. ENTER . Japan - after the BIG

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The Big Earthquake March 11, 2011, 14:46

東北地方太平洋沖地震
magnitude 9:0

. Tohoku Region Pacific Ocean Offshore Earthquake .

東北関東大震災

. Eastern Japan Great Earthquake Disaster .
. Great East Japan Earthquake .


earthquake night -
the stars are as silent
as ever






. Great Eastern Japan Earthquake .

. Earthquake 2021 February 13 .
magnitude 7.3 earthquake


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. 明治三陸大津波 Meiji Sanriku Dai Tsunami 1896 .
The story of Fukuji and his descendants today
- Tono Monogatari now and then -
北川福二　Kitagawa Fukuji (1860 - 1929)
Tōno monogatari 遠野物語 Tono Monogatari - Tales of Tono


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Presented by Gabi Greve
Okayama prefecture

Daruma Museum Japan
World Kigo Database


. Daruma for Tohoku .


My home is about 1000 km away from the atomic reactors.
We live high up in the mountains, no worry about tsunami.

I will try and compile a detailed report after this triple event of

earthquake
tsunami
Fukushima reactor

Please use the sidebar on the right to navigate this BLOG.


As time goes by (now April 11, 2011) there are more rumors spreading and opinions vented.
The damage at the nuclear plant in Fukushima has been upgraded to level 7, like Chernobyl.

I am trying to keep cool amongst all this.

Most entries are a mix of haiku and facts,
from the NHK WORLD online bulletins.

I will try to feature the latest news about the development after the earthquake.

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. . . . . : after July 11, 2011

I have to stop the intensive daily reporting.

I will try and keep separate updates on the information of the following topics:

. Radiation problems - INFO .

. Reconstruction efforts - INFO .

. The Political Situation . 　INFO .

. Hamaoka Power Plant . INFO .


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. - Read the latest information - .
our forum on facebook

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Rural revitalization 地方創生
is becoming a kind of buzzword since 2014.



. Join our forum on Facebook .

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. Nai no kami 地震神 . 　
The Japanese god of earthquakes


god of earthquakes -
what does it take
to keep you quiet ?





Thank you, Origa san, for your haiga.
Let us hope Nai no Kami accepts this offering.


. Our Haiku Collection of this BLOG .

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The Super Earthquake March 11, 2011
東北地方太平洋沖地震
magnitude 9:0
with a huge tsunami of more than 10 meters

. Tohoku region Pacific Ocean
offshore earthquake . 　

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. The Great Wave by Hokusai 北斎　津波　.
has become a symbol of the Tsunami.


. Earthquake Daruma .


. 東北三十六不動尊霊場
Pilgrimage to 36 Fudo Temples in Tohoku .


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Earthquake 2022 March 16

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source : NHK Wworld News

マグニチュード - Magnitude 7.3
felt as 6強 Strong 6
2022年3月16日 23時36分ごろ

Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train derails after quake
A Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train that was running in Miyagi Prefecture derailed after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck off Japan's northeast coast late Wednesday night.
The bullet train, the Yamabiko 223 bound for Sendai from Tokyo, came off the tracks between Fukushima and Shiroishizao stations.
East Japan Railway says the emergency brake was applied as a quake was detected while the train was running, but 16 of the 17 cars derailed.
The company says none of the 75 passengers and three crew members aboard were injured. They were trapped inside the train for about four hours after the derailment caused a power outage. They got off the train and evacuated from an emergency exit along the line.
JR East says it will take a considerable time to inspect facilities and check the extent of damage before it can resume Tohoku Shinkansen services between Nasushiobara and Morioka stations.


Tsunami alert for Fukushima, Miyagi prefs
A magnitude-7.4 earthquake struck off Japan's northeast coast late Wednesday night. The Meteorological Agency has issued a tsunami advisory for the prefectures of Fukushima and Miyagi. Officials are urging people to stay away from the coast.
The quake struck at around 11:36 p.m. and had a maximum intensity of 6-plus on Japan's seismic scale of zero to 7. The depth of the focus is estimated at 57 kilometers.
Tremors were felt across much of eastern Japan. A tsunami up to one meter could hit coastal areas of Fukushima and Miyagi Prefectures.
Waves up to 30 centimeters have been reported at Ishinomaki Port, and 20 centimeters in Sendai Port in Miyagi Prefecture.
Meteorological Agency officials are calling on people in the affected areas to stay away from the coast. Municipalities along the Pacific in Miyagi Prefecture have issued evacuation orders to residents and set up shelters.
Officials in the city of Soma in Fukushima Prefecture confirmed one death. At least 88 people were injured.
There were also reports of structural damage and fires across the affected area.
The quake triggered blackouts and disrupted train services.


Tsunami advisory lifted for northeastern Japan
apan's meteorological agency has lifted a tsunami advisory it issued for the northeastern parts of the country following an earthquake off the Pacific coast.
The magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck at around 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
It had a maximum intensity of 6-plus on Japan's seismic scale of zero to 7. The depth of the focus was estimated at 57 kilometers. Tremors were felt across much of eastern Japan.
Waves up to 30 centimeters were reported at Ishinomaki Port in Miyagi Prefecture.
Hundreds of people living along the coast in Fukushima and Miyagi evacuated to shelters.
Two deaths were reported, and more than 120 people were injured across the affected area.
There were also reports of structural damage and fires. The quake triggered blackouts for more than 2 million households and disrupted train services.
East Japan Railway says a Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train derailed between Fukushima and Shiroishizao stations.
None of the 75 passengers and three crewmembers aboard were injured. The company says 16 of the 17 cars are off the track.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says there have been no major problems or abnormalities at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was crippled by the 2011 disaster.
The utility says water pumps in spent fuel storage pools at two reactor buildings at the Fukushima Daini plant temporarily stopped working. No change was reported in radiation levels.


