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Ruth here calling all early birds to join in these events on the morning of Sat., 29th OCT!! **BAZAAR & KID'S SWAP SHOP EVENT @ SUNATORI COMMUNITY CENTER - SAT. 29th OCT**Behind 市立体育館・🔍
Do you have unwanted items to sell? 🛍 Want to earn some dosh?
Do you like to browse for a bargain? 👦👧 Want your kids to declutter? Small household items, toys, books, nicknacks, clothing, plants, handmade crafts... Give your items another life! ♻️
◎Swap Shop・親子・小学生向けの交換イベント is from 9:10-10am・要予約・RSVP by 27th OCT: [email protected]
◎個人バザー is from 10:30am-12pm - Walk-ins OK!! 100円 entry.
If you want to secure a sales spot it's just 300円 - email and pay in advance: [email protected] by 27th Oct 📨
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
不要な服やアクセサリー、中古品、小物があれば、バザーと交換イベントに参加しませんか？If you have any unwanted clothing, accessories, or small household items, join us at the KIDS SWAP SHOP from 9am or the Bazaar from 10:30am. Buy, swap and network with local people who are passionate about sustainability.　
SWAP SHOPイベントは、環境問題に取り組み、不要な中古品(おもちゃ、本、洋服など)と使用済みのアイテムなどを渡すことができるコミュニティを作りましょう ♻️ Kids... Let's declutter and participate activity in circular economy!
Sign up for the Bazaar and you may even earn a quick buck, too!! Let's create a community where we can pass along our unwanted or preloved items. スワップや物々交換を希望される方は、ぜひご参加ください。でも、もちろん、出品もしていただけると嬉しいです。
See you there! Ruth Maruki Kai

Kirk here sharing an event from Sean Benward. Sean mentions that the fee is a donation. I would like to add that the Japanese text says that all of the funds collected will be donated to the YMCA. The poster is in Japanese but Sean has provided a detailed explanation in English so please scroll down for that.
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/8042558569150838

William I once had a gig teaching at the Japanese Self Defense Forces (SDF = Jieitai 自衛隊), mostly at their Kengun base but for a short time at their Kitachutonchi camp on the northern side of Tatsudayama. From my reading, I immediately recognized it as Camp Wood, as the Americans called it while occupying Kumamoto after WWII.
News of that time is sparse, but I came across a first-hand account of an American soldier stationed there:
Jim reflected on the Japanese population of Kumamoto saying, “It was sad, they had it tough. They were starving and some committed suicide, mostly women. They were eating out of our trash cans.” He says, “The Japanese soldiers were returning home in their old dirty uniforms to a country in ruins. There were no jobs, so they worked in the rice fields.” He says, “I was there a year and never saw a car."
The full post can be read here: https://www.honorflightchicago.org/10859-2/

William An aspect of Kumamoto horticulture I appreciate is its seasonal variations. Winter blooms the camellia (tsubaki, 椿) - as insects are hibernating, they spread their flowers wide to allow birds to drink their nectar and thus are pollinated by avians; spring of course is cherry blossoms (sakura, 桜 - the bees are awake by then); hydrangea (ajisai, 紫陽花) symbolize rainy season; summer sees the higotai (globe thistle), a symbol of Kumamoto (very rare; if you're lucky, you can spot it in the highlands around Aso) and lotus (hasunohana, 蓮の花), which can be found aplenty in the marginal land near Ariake Sea, where it is cultivated for its root, a Kumamoto delicacy. The gentian (rindō, リンドウ), the Kumamoto Prefecture flower, blooms in autumn.
But if you step outside now and encounter a pervasive bubble gum-esque fragrance, that would be osmanthus (kinmokusei, 金木犀). Often planted in parks, their tiny flowers, either orange or white, pack quite an olfactory punch. Enjoy the fragrance, and keep an eye out for them.
Photos: orange and white kinmokusei; higotai (twice; that's how much I like them).

