What Are Jizo Statues - that is an interesting question. There are really a lot of Jizo statues in Japan, but it seems that not many (foreign) people know what they are.
The beautiful statues resemble Jizo, also called O-Jizo-san or O-Jizo-sama, the guardian deity of children and travelers. Jizo statues can be made of clay, bronze but are mostly carved out of stone. They can be found in many places, for example, at Buddhist temples, graveyards, and at the sides of various roads.
The primary role of the so-called Jizo is to protect children. Jizo also protects the souls of unborn babies and children who have died before their parents. In Japanese beliefs, the souls of children (that died before their parents passed away) cannot cross the river to the afterlife. The Jizo appears to protect these children from the devil. Jizo hides them in his clothing from the evil spirits. Jizo then really looks after them as a guardian on behalf of their parents.
"Unveiled" Channel on YouTube shows what it is that NASA is worried about. Earth needs defending.
The so-called Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is interesting. Launched in November, 2021, this is one of NASA’s most ambitious planetary defense projects to date. The SpaceX head, Elon Musk, even says it could "avenge the dinosaurs"! This informative video takes a closer look.
Unveiled gives you incredible answers to extraordinary questions!
0:00 Intro
0:46 What is the NASA DART Mission?
3:54 NASA and International Partners
4:52 Should We Be Worried?
6:19 Why Do We Need the DART Mission?
7:41 Conclusions
The fascinating Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is a NASA space mission aimed at testing a method of planetary defense against near-Earth objects (NEOs). In September 2022, a certain space probe is set to deliberately crash into the minor-planet moon Dimorphos of the double asteroid Didymos to assess the future potential of a spacecraft impact to deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth through a transference of momentum.
DART is a joint project between NASA and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). It is being administered by NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office, and several NASA laboratories and certain offices are providing technical support. International partners, such as the space agencies of European Space Agency (ESA), Italian Space Agency (ASI), and JAXA Japan, are contributing to related or subsequent certain projects. In August 2018, NASA approved the project to start the final design and important assembly phase. The interesting DART spacecraft was successfully launched on 24 November 2021, with collision slated for 26 September 2022 to 2 October 2022. Check the news after the collision to see the results.
The Secrets of the Universe on Youtube shows that the James Webb Space Telescope launched on 25 December 2021. As the world awaits the first images from the iconic space telescope, here is what the first year of observation will look like. It will still take up to 3 months for the telescope to return its first image. However, once it is fully deployed, the James Webb Space Telescope will certainly be the most powerful telescope at work.
DW News shows that a revolutionary telescope has been launched into space, marking the beginning of a new era of scientific exploration.
The James Webb telescope - named after a former head of NASA - lifted off on board a rocket from the European Space Agency's launch base in French Guiana. The launch is the culmination of several tough decades of work by European, Canadian and USA space agencies. Many call this the world's most powerful telescope.
It is nice to know that the launch went well (the thing did not explode or anything bad like that).
The $9bn observatory will seek out light from far away stars and galaxies, providing a glimpse into cosmic creation.
The $9bn observatory hurtled towards its destination 1.6 million km (1 million miles) away - or more than 4 times beyond the moon.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope certainly soared up from French Guiana on South America’s northeastern coast, riding a European Ariane rocket into the morning sky on Saturday.
The next step is for the telescope’s large mirror and sunshield need to unfurl. They were folded origami-style to fit into the rocket’s nose cone. A risk is taken with this mission - hopefully there will not be many errors.
Scientists are certainly going to be able to examine the atmospheres of various planets and determine whether or not planets could be habitable and suitable for humans to possibly one day colonise. It is also interesting if "any lifeform" could exist on a planet.
This is a successor to the ageing Hubble Space Telescope. The long-delayed James Webb is named after NASA’s administrator during the 1960s. NASA certainly partnered with the European and Canadian space agencies to build and launch the new 7-tonne telescope, with thousands of people from 29 countries successfully working on it since the 1990s.