2 million households without power at one point after Japan quake
Tohoku Electric Power Company says more than 35,000 households in its service area were without electricity as of 7 a.m. Thursday.
Meanwhile, Tokyo Electric Power Company says power has been restored to most of the homes it serves.
Around 2 million households were without power at one point due to the magnitude 7.4 quake on Wednesday night.


- at 12:00 news
M7.4 quake hits northeast Japan, killing 3
Many train services in the Tohoku region are still suspended, leaving passengers in a tight spot.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company reported no major problems or abnormalities at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
At the Fukushima Daini plant, the utility says water pumps in spent fuel storage pools temporarily stopped working. But there was no change in radiation levels.


- on Friday March 18, morning
Aftermath of earthquake in Japan
People across much of eastern Japan were woken Wednesday night by a powerful earthquake. Figures gathered by NHK show it left three people dead and more than 200 injured.
Damage has been reported in a number of places.
Hundreds of people living on the coast in the prefectures of Fukushima and Miyagi evacuated to shelters. One of the evacuees said, "It was a really strong quake, so I thought there might be a tsunami. I suffered in a tsunami once before."
Many buildings are believed to have been damaged in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures.
The full picture is not clear as local authorities have yet to confirm all reports.
A Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train derailed in Miyagi Prefecture. Services are suspended on part of the line.
The earthquake left millions of households without electricity. The transmission firm Tohoku Electric Power Network says 1,800 households in Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures still had no power on Thursday evening.
The earthquake also disrupted water supplies. People in the city of Minami-Soma in Fukushima Prefecture had to stand in line a water supply station.
The Chief Cabinet Secretary says Self-Defense Force units have been sent to multiple locations in Fukushima Prefecture to supply water.
He also says the government received a request for water from the governor of Miyagi Prefecture and will send Self-Defense Force personnel there.


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Earthquake 2021 March 20

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source : yahoo weather

magnitude 7.2
2021年3月20日 18時09分ごろ
Tsunami warning
津波警報等（大津波警報・津波警報あるいは津波注意報）を発表中です。この地震について、緊急地震速報を発表しています。


source : NHK News .
M6.9 quake hits northeastern Japan A magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit northeastern Japan on Saturday evening. Officials in Miyagi Prefecture say some people are injured. A tsunami advisory was issued for the prefecture, but it was lifted after about an hour and a half.
The Meteorological Agency is warning that further jolts as strong as the initial one could occur over the next week or so.
The quake registered an intensity of 5-plus on the Japanese seismic scale of zero to 7 in parts of Miyagi Prefecture.
Some municipalities in the Tohoku region have opened evacuation centers. Some people moved to higher ground.
No abnormalities have been reported at nuclear power plants in the Tohoku region, including the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
The Meteorological Agency believes this was an aftershock from the massive quake that hit the region in 2011.


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Earthquake 2021 February 13

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source : NHK news

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck northeastern Japan at around 11:07 p.m. on Feb. 13, Saturday.
A tsunami warning was not issued.
Since then, a series of jolts have been felt off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture. The Meteorological Agency is calling on people to remain on alert for more quakes this week.
The official added the jolt is believed to be an aftershock from the massive earthquake that hit northeastern Japan in 2011.
The intensity of the quake registered a 6-plus on the Japanese scale of zero to seven in Miyagi Prefecture's Zao Town. It also registered a 6-plus in Fukushima Prefecture's Soma City and two other towns in that prefecture.
The quake was a 6-minus in more than 20 municipalities in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures.

- - - - - Quake damage in Tohoku region
A landslide has occurred at a major expressway in Fukushima Prefecture in northeastern Japan.
Police in Miyagi Prefecture say the quake lifted up about 10 meters of another section of the expressway.
The East Nippon Expressway company says many highways in the Tohoku region are partially closed.
The East Japan Railway company says service on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line will be suspended Sunday morning between Nasushiobara and Morioka stations. The company says service will be restored as soon as it confirms the line is safe.
It also says it hopes to restore service on the Yamagata Shinkansen Line early Sunday afternoon.
The number of injured people in the affected areas has topped 100.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority says no major abnormalities have been reported at nuclear power plants on the Pacific coast so far.
About 850,000 households in the Tohoku and Kanto regions were without electricity at one time. But power supplies are gradually being restored.
Officials say some districts in Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures are without water, owing to ruptured pipes.
Shelters have opened in parts of Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. Some people have already begun to evacuate.

TEPCO: No abnormalities at Fukushima Daiichi

The East Japan Railway company says service on part of the Tohoku Shinkansen Line will remain suspended through Monday due to the recent earthquake.


- reference source : yahoo.co.jp/weather -
with a long list of aftershocks !

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2020 March 11

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The tenth year after the earthquake starts !

nine years later -
nothing can erase
these memories

March Eleven -
the power of death
and life





. Remember March 11, 2011, 14:46 　

. Hokusai : The Great Wave and the Tsunami .


In Retrospect
. - The End of the Year 2011 - .