Kirk here with what I think may be my third post on this topic. I should point out that the problem occurred in Fukuoka but the women is receiving support from people in Kumamoto. Go Kumamoto!
Filipino trainee in Japan forced to quit over pregnancy says treatment unforgivable - The Mainichi
KUMAMOTO -- A Filipino trainee who filed a lawsuit against her employer and others, claiming that she was unfairly forced to quit her job because she

Hi Atsuko here.
Chuck should share, but he hasn't yet, so instead I will introduce you to a lovely lady with a beautiful heart.ଘ(੭ˊ꒳​ˋ)੭✧
Translation page I used:
http://itools.com/tool/google-translate-web-page-translator
https://kumanichi-com.translate.goog/articles/820513?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en#Echobox=1665726496
Original Japanese page
https://www.facebook.com/438505469570144/posts/5503206686433305/?sfnsn=mo
毎朝ごみ拾い、YＯＵは何者？　5種類の分別袋にマジックハンド　英語講師のウオーターマンさん　「生徒が掃除」するＪＡＰＡＮに驚き｜熊本日日新聞社
　熊本市内で毎朝「自転車に袋を積んだ外国人女性がマジックハンドを使い、雨の日も風の日もごみ拾いをしています」との情報が、同市の70代男性から「SNSこちら編集局」（S編）に寄せられた。周囲の注目を集めるこの女...

William Kirk had written about Takachiho Gorge. Another similar gorge exists in Yabe. I'd like to write about what is one of the best autumn road trips in Kumamoto.
Most are probably familiar with Gorougataki (五郎ヶ滝). A few years ago, a suspension bridge (Gorougataki Tsuribashi, 五老ヶ滝吊り橋) https://tinyurl.com/bdvpadhk was built for viewing. Info and photos available here: https://8246renraku.net/archives/gorougataki.html
Most might not be aware of the path following the river below the falls. It wanders along just above the water through a steep gorge for a few hundred meters, crossing from the right bank to the left, https://snaplace.jp/gorougataki/ then up a steep flight of stairs to some beautiful rice paddies. Continuing on a farm road, it eventually leads back to Tsujin Bridge (通潤橋, Tsujinkyo).
The route takes about an hour depending on how long you tarry for photography. Autumn is the best time for this. To get back to Kumamoto, take the Minamida Naidaijin-sen (南田内大臣線 https://pixta.jp/photo/25748390), a tiny road that loops south through a narrow valley with several comically tiny tunnels before plunging down a series of a dozen hairpins to meet up with Midorikawa. Very few people take that route, so one can drive leisurely, admiring the golden paddies.
After crossing Midorikawa, one will immediately notice huge tubes descending the impossibly steep cliffs forming the narrow gorge you're now in - those feed a Chiso Corp. hydroelectric power station. Just past the station is a small parking lot of the ayu (trout) restaurant, Heikenoyu (平家の湯, https://kimukazu.me/archives/3576), whose onsen is pathetic but ayunoshioyaki (鮎の塩焼き, salted trout grilled over charcoal) is the best in Kumamoto.
After lunch, continue following the small road through some delightful autumn scenery; it eventually merges with the main road, Route 335. This will take you over Reidaikyo (霊台橋, another famous stone bridge https://tinyurl.com/43abh5p2) past the onsen, Samatanoyu (佐俣の湯 https://samatanoyu-misato.jp/) THIS is where you want to take an onsen - they have a wonderful rōtenburo. From there, it is about 45 minutes along Midorikawa until you are back in the city, near Ezuko.
The entire trip takes a full day. If you leave early, you'll finish your short hike and be at the restaurant by lunch and home by late afternoon. Now - autumn - is the time to do it. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to post them.

