A bit of background on how I came to like Morning Musume:

Ive known of them since about 2001 or a bit earlier. I guess I could never really like them until recently, (i was about 12-3 back then) so it must of been weird to like a group of girl singers who were clearly marketed to guys in their 20’s. That, and I didnt understand their appeal? They werent pretty (although they have all become very pretty now), so I didnt understand the hype around them. Also my proficiency in Japanese was lower and I didnt understand / like the upbeat happy songs. I was really into ballads, and i think Cantonese slow songs. I liked Japanese songs too at the time, but they were mostly anime theme songs.

One of the first songs I heard was The Peace, and although I really found it annoying back then (especially at the end haha, how it stops and comes back on) but its now one of my favourites!! Funny how time changes you. I guess my experiences and the pressure I now feel as an adult, the songs help me relax (instead of slow ballads). So thats how I came to like the songs I guess!

So, the only real member i remember is Aibon, with her “twin” being Tsuji. THen I came to find out about GAM, and thats how I started liking Ayaya (i liked her before, but a lot more because of GAM) and Mikitty. Although I dont really like mikitty now , but my love for Ayaya has just increased exponentially

Finally,  after watching 3,2,1 Breaking out (that song really made me like Morning Musume, especially the later gens) and a lot of Utaban, i finally got hooked onto morning musume ^^”. It made me discover their personalities, understand the amount of members / transitions theyve had, and listen to their songs.

So who do I like?

I like everyone in Morning Musume. But there are still favourites

If i had to choose only 1 member, its without a doubt Nacchi. To me shes everything a girl should be
Just look at her smile!! Shes always smiling and she has that perfect short hair (showing her pretty face, usually long hair is just a cover up ). Shes bright, funny, talented as a singer and dancer!! If I could marry anyone shed probably be it!!

Nacchi!

Other members I like (recently/still and used to) include:

Aibon (she was so cute as a child…now shes ]

Tettekete (if you havent read my other posts, you will know I ABSOLUTELY LOVE HER, shes my new nacchi: she sings well and can pull of this sexy male voice, dances well, is natural with her emotions, had short hair and looked great with it, plus shes 3 years older than me )

Konkon (Konno Asami is the genius who works hard, plus shes so cute and only 2 years older than me. She goes to Keio university now [equivalent of Ivy League in Japan])

Linlin (she has yet to actually sing some lines in a song, but shes got the talent and potential, plus shes so funny)
Tanaka Reina – shes like the pretty queen, Yankii (badass/delinquent) girl type (without actually being a badass). Shes also a good singer (though her voice is a bit whiny). Plus she has this really cute wonky eye condition (that was fixed recently through surgery).

Tanaka

Other notable members i liked: Sayaka (okasan) Ichii, Goto Maki, and Koharu.

Gottsan

As a generation: I dont consider the originals as a generation .
I think the 5th generation spoke out to the most. I really like Konkon and Tettekete, so thats 2/4 I liked. Plus Ogawa has this funny place in my heart and Gaki is…cute/blonde . A flawless generation!! In my life, Ive found that i communicate best to girls who are 1-3 years older than me.

2nd generation was too old (though the age gap has kind of closed down),

3rd generation never got to display their personality (it was only Gottsan, and while shes great…)

4th generation was  like Aibon and Tsuji only to me, Ive never really liked Yossi and Charmy (One was too manly, the other was too feminine and she looked like my friends sister). While I did like Aibon, it was only for her playing pranks and jokes and being funny and adorable (shes grown out of both)

6th gen should be the ones I can relate to most, but Mikitty is older than Gottsan and even Matsuura Aya! Ive never really liked Kamei and Michishige (if Tsunku wants to kick someone out of MM, these 2 should go first ) so that only left Tanaka. Also,Ive never been good at communicating with girls my age or younger…
7th gen: I like Koharu (is she 7th gen?) but only cause shes tal and pretty (compared to the rest in MM )
8th gen: I like Linlin a LOT!! Junjun is ok too and Mitsui Aika is cute..but I havent really discovered her (is she 8th gen).

Ill leave you with a favourite song, from my favourite girls group, with my favourite generation:
Suki na Senpai (the senpai you like, senpai meaning your elder (in a field, eg school, work etc) i think)

© Shinichi Ogawa Associates.

