The king and the emperor are prepared


Japanese Emperor Akihito receives a gift from Swedish King Carl Gustaf during a reception of 54th World Baden-Powell Fellowship event in Tokyo October 5, 2007. Carl XIV Gustaf and Akihito, accompanied by Empress Michiko, attended the reception to celebrate the centenary of scouting.

My mother and grandfather were active scouts, but I never caught the bug. Here in Japan you often see groups of kids in their best scouting uniforms, looking very ready and prepared!

The Japanese Scout Motto is Sonae-yo Tsuneni (Japanese: そなえよつねに), translating as Be Prepared.

Wikipedia notes that the Scouting movement in Japan started in 1909.

Scout Association of Japan (English website)

Comments

Pandabonium said…
Akihito: What is it?

Gustaf: It's a Swedish urn.

Akihito: What's a Swedish urn?

Gustaf: Oh, about 7,000 Krona a week.
8:01 pm, October 07, 2007
Martin J Frid said…
HHH

How about this:

A: What is it?
Gustaf: The vase you gave us.
A? Ah so desuka, Queen Silvia didn't like it?
Gustaf: She told me to ret-urn it!
12:34 pm, October 08, 2007
Pandabonium said…
Ouch. I wasn't prepared for that.
5:06 pm, October 08, 2007
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Global Article 9 Conference to Abolish War

Image
A unique three-day international conference is being held at Makuhari near Tokyo, a day after the 61st anniversary of the enforcement of Japan's Constitution. It is organized by nongovernmental groups, including Japan-based Peace Boat . Organizers said the meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss the significance of the constitutional article that endorses demilitarization and what people can do to promote its spirit, notes The Japan Times . While the constitution stipulates that Japan renounces war as a sovereign right and that it will not maintain land, sea and air forces, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been keen to make amendments. "The war in Iraq has shown that even the strongest, biggest army in the world can not keep peace in a single city. It proves that aggression never instates peace," Tatsuya Yoshioka, director of Peace Boat and a representative of the event's organizing committee, said during the opening remarks. "Article 9 is a treasu
Read more

マーティンの鵜の目鷹の目 -世界の消費者運動の旅から

Image
  My new book has been published! マーティン・フリッド (著)   世界中の消費者が同じ課題を抱え、悩み、たたかっている。スウェーデンに生まれ、ヨーロッパ、そして日本の消費者運動の現場を歩いてきた著者が、人びとの日常によりそいながら軽妙なユーモアを交えて食、環境、エネルギー、社会のあり方、政治、経済を考えます。   https://nishoren.net/new-information/14177 Consumers all over the world are facing similar problems, worries, and struggles. In this book, the author, who was born in Sweden and has walked the frontlines of consumer movements in Europe and Japan, con
Read more

Salvador Dali, Hiroshima and Okinawa

Image
Spanish artist Salvador Dali was deeply terrified by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , and his exact, detailed style was very much suited to show the horror of the A-bomb, which America tried to keep a secret by classifying photos and descriptions until the end of the occupation of Japan in 1952. The Bureau of Atomic Tourism has more details if you want to know more about the legacy of nuclear weapons in the U.S. Even today, do people understand the real horror of atomic bombs? If not, then, why not ? Dali's paintings are on display in Fukushima prefecture, where you can view Melancholy Atomic and Uranium Idyll and The Three Sphinxes of Bikini at the Morohashi Museum of Modern Art . Long YouTube video from the Nihon University (Nichidai) channel with an interview featuring Morohashi Eiji, the son of the founder of the unique museum, and scenes from the Morohashi Museum (29:20): #271美術館への誘い ダリの世界 Is there a hidden message in Dali's Bikini hydrogen bomb painting
Read more