Kirk here with a share from Explore Kumamoto about Takachiho Gorge:
https://www.facebook.com/explorekumamoto/posts/pfbid02jBGMCoRcM9vSUDviAQ7RieZ9HUsQeKEv5qDXwtdwDGdGsLnCib4SRECku1DHxral

Kirk here. Just after William shared the Kumanichi's report about the fireworks display in Yatsushiro, I saw this on RKK. In addition to old-fashioned fireworks (the kind you light with a match) they have new-fangled displays made up of large numbers of remotely controlled drones. This dragon slowly opens his mouth in the video. Maybe next year they'll have one that actually breaths fire! (Flame-throwing drone or drone-launched fireworks?)
https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/rkk/180684?display=1

William Fireworks were invented in Asia, first to scare the pants off opponents in battle, and then to warn off demons. Apparently, there is something called the "All-Japan Fireworks Competition," recently held for the first time in three years. Thirty groups from all over Japan competed in three divisions: the No. 10 ball, which blooms with a diameter of about 300 meters; the No. 5 ball, which is about 150 meters; and the Star Mine, which launches 250 shots in a row. Woof. That'll scare the pants off the ghosts.
Yatsushiro took part.
Kumanichi reports that, in between the bursts, there was music fireworks to the music of the movie "Top Gun" and star mines to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the construction of Yatsushiro Castle. Good on Yatsushiro. No word on which place they were judged.
Photos and Kumanichi link follow.
https://kumanichi.com/articles/824371

Douglas here with a follow up to the translation mix that Kirk started a few posts below.
I have always been surprised by the number of people who cannot distinguish between translating and interpreting.
Google Translate and DeepL are both "translators" and can end up by producing quite strange English translations of Japanese.
I have a favourite Japanese idiom that I feed into any "translation" software to test its ability to actually interpret correctly. Both Google and DeepL fail my test. But DeepL, at least, gives a more accurate "translation"
The idiom is:
捕らぬ狸の皮算用をするのは危ないです
Google translate gives: It's dangerous to use a raccoon dog that can't be caught
and DeepL gives: It is dangerous to take advantage of a raccoon's skin that has not been caught.
The correct interpretation of the Japanese idiom is: Don't count your chickens until they are hatched!

Kirk here with information for water polo fans. I sometimes search Google News for "Kumamoto" to see if there's any juicy information to feed this page's voracious appetite for information about this part of the world. Today, I learned that FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation) is planning a major water polo event between August 5 and 11 of next year (2023) at Kumamoto's Aquadome. I'm not sure if this event will be open to spectators but it might be interesting to watch if it is.
https://swimswam.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/WMCH_KYUSHU-1-.pdf
https://swimswam.com/fina-releases-schedule-for-2022-world-masters-championships-in-japan/
Note: Picture is a generic water polo image from FINA website.

Kirk here with a little report on a multilayered instance of "lost in translation." I laughed when I noticed the English on this sign because I could see immediately that the Japanese was referring to the danger of PEOPLE falling from the window but the translation (probably from DeepL or some other machine translation service) makes it sound like the danger is that the window may fall. I guess the editor of the popular Facebook group about English mistakes who rejected my post understands Japanese about as well as DeepL.

William Kumamoto Castle is known as "Ginkgo Castle" (銀杏城, ginnanjō) due to its large number ginkgo trees, which has become a symbol not just of the castle but of the city itself. Now is the season when they turn a stunning golden-yellow. Another good place to view ginkgo is the entrance to Prefectural Hall.
Katō Kiyomasa apparently planted the trees inside the castle to provide food for horses and firewood in case of siege.
Legend has it that one immense tree in front of the main keep (tenshukaku, 天守閣) was planted by Katō himself, and that he prophesied, "When the tree's height reaches that of the tenshukaku, there will be an uprising in the castle." Apparently, the height of the tree had indeed reached about that of the tenshukaku by 1878, when most of the castle was burned to the ground in the Seinan War.
The tree was badly damaged during the war, but has regrown to a respectable height.
Info about the relationship between Kumamoto Castle and the gingko trees can be found here (Japanese): http://castle.link-hp.net/22.html and a link to an excellent castle guide: https://castle.kumamoto-guide.jp/en/ (English). A photo of the famous gingko in the autumn is below. Prepare your cameras.

