Posts

"This event was not just about flying from one city to another; it symbolized the strong ties between Taiwan and Japan and opened up new opportunities for travelers." -- quoted by Kirk
STARLUX Airlines launches maiden flight to Kumamoto
STARLUX Airlines became the first Taiwanese carrier to operate flights into Kumamoto, Japan with the maiden service flown on September 1.

Kirk again with the last in my three-part series on the treatment of horses in the upcoming festival. The picture you see is from the Wikipedia page about the festival:
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%97%A4%E5%B4%8E%E5%85%AB%E6%97%9B%E5%AE%AE%E7%A7%8B%E5%AD%A3%E4%BE%8B%E5%A4%A7%E7%A5%AD
The placement of a picture of a horse kicking up its hind legs (with someone at the horse's side doing who knows what) on the Wikipedia page fits with my contention that making horses kick like this is a feature of the festival, not something that a few "bad apples" make their horses do. This photo seems to have been chosen by editors of the Wikipedia page with pride, not as an indictment.
But, the local police have been quoted as follows:「馬に後ろ蹴りさせるという行為はどの場所であれ不適切な行為にあたる。」(My translation: Making a horse kick up its hind legs inappropriate in any location.)
https://ameblo.jp/momokohime7/entry-12113399705.html
Moreover, on February 2 of 2019, police filed charges related to three cases of abuse that occurred in 2018 festival and were reported by Japan's Animal Rights Center.
https://arcj.org/issues/entertainment/festival/fujisakihachimangu/
These 2018 incidents received considerable media attention in 2018. In response, Mayor Onishi issued the following statement: "藤崎八旛宮秋季例大祭において一部で馬の虐待行為が行われていると報道されましたが、いかなる場合でもそうした行為があってはなりません。今後神社等の主催者側で検証されると思いますが、参加者はルールやマナーを守り伝統ある祭りが健全なものとなることを強く願っています。" (My translation: It was reported that some horses were abused during the Fujisaki Hachimangu Autumn Festival. Such behavior must not be allowed under any circumstances. I am sure that the organizers of the festival will investigate the matter. I strongly hope that participants will observe the rules and manners and that this traditional festival will be a wholesome one.)
According to Japan's Animal Rights Center, part of the problem is that the "rules" are unclear because the 奉賛会 (Hosankai), the body the runs the festival, has not (at least as of 2018) responded to requests to make a clear body of rules. Moreover, while Mayor Onishi recognized the egregious nature of the treatment of the horses in 2018, a member of the Hosankai defended an incident of whipping (one of the three incidents about which police filed charges) as follows: "馬にムチを打つ行為は虐待ではなく調教." (DeepL translation: Whipping a horse is not abuse, but training.) So, one key problem is that the Hosankai, the main governing body for the festival doesn't seem to be bothered enough by bad behavior to try to reign it in.
https://arcj.org/issues/entertainment/festival/event1376/
The same post on the Animal Rights Center website indicates that there is a group in Minami Aso called "OPEN SESAME FARM (animal sanctuary)" (南阿蘇の余生馬牧場 オープンセサミ) that has been working to improve the treatment of the horses. There are indications that the number of groups who lead their horses through the parade in a quite, dignified manner that minimizes the stress experienced by the horses has been increasing.
To conclude, here are some takeaways from my recent study of this issue.
* It's not just foreigns who are concerned about it. There are significant numbers of Japanese people, including the mayor, who have expressed concern.
* There are people who are trying to change the culture of the festival so that horses do not experience any more stress than absolutely necessary.
* But (and this is important), the leadership of the festival has failed to impose strict rules that would prevent such bad behavior and many people who love the festival want to see agitated horses. So, I think problems will continue.
P.S. My previous post on this issue are
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid04eyYQicYycqGaaxXLNVm4NB5a3NA3H77R6Bj8xCuRbpgrgponZXwsrHGrrzkc3iEl
and
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid028eHHikF3qK57uN8XRB8xzDyCMTVQ2e63F9MSMSgnEpEctygvF3i6L8xuqwa7VZW8l

