Hybrid cars, delivery trucks and busses have been running for some years now. What's new is a new kind of eco-bus. These eco-busses are powered by the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in an electricity-producing fuel cell. Carbon is not involved, and greenhouse gasses are not created.
New technology. New jobs. A greener environment.
2010年12月15日水曜日
2010年11月1日月曜日
Now, Back to Sanshin World...
...where the tri-annual two-day concours for Noborikawa-style sanshin music has just ended.
A sanshin looks so simple. A stick, a flattened cylinder, three strings, and something to pick the strings with--that's all it takes to create a sanshin. I've seen them made from tupperware and an old board, or an empty cookie tin instead of the tupperware, and also the fabulous instuments made from rare hardwoods with coral pins to hold the strings. It's not, however, the instrument that counts. It's the heart of the person who plays it.
No one has more heart than Noborikawa Seijin.
Yesterday's celebration concert ran for five hours, many of those hours with the much-loved "Sei-gua" himself on stage performing entertainment miracles with three strings and his indomitable heart.
A sanshin looks so simple. A stick, a flattened cylinder, three strings, and something to pick the strings with--that's all it takes to create a sanshin. I've seen them made from tupperware and an old board, or an empty cookie tin instead of the tupperware, and also the fabulous instuments made from rare hardwoods with coral pins to hold the strings. It's not, however, the instrument that counts. It's the heart of the person who plays it.
No one has more heart than Noborikawa Seijin.
Yesterday's celebration concert ran for five hours, many of those hours with the much-loved "Sei-gua" himself on stage performing entertainment miracles with three strings and his indomitable heart.
2010年10月24日日曜日
What's blooming in Tachikawa?
Cosmos flowers! One hill is sparkling with lemonade yellow blossoms mixed with fizzy white ones. Two more are covered with multiple shades of pink, as far as the eye can see.
Almost as plentiful as the flowers are the people enjoying a day in the park. This is Showa Kinen Koen at its best.
Almost a century ago, the land was the site of an airplane factory. Even now, a handful of one-and-two-seaters is on display in a back corner of the park. Later, it became a hotspot of Japan's war effort. Still later, the airfield was taken over by a foreign government to use for their various war efforts.
And then...
The land reverted to Japan.
What would a nation that learned a very bitter lesson--that war's main product is human misery--do with this acreage next?
Japan planted trees, grass, and shrubs, landscaped the ponds and the lake, planted thousands and thousands of cosmos flowers, and threw open the gates. Welcome, one and all, to a place that celebrates life! Banzai for karmic makeovers!
Almost as plentiful as the flowers are the people enjoying a day in the park. This is Showa Kinen Koen at its best.
Almost a century ago, the land was the site of an airplane factory. Even now, a handful of one-and-two-seaters is on display in a back corner of the park. Later, it became a hotspot of Japan's war effort. Still later, the airfield was taken over by a foreign government to use for their various war efforts.
And then...
The land reverted to Japan.
What would a nation that learned a very bitter lesson--that war's main product is human misery--do with this acreage next?
Japan planted trees, grass, and shrubs, landscaped the ponds and the lake, planted thousands and thousands of cosmos flowers, and threw open the gates. Welcome, one and all, to a place that celebrates life! Banzai for karmic makeovers!
2010年10月19日火曜日
strange news
Autumn in the season for awards. In Japan, the national holiday "Culture Day" comes on November 3, and centering on that date, various prizes in the field of culture are awarded.
Loosely defined, culture would be anything created by the heart, mind and hand of human beings as opposed to something created by nature. Politics, believe it or not, fits inside that definition. But so does morality.
One would have to question, therefore, the wisdom of awarding a "culture hero" prize to a politician discredited by his own party for his totally iffy morality.
This is about Junya Yano, who was ignominiously booted out of the Komei Party many years ago. Who is nominating him? The news report said "the government". That means the current ruling party, which is largely ruled by Ichiro Ozawa, a man on the verge of being discredited for his totally iffy morality.
Is this a joke?
Loosely defined, culture would be anything created by the heart, mind and hand of human beings as opposed to something created by nature. Politics, believe it or not, fits inside that definition. But so does morality.
One would have to question, therefore, the wisdom of awarding a "culture hero" prize to a politician discredited by his own party for his totally iffy morality.
