Memory of fall

It’s an old university.

The sun was shining and the air was fresh.

My favorite place.

Legend

Seven persons are on a boat. It's a symbol of wealth, health and good luck.

 



Beckoning cats are often used for the same purpose.

 He gathers gold like a pirate.  福　means happiness.

It’s yummy, but you may feel too sweet.

Castle as a cultural heritage

Ｂｙ Ａｓａｈｉ Evening News:

 

  　　　         　　　 Photo by (c)Tomo Yun　http://www.yunphoto.net/

Taking advantage of the entertainment world's renewed interest in medieval warfare, local governments are offering rare views and using unorthodox refurbishments to fuel a "castle boom" among tourists.

"The main attraction of castle tourism had always been the castle keep, but in recent years, it also includes the old stone walls and the public showing of the restoration work as seen at Himeji Castle," said Hitoshi Nakai, an assistant professor at the University of Shiga Prefecture, who has penned the book "Yondara Hanashitakunaru Nihon no Shiro" (Japanese castles that you will want to talk about after reading).

"The castle boom is attracting an increasing number of authentic-minded enthusiasts," he said.

The Kansai region, home to Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture and Osaka Castle, can be described as the birthplace of Japanese castles with high-rising keeps and stone walls.

The region was the base for warlords Oda Nobunaga (1534-82) and Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-98) who tried to unify the war-torn country.

A hole about 1.5 meters wide and about 8 meters deep in front of the keep of Osaka Castle has generally been closed to public viewing. A ladder runs down to the bottom of the hole, where part of a stone structure can be seen.

"This is a part of the stone wall of the 'original' Osaka Castle that Hideyoshi built," Hiroshi Kitagawa, chief of the research section at Osaka Castle Tower of the Osaka City Museum Organization, said.

The keep of the original castle was burned down during the Siege of Osaka in the summer of 1615. Tokugawa Hidetada (1579-1632), the second shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, built a new castle on elevated ground at the site, and the current castle keep was rebuilt in the early Showa Era (1926-1989).

The stone walls and the moat of the original building remain buried, according to Kitagawa.

Osaka Castle is a major sightseeing spot that attracts visitors from home and abroad.

In April, the Osaka city government assigned a group of tourism officials to promote the charms of the castle. The group is responsible for planning wedding ceremonies, tea parties and other events using the Nishinomaru Garden at the castle.

Their projects also include the excavation of the original stone walls for public viewing.

"We want to proceed with the excavation in full swing so that we can make them available for public viewing in 2015, which marks the 400th anniversary of the summer campaign of the Siege of Osaka," Kitagawa said.

Osaka Castle has provided the setting for many historical dramas by Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK).

"Princess Toyotomi," a theatrical feature from Toho Co. released on May 28, centers on Hideyoshi's castle buried underground.

Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is known more for its graceful white walls.

The castle has been undergoing restoration work since autumn 2009. With the castle keep covered with sheets, the number of visitors in fiscal 2010 dropped by at least half that of usual years.

But in March this year, an observation facility was set up inside the sheets so that visitors can closely watch artisans do repair work.

"It is very rare to publicly show at all times how a World Heritage site is being repaired," a Himeji official said, adding that the city will promote the facility to bring back visitors.

Nakai said the origins of Japanese castles can be traced back to moats that protected villages during the Yayoi Pottery Culture (300 B.C.-A.D. 300).

During the Kamakura Period (1192-1333), it became common to surround a samurai house with water-filled moats and earthwork fortifications. In later years, "mountain castles," or fortresses built making full use of natural landscapes, emerged.

Prime examples include Gifu Castle, which served as Nobunaga's stronghold, and the ruins of Takeda Castle in Asago city, Hyogo Prefecture, also known as "the castle in the sky."

Nobunaga had Azuchi Castle built in 1576 in what is now Omi-Hachiman city, Shiga Prefecture.

The structure was characterized by the keep and its high stone walls. Building skills were carried over by Hideyoshi and became widespread across the country.

But in the Meiji Period (1868-1912), many castles were considered "leftovers from the feudal times" and were destroyed, Nakai said. Many of the remaining castles were burned down during World War II.