William Yeah - yeah, this is the guy. If I held him in a splayed hand, he'd overflow my fingertips. Funny thing is he scuttled to a spot mid-wall, as if that would make him invisible.
Spiders are not known for their intelligence.
This guy is an アシダカグモ ("big-legged spider," probably as they have big friggin' legs), or Heteropoda venatoria, or huntsman spider.
Here's the good thing: they are totally not interested in you, but they will eat every single cockroach that they can detect with eyes on top of their head which can see even behind them. So while you might be startled to see one, leave him alone and the next morning you'll be delighted to find chunks of cockroach husks on your genkan floor.
アシダカグモ - Wikipedia
アシダカグモ（足高蜘蛛[3]、蠨蛸、学名：Heteropoda venatoria ）は、アシダカグモ科に属するクモの一種。イエグモ[注 1][4]、ヌスットコブ＝盗人蜘蛛（熊本県）、ヤツデコブ・ヤッデコッ・ヤツネコブ（鹿児島県）[6]、ヤクブ.....

Kirk again. Sorry for the multiple posts in regard to the free Japanese classes. I found that Misato-machi published an announcement. If you were able to read the Japanese on the Misato-machi page you be able to find a link to the pdf of the posted I've included as an image with this.
Even though the main page is only in Japanese, I think it's important to give Misato-machi credit for posting this on this 6th while the prefecture and many other government bodies seem to have done nothing at all.
https://www.town.kumamoto-yamato.lg.jp/kiji0038688/index.html
You can find my first post (with more links) on this topic here:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid0yHj3wtihhCAr1XwpEyeDvHFp8HW9ud7R61s4DMeN1k7W7fPanZXj2cQfvdjFQvFml

Kirk here with a footnote to my post about free online Japanese language classes:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid0yHj3wtihhCAr1XwpEyeDvHFp8HW9ud7R61s4DMeN1k7W7fPanZXj2cQfvdjFQvFml
The press release you see says that the classes are free because the company is providing the service at the request of the prefecture (熊本県の委託を受けて). In my previous post, I complained a bit about the failure of the prefecture to promote this opportunity. After doing so, I found myself thinking "Could it really be the case that no one has tried to get the word out about this in English?" So, I did a Google search with "Attain Online Japanese Kumamoto." But, even though all of the words I used for the search are English, the only information I was able to find about the opportunity was in Japanese (e.g. the press release in this post). It's only been a day since the official press release came out so perhaps the prefecture is planning to follow up in the coming days. I guess I'll just have to wait and see -- before I call them ask them to ask about it.
熊本県在住の外国人向けオンライン日本語教室参加者募集開始（アテイン株式会社 プレスリリース）
熊本県の委託を受けて熊本県内在住外国人向けに初級日本語オンライン教室を開催することを決定いたしました。

Kirk here with a follow-up to the "abareuma" (pissed off horse) feature of the Fujisakigu festival. As I wrote in a previous post about how horses are made to kick up their hind legs and act wild, I've come to the conclusion that "pissed-off horses" (that is, abareuma) are not an "unfortunate side effect" but, rather, a primary feature of the festival:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid04eyYQicYycqGaaxXLNVm4NB5a3NA3H77R6Bj8xCuRbpgrgponZXwsrHGrrzkc3iEl
When I searched for "暴れ馬" (abareuma), the Roasso football (soccer) logo kept coming up. That lead me to the following page which explains that the horse you see in the Roasso emblem is indeed a reference to the "pissed-off horses" in the local festival.
https://football-emblem.com/roasso-kumamoto/
Personally, there's a part of me that can understand the attractiveness of a majestic, powerful horse rearing up. The word "virile" comes to mind. And, it's not hard to understand why festival goers would enjoy something they see as an expression of virility. The problem I've come to recognize is that lots of revelers wanting to see "virile" horses tends to lead handlers to treat their horses badly.
Conclusion: The point of this post about the Roasso emblem is that "pissed-off horses" is not a side effect but a feature and therefore not an easy problem to fix.

