Echizen Washi has a 1,500-year history and is still evolving

These are products made with Echizen Washi. (source: Fukui Photo Gallery)

December/14/2019

Have you seen the Rosetta Stone, the Nazca Lines or the cave paintings in the Lascaux Caves?

Since ancient times the human species has been both writing and drawing or painting pictures, and it’s always had a strong desire to preserve these works.

Ancient human beings wrote, drew, and painted on a lot of things, such as stones, clay tablets, bamboo, parchment, and animal bones. Because they were able to preserve words and pictures in these ways, knowledge accumulated and civilization developed. The development of civilization accelerated when paper was developed. Paper is easy to write on and preserve, so people started using it all around the world. read more

I watched Theo Jansen and his Strandbeests in Fukui Prefecture,Japan.

September/22/2019

Theo Jansen is a world-renowned Dutch artist who is often called a modern-day Leonardo da Vinci.

He’s particularly famous for his Strandbeests, walking artworks that combine science and art. Strandbeests means “beach animals” in Dutch. The animals are made of plastic tubes, and they have numerous legs that are powered by air. If you see their interesting ways of moving just once, you’ll never forget the sight.  read more

Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum: one of the world’s top three dinosaur museums

September/21/2019

Do you know who invented the term Dinosauria, which is the formal term for dinosaurs? In 1842, the British biologist and paleontologist Richard Owen came up with the term by combining the Greek deinos, meaning fearfully great, and sauros, meaning lizard.

 The Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, one of the world’s top three dinosaur museums, is in Fukui Prefecture. In 2019, about 924,000 people visited the museum. I went to the museum and want to write about it. read more

Excavating fossils near Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum

September/21/2019

People sometimes call Fukui Prefecture “the Dinosaur Kingdom” because it has the largest site in Japan for the excavation of dinosaur fossils. The Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum is in the city of Katsuyama, and I went there today.(This is the website of Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum.) read more

Starting from a small stone: Fukui’s dinosaur story

You can see this at Fukui Station.

September/28/2019

What does the word dinosaur remind you of? For me, it reminds me of the movie Jurassic Park, which I watched at a theater with my father and brother.

Dinosaurs lived from about 230 to 66 million years ago. They dominated the Earth for 160 million years. It’s largely believed that most of them became extinct because of a meteor impact. A lot of researchers think that dinosaurs evolved into birds. read more

2019 Sumo Summer Tour in Echizen, Fukui Prefecture, Japan.

July/31/2019

Today, I watched some sumo matches in Echizen, Fukui Prefecture. Between the main sumo tournaments, sumo wrestlers go to rural towns and hold exhibition matches for a day at a time. It was the first time I’d ever watched sumo live.

Sumo is well known around the world, so you may know something about it. However, the history of sumo and the meanings of the sumo wrestlers’ motions aren’t as well known. read more

I went to the Chihayafuru holy places in Awara, Fukui Prefecture.

July/25/2019

Chihayafuru is a Japanese comic about competitive karuta. Since Wataya　Arata, the heroin’s friend, was born in Awara, it’s a holy place for Chihayafuru. I wrote about Chihayafuru ,an exhibition of original illustrations from Chihayafuru and competitive karuta(I watched the competitive karuta tournament (The 51st National Women’s Competitive Karuta Tournament) in Awara, Fukui prefecture.) in previous posts, so please read them. read more

An exhibition of original illustrations from Chihayafuru was held in Awara.

June/2/2019

Chihayafuru is a well-known Japanese manga for young people written and illustrated by Suetsugu Yuki. The story is about Ayase Chihaya, the heroine, and her friends, who bet their youth on competitive karuta. Among her friends, there’s a boy named Wataya Arata who’s very good at competitive karuta. Chihaya calls him the god of karuta. (I wrote about the history of karuta and competitive karuta(I watched the competitive karuta tournament (The 51st National Women’s Competitive Karuta Tournament) in Awara, Fukui prefecture.) in previous posts.) read more

The 51st National Women’s Competitive Karuta Tournament in Awara, Fukui prefecture.

June/16/2019

My sleeves are like rocks

far out into the sea.

Even at low tide

they cannot be seen

by anyone,

nor will they ever dry.

(Lady Sanuki)

(Translated by McMillan Peter.)

This poem is one of the poems in the Hyakunin Isshu, and it was composed over 800 years ago by a lady. She compares her sleeves to rocks under the sea. She’s tormented by romantic feelings, and her sleeves are wet with tears. read more

What is Chihayafuru(ちはやふる）? and what is karuta?

June/19/2019

Do you know a Japanese manga called Chihayafuru（ちはやふる in Japanese）?

It features karuta competitions and is written and illustrated by Suetsugu Yuki. (Karuta are traditional Japanese playing cards.) Ayase Chihaya, an active schoolgirl heroine, takes part in karuta competitions. She’s clumsy but has a strong passion for karuta. The manga is very well known in Japan, and as of 2019, it has sold over 24 million copies. It’s been translated into other languages. read more