See more here.

Aquesta novel·la ens explica la història d’una mare soltera que entra a treballar d’assistenta a casa d’un professor de matemàtiques que va perdre la memòria, de fet l’autonomia perquè només li dura 80 minuts. Entre el professor, l’assistenta i el seu fill de 10 anys s’estableix una relació molt especial. Ell els transmetrà la seva passió pels números i descobriran, i ens farà descobrir, la seva màgia.

Potser no hi passen moltes coses però sap mantenir l’atenció del lector en tot moment. La tendresa i sensibilitat dels tres personatges, l’amistat incondicional que s’estableix entre ells i el valor de les petites coses i detalls quotidians.
Ens fa veure les matemàtiques des de una nova perspectiva, l’apassionant existència dels nombre prims, dels perfectes, dels naturals i que tots podem tenir -encara que les matemàtiques no siguin el nostre fort…- saviesa deductiva.

Es, per sobre de tot, una novel·la optimista.

Mira qué maravillosa sucesión de números. La suma de los divisores del 220 es igual a 284. Y la de los divisores de 284, igual a 220. Son números amigos. Son una combinación muy infrecuente, sabes. Fermat o Descartes sólo lograron descubrir un par, cada uno de ellos. ¿No te parece hermoso? ¡Que la fecha de tu cumpleaños y el número grabado en mi reloj de pulsera estén unidos por un lazo tan maravilloso…!
Nuestras miradas permanecieron fijas en el trivial folleto durante un buen rato. Mis ojos reseguían los números escritos por el profesor y los escritos por mí, encadenados con fluidez, como si se dibujara una constelación que une las estrellas parpadeantes en el cielo nocturno.

La felicidad del profesor no era nunca proporcional a la dificultad del cálculo. Por muy sencillo que fuera el cálculo, la alegría venía del hecho de poder compartirlo.

Det är inte varje dag vi stöter på spel som faktiskt utmanar oss inom Hack’n slash-genren. Hittills har det i princip bara varit Ninja Gaiden, som nu fått sin utmanare. Utmanaren går under namnet Ninja Blade och känns som en fräsch fläkt gentemot Ninja Gaiden. Vi har en ninja, iklädd en svart dräkt mycket likt den Ruy Hayabusa bär. Namnet är den här gången Ken Ogawa som placerats i Tokyo för att ta död på det underjordiska hotet, zombieliknande mutanter.

Vad mer behöver man säga, det som skiljer dom två spelen är att Ninja Blade har ett högre tempo, mängder med Quick-time events, och otroligt härliga vapen, där varje träff spelas upp i en hundradels slowmotion, vilket får en att känna den riktiga kraften i svärdsvingen. Det som gjort Ninja Gaiden så otroligt svårt har även här simplifiserats en aning då man valt att välja en ny syn på checkpoints. Varje checkpoint består av just ett quicktime event. Under dessa otroligt påkostade sekvenserna ser vi Ken Ogawa utföra akrobatik som får prinsen av persien att storkna där även vi spelar en stor roll, TRYCK RÄTT KNAPP. Vid en miss spolas spelet tillbaka till början av detta QTE, och på så sett kan det gå om och om och om i en ond cirkel. Missar du däremot för mycket får du förfrågan som hånar varje liten spelare, “Vill du ställa ner svårighetsgraden, Y/N”.

Men somsagt, en härlig fläkt som verkligen ger den inbitne spelaren ett motstånd som heter duga, men samtidigt att arkadliknande tempo, i väldigt välutformade miljöer… det vi idag kan kalla en visuell orgasm.

Betyg: 8/10

The Tunnel House consists of two long rectangular volumes stacked one on top of the other (best seen in the image above).  These create the tunnels that give this house its name.  Bisecting these horizontal spaces is a vertical gash which creates the central courtyard (below).  The genius of this strategy is immediately apparent from the top image: in an urban environment where privacy and access to the sky is limited, the central court allows light, air, and wind to penetrate to the core of the living spaces.

© Shinichi Ogawa Associates. All right reserved.

See more here.

© Shinichi Ogawa Associates. All right reserved.

See more here.

© Shinichi Ogawa Associates. All right reserved.

See more here.

