Random Japan

Start a horticultural revolution with gourds in the shape of Mao Zedong and more!

Master Blaster


China certainly knows how to have fun with their vegetation. If they’re not putting panties on peaches, they’re growing gourds in the shape of various religious and political figures.

China has a long history of making art and figures out of gourds and more recently the process has been simplified so that any Joe Schmoe can make his own Jesus squash or garden full of dangling Mao Zedongs. All it takes are some molds and a good ol’ green thumb.


Previously we looked at some baby-shaped pears, inspired by a similar looking magical fruit which granted extreme longevity to those who ate it in the traditional story Journey to the West. Due to their auspicious background, these fruits could make a nice gift for some special occasion.

YOU DON’T SAY

• A researcher at Kyushu University has found “no scientific basis” for the widely held Japanese belief that blood type plays a role in personality.
• A Nakano Ward assembly member offered his resignation after tweeting that politicians who support Japan’s right to exercise collective self-defense should “die.”
• Executives at Sapporo Holdings Ltd. say the group will suffer its first-ever net loss this year. They blamed the situation on tax authorities, who decided to classify the popular Goku Zero drink as a “low-malt beer” instead of a “third-category beer.”
• A Nara woman was hospitalized after eating a gourd that was meant to be used for decorative purposes.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Air Self-Defense Force officials revealed that they ordered fighter jets to scramble 340 times between April and June in response to “feared intrusions by foreign aircraft.”
• Authorities at the internal affairs ministry say the number of abandoned homes around the country has reached a record high of 8.2 million.
• The figure, which includes units in apartment buildings, represents an 8 percent increase from five years ago.
• A Singapore-based travel company estimates that the annual number of Muslim visitors to Japan is expected to reach one million by 2020.

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Biography on Emperor Showa compiled after 24 yrs of work

TOKYO (Kyodo)

The Imperial Household Agency presented Thursday a 61-volume biography of the late Emperor Showa to the reigning emperor and empress.


The book took 24 years to compile and will be opened to the public in mid-September. It is expected to draw attention to how Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa, dealt with Japan's entry to World War II and the post-war occupation period.

The agency's Grand Steward Noriyuki Kazaoka submitted the record to Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo and the emperor expressed his pleasure at the completion and his appreciation to those who were involved in the work.