When wandering the backroads of Tsukuba you might encounter a set of what appear to be SIGNS OF WARNING or NO ENTRY. Three primitive stick figures drawn on wooden boards and mounted on sticks, usually posted on each side of the opening to a small road or path. I have never seen these goose-bump-eliciting road-markers anywhere else in Japan, [...]
Continue reading about Mysterious (and Creepy) Roadside Markers Explained
433 Tsukubans (115 men and 318 women) celebrated their 88th birthday this year. (The 88th birthday is auspicious in Japan.) 13 people celebrated their 100th birthday (2 men and 11 women), and 19 people are over 101 years of age (2 men and 17 women). Tsukuba’s oldest citizen is Ms. Ko Michikawa [...]
Stone monuments glorifying post-Meiji Restoration (1868) Japan’s war dead were a central feature of Japanese living spaces, having been prominently displayed for maximum exposure, whether in the Capital or in the smallest hamlets. This was a part of the government’s desire to instill in the People a sense of religious reverence for those who died fighting for the emperor.
After [...]
Continue reading about Small Shrine and Monument for Locals Who Fell in Russo-Japanese War
Where just recently were forest and field, now stands an immense (by Japanese standards) shopping mall called Iias, which some believe means “a good tomorrow” (ii asu), while others insist that it is named after the great warlord and founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Ieyasu. The debate rages on. Wandering its corridors the other day reminded me a bit [...]
Continue reading about Tai-Yaki Eaters’ Dilemma — Is It Heads or Tails?
In the summer months, you cannot help but notice clusters of tachi-aoi (hollyhock) growing wild on the sides of country roads or beside vegetable patches. You can’t miss them because of their height. As tall as sunflowers but not as heavy looking, they are graceful yet imposing and come in red, white and pink blossoms which [...]
Continue reading about The Mito Hollyhock Soccer Team Incorrectly Named! (TsukuBlog Exclusive)
tsukubans speak