This is about Junya Yano, who was ignominiously booted out of the Komei Party many years ago. Who is nominating him? The news report said "the government". That means the current ruling party, which is largely ruled by Ichiro Ozawa, a man on the verge of being discredited for his totally iffy morality.
Is this a joke?
2010年10月6日水曜日
The Silence of a Wind Turbine
The people in today's NY Times (Oct 5) who don't like the noise of their wind turbine apparently do not know where to shop for a good one.
The article claims they couldn't stand the noise after its first ten minutes of operation. I know one that has been operating for ten years, and you can't hear it at all. It powers a small community on an island near Okinawa, and even if you stand right next to it, all you hear is the birds chirping, voices wafting from a coffee shop nearby, and the hum of a car or two on the road that passes the turbine. You can't hear the windmill, even if you press your ear against the tower. (which I did)
Don't blame the turbine for noise; blame the manufacturer.
Quiet ones do exist.
The article claims they couldn't stand the noise after its first ten minutes of operation. I know one that has been operating for ten years, and you can't hear it at all. It powers a small community on an island near Okinawa, and even if you stand right next to it, all you hear is the birds chirping, voices wafting from a coffee shop nearby, and the hum of a car or two on the road that passes the turbine. You can't hear the windmill, even if you press your ear against the tower. (which I did)
Don't blame the turbine for noise; blame the manufacturer.
Quiet ones do exist.
2010年9月17日金曜日
A Change in the Weather
Rain, at last, and a respite from record-breaking summer temperatures!
The cooler weather coincided with a vote to choose the leader of Japan's Minshuto (Democratic Party). Since the Minshuto holds a majority in Congress, the new party leader would automatically become Japan's Prime Minister. The winner is the incumbent, Naoto Kan.
When I wrote about Japan's first-ever, postwar, rotation of the majority/minority political parties (Japan's Road to Popular Empowerment, Adams Press, 2001), the book was subtitled "The Story So Far". In that book, Mr. Kan was given a brief mention as a minority party grassroots organizer in Okayama Prefecture. Now he has become a two-term Prime Minister.
Whether he is good, bad, or indifferent as the top leader remains to be seen. What is important to notice is that a new set of characters is moving into the top positions in Japan.
The times, they are a'changing.
The cooler weather coincided with a vote to choose the leader of Japan's Minshuto (Democratic Party). Since the Minshuto holds a majority in Congress, the new party leader would automatically become Japan's Prime Minister. The winner is the incumbent, Naoto Kan.
When I wrote about Japan's first-ever, postwar, rotation of the majority/minority political parties (Japan's Road to Popular Empowerment, Adams Press, 2001), the book was subtitled "The Story So Far". In that book, Mr. Kan was given a brief mention as a minority party grassroots organizer in Okayama Prefecture. Now he has become a two-term Prime Minister.
Whether he is good, bad, or indifferent as the top leader remains to be seen. What is important to notice is that a new set of characters is moving into the top positions in Japan.
The times, they are a'changing.
2010年8月25日水曜日
Meanwhile, there is joy in Okinawa
Okinawa loves baseball, and baseball loves her back. The all-Japan high school baseball tournament ended today, and an Okinawa high school won. Congratulations, Konan High School!
2010年8月21日土曜日
A Word on Hiroshima (2)
Here in the village distinguished by the eight pine trees that gave it its name, August is a quiet month. The rice is growing, but not ready for harvest. Nothing is more beautiful than the emerald green of a mature paddy, like the one in the photo, as seen against a cerulean sky. It's hot. A typhoon is on the way--look at the clouds!
The green of the rice and the blue of the sky is the same in August of 2010 as it was in 1945. In the afternoon of August 6, 1945, Toshio S. walked the four kilometers from his house, along a road with rice paddies lining both sides, to the train station in the center of Eight Pines Village. On his back was a small rucksack with a canteen of water, some salted rice balls, and a towel to mop away the sweat that poured from his face.
It was hot. It was quiet. It was just like in the photo, only different.
There was a strange cloud hovering over the city in the far distance, and from that cloud poured black rain. Toshio S. was on his way to Hiroshima City to look for his brother, unaccounted for after leaving his house to go to work in the city center that morning, the day the world's first atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima City.
Koichi, Toshio's brother, was one of the lucky ones. He died instantly, pelted by a torrent of broken concrete from what, moments before his death, was his office building. It took two days, but Toshio found Koichi,identified the body, and mourned his brother's loss with the rest of his family.
