#yamaguchi prefecture

[wikipediapictures]

Nagusa Station

[redsamuraiii]

Detective Conan (Ep 891 : Bakumatsu Revolution Mystery Tour)

Kogoro, Ran and Conan got entangled in a conspiracy in the heart of Yamaguchi where the seeds of Meiji Restoration was planted.

[filmap]

蜂の巣の子供たち / Children of the Beehive Hiroshi Shimizu. 1948

Bridge Kintai Bridge, Iwakuni, Yamaguchi 741-0062, Japan See in map

See in imdb

[mothmiso]

秋吉台 / Akiyoshidai Quasi-National Park (2) (3) by Ryuichi Miyazaki

[countrygallery]

 via  Gridllr.com   —  for people with lots of Likes!

at Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan. Photography by Ryo Konishi

[yuko-a7]

山口旅行⑤

2023.11.1

約20年前、なぜ旅行先に山口県を選んだかというと、アニメ・サザエさんのオープニングで、サザエさんが秋吉台を訪れているのを見て、『いつか実風景を見てみたい！』と憧れていたからなんです（笑）

今回は、夏の長さもあってか草が多い気もしましたが、すごい風景に変わりありません！

そして地下深くには秋芳洞が。日本にもこんな不思議な場所があって、見ているのはそのごく一部かと思うとワクワクします♪

[zegalba]

Seiryu Miharashi Station (The Ghost Station) is a railway station on the Nishikigawa Seiryū Line in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. It has no entrances or exits, meant only to get fresh air and enjoy the scenery.

[duckpetan]

"Pitan" runs to a cafe in Nagato City, Yamaguchi Prefecture.

[yuriskies]

A fun element to Otherside Picnic vol 8 (spoilers ahead after the break, if you're still planning to read it) is an easter egg about the location of Toriko's apartment. Actually, "easter egg" might be underselling it a bit; it has a huge amount of thematic relevance to Toriko's character. So here's the easter egg: if you follow Sorawo's description of her path to Toriko's apartment, you can actually find the building on Google Maps.

The train arrived in Nippori. Pushed by the rush of people, I got off, went down the stairs, and out the gate. I climbed the hill, out of breath, in the unrelenting rain. The wall of a graveyard continued along the left-hand side. Turning onto a side street at the top of the hill, I could see Toriko’s apartment in the middle of a residential area ...the building uses an autolock system... Getting off on the fourth floor, I headed into the hallway. The town I could see over the chest-high wall was misty in the rain.

The fun thing about this is that Sorawo's narration is just specific enough to follow along. In a way, it's an invitation to the reader to imitate Sorawo. Prior to the events of the series, she spent time tracking down the sites of ghost stories from the minor details that leaked into their narration. Tracking down where the weirdness happened placed it in context; stories from the edge of reality seem more reliable when the reality can be charted.

So, let's do it. Sorawo mentions a graveyard wall - this can only be Yanaka Graveyard, located on the west side of Nippori Station. Yanaka is located on the former grounds of the Tenno-ji Buddhist temple, and is one of Tokyo's largest cemetaries by area. It is the resting site of the final Tokugawa Shogun, as well as a who's who of Meiji-era academics, literati, and government officials.

The road along the north edge of Yanaka Graveyard goes up a steep hill, and where it reaches the top, a side road splits off on the left to go into a residential area. Going into street view shows that all of the buildings along this road are only two or three stories tall, except for a building at the very back. It's four stories tall. The building has an auto lock system at the front door, and chest high walls along the hallways to the apartments. Bingo.

The fun part of this is the name of the apartment complex: 山口マンション (Yamaguchi [Mountain Gate] Mansion).

The first part of the thematic relevance here is its relationship to Satsuki's monologue about being brought into the Otherside.

"What happens to the people who don't return?" "Who knows? They probably die, right?" "Life and death aren't the issue. Once you get to that point, that is." My brow furrowed. "What do you think mountains are made of?" Satsuki asked, smiling. "Trees and stuff?" I said without putting much thought into it. When I thought of mountains, the image that came to mind for me was the mountains of my home prefecture, Akita, covered in green. "If trees were sapient, they wouldn't think of themselves as a mountain. Only as a single tree. It's the same concept. People who go into the mountains, regardless of their mental state, are still people. But the wind that blows through the trees. The rocks. The birds. Every speck of rock covering the bedrock. The beasts, hiding in their dens. The ancient mollusks, sleeping in a geologic fold. The morning dew in a spider's web. The bacteria and microorganisms in the soil, breaking down the body. None of these individual constituting elements is the mountain on its own, yet the mountain is made up of them. So it is for those called by the mountain. Living or dead." She raised her hand, pointing all five fingers at herself. "That is how it is for me." Uncurling her fingers, she pointed at me. "That is how it is for you."

