Potted bonsai ume Japanese apricot trees tell late arrival of spring

February 28, 2018

Potted bonsai ume Japanese apricot trees tell late arrival of spring

The 80-year-old residence, built in a largely rural area in southwestern Japan, becomes a display pavilion for hundreds of potted bonsai ume Japanese apricot trees from February to March.

The two-story house stands on a site of about 6,500 square meters, surrounded by nursery tree fields, in the Ono district of Miyama City, Fukuoka Prefecture.
Placed in the center of the garden is the 300-year-old Beniohshuku tree, the oldest among the bonsai ume collection at the site.
Supported with three steel props, the tree looks almost dead but it has vermilion flowers from late February to early March on upper branches of its twisted trunk.
Visitors enjoy strolling around various species of white, red and pink ume bonsai trees placed not just in the garden but also in the tatami mat rooms. A bill posted on the door to the rooms says, "Please do not leave the door open so that birds may not come in."
Ume bonsai trees are moved into the rooms for indoor display before the season. This requires hard work, but it allows visitors to appreciate their beauty in an intimate atmosphere.
The Seikien (Blue Glow Garden) residence attracts hundreds of tourists a day toward the high season. But the blooming this year is a little slower than usual, "because of the cold days since the beginning of the year," said a shop girl at the garden.
Cherry blooming trees are the most favored among Japanese people, but ume apricot trees have a much longer history of entertaining Japanese since around the Heian period, as their pure, elegant appearance is linked to the deep part of the Japanese culture and spirits.

Well, I wonder if your heart has not changed. It is quite unknown, but ume apricot trees at my native place must be giving off their sweet odor as before. 

(A personal translation)

This is a waka poem made by Tsurayuki Ki, a distinguished poet in the Heian period. He is known as the chief editor of the Kokinshu waka anthology compiled early in the 10th century.   

The estate in Miyama dates back to the middle of the Edo era early in the 18th century, when a local nursery tree grower made its fortune on mandarin orange tree cultivation. The Tanaka family then started producing various fruit and garden trees, particularly ume apricot and Japanese white pine trees on bonsai trays and pots.
The current residence is occupied by the eighth in the line of proprietors. The Seikien residence started an indoor display of its bonsai ume tree collection to the public in 1962.
Tourists can find a few other sites with ume bonsai trees for public display in the district. This reflects the decades-long custom of showing bonsai and other plant collections to guests outdoor or indoor in the area. 
The estate also attracts many foreigners in recent years as Japanese miniature bonsai trees have caught on well with plant lovers in other countries.
The fragrance of the Seikien ume trees lets visitors breathe a sigh of relief at the much awaited arrival of spring and reminds them that they live in a culture- and season-rich country.

Japan alarmed by repeated flu epidemics amid slow spread of vaccinations

January 30, 2018

Japan alarmed by repeated flu epidemics amid slow spread of vaccinations

Young people get excited toward the St. Valentine's Day gift giving season. This is the case with Japanese men and women now, but the 14th day of February is a special day for quite different reasons to a citizens' group aimed at honoring an Edo Era physician for his effort to develop a safer smallpox vaccination method.
Shunsaku Ogata, a samurai warrior clan physician of Akizuku, currently part of Asakura City, Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, successfully performed a nasal vaccination on two kids on February 14, 1790.
Ogata's endeavor came almost a century before Japan started introducing various kinds of technology and knowledge from western countries following the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Before Ogata's project, some cases had been made for smallpox vaccinations in other parts of Japan, but the earlier cases were largely kept secret.
Unlike the prior cases, Ogata (1748-1810) taught anybody who came to him to learn his method. His study was also supported by the then clan chief. He also compiled a book about his method.
As various kinds of vaccines were developed in recent decades, Japan was once a leading country in terms of vaccination campaigns. But the importance and necessity of vaccination have not been fully disseminated among Japanese people, experts warn.
In Japan, 20 or so cases are currently recognized as vaccine preventable diseases, or VPDs. About half of them are covered with mandatory, subsidized vaccinations, but vaccinations are voluntary for other VPDs.
A recent questionnaire shows that only about 60 percent of infant-raising Japanese mothers are ready to get their children inoculated with influenza vaccines. This is another indication of slow progress in increasing the public awareness about the need for vaccination, despite repeated flu epidemics in recent years.
The citizens' group campaigned to make the 14th day of February the Japan commemoration day of vaccination. The day was so established in 2014 when their application was granted by the Japan commemoration day association.
Why is the spread of vaccinations slow in Japan? People familiar with Japan's medical care system cite various factors, among them longstanding customs and regulations regarding the interval of vaccinations and the part where vaccination should be made.
Unlike the United States, simultaneous injections of different vaccines are little recommended, while vaccines are given usually by hypodermic in the upper arm. Doubts remain about the effectiveness of vaccines on some cases.
Regulations and rules about the method of vaccinations and others must be quickly improved, particularly for infants, said a physician who attends a clinic in Asakura. "Japan must make more efforts to protect infants from flu and other serious diseases in view of a declining birthrate."
Ogata collected smallpox scabs from patients and dried and powdered them for the vaccination on the two boys. The subjects developed smallpox two days later, but both of them recuperated in about 10 days, according to the group.
His success came six years before Edward Jenner, the British physician and scientist, developed a safe smallpox vaccination method, to be called "the father of immunology."
In Japan, about 10 million people are infected by various types of flu every year, with fatal cases estimated at 1,000 a year.
A monument in honor of Ogata stands at the front yard of Asakura Medical Association Hospital. The monument, built in 1990, has a relief which shows Ogata performing a nasal vaccination on one of the children, with the other standing by.
What should he say when he saw the slow progress of increasing the awareness about the importance of vaccinations in Japan?