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- NHK news -
Japan marks painful 3/11 anniversary
People in Japan are taking a moment today
to remember the lives lost nine years after a magnitude-9 earthquake struck the country triggering a tsunami and nuclear accident. 15,899 people died and more than 2,529 remain missing.
Early Wednesday morning,
people in the disaster stricken Tohoku region gathered to pray for the souls of the victims.
A man in his 70s from Ishinomaki City
in Miyagi Prefecture who lost 13 of his classmates in the disaster said "today is a very special day for me."
A man from neighboring Minami-Sanriku said
he will never forget the day and emphasized the importance of keeping the memory alive.
The number 3/11 is synonymous with the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which suffered a triple meltdown in what's considered the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
Tens of thousands of people
were forced from their homes. Almost a decade later, several municipalities remain blocked off. And authorities say there are still nearly 48,000 evacuees.
The recovery effort is far from over.
The operator of the crippled plant doesn't know what to do with some 1 million tons of contaminated water stored at the plant. The water is used to cool the damaged reactors.
About 170 tons of contaminated water
is produced every day and the government hasn't decided how to dispose of it.
This year's anniversary
has taken on a different feel because of the coronavirus. The annual memorial ceremony was cancelled due to the outbreak.
Japan's prime minister and his Cabinet members will instead observe a moment of silence in Tokyo at 2:46 p.m., the exact time the quake struck.


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A lot is written and aired on TV
for the sixth anniversary of the events on March 11, 2011.



. - Read the latest information - .
in our Tohoku forum on facebook

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. Toys and Talismans from Tohoku .　


. Regional Food from Tohoku .


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Earthquake Monday 11 March 2019

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source : yahoo.co.jp/weather .

2019年3月11日 - 2時11分ごろ


Magnitude 5.9

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- quote -
Japan marks 8 years since 3/11 quake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear crisis,
with 52,000 still displaced

Japan on Monday marked the eighth anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan that left more than 15,000 people dead and triggered the world’s worst nuclear disaster since the 1986 Chernobyl crisis.

As rain and strong winds hit coastal areas in the region, people attended memorials and offered prayers for the victims of the magnitude 9.0 quake and ensuing tsunami that struck on March 11, 2011.

“I can still vividly recall the harrowing scene after all these years,” said 63-year-old Seiichi Watanabe at a park on the hill where he fled in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, after his home was washed away by the tsunami.

The Miyagi police had been scheduled to search for remains of the missing in coastal areas, but terminated the plan due to poor weather. Officers in Fukushima and at most Iwate police stations were scheduled to go ahead with their planned searches.

Ayumi Kakuhari, 33, who lost her brother Tomoyuki Kanno, 20, to the tsunami in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, prayed before his grave in the rain.

“I still feel like he is going to suddenly show up one day,” she said.

On Sunday, a number of lit candles were placed on the field at the J-Village national soccer training center, which straddles the towns of Naraha and Hirono in Fukushima Prefecture.

On the holders of the candles were messages, including one that read, “I’ll never forget that day,” and another wishing for the reconstruction of Fukushima. The prefecture is also home to Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, where an unprecedented triple meltdown occurred due to damage from the tsunami.

At the “Candle Night” event, participants remembered victims of the natural disaster and prayed for further progress in post-disaster reconstruction. J-Village, once used as a base for measures to tackle the nuclear disaster, is set to be fully reopened as a training center next month.

A 26-year-old woman who is a native of the city of Fukushima said, “I want the perceived association with the nuclear plant to be dispelled from Fukushima.” She said she hoped that such a terrible natural disaster and nuclear accident would never happen again.

Some 1,300 people in the hardest-hit prefectures are expected to continue living in temporary housing due to delays in construction of replacement housing, financial problems and other reasons, a Kyodo News survey found.

In March 2021 the government is scheduled to disband the Reconstruction Agency, established seven years ago as the central control point for efforts to rebuild from the triple disasters.

But after acknowledging that affected people still need support, it has decided to effectively carry on the same work under a new entity it plans to create at the Cabinet Office.

Decommissioning of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., is expected to take decades.

According to the decommissioning road map, the utility and the Japanese government will decide within the next fiscal year, starting this April, the method and order in which fuel will be extracted from three of the reactors that suffered core meltdowns and have extremely high radiation levels. The actual removal is expected to start in 2021.

Tepco has been attempting to examine the damaged reactors, and said last month its remote-controlled probe had found that fuel debris inside one of the reactors could be lifted.

- source : Japan Times -


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Earthquake Sunday 12 March

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source : yahoo.co.jp/weather .

2017年3月12日 4時57分ごろ

Magnitude 5.3

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. BACK TO 　


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2017 March 11

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The seventh year after the earthquake starts !


six years later -
nothing can erase
these memories

March Eleven -
the power of death
and life





. Remember March 11, 2011, 14:46 　

. Hokusai : The Great Wave and the Tsunami .


In Retrospect
. - The End of the Year 2011 - .

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- - - - - NOMI - A Tale of Tohoku - March 2017
by Hayato Tokugawa



I tried to think of how to end this story but I couldn’t — for now there is no end. Steps have been taken toward recovery, but still, many people live in tiny shacks or are otherwise homeless. Food and medicine are not always plentiful. People have lost their families, their homes, their livelihoods, or the means to earn a living.
Funding for the temporary homes is just that — temporary — and that will end.
Many politicians including Prime Minister Abe, despite their words to the press, would like to see the problem just fade away, especially as the plans for the Summer Olympics go on, spending billions of dollars on that when so many people need so much and patiently ask for so little. And then there is just greed and corruption.



- source : Hayato Tokugawa -


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A lot is written and aired on TV
for the sixth anniversary of the events on March 11, 2011.



. - Read the latest information - .
in our Tohoku forum on facebook


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another spring -
can the Kappa survive
radioactivity ?





. Kappa 河童 Legends from Fukushima .