Not lucky were the men, women, and children whose skin was melted from their bodies by the force of the atomic blast. They had no voices, not even to say their own names. They had no faces, no identifying marks, to let others know who they were. They were alive, but with nothing to hold the fluids inside their bodies, they were tortured by a demonic thirst. And there were so many of them. Too many to be helped by people like Toshio, who had a tin of water he gladly gave away, water that leaked away the moment it was swallowed.
On November 12 this year, a peace conference attended by Nobel Peace Prize Laureates will open in Hiroshima. America's most recent Nobel laureate will be in Yokohama for an economic conference around that same time. He is cordially invited to make the hour flight to Hiroshima and let the world know if his country values peace and human life as much as it does economics.
The green of the rice and the blue of the sky is the same in August of 2010 as it was in 1945. In the afternoon of August 6, 1945, Toshio S. walked the four kilometers from his house, along a road with rice paddies lining both sides, to the train station in the center of Eight Pines Village. On his back was a small rucksack with a canteen of water, some salted rice balls, and a towel to mop away the sweat that poured from his face.
It was hot. It was quiet. It was just like in the photo, only different.
There was a strange cloud hovering over the city in the far distance, and from that cloud poured black rain. Toshio S. was on his way to Hiroshima City to look for his brother, unaccounted for after leaving his house to go to work in the city center that morning, the day the world's first atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima City.
Koichi, Toshio's brother, was one of the lucky ones. He died instantly, pelted by a torrent of broken concrete from what, moments before his death, was his office building. It took two days, but Toshio found Koichi,identified the body, and mourned his brother's loss with the rest of his family.
Not lucky were the men, women, and children whose skin was melted from their bodies by the force of the atomic blast. They had no voices, not even to say their own names. They had no faces, no identifying marks, to let others know who they were. They were alive, but with nothing to hold the fluids inside their bodies, they were tortured by a demonic thirst. And there were so many of them. Too many to be helped by people like Toshio, who had a tin of water he gladly gave away, water that leaked away the moment it was swallowed.
On November 12 this year, a peace conference attended by Nobel Peace Prize Laureates will open in Hiroshima. America's most recent Nobel laureate will be in Yokohama for an economic conference around that same time. He is cordially invited to make the hour flight to Hiroshima and let the world know if his country values peace and human life as much as it does economics.
2010年8月18日水曜日
2010年8月16日月曜日
Summer in the City
The whole world seems hot and getting hotter, and Tokyo is no exception. How does it feel to walk a sun-baked city street together with 700,000 fellow humans, each radiating 98.6 degrees F of heat?
It feels hot, muggy, and totally exhilarating because of what we have just seen: one of Japan's most stupendous displays of fireworks.
Twelve thousand rounds of shooting stars, fiery chrysanthemums, ethereal butterflies and more! They fill the sky over Tokyo Bay, turn the murky water from black to lime and scarlet, and send their colors ricocheting off the glass-sheathed skyscrapers that line the bay's left bank.
This is what I love about Japan. Give them gunpowder, and they will turn it into flowers. It wouldn't be summer in Japan without "hanabi" (flower-fires) festivals.
It feels hot, muggy, and totally exhilarating because of what we have just seen: one of Japan's most stupendous displays of fireworks.
Twelve thousand rounds of shooting stars, fiery chrysanthemums, ethereal butterflies and more! They fill the sky over Tokyo Bay, turn the murky water from black to lime and scarlet, and send their colors ricocheting off the glass-sheathed skyscrapers that line the bay's left bank.
This is what I love about Japan. Give them gunpowder, and they will turn it into flowers. It wouldn't be summer in Japan without "hanabi" (flower-fires) festivals.
2010年6月29日火曜日
The Road Less Taken (2)
A beach on Tokunoshima, one of the Amami islands between Okinawa and Kyushu.
The Road Less Taken
Tokunoshima is located a little north of Okinawa, part of the Amami island chain. During the US occupation of the Japanese island Okinawa (which continued until 1972!) Tokunoshima was the southernmost point a Japanese tourist could get to without a passport.
If you transferred this scenario to the US, it would mean people from NJ who wanted to escape the snow and go to Florida would need to apply for a passport and a visa first. What would you do to have a nice vacation without the hassle? Probably go to the islands off the Carolinas instead. And that's how Tokunoshima came to enjoy a teeny bit of tourist prosperity.