Kirk here. I just published a little video. Here's the link:
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1064426558300151
I took a short segment from the following YouTube video to make this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LlcDKnNooI
The video is from 2013 and seems to have been made merely to record and share how "cool" the horses in the festival are. One thing the festival is famous for is the 暴れ馬 (abareuma). "Abareru" means to be violent, go on the rampage, go berserk, etc. If I were a horse and a guy stuck his hand between my legs and tried to grab my private parts, I would probably go berserk too.
This is a key problem in the festival. It's not just a few bad apples; the "abareruuma" (pissed off horses) aspect is not a side effect but a FEATURE that people enjoy and look forward too. If the festival were famous for "tranquil horses" not "crazy horses," humans who handle the horses would tend to treat them in a way that would allow them to be tranquil but, alas, that's not what people have come to expect in this festival.

William The Mainichi writes about a British researcher at KU who, having lived through the quakes of 2016, has written a booklet about how to deal with earthquakes.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230413/p2a/00m/0na/020000c
It also reserves as a reminder to stay prepared for the next "big one." In particular, discussing with loved ones about where to meet should the quake happen during the daytime is important.
British man who survived major Japan quake works to boost foreigners' safety in disasters - The Mainichi
KUMAMOTO -- A British researcher who was caught in the April 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake has formed a disaster prevention group here for foreign resident

Kirk here with some information about free Japanese language classes offered online. Ironically, I learned about this opportunity from an Japanese language (!) article that announced it. Here's a DeepL translation of some key sentences I pick out from the announcement:
--- begin quote ---
We are pleased to announce that we will be holding an online beginner's Japanese language class for foreigners living in Kumamoto Prefecture on behalf of Kumamoto Prefecture. The deadline for registration is September 22nd. Application forms are available in English, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Korean, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Tagalog. This time, we are pleased to offer free online lessons to foreign residents in Kumamoto Prefecture, where the number of foreign workers is on the rise. We hope you will take this opportunity to sign up for the lessons, as they are easy to take even for those who do not know where to start learning.
--- end quote ---
The URL of this Japanese-language announcement is here:
https://www.value-press.com/pressrelease/324655
It contains links to the forms in Chinese (simplified and traditional), Korean, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Tagalog. Here's the address of the form in English:
https://attainj.co.jp/kumamoto-nihongo/form/en/
Since there is a deadline for applications, I've added this to the Kumamoto International events calendar, which you can find here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/calendar
For foreigners living in Kumamoto Prefecture Basic Japanese online class Application form
Basic Japanese online class opens for foreigners living in Kumamoto Prefecture (over 15 years old) for free.There are two levels of class, level for acquiring N5 (including basics such as Hiragana) and level for acquiring N4 level.

Kirk here with a quick heads-up about a celebration of friendship between the people of Kumamoto and Australia. On Sunday, Australian shakuhachi master Anne Norman will perform on the 5th floor of the Kumamoto Shintoshin Plaza (near Kumamoto Station). More information can be found in the first image I'm sharing and on the following page:
https://www.kumamoto-australia.com/50%E5%91%A8%E5%B9%B4%E8%A8%98%E5%BF%B5%E3%82%A4%E3%83%99%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88
In addition, you can get a sense of Anne Norman's style of performance here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_xgQMnaCDY
To see more local events that have been written about on this page, check out the Kumamoto International events calendar:
https://www.facebook.com/events/calendar