. Tengu　天狗 Legends from Fukushima .


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. . . Joys of Japan . . .

Join the Friends on Facebook !





NHK Earthquake Charity Song
Hana wa Saku 花は咲く Flowers Will Bloom




MORE videos to watch groups singing for Tohoku:
. NHK - www.nhk.or.jp/ashita .


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Rural revitalization 地方創生
is becoming a kind of buzzword since 2014.



. Join our forum on Facebook .


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kizuna 絆　the new bond between people


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- - 2012 March 11 - Remember 2011 - -


- - 2012 March 11 - Poetry for Japan - -



. Radiation Problems - INFO .


. Reconstruction two years later - INFO .


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. Toys and Talismans from Tohoku .　


. Regional Food from Tohoku .


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Tengu Legends Fukushima

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. Tengu 天狗と伝説 Tengu legends "Long-nosed Goblin" .
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Tengu Legends from Fukushima
福島県の天狗伝説　

Let us start with a sip of the local Daitengu Sake !


大天狗酒造株式会社 -福島県本宮市 Motomiya town - - - Dai Tengu

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Some legends about Tengu, the Mountain Goblin, are told in all of Fukushima, some are related to a special district or village.
Many legends have been collected by 柳田国男 Yanagita Kunio
in a collection named
妖怪名彙 / Yōkai Dangi 妖怪談義 Yokai Dangi



. Yanagita Kunio 柳田國男 .
Kunio Yanagita, Yanagida　柳田国男 (1875 - 1962)

Yanagita Kunio, "Tengu no hanashi" (1909)

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Tengu no ashiato 天狗の足跡 footprints of a Tengu - see below

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Tengudaoshi, Tengu-daoshi 天狗だおし / 天狗倒し
"Tengu knocking down trees"
- - - 空木倒し sora kigaeshi
- - - 天狗の木倒し Tengu no kidaoshi
The sound of cutting down a tree with a saw or ax is heard at night, but next morning nothing is to be seen.
This refers to strange noises in a lonely forest.
Also in 相馬郡 Soma district 飯舘村 Iidate and 田村郡 Tamura district
This phenomenon is also known in other parts of Japan.

- - - Tengusama 天狗様 Tengu Sama
On the 8th and 9th day in the second and 12th month of the old lunar calendar people were not allowed to work in the mountains. That would certainly bring them bad luck.
Someone who tried to go to the mountain on the 9th day of the second lunar month got hit by a boulder, fell down a crevice and died.


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In the very remote mountains of Fukushima, where people rarely come,
Tengu throw down trees.
Another Yokai monster creature living there is
オンボノヤス Onbonyasu / オボノヤス Obonyasu.
He can blow fog and make the region unsafe. People easily loose their way in his fog.
Maybe 尾のある妖怪 a Yokai with a Tail.
- reference source : wikipedia -


福島県田村地方の山 The Tamura Mountains, where Obonyaku lives


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福島市 Fukushima city

- - - Yama no Kamisama 山の神様 Deity of the Mountain
Every year on the first of January, February 2 and October 17, the Deity of the Mountain comes down to visit. He is most probably a male Tengu. On these days people involved in forest work come together in the main family home, eat rice cakes and drink Sake. On these days it is not allowed to go to the forest to work.

. Yamanokami and Tengu legends .

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東白川郡 Higashi Shirakawa district 古殿町 Furudono

Hime no Gozen Yama 姫の御前山 /姫御前山
at "the Mountain of the Princess" there lives a Tengu.
He frightens people with loud noises. Once a woman went to the mountain to collect kuri 栗 sweet chestnuts, but was frightened away.
Tengu like the nara no ki ならの木 Nara oak tree and sometimes the branches look like the beard of a Tengu.

. nara 楢 / ならの木　Japanese oak
Quercus serrata / Quercus crispula .


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東白川郡 Higashi Shirakawa district 塙町 Hanawa

- - - Tengu no ashiato 天狗の足跡 footprints of a Tengu
They say the footprints of a Tengu are still visible here.

- And at 古殿町 Furudono Town, 鎌倉岳 Mount Kamakuradake



The legend tells of 猿丸 Waka Poet Sarumaru.
Around 608, the poet Sarumaru went hunting in the 葛野 Kazurano region. He followed a 白鹿 white deer for a while when he became tired, sat down and fell asleep at Mount Kamakuradake.
A Tengu appeared in his dream, standing on a boulder: "The white deer is the messenger of the Deity!" When Sarumaru woke up, he saw 天狗の足跡 the footprint of the Tengu on the boulder.

. The Poet Sarumaru Dayu 猿丸大夫 .

- - - - -

In the early Meiji period, some pilgrims wanted to visit Kobugahara.
There was a wicked one among them. When they stayed at an inn in Furudono, he went to have a bath, but he was taken away, including the bath tub, by a Tengu.

. Kobugahara 古峯ヶ原 / 古峰原 / コブガハラ Kobugahara . - Gunma
and the Tengu Hayatoboo 隼人坊 Hayato-Bo, Hayatobo

.......................................................................
飯坂町 Iizakamachi

- - - kami kakushi 神隠し kidnapped by the gods
At 七つ森の峠 Nanatsumori Toge pass on the way to Miyagi there lived a Tengu who kidnapped people when they angered him. To appease him and be allowed to go back, they had to practise austerities for one weak.
Once a man did not believe in this kind of "nonsense" and went to the mountain for work, carrying some rice provisions in his backpack. But - he did not come back in due time. When the villagers went to look for him, they found him dead on a branch more than 6 meters above ground, still carrying his backpack with the rice.