2010年6月22日火曜日
The Jan-Ken Game
Everyone has probably played Rock, Paper, Scissors--or the Jan-Ken game as it is known in Japanese. It's light hearted, fun, and a speedy way to settle tiny controversies. Who gets to choose the movie or the restaurant, for instance.
Did you know Rock/Paper/Scissors has a dark sequel? It is often followed up by another game that lets the inner bully come out to play.
The follow up game involves the winner chanting a little incantation and pointing a finger, then screeching with eldritch laughter when the loser obediently looks in the direction to which the bully finger is pointing.
For some reason, the dolphin movie that so many people are up in arms about reminds me of that game.
While we are being told to look with cold eyes at people who are trying to balance the fish from which they make a living and an overpopulation of dolphins, what are we not seeing?
The list is long, indeed.
Did you know Rock/Paper/Scissors has a dark sequel? It is often followed up by another game that lets the inner bully come out to play.
The follow up game involves the winner chanting a little incantation and pointing a finger, then screeching with eldritch laughter when the loser obediently looks in the direction to which the bully finger is pointing.
For some reason, the dolphin movie that so many people are up in arms about reminds me of that game.
While we are being told to look with cold eyes at people who are trying to balance the fish from which they make a living and an overpopulation of dolphins, what are we not seeing?
The list is long, indeed.
2010年6月18日金曜日
Something No Man Could Ever Do
Hokkaido is the northern island that is mostly open land, fields and forests. It has some lovely winding highways, and those highways--stretching on forever--bring out the speed demon in even the mildest driver. Except me.
The car was borrowed, the single lane roads were unfamiliar, and it was raining. When I drove in Hokkaido, I took my time, with predictable results. Traffic built up behind me.
I think the natural temptation would be to drive faster so as not to have to wear the dunce cap and the slowpoke label given to the lame drivers who clog up traffic by sticking to the speed limit. But there is another alternative, and that is the one I chose: to pull over and let the speed demons pass.
Sometimes it IS right to swallow your pride and just say no.
I wish the teachers in charge of the expedition in which a seventh grade child on the threshold of his life drowned because the man who should have said "No, this is no weather to take kids out on the river in an open boat" had possessed the same courage. Sometimes it is braver to back down.
"No" is a valid choice. You can always go another day. Except for the child who died.
The car was borrowed, the single lane roads were unfamiliar, and it was raining. When I drove in Hokkaido, I took my time, with predictable results. Traffic built up behind me.
I think the natural temptation would be to drive faster so as not to have to wear the dunce cap and the slowpoke label given to the lame drivers who clog up traffic by sticking to the speed limit. But there is another alternative, and that is the one I chose: to pull over and let the speed demons pass.
Sometimes it IS right to swallow your pride and just say no.
I wish the teachers in charge of the expedition in which a seventh grade child on the threshold of his life drowned because the man who should have said "No, this is no weather to take kids out on the river in an open boat" had possessed the same courage. Sometimes it is braver to back down.
"No" is a valid choice. You can always go another day. Except for the child who died.
The Amazing Power of Lilies
How do they do it? It is hot, it is wet, it is pouring rain--and still the lily stays clean and fresh and pure. Amazing.
2010年6月3日木曜日
Tale Wagging the Dog
People believe what they want to believe, and the US media apparently wants to believe that Japanese public support for the Hatoyama government plummetted because Mr. Hatoyama rejected US domination of Japanese foreign affairs policies.
How about reading the Japanese newspapers? How about talking to real people who live in Japan?
What Japanese people are rejecting is fiscal irresponsibility and a leader who backs down on public promises. You cannot run a country without treating the people's money with respect and still expect them to support you. You cannot do with promises what Lucy does with Charlie Brown's football: make people believe what you say you will do, then do the opposite.
It is very sad that a country that cannot go even ten years without engaging in multiple wars thinks it is in charge of a country that engages in peace for centuries at a time and is still in mourning for its last military adventure.
How about reading the Japanese newspapers? How about talking to real people who live in Japan?
What Japanese people are rejecting is fiscal irresponsibility and a leader who backs down on public promises. You cannot run a country without treating the people's money with respect and still expect them to support you. You cannot do with promises what Lucy does with Charlie Brown's football: make people believe what you say you will do, then do the opposite.