Japan marks winter solstice toward resurging of sun's power

December 22, 2017

Japan marks winter solstice toward resurging of sun's power

The winter solstice for 2017 fell on the 22nd day of December in the northern hemisphere, including Japan. Weather was relatively fine almost across Japan.  Early risers waited for the sun to come up from behind the mountain or from the sea, while commuting people saw the sun set on their way back home, while thinking about things for tomorrow.
In Fukuoka City, Kyushu, southwestern Japan, the sun rose at 7:19, and it set at 17:15.
The winter solstice means the day in which the sun's meridian altitude comes to the lowest point in a year--in other words, the day which has the shortest interval between the sunrise and the sunset.
According to the astrology-based traditional theory that has been believed in Asia, the sun starts regaining its strength after waning to the weakest point in the winter solstice, called "tohji" in Japan. The season moves toward a warmer, brighter period after passing the winter solstice.
One of centuries-old customs for the winter solstice in Japan calls for taking a "yuzuyu" yuzu citron bath on the tohji day, and the one may not catch a cold in winter.
People in some regions also have "tohjigayu" rice gruel with red beans, which is said to be good for warming the body.
The winter solstice represents the 22nd point in the 24-sequence annual solar term. Only two points are left ahead to complete and restart the solar term cycle at the "risshun" first day of spring on the lunar calendar.

The moon glittering in bitter coldness/
On the ground a small temple that has no gate/
The sky broadly spreads far above/
(A personal translation)

This is a haiku short poem made by Yosa Buson, a poet and a painter who was active in the Edo era in the late 18th century.
The 22nd day of December represented the fifth day of November on the old lunar calendar this year. Actually, a thin moon of the fifth day was seen shining above the mountain skyline lit by the afterglow of the sunset in some areas in Kyushu.
"The day is getting longer and longer, isn't it?" This is a greeting people often exchange around this time of the year. Cold weather continues further, until February or early March, but Japanese know that the day-by-day delay in the sunset is a harbinger of spring.

Japan bracing for early arrival of cold waves toward winter

November 18, 2017


Japan bracing for early arrival of cold waves toward winter

Japan sees cold air masses coming down from Siberia almost every week these days, as low pressure systems emerge east of the Japanese Archipelago. Weathermen warn the temperature will fall to around zero degree centigrade in some  areas in northernmost Japan later November.
November, the month which links autumn to winter, used to be called the Month of Frost in Japan. Damage from fallen frost is a threat to farmers in many parts of Japan. Particularly, unusually early or late frost falls cause serious damage to farm products.

