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William "Otsukaresama" to all of our friends who participated in today's marathon. Those with stories and/or photos to share, please PM us and we will ensure that your voice is shared.
Shown: Kumamon at the Kanakuri Marathon.

Liz here. I am posting the translation of a post made earlier this weekend by Noriko Kimoto , a tea ceremony teacher here in Kumamoto. I think most foreign residents are familiar with Shirakawa Park downtown , next to the police station, but you may not know about the historically and culturally important tea house that sits quietly in the back corner of the park. I had the good fortune to attend a tea ceremony event by Kimoto sensei last year.

William I don't get out much but visited the Gusto in Kuhonji for lunch and was quite surprised to be served by robots. It was no gimmick - one orders by tablet, the food is delivered by robot, and the only human interaction is when you're seated and when you pay. It was quite pleasant, actually. Is this the new normal that I've been missing out on?

Kirk here. Click on the photo to see a slideshow of some of the ways in which Tsujunkyo was lit up.
Japan's national treasure Tsujun Bridge spectacularly lit up with projection mapping - The Mainichi
YAMATO, Kumamoto -- Tsujun Bridge, one of Japan's largest stone arched aqueducts and a national treasure, was illuminated with colorful projection map

Kirk reporting that Amakusa used to have some BIG critters running around: "It is the largest jawbone of a carnivorous dinosaur discovered in Japan, according to experts."
Tyrannosaurid jawbone fossil found for 1st time in Japan - The Mainichi
KUMAMOTO (Kyodo) -- A lower jawbone fossil from a tyrannosaurid dinosaur was found in a roughly 74-million-year-old layer of earth from the Late Creta

Michaela here - Thanks to Kuma Visit for the post that the Kumamoto Marathon is being held this Sunday. As the map indicates there will be some impacts in terms of road closures and public transport routes particularly in town.
Good luck to any members participating 🏃 🏃🏼‍♀️ 🏃‍♂️

William Reihoku is a peninsula tipped by a large hill on Amakusa island, formerly known as Tomioka until it merged with several nearby villages. It even has a small castle, built in 1601 atop the hill, which came in handy in 1637, when rebels from Shimabara crossed the sea and attacked during the Shimabara-Amakusa Rebellion. It takes less than an hour to walk every small fork on the one road that crosses the tip; here and there are sandy beaches with fair-to-good water quality. Its small but deep harbor offers ferry service to Shimabara. For Amakusa fans, the sleepy town is a must-visit both for its past and present.
Japan Today reports that a jawbone fossil from a tyrannosaurid dinosaur was recently discovered there from the Late Cretaceous period, when Kyushu was connected to the Asian mainland. Maybe Reihoku will become a little less sleepy.
https://japantoday.com/category/national/tyrannosaurid-jawbone-fossil-found-for-1st-time-in-japan

Kirk here with a call to foreigners to improve their manners. The illustration you see was added by the Kumanichi to a letter to the editor from a woman who wrote to complain. One problem brought up in the letter was a group of people gathering with bicycles on the sidewalk in a way that made it hard for other pedestrians to get by. Granted, that's not very considerate behavior. The other complaint (and what you see in the illustration) was about foreigners talking loudly on a bus and taking selfies. OK, having lived here a long time, I recognize that most Japanese people like for their bus rides to be quiet. However, I was very interested to hear from a Chinese student who gave a little presentation in a class of mine on "bus riding culture" that she found buses in Japan to be a bit too quiet. She said she actually preferred to hear people enjoying conversation and found the typical silence on Japanese busses to be a bit stifling.
I recognize that it's a good idea for foreigners to respect the fact that many Japanese people like their busses to be quiet. At the same time, I'd like Japanese people to recognize that other approaches aren't necessarily "wrong" or "bad." Loosen up! ;)
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/a006c0f4cd609f6478a7ccf9dd0b102f3961a8d0
P.S. The letter writer thought that local governments should teach us proper manners. Hmmmm, that doesn't seem very likely to happen; I can't recall receiving such lessons since arriving here.
外国人に交通ルール周知を【ハイ！こちら編集局】（熊本日日新聞） - Yahoo!ニュース
　最近、外国人の方をよく見かけるようになりました。コロナ禍が落ち着いたので、外国からの研修生などが増えているのかもしれませんが、気になっているのが日常のマナーについてです。先日、歩道を歩いていたら1

