (about an hour's drive north of Kumamoto City) had the highest temperature in Japan today. As you can see in the image, the temperature was 37.9 C or just over 100 F. This was the second day in a row for Tamana to be at the top of the list of "hot spots" in Japan. -- Kirk
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/lnews/kumamoto/5005710641.html

Minamata survivor to attend conference on treaty to prevent mercury pollution | The Japan Times
A survivor of Minamata mercury poisoning disease will visit Switzerland next month to attend the first conference of signatory states to an international t

William here. Kirk-san posted yesterday about the heat index, which factors in such parameters as humidity and wind. The approaching typhoon seems to be kicking the breeze up a bit, but above a certain temperature, wind has no effect on human cooling. I just ventured outside, and it felt like this:

With the hot weather we've been having, I'm frequently tempted to search on the web to try to find the the peak temperature for Kumamoto. Well, I think I've found a reasonably good site. It's in Japanese but numbers are numbers so that shouldn't be too much of a problem:
http://www.jma.go.jp/jp/amedas_h/today-86141.html
Today's high (near Kumamoto Castle, where the measurements are taken) was 36.8 C (98.2 F), with a relative humidity of 51%. If you're interested, you can take these numbers and plot them on a heat index chart like the one to be found here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_index
to get confirm what your senses are telling you . . . it's REALLY hot!
-- Kirk

From the Kumamoto International Desk of Meteorology and Psychedelic Music (merged due to budget cuts): Seriously, cue up your favorite mind-altering song and open this link. - William
earth :: a global map of wind, weather, and ocean conditions
See current wind, weather, ocean, and pollution conditions, as forecast by supercomputers, on an interactive animated map. Updated every three hours.

"A fully fledged Sumo Run event with about 1,000 runners is planned for Kumamoto Prefecture in October to raise funds for victims of the disaster."
If you have a few moments, check out the video on the article page. I think it will make you smile. :)
-- Kirk
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201707310023.html
‘Sumo’ fun run thunders across Fukuoka park for quake victims：The Asahi Shimbun
FUKUOKA--Thundering footsteps of sumo wrestlers running together could be enough to trigger another

Okay, so Typhoon #5, who had no idea where he wanted to go (first west, then east, then west again, then south, then north, now west again) seems to be heading our way, and it appears we'll finally meet around Sunday or Monday. It's not particularly powerful in terms of cataclysmic events but bears watching. (Second photo: bears watching.) - William

An unexploded incendiary bomb was discovered yesterday during waterworks construction near Kasegawa close to the Claire Mall. It was apparently dropped during the American raids that occurred coincidentally almost 72 year ago to this day and is a meter in length and 40 cm in diameter. As the risk of explosion by moving the bomb is high, the SDF will destroy it by a controlled explosion on 8/5; houses within 150 meters of the site will be evacuated and traffic restricted.
That might be fun to watch. More info and a map can be found at the link. - William
https://this.kiji.is/264922423918822908?c=92619697908483575
不発弾、５日に信管除去　熊本市が約40世帯に避難指示へ - 熊本日日新聞
熊本市不発弾処理対策本部の会議で関係機関に協力を呼び掛ける本部長の大西一史市長（中央）＝同市役所　熊本市東区画図町で見つかった不発弾に関し、市は３１日、爆発を引き起こす恐れのある信管を８月５日に除去すると発表した。除去地点から半径１５０メー...

This article includes the following paragraph:
"The push to create the system came from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami and the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes. During the 2011 disaster, the central and municipal government sent out information separately about the roads each body respectively managed, and it wasn't until 12 days after the initial earthquake that the government summarized all the information so a supply route carrying aid to the disaster-hit areas could be established. Additionally, in the case of the Kumamoto earthquakes, because the main shock occurred in the early hours of the morning, it was impossible to confirm the status of the roads from above in the darkness. It took roughly 16 hours until the central government could issue its first report on damage to the road system."
-- Kirk
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170730/p2a/00m/0na/001000c
Gov't develops data system to grasp road conditions for faster disaster response - The Mainichi
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has teamed up with an NPO to create a system that tracks the movements of cars during disasters to grasp road conditions and shorten the time taken to set up rescue and supply lines for emergency responders.

