Mt Fuji & Japanese Red Maple

I’ve always loved Japanese red maples.

Saw this photo the other day and it simply took my breath away.

Mount Fuji with Japanese red maples.

So beautiful!

 

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Minka (民家) Wooden Homes, Japan

In response to my last blog about log houses, a Japanese friend of mine – Mustang.Koji – recently mentioned the wooden homes of Shirakawa-go, Japan.

This was my introduction to the Minka wooden homes of Japan.

The term Minka (民家 literally “house of the people”)  covers houses that traditionally accommodated a wide variety of people such as farmers, artisans, and merchants (i.e., the three non-samurai castes).

My understanding is that these homes are traditionally made completely of wood. No nails used in construction!

(Gasshō style roof – farmhouse)

The Gasshō-zukuri (合掌造) style minka have vast roofs that are a large form of the sasu structural system. Their name derives from the similarity of the roof shape to two hands in prayer. They are frequently found in Gifu Prefecture.

(Honmune style house with birdlike decoration on the gable)

Honmune-zukuri (本棟造) literally means “true ridge”. The style has a nearly square plan with a gabled roof that is board covered. The gable end of the house is particularly impressive with its composition of beams, eaves and braces. The gable is topped by a birdlike ornament called a suzume-odori (雀踊り). Houses of this type can be found in Gunma, Nara, Yamaguchi and Kouchi prefectures.

(Traditional Japanese hearth – irori [囲炉裏)])

These houses fascinate me!

(Gasshō-zukuri, Ogimachi Village)

Thanks to Mustang.Koji for bring this style of architecture to my attention… and to yours.

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Awe-Inspiring Trees (19): Bamboo Path, Kyoto, Japan

The Sagano Bamboo Forest is located in Arashiyama, a nationally-designated historic site. The pathway you see in the picture below is 500m long, and runs through one of Japan’s most beautiful bamboo forests.

No wonder the Agency for Cultural Affairs declared Arashiyama a “Place of Scenic Beauty”. This forest is close to many famous temple and shrines, including the Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple.

The sound the wind makes, as it blows through the tall bamboo trees, has been voted by the Japanese authorities as one of 100 must-preserve sounds of Japan.

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The text is from ‘10 Amazing Tree Tunnels in the World‘ at AmazingWorldStuffs.com.

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Awe-Inspiring Trees (15): Ginkgo Tree Tunnel, Japan

Gingko biloba is a highly venerated tree in Japanese culture. Six ginkgo trees survived the Hiroshima bombing, continuing to grow despite facing so many challenges, and are still alive today. Therefore, the Japanese regard the gingko as “the bearer of hope”. It is also known as “the survivor” or “the living fossil.”

Around 65,000 ginkgoes grace Tokyo’s streets, gardens and parks today.  The ‘tree tunnel’ you see in the above photograph is located in the outer garden of Meiji Shrine, Tokyo.

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The above text is taken from the AmazingWorldStuffs.com artile, 10 Amazing Tree Tunnels in the World.

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Awe-Inspiring Trees (10): Wisteria Tree (Tochigi, Japan)

Back to Japan for a ‘knock you off your socks’ tree.

In the Ashikaga Flower Park in Tochigi, Japan sits an incredibly gorgeous wisteria tree that’s often referred to as the most beautiful in the whole world.

Wisteria Tree: Ashikaga Flower Park, Tochigi, Japan

(Image Credit: Flickr: 66433743@N00)

The largest and oldest in Japan, the tree is the main attraction at the flower park as visitors flock to see it in full bloom.

(Image Credit: Brian Young)

Dating back to approximately 1870, the 143-year-old tree has branches that are supported by beams, which creates a a stunning flower umbrella.

(Image Credit: Takahiro Urano)

Best time to visit the park to see all of the park’s beautiful wisteria trees? Mid-April to mid-May. Of course, if you can’t make it, you can take a virtual tour of the park courtesy of photographer Ralph Mirebs.

For more photos of this incredible tree, to go MyModernMet.