Kirk here. Morris Chang is a huge figure in the history of microchips. He is originally from mainland China then emigrated to the U.S., where he eventually became a vice president of Texas Instruments. Chang's perception that racism would prevent him from moving any higher in the U.S. company is one consideration that led to his move to Taiwan in 1983. In Taiwan, his decision to separate semiconductor manufacture from chip design (TSMC focuses on manufacture) was an important factor in TSMC's success.
https://focustaiwan.tw/business/202402050014
If you, like me, enjoy listening to audio, check this out:
https://www.npr.org/2021/12/21/1066548023/the-semiconductor-founding-father
Morris Chang likely to attend Kumamoto fab opening on Feb. 24: Source - Focus Taiwan
Taipei, Feb. 5 (CNA) A Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) advanced wafer fab in Kumamoto, Japan is scheduled to open on Feb. 24 and founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) is likely to attend the opening ceremony, a source familiar with the matter said Monday.

Kirk here. This article says that the Ministry of Education is pushing public high schools to create special entrance exams etc. for foreign students to make it easier for them to continue their education. Kumamoto is one of the prefectures in that is in compliance. The prefectures in light green have not made a special entrance exam system to help foreigners but conduct interviews with individual students wishing to study at a high school (presumably, in lieu of an exam). The prefectures in grey are not taking either type of action to accommodate foreign students.
外国人生徒の定員枠２割　公立高入試、対応に地域差（共同通信）｜熊本日日新聞社
　全国の２０２４年春の公立高校入試で、外国人生徒へ特別選抜による定員枠を設ける学校が２割にとどまることが３日、共同通信の調べで分かった。文部科学省は各教育委員会に定員枠の設定を求めているが、入学後の指...

Happy Valentine's Day from Kumamoto.
Near Shaka-in Temple with 3333 stone steps.
⸜(*ˊᗜˋ*)⸝Atsuko
https://www.facebook.com/share/kqbXj2Mw2h2Vh6TE/

Hi! Kirk here with a repost and addendum to a post I made a while ago about "Hi no kuni" ("land of fire" vs. "land of fat"). I'm afraid I had forgotten since posting about how learning a bit about these old "countries" (kuni) in Kyushu (Higo vs. Kumamoto, etc.) also helps one understand how Kyushu (literally "nine states"; 九州) got its name. If you count the number of prefectures that make up Kyushu today it's not nine but seven. That's because two "countries" to our south (Satsuma and Okuma) were combined to make what is now Kagoshima, "Hizen" was divided into Nagasaki and Saga, and the three "countries" of Chikuzen, Chikugo and Buzen (its western half) to our north were combined to make Fukuoka, thus resulting in a total of seven prefectures. Only Higo (Kumamoto) and Hyuga (Miyazaki) survived the transition from "countries" (kuni or han) to "prefectures" (ken) with little or no change in boundaries.
Here's a review of the names for those who are interested:
Higo and Hizen are shown on the map in red.
Chikuzen and Chikugo are in yellow.
Buzen and Bungo are in blue.
Hyuga, Satsuma, and Okuma are in green.
When pairs of country names end in either "zen" or "go" (lit. "before" and "after"), the one ending in "zen" is considered to be closer to Edo (Tokyo).
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid0uZMsAgPCLUWdyRZnhP7cUgkaR6p2PcGjmpv4GS67aUkFPzooQZMrxbuPZ1AHtNHRl

The marathon is coming up this weekend. -- Kirk
Marathon Overview | Kumamoto Castle Marathon 2024
Marathon Overview, Kumamoto Castle Marathon 2024 official web site 「新たな歴史に、挑め。」2月18日（日） 9:00 スタート

According to the article, in the Kumamoto quakes, 52 of the 186 who died held disability certificates. Disasters, both natural and man-made, hit people who are already already vulnerable the hardest. -- Kirk
Disabled account for over 20% of 2010s Japan disaster-linked deaths
The figures are particularly high when compared with the proportion of disabled people in the population, which the central government estimates at 9%.

