Toyota G's Movie

I had been thinking that I had already seen these background in this movie. But later I found that it was taken in Kokura, Kitakyushu city for which I have worked as a local government employee.

This is a very interesting video, I think.

"Sanpou-Syoujyo"

I have just finished a book called "Sanpou-Shoujyo"（算法少女）. "Sanpou" means mathematics and "Syoujyo" means a girl. This is an interesting story, I think. There is a same name's book that was written in Edo era. But, no one knows the name of its author. This story is a fiction that is about a girl who writes "Sanpou-Shoujyo".

In Edo era, the unique mathematics（和算） that is developed in Japan was popular among ordinary people. They enjoyed it as a kind of hobby.

The book includes people's custom in those days and tells atmosphere of people's life.

The main target reader is younger adult, but many people can enjoy it. I recommend you to read it.

a sardine

In the past, fisherman in Japan could catch a lot of sardine and it was very popular fish among ordinary people. But now it is not easy for people to catch it in their neighborhood.

I have heard that people can recently catch it in Onga-gawa river's mouth. So I tried to catch it last Saturday.

Finally I caught only one sardine but I was satisfied about the result because I got it for the first time in more than 20 years.

At the same time, I caught three gizzard shads.

I cooked the sardine for "sashimi" and the gizzard shads for "nanban-zuke".

Mt.Kazashi and Mt.Yahazu

Today, I climbed Mt.Kazashi（風師山） and Mt.Yahazu（矢筈山） in Moji ward（門司区） with my friends.They are not so high mountains, but we enjoyed walking in mountain area because of good weather.

We saw the good view of Kanmon channel（関門海峡） from Mt. Kazashi. And we visited the former military's buildings on the top of Mt. Yahazu. We saw the former cannon sites and ammuntion depot. They were built in Meiji era for preparing for the attacks from China. We were surprised that there are these building on the top of mountain.

A friend on the Internet has become my reaｌl friend

 

Last weekend I visited Nogoya（名古屋） city, Aichi prefecture. My main purpose was to meet with a friend. He is an American who is studying Japanese language in Japan. We have corresponded for about seven years on the Internet but had not yet met each other directly. So it was the first time for us to have a meeting. 

We enjoyed conversation mainly in Japanese during Saturday's dinner and next day's sight-seeing in Handa（半田） city. We visited an old sake brewery and its neighborhood. It was a very fine day.

We ate "Kisimen"（きしめん） that is a representative food of this area. It was very good.

  

Regina Carter's new album

Regina Carter who is African-American Jazz violinist in USA is one of my favorite musicians. I bought her latest album, "Southern Comfort" about two month ago and I am often listening to it, it is very good.

Her 2012 album, "Reverse Thread"'s theme is about "African music" and this album is about her family history and about the music that her grandfather might hear in his generation.

"Toshi-koshi-soba"

There is a custom in Japan of eating "soba", Japanese buckwheat noodles  on December 31. It is called "toshi-koshi soba". Most people buy it and eat in their house or eat it at a restaurant, but I tried homemade soba on that day.

The first photo is the noodles before boiled. The second is the finished dish. The third is a pasta machine to make it.

Shinizo Abe's Victory Likely to Raise Conflict with Neighbors (VOA Special English program, translated into Japanese)

This time, I try to translate VOA Special English News program into Japanese, because it is important to know how foreign media have dealt with the election, I think.

original news

日曜日、保守的政策の元で、日本経済が後退しているにも関わらす、安倍晋三首相と彼の同盟者は国会における三分の二の議席を簡単に獲得し、大勝した。

安倍氏の勝利は彼の経済改革の遂行を推進すると同時に、彼は隣国との緊張を増すような政策を遂行できるようになった。

安倍首相の率いる自由民主党とその連立している公明党は、衆議院における議席数を増やし、安倍首相は、勝利を称賛した。

「私は、公明党と連立政権を続けていくことができることで安心した。また、同時にこれは大変責任あることだと感じている。」

安倍氏は、この勝利は、有権者が自分の経済政策、いわゆるアベノミクスを支持してくれている表れだと言っている。この政策は、経済を後退させている日本の莫大な借金をコントロールするため、税金を引き上げた。選挙結果は、労働や農業政策についての法規制緩和のような不人気な改革を進めることを容易にするものである。

選挙結果は、また安倍氏が韓国や中国を怒らせそうな国家主義行動をとらせことになるだろう。去年、軍人を祀っている場所を訪問することによって、安倍氏は北東アジアの隣国を怒らせた。それら軍人は第二次世界大戦で死亡した戦犯も含まれている。

安倍政権の、日本が戦時中に行ったことを含む歴史教科書の修正しようとする取組はまた他国の抵抗を引き起こすことになっている。政権は、性的奴隷として軍隊による強制的な女性の使用、いわゆる従軍慰安婦の記述を取り除こうとしている。

パク・ヒューラックは、韓国の国民大学で政治科学を教えている。彼は、これらの強い感情を伴うことから離れて、安倍氏の動きをみることが緊張を緩和することになる、「北東アジアの国々、中国、韓国、日本は歴史を客観的にみる準備ができていない。そこで、自分は安倍氏には、歴史に焦点を当てずに、北東アジアにおける平和と相互の繁栄を保証する実践的な政策を強調することを望んでいる。」と言っている。

日本はまた、東シナ海の二つの異なる島々について、韓国と中国両国と領有権の問題を抱えている。

日本の最も近い国々は、安倍氏が、軍隊をより強いものとするために、憲法を変更することを支持していることをについて、懸念を示している。日本の憲法は、「平和主義」‐紛争は、平和的手段で解決されるべきであるとの信念‐を基礎としている。

世宗大学の政治科学の教授、ホサカユウジによると、日本は中国の成長する軍事力について、強い懸念を感じている。

彼によると、日本はまた、軍事能力を増している中国の軍備拡大に均衡を保つため、軍備増強を必要としている。日本は独自の軍隊を必要としているが、そのためには憲法を変える必要がある。

合衆国は、日米同盟の大きな部分を占めるとして、軍備拡大を支持している。しかし、アメリカの高官は、日本が戦時の歴史を塗りつぶしてしまおうとする試みに対して、批判している。

"Tebasaki-Gyouza"

Yesterday, I tried a new recipe for "tebasaki-gyouza"（手羽先餃子）.　It is a dish that a content of consisting of  "gyouza" is stuffed into a chicken wing. It was a little bit difficult to get rid of small bones from chicken wings, but other things was  were not difficult. I will try again it again, but at that next time, with other its content I will try making it with something else such as chicken meat mice mince.

guide for a Taiwanese

On Nov.12, I had a little bit international experience. He is a Taiwanese man who has travel with his bike for 10 days in the northern part of Kyushu.  He came to Kitakyushu at 6:30 pm from Fukuoka after he stayed for his first two days in Japan.

At first I took him to a "soba" restaurant named "Shiraisi"（しらいし）. We ate "Tempura-soba"that is a set of "soba" and "tempura". Tempura were mainly "anago"（アナゴ）, but including an ingredient, rarely used for tempura, a fig. Later, we went to a hotel that is the highest building in the area to see the night view of the city.

We communicated each other by using English. Occasionally, our conversation did not go well, but we could understand something we meant by writing some "kanji".

I have already learned that there are some internal issues in Taiwan, but I was glad do hear about them directly from a native.

He gave me a "karasumi" as a souvenir. It is a dried mullet roe that is s special product in his province where is the southern part of Taiwan. And it is a very expensive food in Japan. "Thank you very much".