Monthly Archives: August 2005
Tochigi-ken, the Buckeye Prefecture
Tochigi Prefecture, in which Ashikaga is located, is named after 栃の木 (tochi-no-ki), the Japanese horse chestnut, Aesculus turbinata Blume, a close relative of the Ohio buckeye, Aesculus glabra, and the European horse chestnut, Aesculus hippocastanum L. Marronnier, the French name … Continue reading
Filed under Japan
Hawai‘i in Japan
Even before coming back to Japan, I knew that every year for the past few decades at least a million Japanese citizens have visited Hawai‘i, many more than once. But I’ve been surprised again and again by the depth and … Continue reading
Filed under Hawai'i
Ha Jin on Chinese Cannon Fodder in Korea
One afternoon during the “airing grievances” session [among Chinese POWs in Korea], the medic said something almost incredible, though there must have been some truth to the story. He told us: “When our former division suffered heavy casualties near Wonsan, … Continue reading
Japan Horse-racing Trivia
The Japan Racing Association (JRA) has 10 racecourses (seven running clockwise, three counter-clockwise) [emphasis added] and two training centers (Miho Training Center and Ritto Training Center). Roughly 3,450 races are held mainly on Saturdays and Sundays, for a total of … Continue reading
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Ha Jin on Belief vs. Belonging
I believed in socialism, which I felt was the only way to save China. I had seen how my country had been ruined by the Nationalists. Inflation, corruption, crime, poverty, all the evil forces had run amok in the old … Continue reading
Filed under China
Theory and Practice of Japanese Recycling
The Japanese government regulates the classification of consumer waste and recyclables very meticulously. In 2001, it even passed a law “requiring retailers and manufacturers to take back used air conditioners, televisions, washing machines and refrigerators”–the first such “take-back” law, according … Continue reading
Reinventing the Japanese Monarchy, 1927
The Fifty-second Imperial Diet, which had adjourned following Emperor Taisho’s death, had reconvened on January 18, 1927. Hirohito and his entourage lost no time in trying to influence political trends and make the political world aware of his presence. First, … Continue reading
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Japan Rail Pass Travels
We initiated our Japan Rail Passes 3 weeks ago with a same-day roundtrip by bullet train from Tokyo (東京 ‘east capital’) to Shizuoka (静岡 ‘calm hill’) in a fruitless effort to view Mt. Fuji (富士山 ‘rich gentleman mountain’). Not once … Continue reading
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Earthquake Blogging
A little while ago, at 11:29 Japan time, a magnitude 5.0 (Japanese scale) earthquake shook our building slightly. NHK almost immediately cut to earthquake coverage, repeating over and over that the epicenter was around Nagaoka in Niigata Prefecture, that there … Continue reading
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How Little Hou Created the Walking Telegraph Code
Day after day we racked our brains, but still couldn’t find an adequate transmission method [to communicate remotely between prison compounds in Korea]. Little Hou was truly a smart fellow and engrossed in the code work most of the time. … Continue reading
Filed under Korea