Kirk here with another article about the Filipino technical intern who is suing her employer. The image is of a protest in Tokyo regarding the abuse of so-called "ginou jisshuusei" (技能実習生; trainees).
Filipino trainee in Japan to seek damages for 'maternity harassment'
The law on equal opportunity employment for men and women prohibits unfair treatment on the basis of an individual giving birth or becoming pregnant.

Kirk here. "The law on equal opportunity employment for men and women, which also applies to foreign technical trainees, prohibits unfair treatment on the basis of an individual giving birth or becoming pregnant." But, this would seem to be another instance of that law being ignored.
Filipino trainee in Japan to seek damages for 'maternity harassment' - The Mainichi
KUMAMOTO (Kyodo) -- A Filipino technical intern in southwestern Japan will sue her employer and an intermediary body for around 5.7 million yen ($39,0

William Kumanichi reports on the education of children who will accompany Taiwanese workers to TSMC.
As about 300 family members of TSMC employees transferred from Taiwan will move to Kumamoto, of which half are school-aged children. In response, the Kumamoto International School (KIS) in Higashi Ward has applied for the status of "miscellaneous educational institution" (kakushugakko, 各種学校; perhaps the closest translation would be "vocational school," but I'm guessing KIS is looking for the designation in order to receive flexibility for its curriculum). This designation also allows KIS to operate school buses. Kumanichi writes that two-thirds of these have expressed interest in KIS. If all are accepted, this would encompass two thirds of KIS' student body.
Some families have expressed a desire to send their children to a normal Japanese school. Kikuyo Town is now looking into expanding English education. However, the vast majority remain interested in KIS. Principal Matthew Orme said, "Many of the families were enthusiastic about English education, so they must have felt a sense of security."
Finally, Kumamoto has a true international school of its own, at least through JHS.
Links to KIS and the Kumanichi article:
https://kumamotointer.jp/
https://kumanichi.com/articles/821894

Kirk here with some Kumamon news. Here's busy guy:
"The upcoming episode will revolve around the 'Susure! Churu Churu☆Festival' in Oishina Town, during which various kinds of noodles are featured. Kumamon will show up at the festival as a special guest."
Kumamoto Mascot Kumamon Eats His Way Into the Delicious Party Precure Anime
Kumamon will enjoy some noodles at the "Susure! Churu Churu☆Festival" in Oishina Town

Kirk here sharing an article on the creation of an new faculty at Kumamoto University. The idea is to create a faculty that focuses on high tech and English. It is at least loosely associated with the new TSMC chip plant being built here. On RKK I heard that this is the first creation of an entirely new faculty at Kumamoto University in decades -- since the creation of the 文学部 (Bungakubu; Faculty of Letters?) and the 法学部 (Hogakubu; Faculty of Law?). Students from Sojo University and Tokai University will also be able to take courses online in the faculty.
"DX" seems to be a key word that will probably be used in the name of the faculty -- at the very least it is being used in its promotion now. DX is short for "digital transformation." Here's how Wikipedia defines digital transformation: "Digital transformation entails considering how products, processes and organisations can be changed through the use of new, digital technologies."
If, like me, you find yourself wondering why it's "DX" and not "DT," check this out:
How did “trans-” become “x-”?
https://painintheenglish.com/case/1053
Like many acronyms used in Japan, DX seems to be getting used a lot because its considered to be a cool new word -- not necessarily because it's the best word for the context and certainly not because it effectively communicates what will be taught in the new faculty. The article says "英語やDX人材の教育に力を入れ・・・" So they are going to focus on teaching English and educating "DX" people. If you can answer the question "What is a DX person?" in 200 words or less, you should get a prize (but I don't have any prizes to give out :( ).
https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOJC133ZA0T11C22A0000000/
熊本大学、24年度に「半導体学部」新設へ　TSMC進出で
熊本大学は2024年度、半導体人材を育成する学部相当の「情報基盤融合学環」（仮称）を新設する。半導体受託生産の世界最大手、台湾積体電路製造（TSMC）が熊本県内で工場建設を進める中、人材育成が急務となっている。....