Kirk here. I'm pretty sure this one-day-only resurrection of the "SL Aso Boy" steam locomotive sold out immediately. So, I think the only option left for fans is to wave at the train as it passes by on Friday, September 22nd. This is a sort "last hurrah" for the steam locomotive, which is slated for retirement in the spring, after a century of service.
「SLあそBOY」が18年ぶり、1日限定で復活運行　南阿蘇鉄道のトロッコ列車にも乗車……熊本県の復興記念タイアップツアー | 鉄道ニュース | 鉄道チャンネル
18年ぶり、1日限りの復活 JR九州はこのほど、「SL人吉」のラストシーズン企画の一環として、「SLあそBOY」を1日限定で復活運行すると発表しました。 運転日は2023年9月22

Kirk here with a post about RKK's coverage of the Vietnamese community in Kumamoto. （日本語を読まれる方へ　最後に日本語があります。読んでいただければ幸いです。）
I'm linking to a text + pictures version of the TV report that was published on the web. Unfortunately, they haven't published the original video but, if you read Japanese, you can get the idea.
One interesting point made in the video is that the number of Vietnamese residents of Kumamoto is now larger than that of any other country (see image; 6000 Vietnamese residents!). The segment also included lots of information about delicious Vietnamese food. With the growth of the Vietnamese community, the number of Vietnamese restaurants has also increased significantly. The descriptions made me want to start making the rounds. :)
One problem with the broadcast in my view was the claim that the Vietnamese people tend to be "pro-Japanese" (親日). There's nothing wrong with liking Japan or being "pro-Japanese," but if you say that people from one country are "pro-Japanese" I think you're implying that folks from other countries, particularly China and Korea, tend to be more "anti-Japanese" (反日). To be honest, I really hate the tendency of the media in Japan to pigeonhole foreigners as either "pro-Japanese" or "anti-Japanese." My distaste for this "pro-Japanese" vs. "anti-Japanese" labeling compelled me to write to RKK and ask them to refrain from using such language in future broadcasts. Here's what I wrote:
拝啓
かつて番組審議会でお世話になった熊本学園大学のカーク・マスデンです。その後もずっとRKKの「ゲツキン」を見ています。有益な情報が多く、ためになる番組です。
先日の熊本県在住のベトナム人に関する特集も興味深く拝見しました。取材に応じた方に好感を覚えましたし、紹介された料理もとても美味しそうでしたので、熊本にあるベトナム料理店を訪ねたくなりました。
全体として良い特集だったと思いますが、次の言葉が気になりました。「県内に住む外国人約2万人のうち、親日家が多いと言われるベトナム人は約6000人と全体の3割を占め、最も多くなっています。」
この文内の「親日家」という言葉は問題を孕んでいると思います。特定の国を「親日家が多い」と肯定的に評価する場合、他の国はそれほどでもないという否定的な評価は前提になります。更に「親日」が「反日」の反対語として利用されることが多いので、視聴者の間に「反日家の多い某国の人間と違って」と解釈してしまう人がいる危険性もあるでしょう。
もう一つの問題は、特定の国は「親日家が多い」、他の国はそうではないという評価は、実際に熊本にいる外国人に当てはまらない可能性が高いということです。例えば、現在、日中関係は芳しくありませんが、私が所属する熊本学園大学に留学生として来ている中国人留学生の多くは、日本での生活を非常に高く評価しています。このことを痛感したのは今年6月14日に熊本学園大学で行われた「外国人留学生弁論大会」でした。中国からの留学生も他の国からの留学生も日本人に親切にしてもらったことや日本文化の良さなどについて、熱っぽく語っていました。出身国による「親日」対「反日」のような違いを一切感じさせない大会でした。しかし、外国人との交流があまりない視聴者が「ベトナムには親日家が多い」と聞けば、「反日家の多い中国とは違う」と誤解する虞があるように思います。
大変長くなりましたが、結論としては一部の国の人は「親日」で他の国の人は「反日」という単純な発想を助長するような言葉遣いを避けていただきたいと思います。よろしくお願いします。
敬具
https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/rkk/705775?display=1

Drive-in fireworks tomorrow (Sept. 9) at Kumamoto Port. -- Kirk
ドライブイン花火熊本2023について、開催日程・時間や場所、穴場スポットや見える場所、駐車券の種類・チケット料金や購入法、アクセス等気になりますよね。ここでは、ドライブイン花火熊本2023の日程・時間や場所、穴....