Someone, someone has found a small autumn
Blind-fold tagger! come and catch me
To ears that listen carefully faintly sounded 
Whistling calls of a shrike
...........
Room facing the north, misted glass
Vacant eyes, dissolved milk
Autumn winds coming through a tiny opening
............
Weathercock of a long long time ago
On a hazy cock's comb, a leaf of a wax tree
The leaf is red like sunset
Someone, someone has found a small autumn
(A personal translation)

This is a poem written by Hachiro Sato who was active from the 1960s to the 1970s. He became famous particularly because he left many poems as lyrics for children's songs.
Japanese have seen signs of the global warming in their daily life these years, just like people in other parts of the world. Warm winter has become a less unusual thing to their life.
Signs of an early arrival of winter this year may be "an indication that the seasonal cycle is just getting back to the previous, proper pattern," says an amateur climate watcher living in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, "but we should not be optimistic."
Winter is called "fuyu" in Japanese, while autumn is "aki." Fuyu means propagate or proliferate, and aki means get saturated.
From autumn to winter, all things in the universe get saturated and propagate quietly and gradually to repeat their life cycle.
The road is covered with withered dark red and yellow leaves, and the leaves will be swept away with a gust of cold wind. Autumn festivals for thanks for the good harvest and prayers for the ancestors are over.
Cold days around this time of the year pave the way for new lives to be born in the spring time.
Busy days in December are just around the corner, but the nature tells season-conscious Japanese people that the merry year-end and New Year's holidays are also weeks ahead.

Adorable butterflies live mysterious life on long migrating journey from Japan

October 29, 2017

Adorable butterflies live mysterious life on long migrating journey from Japan

Migrating creatures are not limited to birds, animals and fish. A kind of spotted butterflies, called "asagimadara" in Japanese, spend the summer in cool areas, mainly on highlands, in northern Japan and fly over the sea to southern Japan regions or Taiwan from late autumn to breed the next generation.
Chestnut tiger butterflies, so called in English, have pretty spotted wing patterns. The front wings, 4 to 6 centimeters in length, have semitransparent pale blue spots, while the rear wings are red or red-brown. When the wings are expanded, they are about 10 centimeters long.
The fact that asagimadara butterflies migrate from Japan to southern regions in autumn and fly back to Japan in spring in the following year came to be known through marking researches by groups of citizens in many parts of Japan since the 1980s.
Early researches revealed some asagimadara flew 1,000 to 1,500 kilometers from the northern and central Japan regions to the Nansei Islands, including Okinawa, but their migrating journey record was renewed almost every year later.
The current longest record, 2,246 kilometers, was reported in  2006, when a female asagimadara released with markings along with others in Yamagata Prefecture, northern Japan, in August, was found on an island near Taiwan three months later.
Researches joined by citizens have revealed their behaviors and flying routes, both northward and southward, but many parts of their life remain mysterious.
Why can they fly so long a distance? How do they feed themselves while flying across the sea? and where do they sleep at night?
The life of spotted butterflies, such as asagimadara, is about four months. This means that the asagimadara butterflies which fly southward from Japan and those which fly northward to Japan in the following year are not the same ones. They are all almost newly born when they start migrating, but they realize the timing of migration and the direction of migration. How?
The one can sometimes see asagimadara with their wings worn out. "It is just natural. Their wings get worn out, because they travel so long a distance," says a butterfly watcher living in southwestern Japan.
Many asakimadara are seen sucking nectar from certain kinds of flowers while in Japan in summer or on their way to southern regions in autumn.
In the southwestern Japan region of Kyushu, they are often found flying around thoroughwort flowers, called Fujibakama in Japanese, which is known as one of the "nanakusa" seven flowers of autumn. 
The nectar of the flower has a toxic agent. The fact that they seek nectar from Fujibakama flowers is taken to mean that they protect themselves from  insects or birds by obtaining the toxic nectar.
Recent studies show that the northern limit of their summer habitats is going up to the north. The timing of migration to their summer or winter habitats is said to be changing in recent years. These indications are taken as signs of the global warming.
"The tiny creature (asakimadara butterfly) "tells us what's happening in the natural environment surrounding us," said a person who is familiar with their habits. "They are just adorable, and we must be even friendlier with them."