It is very sad that a country that cannot go even ten years without engaging in multiple wars thinks it is in charge of a country that engages in peace for centuries at a time and is still in mourning for its last military adventure.
2010年5月7日金曜日
Silence is Golden
Some things are so quiet everything else seems loud by comparison.
The crunch of the grass underfoot...
The sound of a bird singing in the distance...
Everyone says wind powered electric generators are noisy. But this one was so quiet, if I closed my eyes I wouldn't have known it was there. Could it be that people who say wind-powered electricity generation is noisy don't know where to shop for windmills?
This one was quieter than footsteps on the lawn. What's more, it supplies all the electricity the resort complex that built it can use, and the fees from selling the leftover electricity will pay for the windmill by its 15th birthday.
The crunch of the grass underfoot...
The sound of a bird singing in the distance...
Everyone says wind powered electric generators are noisy. But this one was so quiet, if I closed my eyes I wouldn't have known it was there. Could it be that people who say wind-powered electricity generation is noisy don't know where to shop for windmills?
This one was quieter than footsteps on the lawn. What's more, it supplies all the electricity the resort complex that built it can use, and the fees from selling the leftover electricity will pay for the windmill by its 15th birthday.
2010年4月26日月曜日
How Unanimous is Unanimous?
Very unanimous!
This is what happened in the weekend rally against the US bases in Okinawa:
"All of the major political parties, including the Liberal Democratic Party, saw themselves being represented for the first time at an antibase rally in Okinawa."
This is what happened in the weekend rally against the US bases in Okinawa:
"All of the major political parties, including the Liberal Democratic Party, saw themselves being represented for the first time at an antibase rally in Okinawa."
2010年4月20日火曜日
No Rainbows Here
When something is a good thing, everyone wants it, right? Okinawa doesn't want it, Guam doesn't want it, and now Tokunoshima says it doesn't want it, either. The "it" is a US military installation.
Over the weekend, 15,000 people--out of a total population of 25,000--protested the plan to spoil a beautiful environment by paving it over, polluting the sea, and bringing in noisy helicopters and military personnel who have proven their contempt for their host culture in Japan over and over again through off duty crimes ranging from rape, robbery, drunken driving that includes fatal hit and run accidents, to murder. This is not to say all the personnel are evil, but even one murderer is one too many to invite into your neighborhood.
If having this US military base were a good thing, Guam--a US protectorate--would want it. But they, too, have said no. As one US legislator put it in a very colorful metaphor, adding so many strangers to a small island like Guam might "unbalance it and tip it over".
Okinawa island agrees. So does Tokunoshima island. Your neighborhood would probably reject the proposal, too.
Isn't it time to rethink the very concept of overseas military installations?
Over the weekend, 15,000 people--out of a total population of 25,000--protested the plan to spoil a beautiful environment by paving it over, polluting the sea, and bringing in noisy helicopters and military personnel who have proven their contempt for their host culture in Japan over and over again through off duty crimes ranging from rape, robbery, drunken driving that includes fatal hit and run accidents, to murder. This is not to say all the personnel are evil, but even one murderer is one too many to invite into your neighborhood.
If having this US military base were a good thing, Guam--a US protectorate--would want it. But they, too, have said no. As one US legislator put it in a very colorful metaphor, adding so many strangers to a small island like Guam might "unbalance it and tip it over".
Okinawa island agrees. So does Tokunoshima island. Your neighborhood would probably reject the proposal, too.
Isn't it time to rethink the very concept of overseas military installations?
2010年4月16日金曜日
Bring on the Rainbows
I've never seen a rainbow in winter, have you? Rainbows seem to be a summertime thing. Why that should be, I have no idea; it's simply a fact of natural life. However, long observation of nature says that the border line between the time of no rainbows and the time when they can be seen is now.
A Japanese calendar, something like The Farmer's Almanac, sets the date of the first chance to see a rainbow as April 15.
It rained all day on April 15 this year. Maybe tomorrow the sun will shine through the clouds. Let the rainbow season begin!
A Japanese calendar, something like The Farmer's Almanac, sets the date of the first chance to see a rainbow as April 15.
It rained all day on April 15 this year. Maybe tomorrow the sun will shine through the clouds. Let the rainbow season begin!