This "mountain gate" connection also ties back to Sorawo's previous visit to Toriko's apartment in File 4, where she opened the door to the apartment and encountered the ultrablue void of the Otherside. Thematically, this places Toriko's apartment at the interface between the surface world and the Otherside. The back of the building also abuts Yanaka Graveyard, and so thematically, also forms an interface between life and death.

Sorawo touches on this latter theme in the back half of File 26, when Toriko forces herself on Sorawo in her parents' bedroom. Sorawo becomes profoundly uncomfortable - equally, if not more disturbed by her surroundings than Toriko's behavior. After relocating to Toriko's bedroom, Sorawo realizes the following:

This home was a grave, and Toriko the crypt keeper—that's the image that I was getting. The sudden feeling of resistance I'd felt when we were in the bedroom might have come from that mental association. Even if it weren't the place where her parents had once slept, it was almost like flirting in front of a Buddhist altar. After entering Toriko's room, I finally got it. This room has color. It's the room of a living person.

Toriko's bedroom forms a small bubble of life in an otherwise dead house. The interface between life and death isn't simply close to Toriko's living space, it is actively defined by it. This ties in closely to Toriko's character, given that she's admitted her pushiness to do relationship things in the Otherside is driven by a fear of loss. Her mothers suddenly died, and Satsuki suddenly vanished. All she has left of them is her cherished memories, and she wants to form those memories with Sorawo, just in case.

Another element in play here is Sorawo's relationship to the Otherside. At multiple points in the series, the Otherside seems to suddenly draw closer when Sorawo gets stressed out with her thoughts about her relationship with Toriko. The most obvious example is in the hot springs when the mannequins appear immediately after Sorawo feels backed into a corner with Toriko's "cute boobs" comment, but those fears are also linked to Hasshaku-sama (both times the entity appears as Sorawo contemplates jealousy and the possibility that Toriko will be taken from her), Satsuki's surface world appearance (Kozakura implying Sorawo is manifesting Satsuki through her jealous fixation), the the love hotel girls' party (the lion dancers appear as Sorawo is trying to avoid a romantic bath with Toriko), and Satsuki's appearance in vol 7 (when Sorawo is considering where she would be without Toriko). In a sense, the terrifying aspects of the Otherside to Sorawo are closely related to the terrifying aspects of a defined relationship with Toriko.

One puzzle piece in play is a conversation from vol 7, as Sorawo, Kozakura, and Toriko are figuring out their approach to exorcize Satsuki. They discuss the concept of "atmosphere" and its ability to transmit emotions, particularly fear, and explore ways to change that atmosphere. Toriko mentions that she's mostly heard ghost stories where sex changes the atmosphere. Sorawo then elaborates to a doubtful Kozakura with the following:

No, it's true. There's stories where they were in a real bad situation, but then they started saying all sorts of lewd things and they survived. I don't tend to say that ghosts are this way or that, but sex is the source of life, so that makes it the polar opposite of ghosts, which belong to the world of the dead... At least, there's that sort of reasoning. It's an idea that's been around since ancient times.

Sorawo also goes on to mention that in some situations, the atmosphere can be overwritten, but in others, these attempts only reinforce it more strongly.

The thing about ghost stories is that for all its other indiscretions, it's an elegant genre in strange ways. There's not a lot of bawdy stories in it. Maybe that's because if you're trying to scare someone, and then sexual elements get involved, it hurts the atmosphere. Anyway, I only brought up the sex stuff as an example of how the atmosphere can get changed. It's too weak to be her weakness. There's some real nasty ghost stories with sexual elements, and there are people who've had scary experiences at love hotels.

All of these concepts start to interweave with one another when the two relocate to Toriko's bedroom. Sorawo immediately notices a change in Toriko's demeanor.

Her expression looked uneasy, without composure. She wanted me, but also feared rejection. Despite the way she'd been breathing heavily through her nose as she led me here by the hand, now Toriko was just standing there awkwardly. As if once she'd dragged me into her room she didn't know what to do anymore. Maybe as we entered what remained of the domain of the living inside this house of the dead, Toriko had come back to life.