Japan's manufacturing at crossroads, electronics giant Toshiba struggling for survival

September 28, 2017

Japan's manufacturing at crossroads, electronics giant Toshiba struggling for survival

The huge object stands right in front of Japan Railways Kurume Station in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan. It is actually a drum-shaped clock with mechanical items built inside.
With a height of 5.9 meters and decorations on the pillar and on the base, the clock was established at the station square in 1999 in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of an inventor who hailed from Kurume City.
Hisashige Tanaka is well known to local people with his nickname, Karakuri (mechanism) Giemon.  Before dying at the age of 82 in 1881, 14 years after the Meiji Restoration, he designed and made a number of mechanical tools and toys.
His masterpieces include the "Yumihiki Doji" boy, a windup doll with an arrow fixed to the bow, and the "Jimeisho" perpetual clock which is said to have kept moving with a single wind for a year, with as many as about 1,000 handmade parts fabricated inside.
Displays about his life and works can be seen at Toshiba Science Museum, as a manufacturing factory he built in Tokyo in 1875 is known as the root company for Toshiba Corp., an electronics giant which has been globally active but is at the brink of collapse.
Toshiba is trying to keep going by selling its well performing assets, notably its flash memory division, but it is uncertain if the scenario goes well.
Passers-by who pay attention to the Giemon clock are limited, but some people look up at the object when the clock opens and starts a small show.
The clock face rotates and opens every one hour, from 8 in the morning to 7 in the evening. Then, mechanical miniature toys appear from the inside. Among them are the boy doll, who takes and shoots four arrows one by one, the perpetual clock and the figure of Giemon, who speaks about his works by himself while music is played for the 5-minute show.
Standing at the top of the clock are two chickens, who light the clock face when it is open.
Karakuri Giemon was born as the son of a tortoiseshell craftsman in the hub of Kurume, which was a castle town. He displayed a strong curiosity about invention from his childhood and started inventing mechanical toys.
He made a success by showing his works at various events in Kyoto, Osaka and elsewhere and then moved to Tokyo in 1873, when he was 74.
Giemon's statues can be found at a few places in Kurume. One of them stands at the entrance of a building which houses research companies and organizations at a riverside park.
Toshiba's fix is compared to the 2016 deal in which a Taiwan conglomerate bought Sharp Corp., one of Japan's time-honored electronics makers, to bail it out.
Sharp once made a big success by releasing many innovative products, including liquid crystal wall TVs, but its decline started soon because it failed to keep up with a competition from its rivals.
The deal was taken as an incident which symbols the decline of Japan's manufacturing industry with long years of craftsmanship. Meanwhile, Toshiba's plight is attributed to its failure in the atomic power reactor business.
Giemon's statue at the research complex appears to be worriedly watching Toshiba's current difficulty.
It is unknown whether Toshiba's fall can be averted, but the clock at the station square will keep ticking, assuring people that his legacies will be inherited to the future as the backbone of Japan's manufacturing spirit.

Japan's "Water Day" events focus on finiteness of water for today's daily life

August 30, 2017

Japan's "Water Day" events focus on finiteness of water for today's daily life

August is the hottest month of the year in most parts of Japan, and Japanese people get attracted to rivers, lakes, waterfalls and other water-cooled locations to dodge from the heat of the summer.

Japanese have seen themselves surrounded with abundant fresh water, notably river water, underground water and subterranean stream water, as the greater part of Japan's national land is occupied with mountains and forests in the Asian monsoon zone.
Japanese had so far felt that drinking water is not exhaustible, just like air, and free of charge, but they have come to believe that the supply of water is not unlimited any more. This reflects the years of urbanization since the 1960s and the influence of environmental pollution. They think that they have to adopt a water-saving lifestyle now.
The first day of August is designated as the "Water Day" in Japan. Various kinds of events and campaigns, mainly led by public organizations,  are held across the country in order to increase people's awareness about the finiteness of water for people's daily life.
The Water Day campaigns call for, in part, actively using rain water and recycled water for domestic use.
As of 2010, the use of rain water and recycled water at major facilities came to 260 million cubic meters a year. This accounted for 0.3 percent of the total amount of water supplied for domestic use across Japan.
A government-organized event for the Water Week, the week from August 1, calls for reviving the centuries-old custom of sprinkling water on the road in front of the house and elsewhere.
The custom, called "uchimizu," is expected to contribute to appeasing the effects of the heat island phenomenon and reducing the emission of ozone-depleting greenhouse gas from air conditioners during the summer time.
At a time when Japanese believe drinking water is not free any more, the consumption of mineral water is increasing steadily year by year. The per capita consumption of bottled mineral water grew to 19.6 liters in 2007, an increase of about 12 times from 1.6 liters for 1990. Today, water has become "a thing to buy" for them.
The use of mineral water is expected to increase further in the years ahead, but at the same time, Japanese are also becoming aware of the need to preserve precious water resources across the country.