Dopo il silenzio dovuto alle abbuf… vacanze pasquali e allo studio, rieccomi qui con una novità, che spero di poter leggere presto. E’ infatti recentemente uscito, per i tipi dell’Adelphi, Una perfetta stanza di ospedale di Ogawa Yoko (traduzione di Massimiliano Matteri e Matake Yumiko, pp. 152, 10 €). Di seguito le parole di introduzione al libro tratte dal sito della casa editrice:

«Ogni volta che penso a mio fratello il cuore mi sanguina come una melagrana scoppiata» esordisce la protagonista del racconto che dà il titolo al volume, e continua: «Nella speranza di riuscire a dimenticare completamente mio fratello, mi immergo nel ricordo della sua quieta stanza di ospedale». Quella stanza, in cui il ragazzo ha trascorso alcuni mesi prima di morire «assurdamente giovane», era un luogo «perfettamente ripulito dalla sporcizia della vita» – e lui stesso «era sempre così tranquillo e gentile. La sua nuca era perfettamente liscia, il suo respiro perfettamente sottile». A poco a poco sorella e fratello si rinchiudono nel mondo a parte della stanza, in cui sembra che la corruttibilità della materia organica non possa penetrare, in cui c’è solo l’asettica purezza dell’assenza di cibo, dell’assenza di odore. Ed è come se, in quel «modo elegante di morire», assaporassero «la perfetta serenità che si prova nella fase aurorale di una storia d’amore». Anche nel secondo racconto, Polvere di farfalla, a un mondo «di fuori» (dove si può soffrire di «mal di gente») si contrappone un mondo «di dentro»: quando la ragazza Nanako è costretta a portare la nonna - «chiusa in una realtà tutta sua», quella dell’oblio – in una «scatola bianca piena di buone intenzioni », si sente «murata viva» nel piccolo appartamento in cui ha vissuto per anni insieme a lei, e comincia a chiedersi quale sia ora il suo, di mondo, e se ci sia una realtà oltre a quella che le sta «crescendo dentro». Ogawa Yoko sembra possedere il segreto di una scrittura che è solo sua: affilata, liscia, trasparente – ma dotata di un potere devastante. «La pericolosa Ogawa» è stato detto « ha inventato la scrittura-coltello: nel leggere le sue opere si prova un piacere doloroso».

Questa la recensione di Rita Bugliosi, tratta dall’almanacco CNR:

Hanno entrambi a che fare con la malattia i due racconti di Yoko Ogawa che compongono il volumetto edito da Adelphi “Una perfetta stanza di ospedale”. D’altro canto, la narratrice giapponese non è nuova a questo tema, presente anche nella sua opera precedente, “La formula del professore”, già recensita sull’almanacco. Lì protagonista è un genio della matematica, che non riesce però a trattenere i ricordi per più di ottanta minuti, un tempo che si restringe sempre più con l’avanzare dell’età, tanto che l’anziano docente non può più vivere nel suo appartamento e deve essere ricoverato in una casa di riposo.
Anche la casa di riposo è un elemento che torna nel nuovo libro, anzi è proprio da questo luogo, si può dire, che prende avvio il secondo racconto “Quando la farfalla si sbriciolò”. La giovane Nanako è costretta a ricoverare in un ospizio per vecchi la nonna Sae, con la quale è cresciuta ed ha vissuto fino ad allora, e che è colpita da una demenza senile grave, che la costringe a letto, incapace di compiere i gesti più semplici e di parlare. Tornare nell’abitazione lasciata vuota dalla nonna turba la giovane, che sembra perdere di vista il confine che separa la cosiddetta normalità dall’anormalità. ‘Dubito che sia la mia realtà, quella rimasta dopo che lei, colpita da demenza senile se n’è andata, a essere veramente normale. Mi angoscia che sia io, rinchiusa in quella casa, a non essere normale’.
Nel primo racconto, quello che dà il titolo a volume, alla casa di riposo si sostituisce la linda e asettica stanza d’ospedale, dove la protagonista assiste il fratello minore, malato terminale. Anche in questo caso la donna sembra perdere il contattato con la realtà, per rinchiudersi in un mondo tutto suo che inizia e finisce tra le quattro mura della camera che ospita il fratello, unico luogo in cui si sente serena. Ed è lì che va con il pensiero ora che il giovane è morto, per trovare un po’ di pace. ‘Quella stanza di ospedale mi piaceva sempre di più. Quando ero là dentro mi sentivo al sicuro come un bimbo immerso nel suo primo bagnetto caldo. L’interno del mio corpo vi diventava puro e trasparente fin nelle pieghe più nascoste’.
I personaggi delle due storie di Ogawa sono individui emarginati, incapaci di interagire in maniera consueta con gli altri, ossessionati da pensieri ricorrenti, attratti morbosamente da dettagli insignificanti che deformano con la loro alterata sensibilità. Come quando, tornata dall’ospedale, la donna guarda il marito mangiare: ‘Infilò il cucchiaio tra le labbra sorridenti. Quando dalle fessure verticali delle labbra colò una goccia marrone, la lingua si allungò a risucchiarla, come avrebbe fatto un bivalve per prendere aria’.
Un linguaggio accurato, una scrittura tagliente per descrivere quelle che la stessa autrice ha definito, nel corso di un’intervista: ‘…persone spinte ai margini del mondo, come impietrite su questo confine incerto. I disadattati alle norme sociali, dall’aria inquietante, che non possono reclamare la propria esistenza ad alta voce…’.