Good morning! Kirk here. This post is a follow up to a very nice post William did on the same topic:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid02tY2U9PkVHicE2HkNzSjwpDwjddKCfuYEXjC52HFMhVARAUv6fThQdfasbA7u7bEl
Thanks again to William and everyone who commented at the time for your kind words. At that point, though, we were still shy of the "5,000 likes" mark. Last night, however, we passed it so I thought I'd write a bit about the current "State of the Page," so to speak.
I don't know who number 5,000 was; if I did, I suppose I would have to give them some prize, like what is given to the unsuspecting customer who walks into a store and gets showered with confetti because they're deemed to be number 1,000,000 or something. But, alas, I have no prizes to offer, just gratitude to the other editors (whose posts are often considerably more popular than most of mine) and you readers/participants for being so nice.
The page has been quite peaceful this year. I upset some people with my rather ill-conceived April Fools post but the negative feedback was reasonable and civil, which I appreciated. Other than that, the page has been quite peaceful. Even more discussion and interaction would be nice but I hope we can maintain this friendly, respectful atmosphere well into the future.
Even though the number of "likes" has grown over the years, I think the number of active readers/participants has reached the level of saturation. Individual posts are typically seen by just a few hundred people and the total daily "reach" (number of sets of eyeballs) for the page has been pretty steady over recent years at a little over a thousand or so. Even if we collect a few more "likes," I doubt that the active readership will grow much in the future. In fact, because the younger generation seems to be abandoning Facebook for other platforms, we may even wind up shrinking a bit in terms of actual readership. For that and other reasons, I'm still looking for another platform, not to replace Facebook but to add to it.
Thanks again for participating!

William Valid concerns have been raised regarding the maltreatment of horses during the Fujisaki Hachimangu Autumn Festival (藤崎八旛宮秋季例大祭, popularly known as "boshita"). In addition, I find the seemingly endless procession repetitive and lacking in creativity.
There is, though, a work-around: Get up at 4:00 and head straight to the shrine to watch the preparations. All is eerily quiet save for the clanking of armor and the whinnying of nervous horses dimly aware that this is turning out to be not an average day. If lucky, you can observe the mayor (or is it governor?), who leads the procession, mount his steed. It is photography heaven. Afterwards, go home and back to bed. If you'd like, you can go back in the evening to watch the exhausted procession return.
The procession itself begins at 6:00.
Photo nabbed from this site: beautiful-world-kyushu.com/fujisakigu/

"A plum by any other name would taste as sweet." I'm pretty sure that the fruit you see would be labeled "Plums" in the US, where I'm from. A "prune," by contrast, is usually a dried plum. But Wikipedia tells me that, "prune" can also refer to the "firm-fleshed fruit (plum) of Prunus domestica varieties that have a high soluble solids content, and do not ferment during drying." So, I guess it's not exactly incorrect to call these prunes -- just confusing to old prunes, I mean "people," like me.
By the way, though I had some qualms about the English on the label, I found the fruit itself to be absolutely delicious. Highly recommended!
-- Kirk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prune

Kirk here with a tip for archaeologists of the future: If you look inside the rebuilt walls of Kumamoto Castle, you may find some stones that were decorated by local children way back in 2023. The one in the cover image says "I love Kumamoto Castle" and has picture of Kumamon, a mythic creature worshipped by natives at the time. ;)
https://news.goo.ne.jp/article/kab/region/kab-20230905-00007776.html

