The Okinawan archipelago experienced a high-pressure system November 19 that brought with it blue sunny skies. Naha Port recorded a temperature of 28.6 degrees Celsius, and other areas saw similarly summery temperatures such as Iriomote Island in Taketomi hitting 29.2 degrees and Hateruma Island reaching 29.3 degrees.
Noriko Kinjo, 60, who was visiting Senaga Island in Tomigusuku with her grandson Yuma, 5, said smiling, “The weather was great and it was hot. My grandson wanted to play at the ocean, so we went to go collect seashells and see the crabs at the beach.”
According to the Japanese Meteorological Agency’s (JMA) Okinawa Regional Headquarters, the Okinawa region will still be generally sunny November 20 due to a high pressure system, however on Okinawa’s main island a weather front will descend south from the East China sea, bringing clouds in the afternoon and possible thunder and rain in the evening.
(English translation by T&CT and Sam Grieb)
The Okinawa Prefectural Government’s Nature Conservation Division and Miyako Island’s birding society, Miyako Yacho no Kai, led by Kunihiro Nakachi, reported the results of its annual sashiba (grey-faced buzzard) migratory bird survey. The survey is conducted from the rooftop of the Miyakojima City’s Irabu office building between October 8 and 21, during the two-week “kanro” period of the 24 solar terms. The birding society counted 11,713 sashiba this year, down 2,333 from the 14,046 birds counted last year. The organization stated that the number fluctuates every year, but it is trending down in the long-term.
On the second day of surveying, the birding society counted a thousand migrating birds. The count fell on October 10 and 11 due to Typhoon Chan-hom, but rose again between October12 and 15; October 13 had the highest count at 2,530. The record high was set in 1982 at 54,000, the largest migration of sashiba since the survey began in 1973. The record low was 1,584 in 2004.
Migratory bird surveys are conducted every year during the “kanro” period. Students from Irabu Elementary, Middle-, and High Schools, as well as Miyako High School, participated again for the 48th survey this year. The final report thanked the community and wished for the students to carry on the conservation activities into the future. It also underlined the importance of local youth participation and interest in sashiba conservation.
As part of the reconstruction of their headquarters in Kumoji, Naha, the Bank of the Ryukyus will be temporarily moving their main office and headquarters to the Naha Port Building in Higashimachi in December. The headquarters, which is scheduled to be torn down starting in January of 2021, was built in 1966, when the U.S. governed Okinawa prior to its reversion to Japan, and is a historical building that was filled with technology that was advanced for that time. Before the iconic building, which has been a part of the Kumoji neighborhood for over 50 years, disappears, the Bank of the Ryukyus opened their headquarters for private viewings starting November 14.
In light of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Koza riot on December 20, the editors of the quarterly journal “Nuchi Du Takara” held a symposium at the “Mizu Praça” in Naha titled “The Koza Riot and BLM: Underground Water Veins of Public Uprisings.” Around 60 people attended to listen to the talks and discussion by the panelists.
The panelists were Masaie Ishihara, Shinichi Isa, Akira Kimura, Yukio Hatoyama, Eriko Ikehara, and Shokichi Kina. Ishihara discussed the accidents and crimes by the U.S. military under U.S. rule after the war and changes in popular movements including the island-wide struggle against land expropriation.
Regarding the Koza riot, he said, “I am inclined to define it as a struggle of the people living in Okinawa at the borderline between non-violence and violence, only just keeping on the side of non-violence.”
Isa discussed the historical background from the Ryukyu Disposition to the present, and gave the analysis that “A characteristic of the Koza riot is that it was carried out against both Japan and the United States, and the physical actions involved in the Koza riot have roots connected to those of the direct action at the gate to the base in Henoko, Nago today.”
During the discussion, the panelists talked about such issues as the Koza riot and national security issues surrounding Okinawa. They also discussed the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and Black Lives Matter, and sought links between those movements and the Koza riot.
Yaese – Yaesekotoshien School spent their physical education class on November 4 learning “Radio Karate,” karate done set to accompanying music. The class was led by Bunshiro Nagamine, 43, a teacher at Tomari Elementary School in Naha.
Similar to Radio Calisthenics, Radio Karate is a guided exercise that sets a karate routine to music. Nagamine has been busy promoting Radio Karate for the past seven years, said it was created hoping “it would help cultivate the spirits and bodies of kicks with Okinawan culture.”
Nagamine set the students at ease by wearing his favorite karate mask, reviewing the basic Kata 1 and showing them Kata 2. He explained the movies one by one, with instructions like “Don’t waste your energy,” “Do a high thrust here.” Using Nagamine as an example, the student worked up a sweat following his voice; “One step forward on one,” “here a right hand.”
Second-year student Ririna Miyamoto, 16, who has experience learning Karate from when she was four through the second grade, said “With the shouts, it all came back. I want to remember the more difficult moves.” Takahiro Oshiro ,17, also a second-year, said smiling, “The kicks were difficult, but Mr. Nagamine’s instructions were easy to understand.”
Third-year student Masatomo Koja, 17, said, “The two-hand thrust was funny. I want to do it again.”