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Awe-Inspiring Trees (7): Cherry Blossom Trees, Japan

The cherry blossom is an iconic Japanese image.

Cherry Blossom Trees, Japan

The season is short so it must be fully appreciated when the blossoms are in bloom.

Small, delicate, beautiful…

But seeing cherry trees on a large scale…

Dozens, hundreds…

Thousands of cherry trees carpeting the landscape. My mind reels at the thought.

And yet when all is said and done, it comes down to each individual blossom, standing on its own.

“The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life.” [1]___________________________________________________________________________

[1] Lord Katsumoto (from the movie, ‘The Last Samurai‘)

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Awe-Inspiring Trees (4): Yakushima Forest, Japan

Temperate Rainforests can be found on the west coast of North America but the one I want to show you today is located on the other side of the Pacific.

The Yakushima Forest, Japan.

The lushness of the forest on Yakushima is what grabbed my attention.

Some of the best preserved examples of forest are found in Kirishima-Yaku National Park on the Island of Yakushima off of Kyūshū in a very wet climate (the annual rainfall is 4,000 to 10,000 mm depending on altitude).

Because of relatively infertile soils on granite, Yakushima’s forests in higher elevations are dominated by a giant conifer species, Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria japonica), rather than deciduous forests typical of the mainland.

(屋久島の縄文杉 – Jōmon Sugi)

Jōmon Sugi  is the largest specimen of Japanese Cedar on Yakushima.

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The top photo is a common wallpaper image. I was not able to find out the name of the photographer. If anyone can help me with this, I’d appreciate it.

The bottom image by Luke O’Brien. Check out his other wonderful Yakushima photographs here and here!

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Coffee, Green Tea, May Help Lower Stroke Risk, Research Shows

This is a story that’s been bouncing around the past few days…

The geeks and nerdlings over at ScienceDaily.com put us in the picture.

Green tea and coffee may help lower your risk of having a stroke, especially when both are a regular part of your diet, according to research published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

“This is the first large-scale study to examine the combined effects of both green tea and coffee on stroke risks,” said Yoshihiro Kokubo, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.H.A., F.A.C.C., F.E.S.C., lead author of the study at Japan’s National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center. “You may make a small but positive lifestyle change to help lower the risk of stroke by adding daily green tea to your diet.”

Researchers asked 83,269 Japanese adults about their green tea and coffee drinking habits, following them for an average 13 years. They found that the more green tea or coffee people drink, the lower their stroke risks.

• People who drank at least one cup of coffee daily had about a 20 percent lower risk of stroke compared to those who rarely drank it.
• People who drank two to three cups of green tea daily had a 14 percent lower risk of stroke and those who had at least four cups had a 20 percent lower risk, compared to those who rarely drank it.
• People who drank at least one cup of coffee or two cups of green tea daily had a 32 percent lower risk of intracerebral hemorrhage, compared to those who rarely drank either beverage. (Intracerebral hemorrhage happens when a blood vessel bursts and bleeds inside the brain. About 13 percent of strokes are hemorrhagic.)

Participants in the study were 45 to 74 years old, almost evenly divided in gender, and were free from cancer and cardiovascular disease.

During the 13-years of follow-up, researchers reviewed participants’ hospital medical records and death certificates, collecting data about heart disease, strokes and causes of death. They adjusted their findings to account for age, sex and lifestyle factors like smoking, alcohol, weight, diet and exercise.

Green tea drinkers in the study were more likely to exercise compared to non-drinkers.

Previous limited research has shown green tea’s link to lower death risks from heart disease, but has only touched on its association with lower stroke risks. Other studies have shown inconsistent connections between coffee and stroke risks.

Initial study results showed that drinking more than two cups of coffee daily was linked to increasing coronary heart disease rates in age- and sex-adjusted analysis. But researchers didn’t find the association after factoring in the effects of cigarette smoking — underscoring smoking’s negative health impact on heart and stroke health.