tetsuya ogawa

Tetsuya Ogawa (lahir 3 Oktober 1969) adalah seorang pendiri, pemain bass, dan pemimpin grup musik terkenal Jepang, L’Arc~en~Ciel. Tetsu (semua huruf kecil) juga dikenal sebagai solo artis TETSU69 (semua huruf besar), angka 69 sendiri mencerminkan tahun kelahirannya. Namun sejak awal tahun 2007, seiring dengan rilis singel Can’t Stop Believing, nama TETSU69 berubah menjadi tetsu saja.

Tahun 2006, tetsu menjadi tamu tetap untuk band Creature Creature, sebuah band ciptaan vokalis legendaris band Jepang, Morrie dari band Dead End. Tetsu terkenal karena permainan bassnya yang tidak biasa, liar, dan cenderung rumit. Selain itu, tetsu juga dikenal sebagai artis yang dandanannya paling mencolok di antara anggota L’Arc~en~Ciel lainnya. Pada tahun 1999, dia sempat tenar dengan seri sepatu Bufallo, sebuah sepatu dengan sol setebal 15 cm. Sejak tahun 2003, dia lebih suka berdandan dengan menggunakan celana motif kotak-kotak dan kilt dengan motif yang sama.

Tak banyak yang dapat diketahui tentang kisah asmara japanese rockstar satu ini, kecuali dia pernah berhubungan lama dengan salah satu personil Every Little Thing. Tetsu dikenal sebagai seorang jenius dalam hal dekorasi ruang dan juga desain produk. Kebanyakan souvenir L’Arc~en~Ciel dan desain bass signaturenya berasal dari idenya.

Pada tanggal 17 november 2007, dikabarkan bahwa Tetsu menikah dengan seorang aktris Jepang bernama Sakai Ayana. Perbedaan umur yang cukup jauh ( tetsu-39 tahun ; sakai ayana-22tahun )tidak membuat mereka mengurungkan niatnya untk membentuk rumah tangga yang bahagia

Tetsu dikenal sebagai pengguna fanatik bass merk Zon. Namun untuk kegiatan panggung dan Syuting video klip, dia dikontrak secara eksklusif oleh ESP, sebuah produsen alat musik Jepang.

Seri bass signature terbarunya ialah seri Bardic, sebuah bass lime senar berwarna warna favoritnya fiesta red

Dikutip dari id.wikipedia.org/wiki/tetsuya

© 35n78e 2009

voix : “piscine un soir” par mutiques

“Vingt-neuf ans! Forcément! Forcément je suis plus aussi vaillant qu’eux, surtout à la piscine. Je suis crevé. Pas beaucoup de natation, dans ma routine; du vélo, ah ça, quand tu veux, mais de la natation [...

With her fabulous fusion of rocker chic and both western and european cultures, Akiko Ogawa creates pieces that’ll make you want to start your wardrobe all over. Definitely one to look for!

Shop Akiko at Neiman Marcus and various high-end boutiques across the U.S.

