EXCITING YAMANASHI AND MORE

Regular ginkgo trees. These are not Ohatsuki-icho. Refer to the article on 11/10/2022.

(https://www.kyoboku.com/ohatsuki/)

In ginkgo trees, an atavism variety, Ohatsuki-icho (ginkgo bearing a fruit on the leaf), has been known. There are several Ohatsuki-icho ginkgo trees in the town of Minobu in Yamanashi Prefecture.

Maple trees and some other colorful trees, and carp fish in Lake Inaga in the city of Minami (south)-Alps in Yamanashi Prefecture.

The main event of the Shingen-Ko Festival is the Koshu Battalion Deployment (Takeda Warrior Procession). Takeda Shingen (1521-1573), also called Shingen-Ko, is known as the strongest warlord in the Warring States era and the only one to have defeated Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun, in battle. The Fu (Wind)-Rin (Forest)-Ka (Blaze)-Zan (Mountain) banner represents the military philosophy of the Takeda Battalion, meaning being as fast as the wind, as quiet as the forest, as daring as the blaze, and as immovable as the mountain.

Taiko Drum Performances:

Takeda 24 Samurais Parade: https://www.yamanashi-kankou.jp/shingen/schedule.html

FYI: From YouTube

Autumn colors were almost there in Shosen Gorge; yet, they were a little early in the mountains of Kofu in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. As you can see, it was a fine autumn day.

Shosenkyo: https://www.shosenkyo-kankoukyokai.com/en/; (In Japanese) https://www.shosenkyo-kankoukyokai.com/; (In French) https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dsenky%C5%8D

Yesterday, I learned that Queen Elizabeth II was roused by the sound of bagpipes played beneath her window for 15 minutes each morning. The 17th Pipe Major Paul Burns played a final lament, the Gaelic lullaby “Cadail, Mo Ghaoil” (Sleep, dearie, sleep), at the Queen’s funeral, Westminster Abbey, London, 19 September 2022.

Marumasa Incorporated: https://www.ekibennomarumasa.com

A baroque music concert by Duo Lutin was held at the B&B Gekkasosha in the town of Kobuchisawa, the city of Hokuto, in Yamanashi Prefecture on 10/23/2022. Duo Lutin: Mikira Asakura (Transverse Flute) and Fumi Kimura (Virginal).

There were a lot of water birds in Lake Yamanaka. The lake is located in the village of Yamanaka in Yamanashi Prefecture. It seemed that there were several migratory birds like coots (Fulica atra), mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), tufted ducks (Aythya fuligula), eared grebes (Podiceps nigricollis), and great crested grebes (Podiceps cristatus). It is said that there are about 20 mute swans (Cygnus olor) in the lake. The mute swan is not a wild species in Japan. It was introduced to Japan from Europe in 1952 to decorate parks and estates. Some of the captive swans escaped and established a feral population here and there.

Mute Swans, Mallards and Coots, Lake Yamanaka, Yamanaka-village, Yamanashi, 10/19/2022