Japan and Japanese

[Shinpachi]

Calligraphy class at school then and now.
Practice, practice and practice to be a good calligrapher. Some would love it but others.
This scene seems to be same for centuries.

Source: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/eb/74/9c/eb749cb983c269697f7d8106550be1d7.jpg
沼津市立第五小学校

 

[MiTasol]

The Mystery of the Man from Taured

 

[Shinpachi]

A man from the past to see people wearing masks.

 

[Shinpachi]

Newer generation is coming up. I have been fascinated with this recent ad.

 

[michaelmaltby]

Pocari Sweat: Inside the meteoric rise of Asia's answer to Gatorade - CNN

 

[Shinpachi]

Pocari Sweat: Inside the meteoric rise of Asia's answer to Gatorade - CNN

I reserve stock for the summer

 

[Zipper730]

You know, I remember being told that it was pretty healthy to just run a watermelon (excluding the skin) through the blender and strain out the seeds.

 

[The Basket]

A query kind sir.

Akagi is red something. Can you say what is red? Red Castle? I can't find a translation for Akagi which says it means Red Castle.

 

[Shinpachi]

A query kind sir.

Akagi is red something. Can you say what is red? Red Castle? I can't find a translation for Akagi which says it means Red Castle.

If you mean the aircraft carrier Akagi, it was named after Mt. Akagi (赤城山 = red castle mountain) in Gunma Prefecture.

Mt. Akagi

Source: 台風19号が去って、昨日は赤城山黒檜山の夕焼けが綺麗でした。木の実も色付き、紅葉も始まりました。 – 青木旅館

 

[The Basket]

Thank you for your response.

Yeah but where does the word Akagi mean in Japanese?

I Know Aka is red so what is the gi?

Does Gi mean castle?

 

[Shinpachi]

城 (Shiro or Jo meaning castle) was pronounced Ki or Gi in the ancient times.
Ki came from Kizuku which meant building a castle or fortress but simply means building in modern Japanese.

 

[The Basket]

So Yamashiro means mountain castle and shiro is the castle bit.
Yama is mountain. So excellent stuff.

Thank you for your time.

 

[Shinpachi]

Thanks for good understanding, Basket.

This singer from Okinawa is Minami Kizuki. Her family name Kizuki is writen in one word 城(castle) as ancient style.
Some old pronunciations still remain in proper nouns.

 

[Shinpachi]

A Japanese auto maker goes with the hydrogen combustion engine.

"How is it?"
"Same as gasoline engine."

 

[MiTasol]

Interestingly in Australia the hydrogen engine was hyped up about 20 years back and the Queensland Government even threw in a lot of cash. Nothing came of it.

It seems to be a mainstream idea now though so maybe it will survive this time

 

[ThomasP]

Various US manufacturers and a couple of government agencies began talking about hydrogen powered vehicles at about the same time (ie 20-25 years ago, but as in Australia nothing came of it, at least not as far as commercial applications go.

My understanding is that the infrastructure needed was the main practical/mechanical obstacle. The hydrogen generating centers, the transportation network, and the local storage facilities, and the refueling systems, were all doable to a degree, but the cost was not compatible with where we were at the time. In effect, there would have to be hydrogen cracking planes/suppliers, transporters, and end refueling stations, that would all have to be run on speculation (economically) to get it going. The only serious practical/mechanical obstacles that I am aware of were the transportation, and local storage/refueling and refueling system safety concern.

The other obstacle was/is the oil lobby.

It will be interesting to see if Japan can do it.

Question for Shinpachi:

In Japan is there anything similar to the oil lobby here in the US?

 

[MiTasol]

Interestingly todays mail shows there are now two trials happening in Australia. If this article is correct my nearest refuel point is over 1,000km round trip away and the running cost is about double my current vehicle (which has a far bigger load space and will tow the trailer I use to pick up 3 tonne of water every time I go to town).

 

[SaparotRob]

I like the idea of hydrogen powered vehicles. To my unknowledgeable mind it would seem easier to set up hydrogen refueling networks than electric. I'm guessing it would be closer to already existing petro networks and take less time to gas up than to recharge. I fear that electric charging stations might turn into impromptu parking spots. "I'll go grab a cuppa while the car is charging." leaving others to "burn electrons" whilst looking for an available charger.

 

[Shinpachi]

Various US manufacturers and a couple of government agencies began talking about hydrogen powered vehicles at about the same time (ie 20-25 years ago, but as in Australia nothing came of it, at least not as far as commercial applications go.

My understanding is that the infrastructure needed was the main practical/mechanical obstacle. The hydrogen generating centers, the transportation network, and the local storage facilities, and the refueling systems, were all doable to a degree, but the cost was not compatible with where we were at the time. In effect, there would have to be hydrogen cracking planes/suppliers, transporters, and end refueling stations, that would all have to be run on speculation (economically) to get it going. The only serious practical/mechanical obstacles that I am aware of were the transportation, and local storage/refueling and refueling system safety concern.

The other obstacle was/is the oil lobby.

It will be interesting to see if Japan can do it.

Question for Shinpachi:

In Japan is there anything similar to the oil lobby here in the US?

Fortunately or unfortunately, lobbying is not openly carried out in Japan as it reminds people of unfavorable relationship like the collusion and bribery between special-interest groups and politicians. It is uncertain how influential lobbying is here when compared to other countries.

Japan's three major oil refiners ENEOS, Idemitsu and Cosmo occupy almost 90% domestic oil market. They also produce hydrogen and sell it at their own gas stations since 2014 when Toyota launched its first hydrogen FCEV car Mirai. So, no serious supply problem for the hydrogen powered cars either.

 

[ThomasP]

Thank you for the info, Shinpachi.