Tsushima-maru Memorial Museum and the memorial monument

A little while ago, I was watching NHK BS TV travel program “Kokoro Tabi” (Heart Journey), whose autumn series would finish in Okinawa. The last letter from viewers said “Please visit Tsushima-maru Memorial Museum and the memorial monument Tsushima-maru is the name of a ship and the letter was from the daughter of the captain of the Tsushima-maru. She is elderly and is unable to visit there, so she wanted the program to visit for her.

In fact, I have visited the Tsushima-maru Memorial Museum. It was only one day after the Emperor and Empress visited there. While I was looking around, tears fill my eyes, and I remember not only sadness but also swelling anger and indignation.

I will describe as follows about what kind of ship was Tsushima-maru and what happened. For details, please see their website.

In 1944 as the war drew gradually closer, the old, the young, women and children were ordered to evacuate outside the prefecture. A large group of schoolchildren boarded the Tsushima-maru for evacuation, which left Naha Port on August 21.
However, the ocean had already turned into a battleground. On the night of the next day, the 22nd, the Tsushima-maru was hit and sunk by a torpedo from the American submarine Bowfin. Of the ship’s 1,788 passengers including crew and soldiers, about 80% disappeared to the bottom of the sea. (as excerpted from the museum’s website)

But the tragedy was not over. Surprisingly, the Japanese government ordered
the survivors to keep silent on the Tsushima-maru was sunk.
What was waiting for them were threat and discrimination.
And many people kept their mouth shut.
Didn’t the U.S.military know that women and children were on the Tsushima-maru? Didn’t the Japanese government have any other way? Some suspicions still linger. Anyway, there is no doubt that the children didn’t want to live away from their parents but boarded without knowing the danger of the ship. Then, eventually, they were thrown into the sea that a typhoon was approaching.

If you have an opportunity to visit Okinawa, you should visit the museum. It is near from Kokusai Street so it is easily accessible. Please see what happened with your own eyes and feel yourself about that. (H.S)

Near the entrance of the museum 

Exotic banyan trees and ixora flowers near the museum 

Pheasant’s Eye is Disappearing

Taken at Jindai Botanical Gardens in Tokyo on March 15th, 2017

Pheasant’s eye is one of the flowers which tell us the coming of spring. The cultivated species can’t produce seeds, so they can’t reproduce by themselves. Therefore, if you see the pheasant’s eye in your towns, it might be made for horticulture.

 

Pheasant’s eye is a natural species and it is disappearing gradually because of the desolation of Satoyama (rural natural areas) and the city development. The pheasant’s eye has been designated as an endangered species in Tokyo and other areas in Japan. Do you see pheasant’s eye in your neighborhood?

T.S

Tokyo, Japan

I visited Tokyo the other day. I was so excited to visit the capital of Japan, one of the busiest cities in the world for the first time in a while. One of the good parts of Tokyo is that even though there are so many people that people cannot walk without bump into others, there are quiet streets once you go into alleys off the busy areas. There are fancy cafes, sidewalk cafes and antique stores on those streets so you can enjoy just walking around. Another thing that I like about Tokyo is that there many different kinds of restaurant from traditional ones to modern ones.

 

If you would like to enjoy nature, you can do so in cities a little distant from Tokyo which are Yokohama and Chiba.

 

How about visiting Tokyo when you have a chance?

 

I would like to share a video of “Holger Mette”, “Tokyo in Timelapse”.

Please enjoy!

 

 

T.F

Resistant Starch Diet

I received information about how to ameliorate adult disease at a dentist where I go to on a regular basis. It carried some articles but didn’t one about teeth at all.

Today, among them, I would like to introduce “Resistant starch” which is the term I have not heard of before.

“Resistant starch” cannot be digested easily. For example, cold rice is resistant starch. Resistant starch acts like alimentary fiber, is not digested in the stomach and the intestine, goes straight to the large intestine, reduce blood cholesterol and blood sugar elevation, improve fat metabolism and intestinal environment. It produces power which lacks in hot rice.

Considering nutritional value, rice balls of brown rice are the best, and sushi or cold soba noodles are also good.
That means, a specialty of Fukui Prefecture “Echizen Oroshi Soba” (cold buckwheat noodles with grated radish) must be beneficial to health. As for other carbohydrate food, it seems better if you eat more cold ones, such as cold udon(wheat noodles), cold thin wheat noodles, cold ramen and spaghetti.