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石川郡 Ishikawa district 平田村 Hirata village

A forest worker took his lunchbox to the forest and hung it on a tree branch, while doing his work. At lunchtime, he wanted to eat, but the box was empty.
A Tengu must have had eaten his lunch - for sure.

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いわき市　Iwaki city

The Tengu lives at 団子山 Mount Dangoyama.
Once a man with a twisted neck was healed by this Tengu. Since the man was a painter, he painted the Tengu to show his gratitude.

- - - - -

. Karasu Tengu 烏天狗 at 川中子の愛宕神社 Atago Shrine of Kawanakago .


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いわき郡　Iwaki district 石城郡 いわきのこおり Iwaki nokoori
田人村 Tabitomura

- - - Tengu no warabuchi-ishi 天狗の藁ブチ石
This is the name of a boulder at the Northern side of the Shrine.

- - - - -
- - - - - Takegarayama 竹柄山 / 竹がら山 Mount Takegarayama
Takegarayama Yazawa, Sukagawa-shi, Fukushima
On the highest place lives a Tengu. When the weather changes to the worst, this Tengu beats a loud drum to warn the people.

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喜多方市 Kitakata town

- - - Tengu no sumootori ba 天狗の相撲とり場 Tengu and Sumo wrestling
At the place where the Tengu used to practise sumo wrestling, a Tengu once had his long nose come off.
It turned into the flower of 水バショウ Mizubasho, skunk cabbage.


福島市土湯 「びっき沼の水芭蕉」-
Tsuchiyu Hot Spring : Mizubasho from Bikkurinuma swamp


鼻かけ天狗 Tengu who lost his nose
Mukashibanashi story 山梨県 from Yamanashi
- reference source : blog.goo.ne.jp/inehapo/e -

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南会津郡 Minami Aizu district

- - - Tengu-doori 天狗通り Tengu passing
It happens during daytime in the mountain forest. First there is the sound of pyuuun, then the sound of wings flapping.
This is also heard by farmers who try fishing in mountain rivers in the evening.
Another version of Tengu-daoshi.

- - - kami kakushi 神隠し kidnapped by the gods
A villager had mysteriously disappeared. He had gone to the mountain forest of the village in the evening, but in the morning something like 子馬 a pony appeared and seemed to invite a relative to follow him. When he followed the pony, he came to the forest of the neighbouring village. There a huge Tengu appeared and said:
"He is not allowed to be here, take him back to his own village!"

- - - Tengusama 天狗様 Tengu Sama
Once a man climbed on the tree stump near the sanctuary of Tengu sama and called out:
天狗天狗さらわばさらえ Tengu Tengu, if you want to kidnapp me, come on !
On the way home he felt like being pulled backwards and when he turned around, a 鎌 sickle had fallen down behind him on the road. When he came back home, the sickle disappeared.
A few days later he found the sickle high in a tree in the wood. This was the trick of a Tengu.

- - - - -

A man from Inamura village 伊南村の宮澤 went fishing at a river near 黒谷入, when he saw a strange shadow. Observing the water surface he saw a long red nose and a red face. This must have been a Tengu.

- - - - -

- - - 朝日村 Asahi village 丸山岳 Mount Maruyamadake
Tengu no Hanabatake 天狗のお花畑
Flower Garden of the Tengu

This mountain is the dwelling place of Tengu since olden times. It has a large plain on its top, where many mountain flowers blossom.
The locals call it the Flower Garden of the Tengu.

- - - Hachiroozaemon 八郎左衛門
The Honest, Pious Hachirozaemon
Hachirozaemon had a large swelling on the cheek To get healed he had to dance with a Tengu, who then took away the lumpy swelling.
Another man who could not see with one eye tried the same. But he was a bad, wicked person and thus he did not get healed but instead even got the lump of Hachirozaemon on his cheek too.

- - - - -

- - - Tengu tsubute-ishi 天狗礫石 Tengu throwing gravel stones
At night there is a sound of stones hitting the wooden rain shutters. They say a Tengu is trying to take an aim.

- - - - -

- Odegusama, O-Degu Sama オデグ様
"The honorable huge one", 男の神様 a Mountain Deity
Once a woman at the other side of the river had a competition with him, throwing stones. The stones war called Tengu Ishi 天狗石 Tengu stones. They have fallen down along the mountain forest of O-Degu Sama.


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南会津郡 Minami Aizu district 大宮村 Omiyamura village

Below the 天狗岩 Tenguiwa boulder is a 天狗堂 Tengu Hall.
Way up the mountain path is a small sanctuary. There are many 玉石 cobblestones around. Villagers say a Tengu from the neighbouring mountain had thrown them here during a fight with the Tengu of this mountain.


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大沼郡 Onuma district 金山町 Kaneyama

Tengu-Iwa 天狗岩 Tengu Boulder
In former times at the Tengu-Iwa 天狗岩 Tengu Boulder, people could hear the sound of Tengu cutting wood.

- - - - -

Once a forest worker stayed over night in the small hut, when suddenly a strong wind blew and he heard the sound of trees falling down.
But next morning there was not a single tree fallen down.
In another night he heard the sound of stones falling on the boulder near by.
In another night he had the feeling the whole hut was carried into the air.
He promised never to say anything bad about the local Tengu and then went home safely.


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白川郡 Shirakawa district 表郷村 Omotego village

At Mount Tenguyama 天狗山 Tengu-Yama,
there lives the Tengu. He lives in the high regions and has a very long nose.
Shirakawa's Tengu Mountain - a beautiful scenery with large rice fields at the feet of the mountain.


