Kurashi - News From Japan

Japan's largest wind power company, Eurus Energy, is in the news as TEPCO has announced that it will sell a part of its shares in the company, that is also owned by Toyota through a trading house connected to the car maker. Why is TEPCO not holding on to shares in a company that could do very well as the nation turns from fossile fuels and nuclear energy, to renewable energy sources (water, solar, wind, biogas)? It has not been much noted, but somehow, Japan's wind turbines managed to survive the massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. As shaken as our confidence is in nuclear energy, it is perhaps telling that main streem media has not told the story of how the turbines in Kamisu, southern Ibaraki prefecture, perfectly managed to survive the forces of nature. The seven turbins were unhurt and continued to produce electricity. In fact, none of Japan's wind turbines, representing over 2300 MW of capacity, failed as a result of the disaster, according to the Japan W...

No aviation without brave pilots: There were people fascinated with flight even in the Edo period, such as Ukita Kokichi from Okayama, who made attempts at calculating what wingspan would be needed to let man soar like a bird, something he seems to have achieved in 1785: Ukita studied how birds fly. He finally concluded, "Compute the ratio of the wing's area to the body's weight and use that ratio to create an artificial wing. Humans may use them to fly like a bird." His skill of paperhanging was very useful for making wings. He made the wings' ribs of bamboo, covered them with paper and fabric and varnished the surface with lacquer from Japanese persimmons. (Source: Wikipedia ) Fast forward to the late 19th century, and we have Chuhachi (Tyuuhaci) Ninomiya, who made paper planes that may have been able to carry a man. The first airplane flight in Japan was likely on 29 April 1891, when a propeller-driven unmanned plane took off and flew about 10 meters at a heig...

The huge earthquake and the tsunami are having a huge effect on most of Japan today. There are many after-shakes and even the small ones rattle the nerves if not the buildings. Tokyo is completely shut off and people working in the city cannot go home. Electricity is down and in many places, no mobile phone access (I can't use Vodaphone except for sms messages). I probably live in one of the safest towns, up in the hills in central Saitama, way north west of Tokyo. I was planting potatoes and broccoli when the 8.9 quake hit. Had to sit down and wait, impossible to stay standing. I had just had some major trouble with long roots that had to be tugged out to clear the soil. When I told Panda Bonium about this, he wrote: > It's all your fault! You tugged at something connected to the Kanameishi > stone and let loose the carps. That's a good joke considering the circumstances. The Kanameishi refers to a special stone at an ancient shrine in Kashima , Ibaraki Prefecture, ...

I like to go to a local temple near where I live on New Year's Eve. It is cold but there is amazake, a sweet brew that is heated, and boiling hot toshi-koshi-soba. The priests do a ceremony, reading sutras to the strong beat of a drum, and several small bells are rung. Some of us do zazen in the Main Hall. But the big event as far as I am concerned is the opportunity to line up and ring the huge temple bell. 除夜の鐘 Joya no kane "To ring the bell 108 times on New Year's Eve" In Japan it is done using a rope to swing a heavy wooden log, that hangs from the ceiling of the bell tower. The kids and everyone get to try once. Some make a huge effort, and the bell responds depending on speed and force, as if it has a life of its own. Not always the huge, deep reverberating sound the temple-visitors expect. Others do it right, saying a quiet prayer before and after. The bronze bell can be heard in the entire town. There is insense and log fires in metal barrels, tended over by o...

Uemura Kana got a huge hit this year with her 10 minute long ballad called Toilet God. A sweet story of her memories of growing up with her obaasan, who taught her how to be a beautiful woman. This is for all of us who had the privilege to spend a lot of time with our grandparents when we were young. Enjoy. Yes, in Japan there are all kinds of gods for all kinds of occasions and situations, even today. Is it shinto? You decide. Even Mure Dickie at the Financial Times thinks this is a tune worth linking too ;) “Japanese like simple and compact designs, but Chinese consumers tend to prefer a bit more form and decoration,” says Junko Kawaide, Inax’s Expo manager. Such concern for Chinese tastes is a relatively recent phenomenon for many Japanese companies. Inax, for example, has been manufacturing bathroom fittings , tiles and toilets in China for years, but has only recently seen the country as a serious market for its high-technology toilets with their automated seats, massaging shower...

Watching North Korea get hammered by Portugal in the World Cup tonight, I was reminded of the trouble we had at NHK World: What to call that country? Officially, of course, it is (in English) Korea DPR while most of us just say, incorrectly, "North Korea." As far as they are concerned, there is no such thing as a "north" and a "south" Korea, since technically, they are still at war and not... but I digress. At NHK in Shibuya, the news is broadcast in a number of languages, including Korean. We all had signs in our own languages, such as "Svenska" for the Swedish section and "Deutsch" for the German. The problem, then, was how to write "Korean" in the hangul script, that is used on the Korean peninsula. Since NHK aims for listeners both in the south and the north, so to speak, they had to find a term that was not controversial, even though it was not correct. In South Korea, the language is most often called Hangungmal. There ...

I like how the shrine at Miyajima, south of Hiroshima, has replaced all the light bulbs in its lanterns, thus reducing CO2 emissions by 34.3 tonnes a year. The 900 year old shrine is no stranger to the elements, having been hit badly by a typhoon as recently as 2004. No matter, shrines in Japan are frequently rebuilt as way to preserve and maintain purity, using wood from forests that are especially designated and protected. But if sea levels were to rise as predicted , the entire 900 year old structure would not survive. The lanterns are not lit all night long, just for a while in the evening, as tourists enjoy a walk along the beach or a quiet supper in the restaurants nearby. Many weddings are also held here, and a trip to Hiroshima is not complete without a visit. "I want to spread CO2 reduction from Miyajima, getting people to understand what will happen if polar ice melts," said the head priest to journalists at the light bulb changing event. Photo from Nikkei Net , re...

Really old trees are really amazing! If I get a chance this weekend, I will go hiking somewhere nice with old-growth forest northwest of Tokyo. Could be tricky to find though, as much of what we see today is planted or restored forest areas, and you’ll rarely see magnificent trees with huge trunks and foliage reaching for the clouds. Near many shrines in Japan however, there are special, sacred trees decorated with hemp ropes and white paper ornaments. David Lister at the British Origami Society has tried to find out more about these Zigag papers in Shinto shrines : The origins of these zigzags is lost in antiquity. My first impression was that they stood for lightning, but when I was in Kyoto I asked a Buddhist priest about this and the idea had never occurred to him. Although he was a Buddhist and not a Shinto priest. If it had been an idea that was known in Japan, I am sure he would have been familiar with it. The other suggestion I have come across is that the zigzags originated as...