Speaking of cold rice, you have to chow more as it is firmer than hot rice, so I think that you may be able to gain a feeling of fullness more easily.
Cold rice diet is worth trying, isn’t it? (H.S)

　　　　　　　　　　　 

My First Experience with Drone

While I was on the business trip in Tokyo last week, I visited a store in Hanzomon called “System 5” selling items used to take videos.
I read an article from an e-magazine about the exhibition of foldable and storable drone, and I became interested in it.

In the center of the photograph from above, that is the flying drone with blue lights.

I got to control the drone at the exhibition and I realized that it was not that difficult to control it although this was my first time seeing and controlling the real thing. I became excited about thinking what I could use the drone for.

Well, I am not planning to purchase one right away though.

T.S

Traditional Harvesting Rice Experience Part-3 Arigato Project presented by Kokuryu Sake Brewing Corporation and its’ supporters

As soon as the participants of "Arigato Project 2016" arrived at the rice field, the farmer showed them how to harvest the rice plants safely. He repeated that they must be very careful not to cut themselves when reaping rice with sickles.

First, cut the bottom parts of rice plants with a sickle. This looks simple and easy but it is not. One must cut them from the right angle to cut them properly.

Second, one puts the two bunches of the cut rice plants as to resemble an alphabet “X” and tie them with a string. This process is to dry the rice plants later.

And then, the farmer threshed the cut rice plants with a threshing machine.

Towards the end of the harvesting the rice plants, the farmer asked the participants for riding the harvesting machine. Two of them volunteered. The machine was large and looked very powerful. As the farmer and the participants started driving in the large rice fields and harvesting them, so much of the rice plants were harvested right away which looked very exciting and interesting.

Because the farmer warned everyone at the beginning of the harvesting, no one was injured. However, because of the rain from a day before and early in the day, the rice field was soft which made it difficult for people to walk.

 

One of the Kokuryu staff fell holding the rice plants. The rice plants were not damaged at all but he got mud all over himself. What a kind person caring the rice plants rather than himself. I am sure that there will be good and delicious sake completed with the caring!

From beginning to end, everyone concentrated on harvesting so they finished much earlier. They even got to harvest other areas of the rice fields that day.

They all looked relieved and had smiles on their faces after finishing the harvest.

They are looking forward receiving the completed sake next year.

T.F

A novel “Echizen Bamboo Doll” by Tsutomu Mizukami

I visited “Echizen Bamboo Doll Village”, where was in Maruoka, Sakai City, to take a video near the end of last year.
Speaking of Echizen bamboo doll reminded me of the novel of the same title by
Tsutomu Mizukami. So I read it on the occasion.

Photo : “Weeping Cherry Tree” Created by Reimei Morota(1936-2010) from the website of
“Echizen Bamboo Doll Village” 　

The novel is set in present South Echizen Town. However, it is written in
Wakasa dialect which is close to Kyoto language thoroughly. It may cause a problem by current proofreading but it matched the subtle and profound world of the novel.

The main character of the novel, Kisuke grew up without mother’s love. After his father
who was a master of bamboo craft died, Tamae, who was a prostitute in Awara hot springs visited Kisuke and said that his father had been a help to her.

Afterwards, she got into trouble and was deeply upset. I was impressed that he depicted
her feelings realistically as if he was a woman himself.

Because she didn’t want to hurt her most important person, she thought and thought again. Once she makes a decision, she will just do it. Tsutomu Mizukami wrote well such aspect of women’s ways as if Tamae possessed him. Or, it seems that he wanted to tell us that women are in a vulnerable position at any rate and women cry over reasonable things.

A famous writer Junichiro Tanizaki commented on the novel as follows.
― It left feelings as if I read Japanese classics. Also, it is good that the plot flows naturally.
I even associate ”The Tale of Bamboo Cutter“ with the novel because Tamae is compared to spirit of bamboo. ー

By the way, a Japanese famous theater group Bungakuza performed the “Echizen
Bamboo Doll” last October to November. While the performance period, Fukui Prefecture
sold its specialty like Habutae-mochi, bamboo dolls etc. and they were sold out.
I hope that they will perform it in Fukui someday.

