Random Japan

Warning! You may never see drawings of cherry blossoms the same way after this

Casey Baseel

What do you see when you look at the Batman logo? To most people, it’s clearly a black bat, spreading its wings against a yellow background. But others interpret the design a little differently. To them, it’s a set of yellow teeth and tonsils staring back from the inky darkness of a gaping mouth.

Surprisingly, what works with bats apparently can work with sakura, too, as one Japanese Twitter says that instead of a single cherry blossom, the etching on this manhole cover looks like a cluster of five cute surprises.

Twitter user Xion lists two of his hobbies as illustration and design. One of the critical skills in drawing is being able to break the subject down into the fundamental shapes that form its structure. For example, instead of seeing the human body as a single unit, an artist can envision it as a connected group of ellipses.

STATS

• 70: Percent chance that a magnitude-6 earthquake will hit the Kanto area over the next 30 years.
• ¥300,000: Winning bid for a pair of mangos at the first fruit auction of the season in Miyazaki.
• 88: Percentage of Japanese job seekers who say they would be willing to accept an overseas employment offer.

INCREDIBLE SHRINKING JAPAN

• Researchers at the Japan Policy Council warn that 896 municipalities around Japan are at risk of “disappearing” due to dwindling populations.
• A survey by the education ministry suggests that 87 percent of high school juniors are struggling with below-average English speaking and writing skills.
• Actress-turned-politician Junko Mihara caught flak for saying Japan should pursue a foreign policy based on hakko ichiu (often translated as “one world, one roof”), a phrase used by leaders to justify colonial aggression during WWII.
• Officials in Micronesia demand the Japanese government to address the threat ofoil pollution posed by sunken WWII warships whose hulls are corroding.

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Kanda Festival celebrates 400th anniversary of relocation of Shinto shrine

Visitors and locals gathered on the streets of Tokyo's Kanda district on May 9 for a parade during the Kanda Festival, one of the three largest Shinto festivals in the capital.

Some 500 participants, dressed up like Japan's court aristocrats in the Edo period, wearing colorful costumes in blue and red, and black headgear called "eboshi," marched down the streets of Kanda and nearby areas alongside several "mikoshi," or portable Shinto shrines.

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the relocation of Kanda Shrine which was moved from today's Otemachi district in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward to the Sotokanda district where it now stands.