Posts

Kirk here with a little gif that is made up of a picture and a video that I took with my iPhone last night. On the left, a girl is holding a flower called a hotaru bukuro (蛍袋). In English, it can be called a "spotted bellflower" but the literal meaning of the Japanese name is "firefly bag." What you see on the right is a firefly doing its thing inside that very "firefly bag." Actually, I took the photo on the left by mistake; I forgot to turn off the flash. But, now I think it was a rather happy accident, so to speak, because it gives you an idea of what is actually happening.

William Shinto shrines are nebulous places for non-Japanese. From my experience living adjacent to one, they offer superficial welcome to those from abroad to pray and attend festivals but generally do not allow deeper participation in shrine affairs. This is truer still for Kumamoto Gokoku Shrine（護國神社、ごこくじんじゃ), nestled between Ninomaru Park and the baseball stadium. (This is a rather difficult topic; if any have corrections or additions, please share them in the comments.)

Kirk here with an election billboard and some thoughts on communication in Japan.

Kirk here reporting on a Kumanichi report on "ghost teachers" (yuurei sensei; 幽霊先生). My own university (Kumamoto Gakuen University; often refered to as "Gakuendai") and the Prefectural University of Kumamoto ("Kendai") are identified as having some remote classes (a very small number, I hope) where instructors don't prepare video or audio materials and don't conduct "live" online classes via platforms like Zoom . In regard to one such class at Kendai, a student is quoted annonymously as saying that they have to submit reports and get graded but don't get any feedback so they're not even sure if the professor is actually reading what they submit.
顔も声も知らない「幽霊先生」出没中　大学の遠隔講義、映像や音声配信なく学生失望（熊本日日新聞） - Yahoo!ニュース
　新型コロナウイルス禍で対面授業が制限される中、大学の講義で最後まで教員の顔や声が分からないままで終わるケースがあるらしい。熊日の「SNSこちら編集局」（S編）には複数の学生から「映像も音声もない遠

Kirk here introducing Souun Takeda (武田双雲), a calligrapher from the East Ward of Kumamoto City. The picture is of a piece he gave to the East (Higashi) Ward as a gift after the 2016 earthquake. The lighting at the time caused lots of reflections that I tried to cut out by making the image black and white and increasing the contrast -- but with only limited success. The piece says "fly" (飛翔; hishou) and is display prominently in the Higashi Kuyakusho (東区役所; East Ward Office Building). I saw it there the other day when I was there to take care of some paper work

(Fiona) The Kumamoto Green Vision Expo might be over but that doesn't mean the flowers are all gone. This beautiful field of poppies can be seen at Moe no Sato in Nishihara, a short drive from Kumamoto city.

Kirk here recommending a visit to the Kashima area. If you're not familiar with the location just drop 上益城郡嘉島町 into Google Maps to find it.

Good morning, Atsuko with some information about ''Distribution of Flowers''.

Chuck Waterman here:

Kirk here with a share from Kuma Visit. Just two more nights (after tonight) to see it with your own eyes! :)

Kirk here with what I hope will be the last post in my series about what has happened at Syugakkan.
「毎回1万～2万円で……」暴行動画　秀岳館サッカー部・段原一詞前監督に“出会い系買春証言” | 文春オンライン
私立秀岳館高校（熊本県八代市）サッカー部で、30代コーチによる部員への暴行が発覚してから約1カ月。監督として同部を率いていた段原一詞氏（49）に、20代女性（当時）に対する買春疑惑があることがわかった…

Kirk reporting that a commitee has decided to hold a somewhat scaled back version of the Yamaga Toro Matsuri. This will be the first time the event has been held since 2019. Instead of having 1000 dancers, the number will be reduced to 400.

Kirk here with news that researchers at Kumamoto University are doing important, cutting-edge work in the field of genome editing:
Novel supramolecular CRISPR-Cas9 carrier enables more efficient genome editing
CRISPR-Cas9 is considered a revolutionary gene editing tool, but its applications are limited by a lack of methods by which it can be safely and efficiently delivered into cells. Recently, a research team has constructed a highly flexible CRISPR-Cas9 carrier using aminated polyrotaxane (PRX) that ca...

Fiona here with a YouTube channel recommendation. Flipside Japan explores abandoned theme parks, factories, bath houses and other unusual and rarely visited places. The video linked below was filmed in Aso.
Exploring the Earthquake Ruins of Japan
In this video, we are exploring the earthquake ruins of Japan. It's safe to say that 2016 was a traumatic year for the prefecture of Kumamoto. Within the spa...

Kirk here with a note about a neighbor who loves Kumamon. My wife and I happened to walk by the home of someone we have known for many years and this car was parked in front. It belongs to our friend's daughter who is a big Kumamon fan -- she was wearing Kumamon shoes and one or two other Kumamon items when we happened to me that day. I have no idea how to get a car like this but the owner said it was a special order.

This year, Megumi and I hope to get a lot more footage of the mudskippers (Mutsugoro) here in Kumamoto, Japan. As summer approaches and the coastal mudflats warm up - the mudskippers begin to appear.
Sumiyoshi Harbour and the Mutsugoro (Mudskippers)
In 2018, Megumi and I revisited one of our favourite spots in the Kumamoto area - Sumiyoshi Harbour and its mutsugoro (mudskippers) "colony". At that time we...

Kirk with news for runners: Kumamoto City has decided to hold the Kumamoto Marathon on 19 February, 2023. The last marathon was held in 2020; the event was not held in 2021 and 2022 due to concerns about COVID-19. I have no information at this point about when runners will be able to apply to participate. If I get such information I hope to be able to post it on this page in a timely manner but I can't make any promises in that regard.
熊本城マラソン 来年2月19日に開催へ | 熊本のニュース｜RKK熊本放送
新型コロナウイルスの感染拡大の影響で、2年連続で中止となった熊本城マラソンが、来年2月19日に開催されることになりました。実行委員会が決めた3年ぶりとなる熊本城マラソンの開催。コロナ禍で実施する理由を、…

Kirk here with more about the Syugakukan violence scandal. It started with a coach who was working under head coach DANBARA Kazushi (段原一詞), but recently it seems that the attention of the media has shifted primarily to Danbara himself. In the first article I'm linking to here he says that he knew nothing of his assistant coach's violence and then, when asked if he in his 20 years of teaching and coaching has ever been violent with his students he says "never." To that, graduates are saying he's lying.
秀岳館OBが新証言 監督も暴行か - Yahoo!ニュース
サッカー部のコーチによる「暴行問題」が浮上していた熊本県の秀岳館高校。今月上旬の謝罪会見で自らは「暴力行為をしたことがない」と発言していた監督について、卒業生のOBらが「何人も監督に暴行を受けていた」と....

Happy Friday the 13th everyone.
For Friday The 13th, Say It With Us: Paraskevidekatriaphobia
If you can pronounce that long word, you'll be cured of any Friday the 13th fears, according to some. NPR's Korva Coleman offers an audio pronunciation guide.

Kirk here with another article on the same press conference held by Dr. Hasuda of Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto. The quality of the English in this article is quite good and it is a longer and more detailed.
Hospital in Kumamoto confirms its 2nd confidential birth | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
KUMAMOTO--Jikei Hospital here announced on May 11 that it had overseen Japan’s second confidential birth, which allows a baby to be registered without disclosing the mother's name.