Here is a video that we took about two foreigners who live in Fukui experience to make bamboo dolls. (by GEN) 

Traditional Harvesting Rice Experience Part-2 -Arigato Project presented by Kokuryu Sake Brewing Corporation and its supporters -

On August 28th, 2016, early in the morning, the participants of Arigato Project started arriving at Ono City in Fukui Prefecture. All of the participants seemed that they were looking forward to that day. Some participants were wearing a pair of cute boots, nice hair clips and stylish T-shirts. There were also some participants holding large bags with towels and many other things. Everyone looked so ready to harvest them! 

The president of Kokuryu Sake Brewing Corporation and a farmer of

the Arigato Project made speeches at the opening ceremony.

After the opening ceremony, everyone walked to the rice field.

There were two new members had just joined from that day

and everyone seemed to have higher enthusiasm.

Stay tuned for more updates!

T.F

Edible fractal "Romanesco"

Probably more or less natural objects may contain fractal elements.
But still, it’s amazing that there was one with such a clear shape like CG.

This vegetable on the salad at my house is cauliflower-like one called romanesco.
I don’t think that it is available at super markets but seems like it is sold at
a local farmer’s market, so now it appears for our dinner sometimes.
At any rate, it has an interesting shape. 

T.S

From wikipedia "romanesco" original photo

Strange festival which tells of the arrival of spring ｜Katsuyama Sagicho Festival

I went to Katsuyama City to see the Katsuyama Sagicho Festival.
Katsuyama Sagicho Festival, which has a 300-year history, is held on the last weekend in February every year. During the festival, twelve floats are built, men and women with children wearing a red long undergarment for kimono beat drums cheerfully in a humorous movement to the sound of shamisen, flute and gong.
This style is very unique and only one in Japan, so that is why it is called a strange festival.

　　　　　　　　They are so cheerful in red undergarments for kimono.

During the festival, colorful strips of paper flap above the roads and in the wind, which creates a cheerful atmosphere. Many food stalls are lined and local people sell home-prepared food, so you may be tempted to eat too much.

On the Sunday, it is a special open-day at nearby famous sake brewery Ippongi.
I think that actually many people come to the festival with the aim of this event.
On the day, you can see inside the brewery and they sell sake manju cake of their own.Also, they sell sake limited to the festival but when I arrived the brewery around 1 p.m, it had already sold out. Too bad!

　　　　　　　　　There was a big banner in the brewery. It looks vintage. 　

It is my favorite local festival. To go to the Katsuyama Sagicho Festival, Echizen Railway from JR Fukui Station is convenient. You can enjoy beautiful winter scenery and a relaxing whistle-stop tour to Katsuyama Station. Also, please visit popular Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Musuem in Katsuyama City. There is a bus to the museum in front of the Katsuyama Station. (H.S)

Here is a video of the festival two years ago. 　　 　　　　　　

Traditional Harvesting Rice Experience -Arigato Project presented by Kokuryu Sake Brewing Corporation and its supporters-

As a part of the activities of “Arigato Project”, (Arigato means thank you) the baby rice was planted in May of 2016 and it had become 1 meter tall four months after that.

The scenery of the rice field with the beautiful tall golden rice plants shows us that
it is the end of Japan’s hot summer and the beginning of the Japan’s autumn.

On August 28th, 2016, staff of Kokuryu brewery, authorized dealers of Kokuryu,
“Yushi-no-kai” and participants of “Arigato Project 2016” harvested the rice plants.

On that day, a large-scale typhoon was coming to Japan so the weather was unstable and it was mizzling at the beginning.  Kokuryu staff and authorized dealers were running around to take care of the weather situation to be able to harvest the rice plants.

With their efforts and also it stopped raining, so they were able to harvest the rice plants.
Although the weather was not perfect for farming, it was perfect for the participants to harvest the rice plants in the cool and nice weather.

Stay tuned for more updates!

T.F

Craft art "Kintsugi" for reparing broken pottery has been handed down in Echizen Lacquereware Village, Sabae City

Even though I knew about the "Kintsugi", which was a method for reparing broken pottery, when I visited a lacquerware studio in Kawada Distict, Sabae City, I was surprised to hear that this technique was still alive and they had requests to repair pottery.

They were sometimes asked to repair plates not only expensive but also ones customers made themselves at a pottery workshop.

Right after I knew that, when I dropped in a design office “TSUGI”, I found a familiar “Sentenmon Compote Dish” by a ceramic artist Yoshihiro Kimura on a table, who I have just shot his exhibition at Fukui Craft Center the other day. Furthermore, the dish was repaired by the "Kintsugi".

I was glad to know that it has been used with care.

TSUGI | Creating products and design unit based in Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture

T.S