This scene firmly links Toriko's fear of the Otherside (death) to Sorawo's fear of the Otherside (relationships). In her moms' bedroom, Toriko had been demanding, frustrated, and angry - the malicious emotional states traditionally occupied by spirits in ghost stories! However, she settles down when she enters her own bedroom. For Sorawo, passing through this interface changes Toriko from an unknowable force who inspires fear into a very human entity with whom she can sit down and discuss the uncomfortable topic of sex. In turn, this allows Toriko to an explore an aspect of their relationship that she views as fundamentally life-affirming. After this scene their Othersides are no longer totally different, or inspire mind-numbing terror, but are now operating on a common logic.

The concept of an atmosphere comes up again just after their first try at sex. Toriko has finally found a turn-on for Sorawo, and Sorawo describes the feeling in the same analytical voice she uses for ghost stories.

Until mere moments ago, our nakedness had been no more than that. Just another awkward state of undress, like when we got in the bath. Not anymore. My nudity, and Toriko's, took on entirely new meaning. One little switch inside of me got flipped, and it caused a startlingly dramatic change in my perception. It was mystifying how, as that change occurred, it swallowed up the entire atmosphere of the scene, including Toriko. Stuff like this can happen... I thought in a daze. The room was dominated by my lust which had suddenly materialized. As it overlapped with Toriko's desire, the atmosphere inside the room became something kind of extraordinary.

Prior to their second go at sex, Sorawo and Toriko take a moment to talk over their last remaining fears about sex - using their Otherside-altered body parts on one another. They come to the mutual realization that they have both been afraid of harming one another, but not of being harmed by the other. This last discussion is important, because it totally diffuses their fears around sexuality prior to indulging it. So as they travel into the deepest reaches of the Otherside, they have total trust and intimacy with one another - and an absolute lack of fear relating to what the Otherside represents to them.

The color of the calm world was blue. As we whorled together, intertwining, the ultrablue abyss spread out endlessly beneath us. We didn't fear it. Because this was our place. No one was watching us. No one knew we were here. We were the only ones watching, and the only ones who knew. So the only things Toriko and I have to fear are each other.

"Was it just me who wasn't that scared?" "Nah, it was the same for me. Everything around us was blue, but it wasn't scary." "I wonder why?" "I dunno, maybe because we were on the side that scared people?" Toriko got a mystified look on her face when I said that. "The side that scared people? You mean the Otherside's side?" "We weren't human anymore, were we, Toriko? When we were there." "...Yeah." Toriko suddenly moved closer to me and chomped down on my ear.

So to bring this full circle, this is why I love this particular easter egg, and Otherside Picnic in general. The setting is treated as an important aspect of the story, and it is carefully chosen for its emotional content and thematic relevance. Toriko's apartment isn't just some random place in an upscale neighborhood of Tokyo. It's a fundamental part of who Toriko is as a person. It's a location that lends a huge amount of thematic subtext to Otherside Picnic as a relationship story, and to the reader's interpretation of the Otherside.

Is it a metaphor for death? For queerness? For our ability to truly bridge the gap in understanding between self and non-self? The reader is invited to imitate Sorawo, and in doing so, finds a treasure trove of understanding. The little rush of discovery shows us what keeps Sorawo interested in exploring a totally alien world and trying to understand its workings.

Miyazawa's writing actively rewards readers for engaging with every little bit of the story, and it really tickles the analytical part of my brain.

[shycoconutt]

wait… has anyone drawn fanart of yuji itadori with the karasuno boys yet? you know since he’s from the miyagi prefecture as well?

he would’ve absolutely excelled on that volleyball team. phenomenal all-around player. he would’ve been besties with tsukishima and yamaguchi because lowkey nerds but would’ve gotten along with anyone with insane energy like hinata, tanaka, and nishinoya.

and, wow, does that boy care so much about his teammates, much like sugawara. he’s so humble in the face of his opponents, which pisses off players like oikawa and atsumu, but pleases ushijima and kita.

unlike tanaka and nishinoya, he doesn’t notice or care for attention from women. he has so much respect for them, he knows he’s too immature to date anyone until after he graduates high school (even though he’s actually very mature for his age).

when he’s of working age, he starts taking shifts at ukai’s store on the weekends to help out his grandfather. ukai would have never let anyone else on karasuno work at his store, but he trusts yuji completely.

basically what I’m trying to say is yuji deserves a happy life just being good at volleyball and hanging out with they boys… but instead he’s… well… you know.

[1five1two]

'Evening Glow Over the River Adogawa'. Nishijima Katsuyuki. (Japan, Yamaguchi Prefecture, born 1945).