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相馬郡 Soma district

- Tengu no Mori 天狗の森 Forest of the Tengu
At night a mysterious blue flame wanders through this forest and people who see it never come back home.
This is the deed of a Tengu.


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相馬郡 Soma district 飯舘村 Iidate

- - - Above のべがみ森 Nobegamimori Forest
there lives a Tengu.
Some people have been shocked and surprized by him.

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耶麻郡 Yama district

kasakake matsu 笠かけ松 /
笠掛けの松 pine to hang a straw hat
On the top of 護法山 Mount Gohozan there is the "Pine to hang a straw hat!.
Once upon a time, a Tengu had kidnapped villagers and hung them on the branches, sometimes he just stole their robes and straw hats and hung them in the tree.
In former times there were two trees,
the hitokake matsu 人かけ松 "pine to hang humans" and the
kasakake no matsu 笠掛けの松 pine to hang a straw hat for the robes.
Now the Hitokake withered away and only the Kasakake is still there.


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- reference : Nichibun Yokai Database -

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. Fukushima Masanori 福島正則 (1561 - 1624) .

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Tengu no ashiato 天狗の足跡 footprints of a Tengu

see above 東白川郡 Higashi Shirakawa district.


- CLICK for more regional photos ! -

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茨城県 Ibaraki 新治郡 Niihari district 八郷町 Yasato machi

When the owner of the land tried to move ths stone, he got injured and gave up.


愛宕山は天狗 From the Tengu of Mount Atagoyama


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香川県 Kagawa 高松市 Takamatsu city

This is a tale about the geta 下駄 wooden sandals of a Tengu, who is venerated in this sanctuary.
After bringing the sandals as offerings, the villagers found them full of mud next morning and his footprints in the rocks.
The Tengu must have taken a walk this night !


飯野山 Iinoyama (讃岐富士 Sanuki Fuji ）


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長野県 Nagano 駒ヶ根市 Komagane city

On a flat round stone there were strange imprints, like from wooden sandals.
This must have been the footprints of a Tengu.


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和歌山県 Wakayama 西牟婁郡 Nishimuro district 日置川町 Hikigwacho village

In the floor of the home of 徳蔵 Tokuzo there are imprints of the feet of a Tengu.
They can not be washed away with water. It seems the Tengu comes often to take Tokuzo with him for somefun.


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山梨県 Yamanashi 南巨摩郡 Minamikoma district 早川町 Hayakawa village

The Forest 奈良田に天狗森 Tengu no Mori in Narada Hot Spring
In 1890 someone sold the trees of this wood. When the new owner 大衛門 Taemon begun felling the trees, there occurred a fire the same night and the temple 外良寺 Gairyo-Ji and 13 homes burned down.
The villagers knew this was the curse of the Tengu. Soon they planted new trees and built a sanctuary for the Tengu.
Taemon soon lost his job and killed himself.
On the rock in the forest there are imprints of geta 下駄 wooden sandals, the footprints of the local Tengu.

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Tengu Sumoo 天狗 相撲 Tengu and Sumo wrestling

. Legends about Tengu and Sumo wrestling .

How the Tengu lost his nose

- reference source : blog.goo.ne.jp/inehapo/e -


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. Tengupedia - 天狗ペディア　- Tengu ABC-List .

. Tengu 天狗と伝説 Tengu legends "Long-nosed Goblin" .
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Kumamoto April 2016

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. jishin　地震 Legends about Earthquakes .
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Earthquake in Kumamoto, April 15, 2016 - M 7.1
Earthquake in Kumamoto, April 16, 2016 - M 7.3

熊本　地震



source : yahoo.co.jp/weather

- - - - - some headlines
9 dead, over 700 injured after 6.4 quake hits southwest Japan ...
Strongest earthquake since 2011 strikes Kumamoto area
Deadly earthquake topples buildings in southern Japan
The earthquake struck in Kumamoto on the island of Kyushu
with a magnitude of 7.1
- reference -


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The most amazing fact about this earthquake is the number of strong and less strong aftershocks.
Here is a list of the first 24 hours -
and then the stronger ones, as they keep coming:
source : yahoo.co.jp/weather

---- to be updated

2016年4月16日 16時05分 熊本県熊本地方 5.3 5弱
2016年4月16日 9時51分 熊本県熊本地方 5.4 6弱
2016年4月16日 7時27分 熊本県熊本地方 4.8 5弱

Oita 2016年4月16日 7時14分 大分県中部 5.3 5弱
and a lot more smaller quakes in Oita now

2016年4月16日 3時59分 熊本県阿蘇地方 5.8 6強
2016年4月16日 3時09分 熊本県阿蘇地方 5.8 5強
2016年4月16日 1時58分 熊本県熊本地方 6.0 6弱
2016年4月16日 1時49分 熊本県熊本地方 5.3 6弱

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- - - - - Another stronger one, M7.3 (M7.1)
2016年4月16日 1時40分 熊本県熊本 7.1 6強


- - - - - and felt in Okayama
岡山県 岡山北区　 岡山東区　 津山市　 笠岡市　 井原市　 高梁市　 新見市　 瀬戸内市　 赤磐市　 美作市　 浅口市　 早島町　 矢掛町　
with at least 13 more deaths and 450 injured