All around the whole world, various astronomers certainly had eagerly waited to see Webb finally taking flight after years of setbacks. It seems that last-minute technical snags bumped the launch nearly a week, then gusty wind pushed it to Christmas. Transporting the thing means it is shaking, so it has to be checked for perfection. It is also shaking during the space flight, and then later the mirrors and parts have to be perfectly aligned.
It is certainly a launch for humanity.
It seems that the launch was a a beautiful launch and everything went off without a hitch.
The telescope’s main showpiece is a gold-plated mirror more than 6.5 metres (21 feet) across.
Protecting the observatory is a wispy, 5-layered sunshield, vital for keeping the light-gathering mirror and heat-sensing infrared detectors at cold subzero temperatures. At 21 by 14 metres (70 by 46 feet), it is the size of a tennis court.
The plan is for the sunshield to be opened 3 days after liftoff, taking at least 5 days to unfold and lock into place. Next, the mirror segments should open up like the leaves of a drop-leaf table, 12 days or so into the fascinating space flight.
For the entire mission, hundreds of release mechanisms need to work perfectly in order for the telescope to succeed. This is really like nothing NASA has ever done before.
Kyoto (used to be the capital of Japan) is a city on the island of Honshu. It's famous for its numerous classical Buddhist temples, as well as gardens, imperial palaces, Shinto shrines and traditional so-called wooden houses.
The red gates are interesting in Kyoto. Fushimi Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社, Fushimi Inari Taisha) is an important Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings.
Since ancient times, the so-called "vermilion" color was regarded as the color of blood, thus the color of life. It was used to paint temples and the carriages of the emperor, and as the printing paste for personal seals. It was also used for unique red calligraphic ink reserved for emperors.
The torii, often painted bright red, demarcates the boundary between the sacred space of the shrine and ordinary space. Torii also identify other sacred spots, such as a mountain or rock. Torii (gateway) at the entrance to a Shintō shrine on Mount Hakone, east-central Honshu, Japan.
In Japan, red is a symbol of fire and the sun, which is also considered as the color of life, which has a function to reject evil spirits, danger, and bad luck. It is believed that the red torii in front of a shrine wards off evil spirits, danger, and dangerous bad luck.
Fushimi Inari Shrine is famous for it's 10,000 gates but really there are over 32,000 gates and sub-gates called torii in Japanese.
Black color (Kuro) represents a powerful and tough image, as you can see the black belt in Judo and Karate athletes. It also represents evil and destruction.
The so-called "One Hundred Waterfalls of Japan" (日本の滝百選, Nihon no taki hyakusen) is an interesting list of waterfalls in Japan compiled by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment in 1990.
According to the Japanese government, there are 517 named waterfalls in Japan. Many of these waterfalls are located in remote mountain locations. In recent years, hiking and tourism has increased.
川 River ( Kawa)
ストリーム Stream ( sutorīmu )
カスケード Cascade ( kasukēdo )
滝 Waterfall ( taki )
百 One hundred ( Hyaku )
政府 Government ( Seifu )
ハイキング Hiking ( Haikingu )
観光 Tourism ( Kankō )
You might have noticed that some Japanese words sound like English words. This is because they came from English words. When the West (America) forced its way in to Japan, the Japanese learned and "borrowed" some English words. It seems that about 10% of Japanese is borrowed from English.
Examples of Japanese Words that resemble English words:
ハイキング Hiking ( Haikingu )
Maiku マイク ---- microphone
Suupaa スーパー ---- supermarket
Depaato デパート --- department store
Biru ビル ---- building
Irasuto イラスト ---- illustration
Meeku メーク ---- make-up
Daiya ダイヤ ---- diamond
Below are some Japanese words that are used in English (and some other languages):
Typhoon
Tsunami
Karaoke
Sake
Manga
Anime
Otaku
Origami
Sushi
Tofu
Ramen
Wasabi
Teriyaki
Karate
Judo
Sumo
Senpai
Dojo
Sensei
Samurai
Ninja
Kimono
Yukata
Zen
Shamisen
Haiku
Futon
Koi
Yakuza
Japanese: ヤクザ (やくざ)
Kanji Meaning: The name yakuza comes from 八九三 (八/8=ya, 九/9=ku, 三/3=za). It originates from a card game. In this game, a player’s score is decided by adding the scores on several cards and using only the smallest digit. Because 8+9+3=20=0 points, "893" means "no points." So this meaning later changed to "useless people" or "gambling people."