Hey all! This is my first post here at Kumamoto International! I've been following this page since the earthquake last year and I'm excited to contribute. I'm really big on festivals and events, and going to shrines and temples, so you can expect a lot of information about those kinds of things from me.
Therefore, I thought I'd let everyone know that 火の国お祭り (Hi no Kuni Matsuri) is coming up this weekend. This year is the 40th anniversary so there are many things to do. The opening ceremony will be on the 4th, with events all weekend. The biggest event is the dance through the streets of Kumamoto on Saturday night. It lasts from 7:15 to 8:40 and includes 5000 dancers doing the おてもやん総おどり otemoyan dance If you want to come in to town, please be careful as certain roads and areas will be closed off (from 6 to 9:45) and there will be plenty of people all around. I've attached a photo and a video from last years festival. It was really interesting and I recommend it to all!!
Here's a link to the website where you can get more information: https://kumamoto-guide.jp/hinokunimatsuri/#wrapper_about
-- Megan

Kuma Village in southern Kumamoto was mentioned on NHK's evening news. Earlier today, it got of 63 mm of rain (a couple of inches) in just an hour (or perhaps that was the rate of rainfall at it's peak -- not sure which). At any rate, it must have been raining pretty hard to be picked up on the national news:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20170731/k10011081741000.html
-- Kirk

If you're in Kumamoto City (and probably other parts of the prefecture) you don't need me to tell you that there's been an inordinate amount of thunder in the last hour or so. Thunderstorm and heavy rain advisories have been issued for much of the prefecture and warnings have been issued for areas south of Kumamoto City. Check out the JMA's website for details:
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/warn/
-- Kirk
P.S. Normally, thunder doesn't bother me too much but even I have found the recent rumblings to be a bit disconcerting.

YOKA is a publication prepared by JETs in Kumamoto, primarily for those here on the JET program but, thankfully, they make it available on the internet for all interested persons, JET and non-JET alike. They always combine interesting writing with aesthetically pleasing graphics. Here's the URL:
http://kumamotojet.com/documents/YOKAs/2017SummerYOKA.pdf
And here's the text summary that came with the e-mail notice I received:
"The 2017 Summer YOKA is here! This YOKA features the following...
Are You All Set for KumAJET? by KumAJET
Kona Kona Café: More than a Trendy Café by Erin Dillon & George Leach
Summer Vacation by Zak Repman
This Year Is Canada by Jamie Jové-Viniegra
Taifuu and You by Jonny Cornish
Confessions of a Gaijin Drama Queen by Sheridan Piltz
Housekeeping: Tackling the Dreaded Kabi by June Ang
Title Unrecovered by Garrett Stanford
Photos by Erika Egner, Tanya Leonard, Laura McGhee, Susannah Roberts"
-- Kirk

Once there was a lil' railroad called the Minami Aso Tetsudo that connected Takamori with the JR line at Tateno so that high school students and company workers could get to where they needed to be.
Then the big bad quakes came along and took out not only their bridge across Shirakawa but also much of their track. So that was the end of that - the local folks have had to rely on buses since then.
But this is not any average lil' railroad. No: It is the lil' railroad that could. It said, "Hey, even if we don't have a bridge to connect to Tateno and over half of our rail line is damaged, we can make do with what we have!" So it did. On July 31, Minami Aso Tetsudo reopened a 7.1 kilometer route between its terminus in Takamori and a central station, Nakamatsu, mostly to be used by tourists and as a charter train.
Repairing the 10.6KM remaining damaged sections - particularly the bridge - is problematic, as the small company has no ability to pay for it. But remember: This is the lil' railroad that could. They will find a way.
Linked article at Kumanichi with maps and other cool info. - William
https://this.kiji.is/264557915006961149?c=92619697908483575
南阿蘇鉄道、部分運行再開１年　集客へ知恵、全線復旧へ腐心 - 熊本日日新聞
熊本地震後の部分運行から１年を迎える南阿蘇鉄道。観光トロッコ列車の乗客は少しずつ戻ってきているという＝２９日、南阿蘇村　熊本地震で全線運休に追い込まれた第三セクター南阿蘇鉄道が、部分運行を始めて３１日で１年を迎える。全線の半分にも満たない区...