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15時27分ごろ 2016年4月15日 15時32分 熊本県熊本地方 4.1 4
2016年4月15日 13時50分ごろ 2016年4月15日 13時53分 熊本県熊本地方 4.0 3
2016年4月15日 12時46分ごろ 2016年4月15日 12時49分 熊本県熊本地方 3.5 3
2016年4月15日 9時53分ごろ 2016年4月15日 9時56分 熊本県熊本地方 3.9 3
2016年4月15日 9時02分ごろ 2016年4月15日 9時06分 熊本県熊本地方 3.8 3
2016年4月15日 7時55分ごろ 2016年4月15日 7時58分 熊本県熊本地方 3.2 3
7時30分ごろ 2016年4月15日 7時33分 熊本県熊本地方 4.2 4
2016年4月15日 7時20分ごろ 2016年4月15日 7時23分 熊本県熊本地方 3.5 3
2016年4月15日 6時24分ごろ 2016年4月15日 6時28分 熊本県熊本地方 3.0 3
2016年4月15日 5時32分ごろ 2016年4月15日 5時35分 熊本県熊本地方 3.8 3
2016年4月15日 5時13分 熊本県熊本地方 4.6 4
2016年4月15日 5時01分ごろ 2016年4月15日 5時05分 熊本県熊本地方 3.5 3
2016年4月15日 4時19分ごろ 2016年4月15日 4時23分 熊本県熊本地方 3.1 3
2016年4月15日 3時41分 熊本県熊本地方 4.1 4
2016年4月15日 2時14分ごろ 2016年4月15日 2時17分 熊本県熊本地方 4.2 3
2016年4月15日 1時59分ごろ 2016年4月15日 2時02分 熊本県熊本地方 3.6 3
2016年4月15日 1時56分 熊本県熊本地方 4.8 5弱
2016年4月15日 1時21分ごろ 2016年4月15日 1時24分 熊本県熊本地方 4.0 3
2016年4月15日 1時04分ごろ 2016年4月15日 1時08分 熊本県熊本地方 3.9 3
2016年4月15日 0時58分 熊本県熊本地方 3.8 4
2016年4月15日 0時53分 熊本県熊本地方 4.2 4
2016年4月15日 0時47分ごろ 2016年4月15日 0時51分 熊本県熊本地方 3.3 3
2016年4月15日 0時38分 熊本県熊本地方 4.5 4
2016年4月15日 0時20分ごろ 2016年4月15日 0時23分 熊本県熊本地方 4.0 3
2016年4月15日 0時13分ごろ 2016年4月15日 0時17分 熊本県熊本地方 3.9 3
2016年4月15日 0時09分 熊本県熊本地方 6.4 6強

2016年4月14日 23時48分 熊本県熊本地方 5.0 4
2016年4月14日 23時32分 熊本県熊本地方 4.4 4
2016年4月14日 23時04分 熊本県熊本地方 3.3 3
2016年4月14日 22時54分 熊本県熊本地方 3.5 3
2016年4月14日 22時51分 熊本県熊本地方 3.5 3
2016年4月14日 22時46分 熊本県熊本地方 4.3 4
2016年4月14日 22時43分 熊本県熊本地方 5.0 5弱
2016年4月14日 22時35分 熊本県熊本地方 3.3 3
2016年4月14日 22時30分 熊本県熊本地方 3.6 3
2016年4月14日 22時27分 熊本県熊本地方 4.6 4
2016年4月14日 22時23分 熊本県熊本地方 3.3 3
2016年4月14日 22時20分 熊本県熊本地方 4.2 4
2016年4月14日 22時15分 熊本県熊本地方 4.3 4
2016年4月14日 22時12分 熊本県熊本地方 5.7 6弱
2016年4月14日 22時09分 --- --- 6弱
2016年4月14日 22時07分 熊本県熊本地方 3.3 2
2016年4月14日 22時04分 熊本県熊本地方 3.0 2
2016年4月14日 21時58分 熊本県熊本地方 4.0 4
2016年4月14日 21時48分 熊本県熊本地方 4.9 4
ろ 2016年4月14日 21時44分 熊本県熊本地方 3.9 4

2016年4月14日 21時26分 2016年4月14日 21時36分 熊本県熊本地方 6.4 7

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- NHK news -

9 dead in Kumamoto earthquake
At least 9 people died in a powerful earthquake that struck southwestern Japan late Thursday. Strong aftershocks are continuing and many people have been forced to flee.



Strong aftershocks are continuing and many people have been forced to flee.

An NHK robotic camera captured the moment when the magnitude 6.5 quake hit Kumamoto City shortly before 9:30PM. Nearly half of the over 200-meter-long wall surrounding Kumamoto Castle has been damaged.
The stone wall is an important cultural asset.

NHK footage filmed how its newsroom near the castle shook violently.

Officials at Kumamoto Prefecture say more than 900 people have received medical care.
They say one person who died was trapped under a collapsed house.

Police say another casualty was reported in a fire in the neighboring town of Mashiki, where the hardest jolt was recorded. Other fires also broke out in affected areas.

Over 100 aftershocks are rocking the area, some of them nearly as strong as the first tremor, causing more damage to buildings.

Utility companies in the prefecture say more than a thousand households have lost gas and electricity.

Officials say more than 30,000 people in the prefecture have fled. Town officials also transferred their emergency operations headquarters to an evacuation facility, because electricity is out, shelves collapsed, and objects are scattered across the floor of their office.

The main highway cracked and crumbled over a wide area. Certain sections have been closed.

Officials at Japan Railway Company say one of its Shinkansen bullet trains was derailed by the earthquake in Kumamoto city. No one was hurt. The out-of-service train was on its way to a garage.

Japan's only online nuclear plant is located in the same region of Kyushu. Officials say there are no irregularities with the 2 reactors at the Sendai plant. They say they remain in operation.