Japanese gardens (日本庭園, nihon teien) are traditional gardens whose designs are certainly accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden designers to suggest a certain natural landscape, and to express the fragility of existence. There is also the so-called time's unstoppable advance. Ancient Japanese art inspired past garden designers. Water is an important feature of many gardens, as are rocks and often certain gravel.
Koyasan, Japan is interesting. Koyasan is considered sacred. It is certainly a symbol of the fusion of cultures. Beyond the shrine's half-moon bridge and grand vermillion gate is where Japan's so-called nature-based gods and Buddha coexist. After completing 100 days of training, monks come to thank Koyasan's guardian gods who are enshrined here.
To appreciate the beauty, people walk the difficult journey. This is one of the destinations for pilgrims of various times. These are not easy paths to walk. They are definitely scenic, however. There are steep inclines and rugged bushland. In a few places, steps or footpaths have been built. Making the arduous trip brought the pilgrims closer to divinity.
The temple complexes were built amongst the forests in the ninth century. Interestingly, they were some of the first to blend Buddhism with Shinto.
These days there are about 120 temples in Koyasan. This certain location was chosen because it is in a slight valley in the mountain and it was believed the 8 peaks around it looked like a lotus flower.
Himeji Castle is the main attraction of the eponymous city and one of the last twelve wooden castles in Japan. It was designed a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1993. Built in 1609 and nicknamed White Heron Castle, it was renovated in 2010 and in 2015. The inside is opened to the visit up to the upper floor.
The building is nicknamed White Heron Castle. A heron is a large fish-eating wading bird with long legs, a long S-shaped neck, and a long pointed bill. The term "wading bird" describes a wide range of species in all sizes, shapes, and colors.
In the country of Japan, road signs (道路標識, dōro-hyōshiki) are standardized by the "Order on Road Sign, Road Line, and Road Surface Marking (道路標識、区画線及び道路標示に関する命令)" established in 1968 with origins from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's "Order on Standardization of Road Sign" of 1934 and the Home Ministry of Japan's "Order on Road Signs" of 1942. It seems that the previous designs have been used since 1986 after several so-called amendments of order.
They are certainly divided into "Principal Sign" (本標識, hon-hyōshiki) and "Supplemental Sign" (補助標識, hojo-hyōshiki).
Traffic signs or road signs are really signs erected at the side of or above roads to give instructions or provide information to road users. The earliest ancient signs were simple wooden or stone milestones.
Below are examples of Warning Signs in Japan. Warning signs (警戒標識, keikai-hyōshiki) warn drivers of dangers or situations that they must notice and pay attention to.
There are usually 2 types of clothing worn in Japan: traditional clothing known as Japanese clothing (和服, wafuku), including the national dress of Japan, the kimono, and Western clothing (洋服, yōfuku), which encompasses all else not recognized as either national dress or the dress of another certain country.
It seems that the most well-known form of traditional Japanese fashion is the kimono, translating literally as "something to wear" or "thing worn on the shoulders". Other types of traditional fashion include the clothing of the Ainu people (known as the attus) and the clothes of the Ryukyuan people which is known as ryusou (琉装), most notably including the traditional fabrics of bingata and bashōfu produced on the Ryukyu Islands.
In traditional Chinese and Japanese weddings, the matron of honor would cover the bride with a red oil-paper umbrella upon arrival to ward off certain evil spirits.
