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Kirk here with a follow-up to my previous post about the festival in progress downtown. I just posted about the cultural events (traditional performances, etc.) but this is about street performers. On TV, I saw a little bit of the chair stacking guy you see on the left. It looked pretty amazing. This image is from the following webpage:
Kirk here. This is an event that started today (Saturday) and ends tomorrow. Here's a TV report from RKK:
Ushibuka Haiya Festival
Kirk here with a very substantial article (1,400 words) from the Asahi Shimbun on the impact (mostly positive) of TSMC's arrival in Kumamoto. Here are some of the topics addressed in the article:
Kirk here reporting that another high-tech factory is planned for Kumamoto -- this one in Kikuchi. By the way, "Mitsubishi Electric" is "三菱電機"（みつびしでんき）in Japanese (in case you want to talk about this with your Japanese friends).
Kirk with a Japanese-language video news report of the Hifuri-shinji (fire-swinging ceremony) at Aso Jinja. Some non-Japanese participants are interviewed. Anyone you know?
Kirk here with a share from the Kurashi-no Nihogo Club Facebook page. The page presents information about opportunities to study Japanese in Kumamoto. This particular post is about an opportunity in the West Ward of Kumamoto City. The page also presents information about Kumamoto in simple Japanese (やさしい日本語). Participating in Japanese classes is not just a way of learning Japanese -- it's also a way of meeting people (other students and Japanese people who come as volunteers, etc.).
William How one feels about zoos is likely inversely proportionate with one's place on the food chain (the more likely one is to be eaten, the more positive one feels about carnivores being caged). Kumanichi notes that a male baby chimpanzee dubbed "Ren" has been moved to public display at the tender age of one. Apparently, Ren was born between Marc (male, estimated 43 years old) and Milk (female, 16 years old) - so you old guys out there: Don't get your hopes down!
Kirk here announcing that cherry blossoms will bloom a little early this year:
Kirk here sharing a post about cherry blossoms in Minami Aso Sakura Park (南阿蘇桜公園). I think this variety is kawazuzakura (河津桜), which blooms a little earlier than the popular some-yoshino (ソメイヨシノ) variety. I'll post later today about the projected blooming date for that variety -- which is almost here!
Free bus and trolley rides
Kirk here. Prefectural high schools in Kumamoto have long held "morning extracurricular classes" (朝課外; asa kagai) to help students prepare for university entrance exams. Recently, the head of the prefectural board of education (pictured responding to questions in the prefectural assembly) announced the board's decision to abolish the practice at prefectural schools. Getting to school in time for these early classes was difficult for pupils and their parents and was also in conflict with the Ministry of Education's call for more autonomous study. The article doesn't say anything about private schools. Have private schools been holding such classes? If so, I assume they may continue because the article only mentions a change in prefectural schools.
Kirk here. The other day William posted about tsubaki (camellia) and sazanka (camellia sasanqua):
Kirk here with news about International Women's Day, which was yesterday, in Kumamoto. I came across this article about research by Mari Miura of Sophia University. Prof. Miura has ranked all prefectures in Japan by gender equity in various domains. All in all, the situation in Kumamoto is not very good.
Fiona here with news of a book published by longtime friend of Kumamoto-i Charmaine Minami. "`Double or Half?` is a light-hearted rhyming story complemented by captivating illustrations, that will appeal to children aged 3 to 8, especially those from bicultural or multicultural backgrounds. Set in Japan, with its wonderfully positive and self-affirming message, the story will also appeal to a much wider audience of `half`, `quarter` or `mixed` children all around the world."
Kirk here with an old bit of news that is not Kumamoto specific but applies to Kumamoto as it does to other parts of Japan. The gist of the Japanese headline is "Questioned 30 times by the police because of his appearance (racial profiling)."
William An update on Kumamoto City's conundrum regarding citizenry for non-Japanese (Google translate of a Kumanichi article - I guess this means we can ignore garbage regulations):
2023 Lipovitan-D Challenge Cup
William Passing an elderly man pruning, I remarked, 「椿がきれいですね」and without looking up, he retorted 「椿でなくて山茶花。」("Beautiful tsubaki!" - "They're not tsubaki; they're sazanka.")