In the decade starting in 1955, efforts increased to rebuild castle keeps using steel-reinforced concrete, as in Nagoya Castle.

During the Heisei Period (1989- ), officials started rebuilding the structures using traditional wood construction methods, like Kakegawa Castle in Shizuoka Prefecture and Ozu Castle in Ehime Prefecture.

In addition, a visitors' center was recently established near Wakayama Castle.

At Ako Castle in Hyogo Prefecture, a castle keep will be recreated with 30,000 LED lights for the year-end Ako Gishi festival.

The Nagahama city government in Shiga Prefecture, which oversees the ruins of Odani Castle, headquarters of feudal warlord Asai Nagamasa (1545-1573), is currently holding an exhibition that started in January devoted to Asai's three daughters in tandem with neighboring Maibara city and other organizations.

In connection with the NHK historical drama series "Go," which follows the story of the warlord's daughters, the exhibition introduces the history of the Asai clan and the lives of the sisters.

A shuttle bus stops at various spots around the castle ruins.

The Hikone city government, also in Shiga Prefecture, hosted a festival in 2007 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Hikone Castle.

After the festival, the city ran a series of events related to the castle.

Hikone is also home to the ruins of Sawayama Castle, which was once resided by warlord Ishida Mitsunari.

Since March, illustrations of Mitsunari and other samurai from the popular videogame "Samurai Warriors 3" have been put on display at a tourism center in the city. A portrait of the warlord drawn by Hideki Miyashita, author of the manga series "Sengoku," and other illustrations and items are also featured.

"We'd like to attract history enthusiasts whose number has increased due to (NHK's) historical drama series and videogames," an official said.

According to the Japan Castle Foundation, Japan has about 40,000 castles, fortresses and related ruins.

Of the 12 castles that still have unspoiled keeps, the castles of Himeji, Hikone, Inuyama in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, and Matsumoto in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, have been designated national treasures.

Kiba Park

 



































































This area is good for jogging. If possible, I want to run with my cat. But, why cats don’t run like dogs. That might be the will of cats.

Crises of atomic power plants

APPs’ crises continues like this:




by Fukusima-minpou




















 Fukushima radioactive water could overflow soon.

Raising fresh concerns about its ability to bring the nuclear crisis under control, Tokyo Electric Power Co. announced June 3 that highly radioactive water pooled in underground pits could start rising above ground in less than three weeks.
The company said there were 105,100 tons of stagnant water with high levels of radioactivity within the power plant as of the end of May.
The water contained an estimated 720,000 terabecquerels of radioactivity (1 tera is 1 trillion), according to the operator of the plant battered by the earthquake in March. That is more than the amount of radioactivity released from the plant into the atmosphere in the wake of the accident, which is estimated at 370,000 to 630,000 terabecquerels.
TEPCO warned that the contaminated water pooled in the basement of the buildings could start flowing out as early as June 20.
The company plans to treat the radioactive water in a new facility to be completed June 15 to prevent the overflow of polluted water, but it will also consider reducing the amount of fresh water being injected into the reactors.
Radioactive water is flowing into the basement of facilities within the compound as well as the buildings housing the Nos. 1 and 4 reactors, their turbine buildings, and the radioactive waste treatment facility, according to a report submitted by TEPCO to the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
The total radioactivity of the pools of contaminated water is equivalent to one seventh of the 5.2 million terabecquerels released into the atmosphere from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster in 1986.
As TEPCO continues injecting water into the reactors at the Fukushima plant to cool their nuclear fuel, the amount of highly radioactive water leaking from the reactors is expected to continue increasing.
The utility made estimates of when the contaminated water in buildings' basements could leak aboveground, under several different scenarios, suggesting that it could happen as early as June 20.
It has been confirmed that highly radioactive water was leaked into the sea twice during the crisis: first 500 tons containing 4,700 terabecquerels gushed out, with 250 tons containing 20 terabecquerels following later.
TEPCO is building a new facility to treat the highly radioactive water while storing it in equipment located within the turbine buildings.
The expected overflow could take place earlier if there is heavy rain in the area, the utility said. In that case, the company will buy time by cutting the amount of water being injected into the reactors. The polluted water in the turbine buildings of reactors 2 and 3 had been transferred to the radioactive waste treatment facility until the company stopped this operation May 26 as the total amount approached the planned capacity of 14,000 tons.
Levels of contaminated water have since been rising, partly because of rainfall.
Radioactive water in the pits to the underground tunnels coming from the reactors 2 and 3 was 21.8 centimeters from the surface of the ground as of 7 a.m. on June 3, according to the company.
The water level in the pits had been rising at a daily rate of 5.9 centimeters for the No. 2 reactor and 2.1 centimeters for the No. 3 reactor.