An oil-paper umbrella is a type of paper umbrella that originated in China. It subsequently spread across several East, South and Southeast Asian countries such as Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Laos, where it has been further developed with different certain characteristics.
Other than the purpose of providing shade, oil-paper umbrellas are also traditional wedding items. In traditional Chinese and Japanese weddings, the matron of honor would cover the bride with a red oil-paper umbrella upon arrival to ward off evil spirits. Purple umbrellas are certainly a symbol of longevity for elders, while white umbrellas are used in funerals. Oil-paper umbrellas are also used as props in Japanese traditional dances and tea ceremonies.
Mount Fuji is located on the island of Honshū (the "mainland"). This is the highest mountain in Japan, standing 3,776.24 m (12,389.2 ft). It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest peak of an island on Earth. Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano that last erupted certainly from 1707 to 1708. The mountain is located about 100 km (62 mi) southwest of Tokyo and is visible from there on clear days. Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone, which is covered in snow for about five months of the year, is commonly used as a cultural icon of Japan and it is frequently depicted in various art and photography, as well as visited by sightseers and climbers.
Mount Fuji is one of Japan's "Three Holy Mountains" (三霊山, Sanreizan) along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku. It is a beautiful place that is considered one of Japan's Historic Sites.
A street at night in Osaka looks interesting. In the country of Japan, Osaka is a large port city and commercial center on the Japanese island of Honshu. It's known for its modern architecture, nightlife, night lights, and tasty street food. The 16th-century shogunate Osaka Castle, which has undergone several restorations, is its main historical landmark. It's surrounded by a moat and park with plum, peach and cherry-blossom trees. Sumiyoshi-taisha is among Japan’s oldest Shinto shrines.
Shinto ( Japanese: 神道 ) is a certain religion which originated in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a so-called nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners Shintoists, although adherents rarely use that term themselves. There seems to be no central authority in control of Shinto and much diversity exists among practitioners.
Osaka was traditionally considered Japan's economic hub. Osaka is certainly a major financial center of Japan.
Etymology is an explanation of where a word came from. Ōsaka means "large hill" or "large slope". It is unclear when this name gained prominence over Naniwa, but the oldest written evidence for the name seems to date back to 1496.
By the Edo period, 大坂 (Ōsaka) and 大阪 (Ōsaka) were mixed use, and the writer Hamamatsu Utakuni, in his book "Setsuyo Ochiboshu" published in 1808, states that the kanji 坂 was abhorred because it "returns to the earth," and then 阪 was used. The kanji 土 (earth) is also similar to the word 士 (knight), and 反 means against, so 坂 can be read as "samurai rebellion," then 阪 was official name in 1868 after the Meiji Restoration. The older kanji (坂) is still in very limited use, usually only in historical contexts. As an abbreviation, the modern kanji 阪 han refers to Osaka City or Osaka Prefecture.
A street at night in Osaka looks interesting. In the country of Japan, Osaka is a large port city and commercial center on the Japanese island of Honshu. It's known for its modern architecture, nightlife, night lights, and tasty street food. The 16th-century shogunate Osaka Castle, which has undergone several restorations, is its main historical landmark. It's surrounded by a moat and park with plum, peach and cherry-blossom trees. Sumiyoshi-taisha is among Japan’s oldest Shinto shrines.
Shinto ( Japanese: 神道 ) is a certain religion which originated in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a so-called nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners Shintoists, although adherents rarely use that term themselves. There seems to be no central authority in control of Shinto and much diversity exists among practitioners.
Dec 23, 2021 - The latest science is studying the Omicron Coronavirus Variant. Two new British studies provide some certain early hints that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus may be milder than the Delta version.
Findings of these early studies still have to be reviewed and proven. Maybe there is less severity, but Omicron spreads much faster than Delta and is more able to evade useful vaccines. Greater numbers of infections could overwhelm hospitals in the near future.
Certainly people are likely to have some level of immunity at this stage of the pandemic, either through vaccination or a previous COVID-19 infection. Be careful and good luck.