CEG

www.WhosInFashion.com

Para designer Jepang memang sangat kreatif dalam menciptakan design untuk para gadis dan abg agar tampil lebih seksi, menggiurkan dan memanjakan mata para laki-laki .

Saat ini para gadis dan abg jepang sedang keranjingan dengan model pakaian dan celana yang dapat memperlihatkan bentuk tubuh dan bokong-nya atau apalah namanya….mungkin sebut saja model melon all in one   ….bingung mau tulis apa, karena lebih baik liat saja foto-foto para gadis dan abg Jepang  yang seksi, montok, dan mungkin menggairahkan ini …. 

Red Melon Model

GREEN MELON MODEL

BLUE MELON MODEL

BOWLING MELON MODEL

AND

MELON ALL IN ONE MODEL

Ada-Ada Saja

Beautifully tight binding, unblemished spine and silk ties still unravelled.

vista do vale do Anhangabaú

Aí esses dias fui andar pelo centro da cidade… Há uns 2 anos não passeava por lá. Ia, fazia o que tinha que fazer e saía correndo.

Ao chegar na Conselheiro Crispiniano, descobri que de todas as lojas de fotografia que lá haviam, hoje dá pra encontrar umas quatro abertas. Isso se você contar com a Fotóptica, que nem filme colorido revela mais! Bateu uma tristeza… Descobri que de todo mundo que há menos de dez anos trabalhava lá, só um senhor japonês ainda faz revelação branco e preto. Pra quem interessar, Seu nome é Ogawa e você o encontra na Barão de Itapetininga, 50 – 9o andar. Tel 3255-4336. E isso tudo me leva a concluir que os lojistas brasileiros são muito modistas… daqui a pouco passa a moda da foto digital, volta a de filme e aí?

De lá, fui até a Galeria do Rock e…. mais lojas fechadas. O 1o e o 2o andar estão mais vazios, pouquíssimas lojas ainda vendem CDs e parece que só a Baratos & Afins sobrevive junto com os LPs que nela estão.. Nem tive coragem de entrar na Baratos, afinal, to sem um tostão. Aí a tristeza foi tanta que resolvi andar até o Bar Léo, lá na rua Aurora… Graças a Deus, o chopp do Léo continua o mesmo! Pelo menos duas coisas são certas no centro da cidade:o chopp do Léo e o pernil do Estadão.

Fiquei pensando no que fazer pra reavivar aquela galeria, aquelas ruas… quando eu trabalhava na Record funcionava assim: quer entrevistar gente doida, vai pro Centro. Acho que passou da hora do Centro deixar de ser lugar de gente doida, maltrapilha e chapada. Esses dias eu vi na Folha uma matéria que dizia que quase todos os pontos turísticos da cidade cheiram urina (tentei encontrar a matéria na net, mas tá difícil). Desde pontos, quase todos ficam no Centro… Páteo do Colégio, Mercado Municipal, Praça da Sé…

Minha sugestão é transformar o centro em uma nova “Vila Madalena”, com novas galerias e lojas de iniciativas alternativas, particulares. Já existem faculdades no Centro. Moram muitos estudantes por lá, mas uma vez que não é exatamente um região residencial, não haveria problema concentrar lá os bares e casas noturnas que tanto incomodam quem mora nos bairros, como Pinheiros, Vila Madalena e Vila Mariana. Fora que o acesso por metrô e ônibus leva à cidade inteira! E assim, cada estabelecimento cuida da sua calçada, do seu lixo e pouco a pouco, um cenário começa a se modificar….

Fica a sugestão.

A cavallo fra digital art e data analysis, la storia del repository cvs di Python in un suggestivo rendering fatto con Processing. I nomi degli sviluppatori compaiono ogni volta che hanno fatto un commit dei sorgenti, per poi sfumare se non c’è stata attività da parte loro. Qui la costante sembra essere un certo Guido…

Da notare poi cosa accadde intorno alla fine dell’anno 2000, poco prima del rilascio della 1.6…

Per vedere il rendering di altri noti progetti open source:

vis.cs.ucdavis.edu/~ogawa/codeswarm/

Il codice del renderer:

code.google.com/p/codeswarm

H!O Stream:

Q: What kind of things did you do in New Zealand?