The students plan to perform Radio Karate at their sports festival in December.
(English translation by T&CT and Sam Grieb)
On November 10, the Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association (JBA) held the awards ceremony for the 2020 JBA Awards to honor programming that has contributed to the elevation of broadcast culture. The J-WAVE program, J-WAVE SELECTION GENERATION TO GENERATION~STORIES OF OKINAWA~ was selected as the grand prix winner in the radio category.
In this program, Jon Kabira, who was born in Naha, interviews his father, Chosei Kabira, who became the first radio announcer in Okinawa after the war. Through the discussion of a personal history, a light is shown on the post-war history of Okinawa and modern-day issues.
Jon Kabira, who watched the awards ceremony online, says “When they announced it, I got goosebumps. I’m thrilled and it’s such an honor.” The simple format of a conversation between father and son has been well-received. Kabira says, “Every family in the country, in the world, has a story, not just the Kabira family. I made this program with the hope that everyone will listen to the stories of the different generations in their household.” Chosei Kabira heard the good news from his son. “It was a wonderful opportunity to share the story of the Battle of Okinawa in which so many people were sacrificed, and to share the history of post-war broadcasting with a large audience,” Chosei says.
Ayako Takachio, the producer, participated in the awards ceremony. She says, “This program touched the hearts of so many people because of the incredible life Chosei has led and the deeply meaningful words he shared.”
In July, the program won the Galaxy Award in the radio category. It has been re-edited and is broadcast every Friday on SPINEAR, an online media distribution service. All 16 episodes will be available from November 13.
Due to efforts to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, the JBA Annual Convention was canceled this year and the awards ceremony was streamed online for participants only. The programs in the grand prix were chosen from the winners and runners-up in each of the television and radio categories. The grand prix winner in the television category was Chukyo TV’s Garakuta~ Seigyakutai, Shinjite Kuremasu ka~ (Trash – Sexual Abuse, Will You Believe Me?).
On November 11, at an interview held at the Highashi Village Office with participants in the Okinawa Peace March including Takao Takeda of the Buddhist sect Nipponzan Myohoji, 68, Mayor Masanobu Toyama of Higashi Village said, “I want us to continue speaking out against U.S. military aircraft flights in the airspace over residential areas.” Mayor Toyama touched on the accident in a field in Takae where a U.S. military helicopter made an emergency landing and burst into flames and referred to the necessity of revising the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement (U.S.-Japan SOFA), saying “It was an instance in which a small mistake led to residents being wrapped up [in a military incident]. As long as the U.S.-Japan SOFA is not revised, these same sorts of problems will occur, and we must demand [preventative measures against recurrence] of these sorts of problems.”
A Buddhist monk who resides in Ginoza Village and participated in the interview, Yuichi Kamoshita, 37, had this to say: “Aside from the Okinawa Peace March, I also marched in the United States in 2014, met with a member of the House of Representatives, and sent a letter to President Obama. I want to continue to take action in order to resolve military base issues.”
This year’s Okinawa Peace March started in Naha City on November 10. On November 11 participants marched in the vicinity of the U.S, military’s Northern Training Area and called for the removal of military bases.
The plan for November 12 included requesting a halt to construction of the Futenma Replacement Facility in Henoko, and marching in Awa, Nago City, at a site from which soil is being hauled to use in said construction, among other locations.
(English translation by T&CT and Erin Jones)
On Good Skin Day, which falls on Nov 12, the Tokyo-based cosmetics giant POLA announced the results of the 2020 POLA Apex Nippon Bihada-ken Grand Prix, a ranking of Japan’s 47 prefectures based on the skin survey it carries out on women across the country. Okinawa placed first in the division for skin resilience against internal and external stress, such as climate, changes in living environment, and stress arising from social relationships. Okinawan women were judged to have skin resilience to acne and external physical irritation.
Okinawa Churashima Ambassador Vanesa Oshiro attended the online event to announce the results and revealed the secret to Okinawan skin: “The sun is strong all year round [in Okinawa], so we pay close attention to sun care. The local cuisine commonly includes pork, and throughout the year, we eat bitter melons, a great source of vitamin C.”
POLA collected skin data from 366,000 women during “skin checks” conducted at their stores across the nation between July 2019 and June 2020. The data was analyzed from 18 different criteria, including water content, clarity, and hormonal balance.
This year, to celebrate diverse skin types that are often not measurable by the ranking criteria alone, 14 new divisions were created to recognize those unique skin types, categorized by factors that contribute to beautiful skin.
Ishikawa Prefecture placed first in the 2020 POLA Apex Nippon Bihada-ken Grand Prix, with Akita Prefecture coming in second, and Yamanashi Prefecture third. In Ishikawa Prefecture, women had balanced skin with bounce and clarity and resilience to temporary skin problems. Ishikawa women were also judged to have skin with an excellent ability to retain moisture and strong skin barrier functions.
November 9 in Okinawa was an unusually chilly day, with a cool breeze that could be felt throughout the region. On Okinawa’s main island, the temperature dropped from 1-3 degrees Celsius below usual temperatures for this time of year, making the day feel more like early December than mid-November.