[noticiasarquelogicasjaponesas]

Sean bienvenidos a una publicación síntesis, en la que hablaremos del Puente Kintai, que se sitúa en la ciudad de Iwakuni, cerca de la prefectura de Hiroshima, una vez dicho esto ponganse comodos que comenzamos. - El puente de madera con cinco arcos que cruza el claro arroyo del río Nishiki,que está lleno de turistas como uno de los principales lugares turísticos de la prefectura de Yamaguchi. Los cinco arcos son hermosos y fueron construidos en 1673 por Hiroyoshi Yoshikawa, el señor del dominio Iwakuni. - ¿Lo conocían? Espero que os guste y nos vemos en próximas publicaciones de Japón os deseo una buena semana. - Welcome to a summary publication, in which we will talk about the Kintai Bridge, which is located in the city of Iwakuni, near the prefecture of Hiroshima. Having said that, get comfortable and we will begin. - The five-arch wooden bridge crossing the clear stream of the Nishiki River, which is filled with tourists as one of the main tourist spots in Yamaguchi Prefecture. The five arches are beautiful and were built in 1673 by Hiroyoshi Yoshikawa, the lord of the Iwakuni domain. - Did they know him? I hope you like it and see you in future posts from Japan, I wish you a good week. - 広島県に近い岩国市にある錦帯橋についてお話しする要約出版物へようこそ。そうは言っても、落ち着いてから始めましょう。 - 山口県を代表する観光スポットの一つとして多くの観光客で賑わう清流錦川にかかる五連アーチの木造橋。 5つのアーチが美しく、1673年に岩国藩主吉川広義によって建てられました。 - 彼らは彼のことを知っていましたか？気に入っていただければ���いです。また日本からの投稿でお会いしましょう。良い一週間をお過ごしください

[redsamuraiii]

Hero SP (2006)

[todropscience]

NEW SEASTAR SPECIES DISCOVERED IN JAPAN

Researchers in Japan have described a new species of sea star, named Paragonaster hoeimaruae. This remarkable sea star features a distinctive red and beige coloration, five arms, and spans just over 10 centimeters in diameter.

The discovery was made off the coast of the Izu Peninsula in Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo. However, the species is also found in southwestern Japan, indicating a wide but previously undocumented range. This new sea star inhabits depths between 150 and 350 meters.

Between 2021 and 2023, the team collected various marine species from around Japan. These sea stars were gathered from shrimp and crab cages used by fishers in Hokkaido and Shizuoka prefectures, located in northern and central Japan, respectively. Additionally, beam trawl surveys, where a large net is dragged across the ocean floor, were conducted by a Yamaguchi prefectural fisheries research ship. The sea star’s name, hoeimaruae, was inspired by the fishing vessel Hoei-maru, which first collected the specimen.

With approximately 250 species of sea stars inhabiting the waters around Japan, it is surprising that a species as large as this one had been previously overlooked. This discovery highlights how the diversity of species in Japanese waters is still underestimated, despite extensive knowledge of Japan's marine ecosystems and biodiversity.

Photo;  I. Kobayashi

Source: Kobayashi et al., 2024. Pseudarchasteridae (Asteroidea: Paxillosida) in Japanese waters, with description of a new species and range extension of three species. Journal of Natural History.

[mothmiso]

里の春ーSpring in the Village (2) (3) (4) (5) by kurumaebi

Via Flickr:

(3) (4) (5) 菜の花畑にて ー In the Field of Canola flower field     

[mybeingthere]

Yamaguchi Ryūun (b. 1940), Saga Prefecture, Japan.

1957 - Graduated from Oita Prefecture Beppu Advanced Occupational School, Department of Bamboo Craft

1963 - Apprenticed to Shono Shounsai (Living National Treasure)

Highly sculptured baskets like this one are formed using the three basic construction methods of twisting, braiding, and knotting bamboo – which Japanese basketmakers having been using for centuries – but in the last century and a half, artists have been creating dynamic, contemporary forms that go beyond mere function and highlight self-expression. Uzumaki is a stunning example of how a simple form made only of one material can be shaped into something that implies active motion and expresses an artist’s individual perspective. In Yamaguchi’s own words:

"I express beauty through bamboo: the beauty of water flowing, the beauty of flowers, the beauty of moving clouds. I try to bring the beauty of nature into my sculpture."

In 1963, Yamaguchi began as an apprentice to Shōno Shōunsai (1904-1974), who in 1967 was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property holder by the government of Japan. This apprenticeship inspired him greatly to achieve the same artistic status as his mentor.