Nobel Peace Prize, 2024: Hidankyo, Japan

The Japanese association Hidankyo, which represents atomic bomb victims of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki A-Bomb attacks and currently numbers 106, 825 survivors (average age 85) of the indiscriminate targeting of Japanese civilians in those cities in 1945, has been awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. Congratulations. So, what did Hiroshima look like after the bombing?

Crickets

One of the things I like most about this time of year is the crickets, who make their appearance in late August or early September and hang around until October. There are numerous species, and autumn evenings offer a symphony of cricket chorus, as the following files record.

Grannie Chops Wood To Heat Water for180+- year-old Public Bath

I watched a TV program this evening about unique people and places in Japan. From Iwate Prefecture comes the story of Hiryusan no Yuu (飛龍山の湯) a 180+-year-old bath (not onsen) located in the mountains 40 minutes by car from the nearest city. Tsubuhari Kimi, who gave her age as 88, is the 7th- generation caretaker of the bath. Every day she cleans the bath and chops wood to heat the water. The bath is free, by the way. She explained that she does this out of a sense of loyalty and responsibility as well as a wish that the medicinal properties of the water heal the sick. I couldn't find a YouTube video, but there's this.

Cycling Video: North by Niigata (and a monkey, briefly)

The plan was to ride to ramen town Hakata, Fukushima, via Niigata and Yamagata, but the weather didn't cooperate. No worries, saw some nice scenery. And a monkey.

Fresh Produce from an Unstaffed Stall

I rode home from work along a different route today and discovered a roadside veg stand, where a local woman on her bike was purchasing some onions. After exchanging a few words about the unseasonable heat, I lifted the lids from the styrofoam boxes and selected purple onions and eggplant. Payment: 200 yen, placed in a wooden box visible in the bottom right of the photo. Honor system.

Froggie

I nearly overlooked this frog atop a garbage can at Kajikawa Roadside Station in Shibata City.

Japanese Child Killed in China

Japan operates schools overseas for children of diplomats, businesspeople, etc. Recently, a 10-year-old Japanese student in China was murdered while on his way to school. Days later, a local official commented on social media that killing Japanese in China was a duty. https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/7da53d7d20ad48e9122347ed0107ced8b70307c0

Sado Cycling: Nashinoki Jizo

I've never seen so many statues or figures of Jizo-sama at one place. The story of the Nishinoki Pass Stone Jizo is legendary. Long ago, a fisherman from the coastal village of Toyoda set out in his single-mast vessel. Some distance from shore, the sail unaccountably went slack, and his boat stopped. Peering into the sea, he noticed a shiny object on the sea bottom; diving in, he retrieved a small figure (30cm) of Jizo-sama. Abandoning the fishing, he returned to port, where he summoned his neighbors to discuss what to do, as this eerie and unprecedented experience clearly required a response. The result: a shrine to the Bodhisattva. Some time later, as the votive figures to Jizo-sama increased, it was decided to move the shrine to Nashinoki Pass, several kilometers from Toyoda Village. As the video shows, there are thousands of Jizo-sama figurines. The shrine has an air of isolation (though it is no more than 100 meters from the road, the sign announcing it is parallel to the roadway, not perpendicular), dereliction, even abandon. The pinwheels and stuffed animals were especially poignant (as appeals are made to Jizo-sama by pregnant mothers and parents of children suffering from illness).