Meanwhile, silver grass continues to spread around the prefecture, with its white ears of grain dancing in the autumn breeze. On the evening roads of the Shuritairacho neighborhood in Naha, the silver grass’ down sparkled as it wafted across the light beams of automobiles, creating a wonderful sight for the people hurrying home.
According to the Japanese Meteorological Agency’s (JMA) Okinawa Regional Headquarters, the coming week will see cool temperatures and a low pressure system that will result in cloudiness and rain.
(English translation by T&CT and Sam Grieb)
November 10, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Kumiko Yoshihara
“I wanted to share my story to encourage sick and hospitalized kids going through a difficult time”—17-year-old Kimika Katayama, a third-year student at Okinawa Shogaku High School, explained her motivation for writing about her battle with acute lymphatic leukemia. Katayama won the Japan Registered Clinical Laboratories Association’s 21st essay contest titled “What Testing Taught Me,” and placed first in the student division of the Love and Grace Welfare Aid Foundation’s 21st Aikei Essay Contest.
Katayama was diagnosed with acute lymphatic leukemia in December 2016, during her second year in junior high school. After hospitalization and continued outpatient treatment, Katayama came close to remission, virtually free of leukemia symptoms and cancer cells. However, in April 2019, she was diagnosed with osteonecrosis, a side effect of the steroids she received as a part of her treatment. The condition progressed into multiple osteonecroses, which affected her entire body, forcing her into a wheelchair.
In the beginning, Katayama could not accept her leukemia diagnosis. During her hospitalization, Katayama attended hospital school, witnessed other children battling diseases, and finally found the courage to face her diagnosis. She also watched other hospitalized children participate and shine in sports events, which helped Katayama shift her perspective. She wanted to “encourage others through writing that, ‘you don’t have to give up hope because of a disease.’”
Katayama shared her own experiences in her two winning essays, under two different themes: the Aikei Essay Contest theme was “disability.” She wrote about her realizations as a wheelchair user and compared them with wheelchair experiences in other countries. The “What Testing Taught Me” essay contest theme was “disease and blood tests.” Katayama shared an episode on leukemia treatment and blood testing, an essential tool in patient monitoring.
Katayama said with a beaming smile, “I didn’t expect to win first place. The people close to me are happy for me too. I’m glad I entered the contest.”
Patients who stay in complete remission for five years are considered fully cured. After continuing her treatment, Katayama achieved complete remission in July 2019. She is currently in her final year of high school and is preparing to take college entrance exams. As Katayama moves towards her dreams, she shared her vision for the future: “I want to share my experiences through AI (artificial intelligence) research.”
November 3, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Ryota Shimabukuro
Recently, a photograph taken by photographer Fumio Tsukamoto, of Tokyo, in 1960 was added to the signboard in front of a large Akagi tree in Shuri Castle Park in Naha, the withered trunk of which remained even after being ravaged during the Battle of Okinawa. The photograph shows the tree and, in the background, the Shureimon gate, which had just been restored. Now, Akou trees are epiphytically growing out of the withered Akagi trunk, and at a glance it is not clear that the trunk was an Akagi tree. “This photograph showing the scene at that time is very precious,” a coordinator at Shuri Castle Park said.
The photograph was added to the signboard in August. According to a coordinator at Shuri Castle Park, the status of the signboard is “temporarily installed,” and the prefectural government, which manages the site, plans to newly install an official signboard.
The photograph that was added was taken by photographer Tsukamoto in 1960 when he visited Okinawa. In it, a man is walking by the withered tree that was burned in the Battle of Okinawa, and in the background can be seen the Shureimon gate, which was rebuilt in 1958, the first of all Shuri Castle structures to be rebuilt after being burned down in the war.
The temporarily installed signboard. The photograph of the Akagi taken in 1960 was added. In the background can be seen the epiphytic Akou trees that grew large out of the remaining Akagi stump. Photograph taken on October 23 at Shuri Castle Park in Naha.
The Akagi tree was later damaged by a typhoon, and the middle of the trunk and the branches broke off, leaving only a stump. Meanwhile, the trunks and branches of the epiphytic Akou trees that grew around it shot up, growing into large trees in a fascinating manner in which they appear to be one with the Akagi tree.
“The Akagi tree that remained standing even after being burned and withered by the ravages of war represents the indominable spirit of the people of Okinawa. It is now the central pillar supporting the parasitic Akou trees, but at the thoughtful discretion of the managers, it has been reborn at its original location,” said Tsukamoto.
During his visit to Okinawa in 1960, Tsukamoto also took other photographs around Shuri Castle, and he donated some of them to Shuri Castle Park. “In 1960, there were still few Okinawans who owned cameras, so these photographs showing scenes from that time are very precious. I would like to hold a photography exhibit of Tsukamoto’s work showing the area around Shuri Castle and other parts of Okinawa at that time,” said Tomoki Uho of Shuri Castle Park.
Webcam(Kokusai Street)