Kirk with some news that both interested and frustrated me.
https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/san-antonios-gift-from-japan-the-tale-of-the-tranquil-kumamoto-en-garden-relaxing-japanese-botanical-garden-bexar-county-community-enjoyment-entertainment
First, though the article doesn't explain it, I learned that the bronze statue is of Naoko SHIRANE (白根直子), a member of the very famous and powerful Mitsui family (think of the bank, the manufacturing enterprises, etc.). She's not from Kumamoto but it seems that she took an interest in and helped promote the sister relationship between Kumamoto and San Antonio:
https://shiranefoundation.org/about/
Another thing I learned is that the garden was designed by Kiyoshi Yasui, who modeled it after the Katsura Imperial Villa (桂離宮) in Kyoto. As the name "Imperial Villa" implies, this place is for the private use of the emperor and his family. I don't know if it's ever possible to get inside to take a peak at it but I suspect that the garden in San Antonio may be actually be an easier way (if you're in Texas at least) to get a sense of the beauty of the Imperial Villa.
Now for the frustrating part of the article. It says "Modeled after a garden at Emperor Kiyoshi Yasui's summer residence," promoting Yasui to emperor. Here's what I tried to write about that in a comment:
--- start quote ---
Here's a quote from the official website: "Designed by the Emperor’s gardener (and corporate CEO) Kiyoshi Yasui, this 85’ x 85’ garden is modeled after one at the Emperor’s summer house — which required special permission. "
https://www.sabot.org/explore/featured-attractions/
Actually, even the "Emperor's gardener" distinction is not quite right. It seems to be true that Yasui played an important role in the renovation of the garden at the Katsura Imperial Villa, but that doesn't mean that he was employed primarily as the "Emperor’s gardener."
By the way, it does seem to be the case that the Katsura Imperial Villa that Yasui worked on was the model for San Antonio's garden. Here's a source in Japanese:
https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/gaiko/local/page22_003550.html
--- end quote ---
I made an ID and password so I could post to the page but it didn't work. I'm not sure of the cause but that made the experience all the more frustrating. Still, since I may have an opportunity to visit San Antonia some day, I was glad to learn a bit more about the garden. :)
https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/san-antonios-gift-from-japan-the-tale-of-the-tranquil-kumamoto-en-garden-relaxing-japanese-botanical-garden-bexar-county-community-enjoyment-entertainment
PHOTOS: The tranquil Japanese garden bridging cultures and cities is San Antonio's hidden
SAN ANTONIO -A gift to San Antonio in 1989 by its sister city, Kumamoto, the Kumamoto En (En means garden in Japanese) is an authentic Japanese Garden designed

William "Bueller? Bueller?" in Kumamoto classrooms may be queried by a robot, according to this article, which notes "that officials hope will encourage absentee children to attend classes remotely and eventually coax them back to school. ... “Aside from letting them view the classes, the robots allow students to move freely in the classroom space and communicate with their classmates,” a board official told the newspaper. “Hopefully, this can help lower the mental hurdles for truant students.”"
Japanese city to use robots to tackle rise in truancy
Schools in Kumamoto have purchased two mechanical assistants to help children regain confidence in dealing with teachers and classmates

William Many are aware that Mt Kimpo is a volcano (dormant at that, according to a geologist friend). It's history to date is shown in the illustration (the caldera used to be a lake! - cool if it still were, eh?) https://www.mifunemuseum.jp/kumamotogeo/kinpouzan.html
The road from town to Kawachi Port passes through a very narrow part of the caldera, following a small stream. Halfway down is an establishment called Yuuhouen. On the left is a bit of parking and a wonderful restaurant which is famous for their ayu cooked over sumi (which they make themselves) at your table. There is also nagashi somen. Many tables are on a veranda perched above the stream - it's like eating outside. On the right are their orchards, which cling to the caldera edge on an impossibly steep slope. There are various crops spread over a vast area. Now is grape season - pick all you want; they'll weigh them at the counter. Their website indicates which fruit is available during which season. They also have the healthiest free-range chickens you'll ever see (they have to run up and down the hill all day; their meat is available in the restaurant, and is unlike any chicken you've ever tasted).
The family which runs the place is the friendliest that can be. September is a perfect time to visit. You'll need a car.
https://www.yuuhouen.com/