Ogawa: Basically I went to school every weekday to study English. After classes, I’d take dance lessons. That was how I spent most of my time. There were a lot of English courses there, and I was working towards the TOEIC. As I mentioned earlier, I took courses for teaching English to children and got my qualifications for that. I also tried working as a barista, making coffee.

Q: It’s been a while since you’ve seen each other. Tell us how you feel and things have changed.

Ogawa: Even in New Zealand, we’d sometimes email each other. In the time I was away, the new members from China joined Morning Musume, Ai-chan became the leader and Gaki-san became the subleader. So a lot has changed. But I think they’ve been doing a really good job. But when we’re just hanging out like this, they don’t seem any different. But when I’ve seen their work and their concerts, I can tell they’re doing really well. What about you guys?

Takahashi: When she came in here speaking English, I thought she’s been working hard, just like I expected. I know it wasn’t all fun for her, and it was hard at times, but I know she did her best. That’s what I want to tell her.

Niigaki: This Makocchin – the Mako-chan that you see here – the way she can make everybody laugh, that heart of hers hasn’t changed at all. It’s been a while since I’ve seen her, but she’s still just like I remember her. She still has her personality and her charm. Knowing she worked so hard and succeeded in New Zealand is another reason I respect her.

Q: Were you completely unable to speak English?

Ogawa: Not at all! I was completely useless at it. I went there with absolutely no knowledge of English. I was pretty naive back then, and before I went, I thought it would take about three months to become fluent. But the day I got there, I was in tears. I couldn’t talk to people or make myself understood. I was crying almost every day for the first month or two. But I worked hard at my English so that I would be able to communicate with them, and at some point I became glad I was there.

Q: Your skill in English really doesn’t fit with your “dummy character” from before, does it?

Ogawa: Actually, I was like that over there. My teacher told me, “Before you start to learn English, you’d better learn Japanese first.” When there was some English I didn’t understand, she’d put it into Japanese. But sometimes it was Japanese that I didn’t understand either! That’s how it was at first. Japanese can be pretty difficult. So I had to study Japanese as well as English while I was there.

Q: Are you planning to use your English skills in your future work?

Ogawa: If you don’t use English, you can forget it. So I need to keep on training so that I remember how to use it. I was really nervous about today. Really nervous.

Q: How do you feel about how Morning Musume has changed while you were away?

Ogawa: Well… There have been three new members that I don’t know. When I met them, I didn’t really know what to talk about. But they were really friendly talking to me. It seems like the whole group is more friendly now. There’s not much age difference now. When I joined, there were a lot of older members, and that made me nervous. But now it’s more like being at school. It’s nice and relaxed.

Q: Takahashi-san, Niigaki-san, would you like to get English lessons from Ogawa-san?

Niigaki: Definitely. We have to go overseas for work a lot, and I’d like to be able to ask for Makocchin’s help.

Ogawa: Then please take me with you!

Niigaki: All right.

Takahashi: She’s qualified to teach children now, so she can teach us.

Ogawa: Just little kids. Like “This is a pen.”

Takahashi: I’m only at children’s level.

Niigaki: Ai-chan is studying English a lot these days.

Ogawa: That’s great.

Takahashi: I’m doing my best. Please teach me more.

Ogawa: If I can.

Narozeniny:

Murakami Megumi (odešla z °C-ute) – 6.června – 16 let

Arihara Kanna (°C-ute) – 15.června – 15 let

Tsuji Nozomi (W) – 17.června – 21 let

Nakazawa Yuko (odešla z Morning Musume) – 19.června – 35 let

Okai Chisato (°C-ute) – 21.června – 14 let

Matsuura Aya (GAM) – 25.června – 22 let

Novinky:

• High-King má PV pro svůj 1.singl
• Natsuyaki Miyabi skandál – nachytána s chlapem
• Návrat Ogawa Makoto – studovala v Novém Zélandě, teď se vrátila a byla v Haramoni@

there were rumors about this, but I couldn’t believe this! Because… it’s just TOO great to be real, don’t ya think!? Awww~ she’ll return, she’ll return, I’m so HAPPY!

she’ll return on haromoni@ show on june 14th, I so wanna see her! Looking forward to it, she’s two years away now, and even thought I didn’t know h!p since then, it’s just… wow… can’t put it in words XD!