UNESCO's Memory of the World Program

He was the coal miner and  amateur painter. The work in coal mines must heve been tough. Today's news reported about him as follows:

A collection of paintings and diaries recording the lives of coal miners by late artist Sakubei Yamamoto has been accepted by UNESCO's Memory of the World Program, the organization said May 25.

The UNESCO director general endorsed recommendations of an advisory panel to register the Yamamoto collection. Recommendations were made by an international advisory committee that met in Manchester, England, on May 22-25.

This is the first time works by a Japanese have been registered for the Memory of the World Program, also known as the UNESCO World Documentary Heritage.

About 700 works by Yamamoto (1892-1984), mainly maintained by the Tagawa City Coal-Mining Museum in Fukuoka Prefecture, were recommended for the Memory of the World Program by Tagawa in March last year.

Yamamoto was born in what is present-day Iizuka, Fukuoka Prefecture. He worked as a miner and blacksmith in coal mines in the Chikuho district since age 7, following in the footsteps of his father.

He started painting the lives of people who worked the mines when he was about 63, when he started working as a security guard. It is believed he created nearly 2,000 pictures by the time of his death at 92.

A total of 697 works by Yamamoto--585 paintings, six volumes of diaries and 36 memo books and manuscripts kept by the city of Tagawa, and four paintings, 59 diaries, and seven other items, including manuscripts, owned by the Yamamoto family and kept by the Fukuoka Prefectural University--have been applied for UNESCO registration.

UNESCO assessed Yamamoto's paintings from the viewpoint of the individual laborer and coal miner at the Chikuho Coal Field, which supported Japan's industrial revolution. They are particularly meaningful, considering the fact most of the Japanese documents from the late Meiji Era (1868-1912) to the Showa Era (1926-1989) were ones recorded by the government or by companies.



Sacred victim 哀悼 遠藤未希さん

I'd like to talk about Miki Endo.
The newspaper reported the full story of Endo's heroic final moments. I cannot but think about her parents. Her father said “I proud of my daughter, but I feel the deepest grief”. The mother cried over her dearest daughter’s death.
She married ten months ago. She could have enjoyed ordinary happy life. She could have seen many flowers in beautiful spring. She could have talked with her intimate friends. Everything is “could have”. She never return .
The newspaper article is as follows: 

The voice is Miki Endo, a 24 year old public worker in the Crisis Management Department of the city of Minami Sanriku. She is saying, roughly, "Please run away fast."

The city was one of the hardest hit along the Miyagi Coast. Of the 17,000 residents, 10,000 are feared to be dead, but the 7,000 who survived owe everything to Endo. Endo stayed at her post, repeating her warning, until the wave struck.

Miki Endo did not let go of her microphone, even during the very moment the black waves of the tsunami engulfed the city, so that every last villager could hear her warning call. One co-worker told Miki’s mother, that he saw Miki being swept away by the tsunami wave.

Another survivor, a 61 year-old man told Endo's mother that the broadcast had saved his live. That he had heard Endo's voice and immediately jumped in his car and headed for higher ground. He told Endo's mother:

I heard the voice of your daughter the whole way.

If there's any comfort at all to be taken in the awful catastrophe in Japan, it is in these stories of true heroism. Like those 50 workers at the Fukushima nuclear reactor, who have stayed at their posts, fighting to avoid a meltdown while the entire region is evacuated, Miki Endo should be remembered as a true hero of the highest order, and remembered forever with grateful reverence.

遠藤美希さん、あなたのことは日本の誰もが忘れません。心からの感謝と哀悼と畏敬の念を申し上げます。