A typical cup of coffee or tea in Japan was approximately six ounces. “However, our self-reported data may be reasonably accurate, because nationwide annual health screenings produced similar results, and our validation study showed relatively high validity.” Kokubo said. “The regular action of drinking tea, coffee, largely benefits cardiovascular health because it partly keeps blood clots from forming.”

Tea and coffee are the most popular drinks in the world after water, suggesting that these results may apply in America and other countries.

It’s unclear how green tea affects stroke risks. A compound group known as catechins may provide some protection. Catechins have an antioxidant anti-inflammatory effect, increasing plasma antioxidant capacity and anti-thrombogenic effects.

Some chemicals in coffee include chlorogenic acid, thus cutting stroke risks by lowering the chances of developing type 2 diabetes.

Further research could clarify how the interaction between coffee and green tea might help further lower stroke risks, Kokubo said.

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Co-authors are: Isao Saito, M.D., Ph.D.; Kazumasa Yamagishi, M.D., Ph.D.; Hiroshi Yatsuya, M.D., Ph.D.; Junko Ishihara, Ph.D.; Manami Inoue, M.D., Ph.D.; and Shoichiro Tsugane, M.D., Ph.D.

The study was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Cancer Research and the Third-Term Comprehensive Ten-Year Strategy for Cancer Control from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan.

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Mt Fuji with a Sugegasa [菅笠]

Mt Fuji with a sedge hat or sugegasa  [菅笠].

(Lenticular cloud hovering over Mt Fuji, Japan)

This is an example of a lenticular cloud, also known as altocumulus standing lenticularis. These are stationary, lens-shaped clouds that are formed at high altitudes. They are included in the middle layer cloud family because the bases of the clouds are stationed between about 2,000 and 7,000 meters.

These clouds form when moist air is forced to flow up around mountains and large hills. The water is super cooled and condensed from air below the dew point temperature.

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Unhealthy Interests (Part 2): Hello Kitty

Yes, it’s true.

I have an unhealthy interest in Hello Kitty.

(I have this soap in my bathroom. Really)

But this isn’t some fledgling, new-found friendship. Hello Kitty and I go back a long way.

(OK, maybe not THAT long!)

There are strong Hello Kitty connections with Jews…

(Hello Hasidish)

..I’m not sure why but so many Jews are just dippy about Hello Kitty.

(Hello Kitty mezuzah)

Seriously. We just can’t seem to get enough of Hello Kitty!

(Hello Kitty Hanukah menorah)

And Israel! My kids say Hello Kitty is HUGE in Israel… especially Jerusalem!!

When he was in Israel this year, I got my son Exhibit Two to bring me a Hello Kiddush Cup!

(…”asher kittyshanu”…)

I promise you, this cup will be a regular feature on Shabbes and Yontiff tables from here on in.

(The heart reads “b’ahava” ~ ‘with love’)

I only wish I had the presence of mind to have him bring me another one that I could use during Passover as Elijah’s Cup.

(Open the door for ~ Eliyahu HaKitty!)

Oh well, maybe I can talk my daughter Exhibit One who lives in Israel into sending one to me in the mail.

(Hello Kitty Bento lunch)

 Hello Kitty has a fun, lovable side. But as with so many things…

(Darth Kitty)

There is a Dark Side…

(Hello Kitty Stormtrooper)

And there are those who have no qualms about exploiting that side of Hello Kitty!

Some can go to extremes and even try to impose Hello Kitty upon others by means of brute force!

(Hello Kitty armoured personnel carrier)

Some have even turned the Hello Kitty motif into themes that are quite disturbing…

…quite disturbing indeed!

(Trick or Treat! It’s Hello Kitty Jason from [and for] Halloween!)

And I suppose it was just a matter of time before Hello Kitty was drafted into the service of preparing for The Upcoming Zombie Apocalypse!

(Clearly not a George A. Romero Hello Kitty zombie)

So, there you have it, folks… my addiction, for better or worse.

Hats off to the Sanrio corporation of Japan (celebrating its 50th anniversary this year) for bringing me so many hours of harmless fun over the years!

 どーもありがとう

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