2010年4月7日水曜日
Flower Time
Everyone knows that the end of March/beginning of April is cherry blossom time in Japan. But what about the other flowers? Is it fair that the word "flower" in a Japanese poem almost always refers to cherry blossoms?
Some people think not.
There are some flowers that are so lovely, if they were blooming all by themselves in an otherwise forlorn location, the people who saw them would swoon for joy.
I love the cherry blossoms as much as the next person, but in deference to the others who also bloom, the photo I am posting is not of a cherry tree. It's of a type of chrysanthemum that gives until there's nothing left to give from December to April, even blossoming through the snow.
Some people think not.
There are some flowers that are so lovely, if they were blooming all by themselves in an otherwise forlorn location, the people who saw them would swoon for joy.
I love the cherry blossoms as much as the next person, but in deference to the others who also bloom, the photo I am posting is not of a cherry tree. It's of a type of chrysanthemum that gives until there's nothing left to give from December to April, even blossoming through the snow.
2010年3月12日金曜日
Sanshin Day 2010
Sanshin Day in Naha, March 4, began with the traditional melody "Kageyadefu". It's easy to play but hard to sing. The words mean something like, "How shall I describe the beauty of today? Like a flower, a fresh flower, a dew-laden bud about to open."
2010年3月7日日曜日
Egad! What happened to Katsuren Castle?
Here is the castle wall after the earthquake.
The photo is copied from The Okinawa Times, February 27 online edition.
2010年3月6日土曜日
The Once in a Hundred Years Earthquake
The tsunami that followed the big earthquake in Chile was close to a non-event in Okinawa, which is good. The earthquake the day before made a much bigger impression. Like most of Japan, Okinawa experiences frequent tremors, but hardly anyone alive today can remember one as strong as the one that rocked Okinawa last weekend.
It was rated five on Japan's magnitude scale. This is not the Richter scale, but the one in common use in Japan.
Magnitude One is easily overlooked. Magnitude Two is noticeable to people who have nothing else going on around them to distract them. Magnitude Three rattles windows and doors as it gently rocks buildings. You might not notice it if you are walking outdoors or driving. Magnitude Four knows how to get attention, and beyond level four, matters begin to get serious.
During a Magnitude Five earthquake, it is difficult to stand up. Things will topple off shelves, window glass might break, weakly constructed concrete walls and the like are likely to topple, signs hung outside buildings are quite likely to break loose and crash onto the streets, and pavements might ripple and crack.
Okinawa's recent earthquake was the first Magnitude Five quake in a hundred years.
One of the victims was the castle that gave its name to my first novel, Katsuren. Parts of the remaining stone wall from the 12th century structure crumbled and fell apart. The good news is that, because Katsuren has been designated a world cultural heritage site by UNESCO, it will be rebuilt.
It was rated five on Japan's magnitude scale. This is not the Richter scale, but the one in common use in Japan.
Magnitude One is easily overlooked. Magnitude Two is noticeable to people who have nothing else going on around them to distract them. Magnitude Three rattles windows and doors as it gently rocks buildings. You might not notice it if you are walking outdoors or driving. Magnitude Four knows how to get attention, and beyond level four, matters begin to get serious.
During a Magnitude Five earthquake, it is difficult to stand up. Things will topple off shelves, window glass might break, weakly constructed concrete walls and the like are likely to topple, signs hung outside buildings are quite likely to break loose and crash onto the streets, and pavements might ripple and crack.
Okinawa's recent earthquake was the first Magnitude Five quake in a hundred years.
One of the victims was the castle that gave its name to my first novel, Katsuren. Parts of the remaining stone wall from the 12th century structure crumbled and fell apart. The good news is that, because Katsuren has been designated a world cultural heritage site by UNESCO, it will be rebuilt.
2010年2月28日日曜日
Tsunami!
Chile suffered the worst of it, but when the subterranean plate moved, it also set loose reverberations that were felt halfway around the world. All of Japan's Pacific coast from Hokkaido to Okinawa is getting soaked by tsunami waves.
Luckily, there was plenty of warning. So far there are no injuries and minimal damage.
How do you get ready for a tsunami?
First, you move the boats. This is a fishing country, and boats are precious. Some are hauled out of the harbors and up onto high ground. Others are sailed out to sea.
Second, you close the water gates. These are enormous movable walls about six feet high. Today's tsunami didn't top two meters, so those walls were worth their weight in gold.
