EXCITING YAMANASHI AND MORE

A food drive has been scheduled by Yamanashi Food Bank. It is an approved specified non-profit organization. October has been set as a promotion month for reducing food loss and waste by the government, and October 16th is World Food Day established by the United Nations to raise awareness of poverty and hunger. Yamanashi Food Bank has energetically been acting to help people in need and reduce the number of children in poverty. It set an special period, October 16 through November 16, 2021, to intensify food drive and arranged several food-collection places to increase the volume of foodstuffs donated by the people having a good spirit. (https://fbyamana.fbmatch.net/english/)

Close your eyes and enjoy a quiet night.

The Japan Meteorological Agency Kofu Meteorological Office re-announced that Mount Fuji got its first snow-cap of the season on September 26. According to The Mainichi Newspapers, the first snow-cap of the season on the 3,776-meter mountain had initially been announced on 9/7, but, the record was rescinded on 9/22 because it no longer met “snow-cap” after the average high temperatures on the peak were revised on 9/20.

September is a busy month. September 1 was Disaster Prevention Day in Japan, 9/20 was the Harvest Moon, and 9/23 was the autumnal equinox day. Harvesting crops have begun. Most rice cultivars are ready for harvesting.

The rice may be consumed at home not for selling, said that naturally dried rice is a little tastier than machine dried.

Tomorrow night on 9/21 is “Chushu no Meigetsu” (night of the Harvest Moon). August 15th of the lunar calendar is called “chushu” (mid-autumn) and a beautiful moon is called “meigetsu.” This year the full moon of September also carries the title of the Harvest Moon for the first time in eight years. Tonight it was relatively clear, so I took photos of the moon. Tomorrow night you might not see the moon around here.

Night views with the moon, Nirasaki, Yamanashi, 9/20/2021

Insects are calling at night. What insects can you hear?

Amehata ink-stones are famous for its ink-stick rubbing feature, its water retaining capacity, its ink smoothness, and its lifelong durability (In Japanese, https://fm-hayakawa.com/422). The source rock for the Amehata ink-stones are collected in the Mount Inamata area in the Amehara River valley, located near the Itoigawa-Shizuoka Tectonic Line along the Hayakawa River valley, in the town of Hayakawa in Yamanashi Prefecture. From the study of the source rock and the shale collected from the two regions, Fukuchi. T. et al. concluded that the source rock should be called slate (Bulletin of the Faculty of Education, University of Yamanashi, vol. 29, 39-46, 2018).

Amehata ink-stones are a designated Traditional Arts and Crafts of Yamanashi (1994). In the flourishing days of the Meiji period, it is said that more than 1000 craftsmen resided in the Amehata area. However, during and after the Pacific War, the number drastically dropped. And now there is only one craftsman remained. Finding a successor is so hard. Furthermore, the area is very difficult to reach and seems hard to live.

It is hard to believe that there is an inn which is certified as the world’s most historical inn in the Guinness Book of World Records in a faraway land from anywhere so remote. Keiunkan is the oldest inn (hotel) in the world founded in 705AD. (https://keiunkan.co.jp/en/; https://www.keiunkan.co.jp/overview/)

The town of Hayakawa in Yamanashi Prefecture has the smallest population of any township (cho or machi) in Japan. (https://hayakawakankou.jp/english/)

Once bustled with the Ko pilgrims for Nichiren Sect from all over Japan from the Edo period through the early Showa period, the Akasawa area of the town located in the middle of the pilgrimage route from Mount Minobu to Mount Shichimen, providing hostels has been forgotten and left quietly. Although the area is a designated Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings, the winding narrow road and geological location have been avoiding visitors and the area is dying out. (https://www.town.hayakawa.yamanashi.jp/tour/spot/cultural/kenzoubutu.html)

Cicadas are almost gone and dragonflies are here now. At night, crickets chirp. Rice is at the heading stage in the paddy fields. Autumn is just around the corner.

This area is known for its scarecrow festival in the summer in a normal year, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival was canceled for the last two years. (https://translation2.j-server.com/LUCNRSKC/ns/tl.cgi/https://www.nirasaki-kankou.jp/index.html?SLANG=ja&TLANG=en&XMODE=0&XJSID=0)

In Yamanashi, the Mukawa rice produced in the Mukawa and Nirasaki areas is well-known for its quality and taste. Originally it derived from the cultivar Norin 48, which is very rare nowadays, and the cultivar Koshihikari is usually produced. This region gets the longest daylight hours in Japan and the large temperature difference in the day. These growth conditions and clear mountain water are suitable for rice production and also fruit and vegetable production.

After Typhoon No. 9 is gone and because of its weather front, it was windy yet clear in the early evening. The mountains have been getting green including Mount Fuji.