Kirk here with more on the influence of Unification Church (the Moonies) in Kumamoto -- my "Kumamoon" series.
The other day I posted about the Japanese version of the English-language article I'm introducing today:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid0WNANrFt6hdJxadXGWwiSxpovUy9i25DdpGfN4yHu8UQRdCC6AQ7d2S3Kx9sh9sf5l
This English-language article starts as follows:
--- start quote ---
An organization related to the Unification Church has been behind various pushes from Kumamoto Prefecture for a “family education” law that critics say would allow government interference for the “good of the nation.” Kumamoto is the prefecture with the most assemblies that have passed and submitted such opinion papers to the Diet calling for a law to support family education.
--- end quote ---
So, now it's in black and white, published in English by a reputable Japanese newspaper. If you read this page regularly, you may be aware that I've been writing about the "family education" ordinance for some time and wondering why the media, particularly the local media, was virtually silent on the issue. The Kumanichi is still relatively quiet. I'll post about that later but I searched their database and could not find any articles that even came close to focusing on this issue as the Asahi paper has done.
One point that I neglected to mention in my previous post about the Japanese article is that there have been some voices of dissent along the way. The following quote is about the objection of a member Ashikita's legislature to the passage of a resolution calling for the establishment of a national "family education" law:
--- start quote ---
Minutes show that a Japanese Communist Party member raised objections because of the danger that a sense of values convenient to the central government would be forced on families in the name of family support.
--- end quote ---
Conversely, here's an example of a politician lying through his teeth:
--- start quote ---
The former head of the prefectural board of education said he left the submittal of the requests to local assemblies entirely up to the secretary-general. He added that Kumamoto Pure Forum had absolutely no ties to the Unification Church.
--- end quote ---
OK. This makes me angry. I'm going to out this guy. His name is 田中力男 (TANAKA Rikio). As the quote says, he is the former head of the prefectural board of education. You can see his connections to the not-so "pure" forum here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20220816022731mp_/https://pure-22jimdosite.com/会社概要/
This page is from the "WayBack" archive. It's necessary to point to this because the Moonies have been trying to cover their tracks. There is some interesting stuff on this page about getting rid of "dangerous" books (有害図書撤去) and the "problems" of "LGBT" and same-sex marriage, but I'll leave those aside for now. Tanaka is quoted as saying that the group had "absolutely no ties to the Unification Church." Yah, right. His partner is listed on the page as 稲富安信 (Yasunobu Inatomi). I'll refrain from linking directly to his Facebook page but you can find it easily enough. I'm not "friends" with him but I can read his public comments. Here's one: "神様やご先祖様に、霊界を尊重する信教の自由が差別され無視され排除されようとする社会にいつの間にか日本社会は変貌してしまいました。" He's complaining about how the world has suddenly turned against the Moonies and are discriminating against them. His public posts are filled with comments like this. He was the head of the Moonie-related anti-Communist group "国際勝共連合," as this Tweet from Suzuki Eito, a leading anti-Moonie journalist, illustrates:
https://twitter.com/cult_and_fraud/status/973841786446770177
So, even the Asahi seems to be quite timid about challenging the lies of well-connected politicians like Tanaka. Even though I applaud the Asahi's journalism, the decision not to name Tanaka and Inatomi for actions and comments that should be part of the public record mystifies me.
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14739369
Unification Church-linked group lobbied for family education | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
An organization related to the Unification Church has been behind various pushes from Kumamoto Prefecture for a “family education” law that critics say would allow government interference for the “good of the nation.”