Kumamoto Driving School (KDS) is going to host the "International Traffic Safety Workshop" for foreign residents in Kumamoto, Japan! Join them on March 3rd, Sunday, from 10 AM to 12 PM at Kumamoto Driving School. Parents and children are welcome!
Check out the details below:
-Date & Time-
March 3rd (Sunday) | 10 AM - 12 PM
-Location-
Kumamoto Driving School
-Target Audience-
Foreign residents in Kumamoto, parents, and children
Registration: https://ws.formzu.net/sfgen/S261160935/
Posted by: Hari Devkota

William Teaching English at JHS or HS level in Japan oft requires instilling motivation as students do not understand the utility of the subject. This could be a good motivator: Kyushu Gakuin High School graduate Yoshihiro Sonoda (46) has been appointed exclusive interpreter for MLB Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. (Disclaimer: the alma mater of my two children) Prior to this, Sonoda had been working as a lighting engineer at a film company in New York. "Maybe you, too, could someday be an interpreter - or work in the film industry," you can tell your students.
Kumanichi has the full story:
ドジャース山本投手の通訳に園田さん（熊本・九学高出身）　日本のエース支える｜熊本日日新聞社
　米大リーグ・ドジャースの山本由伸投手（25）の専属通訳に、九州学院高（熊本市）出身の園田芳大さん（46）が選ばれた。大リーグに挑む日本のエース右腕をコミュニケーションの面で支える。

Kirk here. This came to me in a feed for "Kumamoto" because it includes a picture from Kumamoto but the issue is national. The article includes the following sentence.
"Asked whether they want a higher percentage of foreigners in their community, 54.5 percent said they do not, with many citing concerns about increased friction or deterioration of the social order."
Of course, friction can occur, particularly when it is assumed that it's somehow "natural" to treat foreigns as second-class entities, but I'm afraid that many of the nay-sayers are basing their opinions on stereotypes that have little to do with reality. :(
Many Japanese outside major urban areas do not engage with foreigners - The Mainichi
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A recent survey has shown Japanese people who reside outside the country's major cities do not regularly interact with the foreigners

Kurokawa Onsen.
Atsuko⸜(*ˊᗜˋ*)⸝
https://www.facebook.com/share/vD4yaDhrA3zLm5Mo/

Kirk here. A while back I posted about how Kumamon is not allowed to enjoy cake because "he" is supposed to be male and "real" men don't go for sweets (at least that's the theory). You can find that post here:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid02yCZvZY2MevZLKAtPF7MFmKX23nGKQ5kstTCBrpmW3UTAtHYJpEB5Mb1aawMyW1PTl
This post is a follow-up to that. The same "men don't eat sweats" mentality is a topic of discussion in Alan Rosen's thoroughly enjoyable memoir: "Tales of Old Zen." Unfortunately for English speakers, the book is only available in Japanese:
https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%83%89%E3%83%BB%E3%82%BC%E3%83%B3%E3%81%AE%E7%89%A9%E8%AA%9E-%E3%82%A2%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E3%83%AD%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BC%E3%83%B3/dp/4877556435
Alan describes his first meal in Kumamoto after which his chain-smoking colleagues from Kumadai poo-pooed his request for desert, explaining that men like alcohol and cigarettes, not sweets.
P.S. This and all the other illustrations in Alan's book have been done by his highly talented daughters.

William The Kumamoto District Court
Wikipedia notes, "Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_architecture Its austereness was contrary to the baroque popular at the time. "Georgian architecture is characterized by its proportion and balance; simple mathematical ratios were used to determine the height of a window in relation to its width or the shape of a room as a double cube." Sounds like law.
With spring approaching and a desire to stretch your legs, head out a bit behind Ninomaru, a bit up the road, and you will find the former Kumamoto District Court Building (熊本地方裁判所旧庁舎, Kumamoto chihōsaibansho kyū chōsha), which was constructed in 1908 and in use until being replaced in 1978. Currently, it is used as a museum and is certainly worth a visit. Call first for reservations. https://www.courts.go.jp/kumamoto/kengaku/mogitaiken/siryokan_syokai/index.html
I once lived in Taiwan, a former Japanese colony. Many Georgian revival buildings from the Japanese colonial era remain. Below are two photos, one a former Japanese colonial building in Taipei, the other the former Kumamoto district court. Can you tell which is which?