the latest picture i know of her is this

_________________

hello-onlineposted an article with pics:

I learned that Ogawa-machi, Japan, the small bucolic town I lived in for two years in the mid-90s is no more. It was more of a collection of rice fields punctuated by the odd house and/or strip of vending machines. There was all of two convenience marts there when I moved there and three when I left. The whole place smelled like onions and, being poor and rural, was a hotbed for the uyoku. There was a strip of businesses down two intersecting streets — most of which were mom and pop stores that eyed me suspiciously on the rare times popped in. To be fair, there were two notable things about Ogawa: a natto museum, which illustrated the history and many varieties of natto in flashy multi-media displays (though sadly, the gift shop didn’t sell T-shirts); and Hyakuri air base, where on a few occasions I went to teach English.

So what happened to Ogawa? It was absorbed into a new franken-berg, combining adjacent towns, Minori-machi and Tamari-mura. Behold, Omitama City. If your Japanese is rusty, the English version can be seen here. Here’s a map of it in relation to the rest of Ibaraki prefecture.

Why the switch? It seems that they are converting Hyakuri from being a strictly military base into the rather unimaginatively titled Ibaraki Airport. The idea is that it will be Tokyo’s third string air hub after Narita and Haneda with domestic flights to places like Naha, Sapporo and Fukuoka. Whether this will work or not, who knows. But the sleepy backwater where I lived is going to quickly change.

Mais sobrenomes da lista de sobrenomes populares japoneses. Se alguém chamado Maruyama quiser ser meu amigo, por favor, apresente-se. Adorei a imagem de uma montanha redonda.

MAEDA, de frente ao arrozal
MAE de frente. DA de arrozal, plantação.

MARUYAMA, montanha redonda
MARU de redondo, círculo. YAMA de monte, montanha.

MASUDA, plantação ampliada
MASU de aumentar. DA de arrozal, plantação.

MATSUDA, arrozal com pinheiro
MATSU de pinheiro. DA de plantação, arrozal.

MATSUI, poço do pinheiro
MATSU de pinheiro. I de poço.

MATSUMOTO, base do pinheiro
MATSU de pinheiro. MOTO de base, pé, princípio.

MATSUO, cauda de pinheiro
MATSU de pinheiro. O de cauda, rabo.

MIURA, três baías
MI de três. URA de baía, enseada.

MIYAMOTO, origem do templo
MIYA de palácio imperial, templo xintoísta. MOTO de início, princípio.

MIYAZAKI, extremidade do templo
MIYA de palácio imperial, templo xintoísta. ZAKI de ponta, extremidade.

MORI, bosque
MORI de bosque, floresta.

MORITA, plantação no bosque
MORI de bosque, floresta. TA de arrozal.

MURAKAMI, parte de cima do povoado
MURA de aldeia, povoado. KAMI de parte superior, em cima, sobre.

MURATA, plantação do vilarejo
MURA de aldeia, vilarejo. TA de arrozal..

NAKAGAWA, rio central
NAKA de dentro, centro. GAWA de rio.

NAKAJIMA, ilha central
NAKA de dentro, centro. JIMA de ilha.

NAKAMURA, aldeia central
NAKA de dentro, centro. MURA de povoado, aldeia.

NAKANO, campo central
NAKA de dentro, centro. NO de campo.

NAKAYAMA, dentro da montanha
NAKA de dentro, centro. YAMA de monte, montanha.

NISHIMURA, povoado do oeste
NISHI de oeste. MURA de povoado.

NOGUCHI, entrada do campo.
NO de campo, planície. GUCHI de boca, abertura, entrada.

NOMURA, vilarejo do campo
NO de campo, planície. MURA de aldeia, vilarejo.

OGAWA, rio pequeno
O de pequeno. GAWA de rio.

OKADA, arrozal da colina
OKA de colina. DA de plantação, arrozal.

OKAMOTO, base da colina
OKA de colina. MOTO de base, pé, princípio.

ONO, pequeno campo
O de pequeno. NO de campo.

OONO, grande planície
OO de grande. NO de campo, planície.

OOTA, arrozal fértil
OO de grande. TA de arrozal, plantação.

OOTSUKA, grande túmulo antigo
OO de grande. TSUKA de montículo, túmulo antigo.