9 dead, over 1,000 injured in Kumamoto quake
Agency warns of aftershocks, heavy rain
Severe quake damage concentrated along river

.......................................................................




Another - - - M7.3 earthquake hits southwestern Japan
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake has struck the Kyushu region in southwestern Japan, injuring many people.
Japan's Meteorological Agency says the quake occurred at around 1:25AM on Saturday. It says the focus was 12 kilometers deep in Kumamoto Prefecture.
The jolt registered an intensity of 6 plus on the Japanese seismic scale of 0 to 7 in some parts of the prefecture.
The Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami advisory for coastal areas of the Ariake and Yatsushiro Seas, but lifted it about 50 minutes later.



- source : nhk.or.jp/nhkworld -


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- - - - - April 16, 12:00 - - - - -
25 persons confirmed dead



A lot of severe landslides blocking roads and railways.

The nearby volcano, Asosan　阿蘇山 is having a small eruption.

The reactors at Sendai remain in operation.


- - - - - April 16, 17:00 - - - - -
32 persons confirmed dead


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- - - - - April 17, 08:00 - - - - -
42 persons confirmed dead
at least 9 still missing


CLICK for more photos !

The Kumamoto castle is badly damaged, the Yagura standing here on just one pillar of stones last night, is gone now next morning.




Aso Jinja in ruins.

Some experts say this was just a prelude to a real big series of quakes, maybe the Nankai one.

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- quote Japan Times, April 18 -
Despite assurances, quakes prompt calls to switch off Japan’s nuclear reactors

Calls in and outside of Japan are growing to shut down the nations' only two operating reactors at the Sendai plant in Kagoshima Prefecture.



Since Thursday, the Meteorological Agency has recorded nearly 530 quakes at level 1 or above on the Japanese intensity scale in Kumamoto and Oita Prefectures. This includes more than 80 registering a 4 or higher on the scale. The agency has warned that seismic activity in the region may continue over the next week, possibly prompting more deadly landslides.

But despite the frequency of the quakes, the Sendai plant, just over the border from Kumamoto in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, has continued to generate electricity since the initial magnitude-6.5 quake rocked Kumamoto on Thursday, followed by a magnitude-7.3 temblor early Saturday.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority said Monday morning it had confirmed there were no abnormalities at the Sendai plant or at the nation’s other nuclear facilities.

It said the seismic intensity measured by the earthquakes was well below the level at which reactors should be switched off.

In addition, the NRA said, no problems were reported with the spent fuel pools at the Genkai plant in Saga Prefecture, the Ikata plant in Ehime Prefecture and the Shimane plant in Shimane Prefecture.

But with continued quakes and aftershocks, fears are growing about what the constant shaking could mean in terms of cumulative damage that could result in a nuclear crisis.

An online Japanese- and English-language petition by a former Kumamoto resident to shut down the Sendai plant had drawn over 42,000 signatures worldwide as of Monday morning, while anti-nuclear activists in Fukui Prefecture have also criticized Kyushu Electric Power Co. and the NRA for continuing to operate the plant.

In Saga Prefecture on Sunday, about 100 mayors and town heads belonging to the Mayors for a Nuclear Power Free Japan added their voices, calling for the central government and the NRA to re-evaluate the way earthquake safety standards for nuclear power plants are calculated.
They also want the government to grant localities within 30 km of a nuclear power plant the legal authority to approve or reject reactor restarts.

The decision to keep the Sendai reactors running is also drawing criticism overseas.

“Given the general situation on Kyushu — including the ongoing seismic and volcanic activity, the large number of evacuees, and the damage to the transportation infrastructure — I believe it would be prudent for the reactors to be shut down until conditions have stabilized,” Edwin Lyman, a senior scientist at the Washington-based Union of Concerned Scientists and an expert on nuclear materials and atomic power safety policy, said in an email to The Japan Times.

In Ikata, Ehime Prefecture, Shikoku Electric hopes to restart the Ikata No. 3 reactor by this summer. But the revelation that the plant lies near the same fault line running through Kumamoto, the Japan Median Tectonic Line, the possibility of a disaster caused by a quake has locals concerned, especially about damage to infrastructure damage that would make it difficult to evacuate residents by either land or sea.

In light of the continued quakes and concerns by locals, political leaders in the area who OK’d the restart are likely to face intense pressure to rethink their stance.

- reference source : www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/04/18 -

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. jishin　地震 Legends about Earthquakes .


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216 March 11

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The sixth year after the earthquake starts !


five years later -
nothing can erase
these memories

March Eleven -
the power of death
and life





. Remember March 11, 2011, 14:46 　

. Remember March 11, 2013, 14:46 　


. Hokusai : The Great Wave and the Tsunami .


In Retrospect
. - The End of the Year 2011 - .


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A lot is written and aired on TV
for the fifth anniversary of the events on March 11, 2011.



. - Read the latest information - .
in our Tohoku forum on facebook


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another spring -
can the Kappa survive
radioactivity ?





. Legends from Fukushima .


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. . . Joys of Japan . . .

Join the Friends on Facebook !





NHK Earthquake Charity Song
Hana wa Saku 花は咲く Flowers Will Bloom




MORE videos to watch groups singing for Tohoku:
. NHK - www.nhk.or.jp/ashita .


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Rural revitalization 地方創生
is becoming a kind of buzzword since 2014.



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- - 2012 March 11 - Remember 2011 - -




- - 2012 March 11 - Poetry for Japan - -



. Radiation Problems - INFO .


. Reconstruction two years later - INFO .


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. Toys and Talismans from Tohoku .　


. Regional Food from Tohoku .


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