Meanwhile, you move out the old people and the children. The younger folk and the men who are busy moving the boats and sealing the water gates follow. Depending on the population of the coastal settlements, from one thousand to ten thousand people/town have to be relocated before the waves strike.
The tsunami here look so mild, you might wonder what the fuss is all about. They are not like the ones in the movies that come roaring in and swallow skyscrapers whole.
They are much sneakier.
When you see the news photos at the height of the tsunami, you see what looks like a very calm lake covering the streets and swirling gently around the buildings. If you look at the same area 15 minutes later, you will see wet ground where the water was.
What you don't see is the enormous power of all that water draining back to sea in a matter of minutes. A liter of water weighs 1 kilogram. An average adult weighs about 60 kg. How many liters does it take to cover a village, say, one foot deep? I have no idea. But when that amount of water weight moves, nothing as puny as a human being can stop it. That's where the greatest danger lies, and that is why people are sitting patiently on the floors of school gyms and wherever else they have evacuated to until all the water is back in the ocean where it belongs. Even if it takes until tomorrow.
Luckily, there was plenty of warning. So far there are no injuries and minimal damage.
How do you get ready for a tsunami?
First, you move the boats. This is a fishing country, and boats are precious. Some are hauled out of the harbors and up onto high ground. Others are sailed out to sea.
Second, you close the water gates. These are enormous movable walls about six feet high. Today's tsunami didn't top two meters, so those walls were worth their weight in gold.
Meanwhile, you move out the old people and the children. The younger folk and the men who are busy moving the boats and sealing the water gates follow. Depending on the population of the coastal settlements, from one thousand to ten thousand people/town have to be relocated before the waves strike.
The tsunami here look so mild, you might wonder what the fuss is all about. They are not like the ones in the movies that come roaring in and swallow skyscrapers whole.
They are much sneakier.
When you see the news photos at the height of the tsunami, you see what looks like a very calm lake covering the streets and swirling gently around the buildings. If you look at the same area 15 minutes later, you will see wet ground where the water was.
What you don't see is the enormous power of all that water draining back to sea in a matter of minutes. A liter of water weighs 1 kilogram. An average adult weighs about 60 kg. How many liters does it take to cover a village, say, one foot deep? I have no idea. But when that amount of water weight moves, nothing as puny as a human being can stop it. That's where the greatest danger lies, and that is why people are sitting patiently on the floors of school gyms and wherever else they have evacuated to until all the water is back in the ocean where it belongs. Even if it takes until tomorrow.
2010年1月12日火曜日
Welcome to the Year 22
For most of the world, this is the year 2010. In Japan, it is Year 22--the twenty second year of the Heisei Era, that is. The Heisei Era began when the present Emperor began his reign, and that was in 1989 by the rest of the world's calendar.
If you are Japanese, and you have to fill out an official document that includes a space for your birthday, you will see a blank line followed by the letters M, T, S, and H. The letters are shortcuts for the successive eras in Japan's calendar.
The Meiji Era sounds so long ago. For reference, it started just after America's Abraham Lincoln left the stage, and it ended the year the Titanic sank. You would have to be 98 years old or older to circle the M.
Taisho Era babies are a very exclusive group. The era lasted only fourteen years. The Showa Era, however, was a long one. Almost anyone now active in Japanese society circles the S when they write their birthdate.
That was true until yesterday.
January 11 was Coming of Age Day, a day to celebrate all the young people who officially become adults this year. This year, every single one of the new adults in Japan is a Heisei baby.
They are a small demographic now. Watch them grow!
If you are Japanese, and you have to fill out an official document that includes a space for your birthday, you will see a blank line followed by the letters M, T, S, and H. The letters are shortcuts for the successive eras in Japan's calendar.
The Meiji Era sounds so long ago. For reference, it started just after America's Abraham Lincoln left the stage, and it ended the year the Titanic sank. You would have to be 98 years old or older to circle the M.
Taisho Era babies are a very exclusive group. The era lasted only fourteen years. The Showa Era, however, was a long one. Almost anyone now active in Japanese society circles the S when they write their birthdate.
That was true until yesterday.
January 11 was Coming of Age Day, a day to celebrate all the young people who officially become adults this year. This year, every single one of the new adults in Japan is a Heisei baby.
They are a small demographic now. Watch them grow!
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