The Generous Junior High School Student

Japanese people love their face masks.  Long before the coronavirus came along, people wore them if they were ill, if they didn't want to get ill, if they suffered from hay fever, if they didn't have their make-up on, if they hadn't shaved, if they had a sunburn or something else to hide, so many reasons! Two months or so ago when the coronavirus started, face masks became very scarce. Maybe someone in Japan has closets full of them, I don't know.  What I have heard is that there is a big shortage and they are nearly impossible to buy in the stores. 

That's where this story comes in.  After hearing that people were selling masks online at incrediblely marked up prices, Hime Takimoto, a 13 year old junior high school student from Kofu City, Yamanashi, used her otoshidama (New Year's gift money given to children in Japan) to buy the materials to make the masks. She made 612 face masks and donated them to her prefecture.  Yamanashi Governor Kotaro Nagasaki accepted her generous gift, saying he was touched by her efforts and wants to distribute the masks to facilities that look after children and the elderly.  Each mask has an attached message saying "I'd be happy if this could be of use to you". 

I think this is incredibly generous. What an uplifting story in this unsettling time!

Low Number of Medical Graduates and Doctors in Japan

According to the latest Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2018 data, Japan has the least number of medical school graduates per 100,000 population among 35 comparable member countries of the OECD. (Tied with Israel)

Japan's new medical school graduates are 6.9 per 100,000 population, with the average across OECD countries being 13.1 per 100,000 population.  The countries with the highest numbers include Belgium with 28.8 per 100,000; Ireland 24.9; and Latvia 22.1.  Just above Japan and Israel are Korea 7.6; Canada 7.7; and the United States 7.8. 

The number of practicing doctors per 1,000 population in Japan was 2.4, according to the latest OECD data.  The United States is slightly higher at 2.6; and Australia 3.7. Austria is the highest at 5.2 per 1,000 population. (The medical doctors who were over age 55 was 37% in Japan, which is higher than the OECD average of 34%. Japan also had the lowest percentage of female doctors at 21%, with the OECD average being 48% women.) 

With Japan's aging population and the current pandemic, the low number of doctors and medical school graduates in Japan is troubling to me.

Dr. Tachioka

Friday Finish - Drawstring Bag

I made a simple drawstring bag out of a piece of shibori fabric.

Front flat

Back flat

Drawstring pulled

The Tiniest Toilet

The Kodomo (Child) Toilet  

Only in Japan

Work In Progress Wednesday

Still working on this and still happy with it. This is rather calming, really.  I don't have to read a chart and it doesn't take a lot of concentration.  It is really the perfect project for the uncertain times we are living in right now.

Oyster House Restaurant

Last month I ate at the Oyster House restaurant at the Shizuoka Station. They have an inexpensive lunch set and an English menu.  I ordered the seafood paella set.  (I didn't eat the soup).  The salad and paella were very good. The paella serving dish was very hot. If you are at the station, try this place.

Monday Morning Star Count - Week 46

Year Three of the temperature quilt  

Week 46 

March 8 - 14 

46, 68, 62, 68, 59, 64, 48

I am reporting the high temperature each day.  My Year Three temperature/color (Fahrenheit) scheme remains the same: 

100 + Brown 

90-99 Red  

80-89 Orange 

70-79 Yellow  

60-69 Green  

50-59 Blue 

40-49 Purple 

30-39 Pink 

20-29 White 

10-19 Black  

You can see my finished Year One Quilt here.

Museums and Virtual Tours from Home

Many of us are spending our time at home and not going out to museums or other public places right now because of COVID-19. There are a lot of places available to see by internet.  Do you know of others?  Let us know in the comments.

Would you like to see Buckingham Palace?  Check this out this site.  

Are you interested in miniatures? You can see a video of Queen Mary's doll house at Windsor Castle here. 

You can see a YouTube Video of the Thorne Miniature Rooms at the Art Institute in Chicago. 

You can see pictures of the Thorne Miniature Rooms  here. 

E-31 Japanese Traditional Interior, c. 1937

The North Carolina Museum of Art invites you to explore its collection online - check it out here. 

From the Modern Gallery

Panama Dancers
Ernst Ludwig Kirchnew (1910-1911)

This virtual museum site was shared with me. There are museums from around the world.  

Here's an example from the British Museum, London

JAPAN | LACQUER DOCUMENT BOX

The interlocking design of black crows and white egrets is very unusual, and has no real precedent in Japanese art. However, it does have something in common with the painting of the Rimpa school, and can be placed in the tradition of depicting flocks of birds on Japanese screens, common from the seventeenth century onwards.

The crows' eyes, inlaid with gold lacquer and mother-of pearl, and the conspicuous pinkish bills of the egrets both help us to pick out the birds from the puzzling design.

No Naked Selfies on this Phone

 This new Japanese smartphone prohibits users from taking naked selfies.

Tone Mobile is the newest "kakiyasu smartphone", smartphone for people on a budget.  The Tone e20 is priced at 19,800 yen and has a 6.26 inch display, 64 gigs of storage, and a triple lens camera.  It also comes with "smartphone protection".  That's not to protect the phone from damage, but a way to protect the user.  An AI system works with the camera. After a photo is taken, the smartphone protection analyzes the picture to check if it is "inappropriate". It won't allow you to take naked selfies. If you try to, the camera will give you an error message that the image will be discarded without being saved.

▼ The error screen, with text saying “Photo not taken due to inappropriate content.”

Tone Mobile created this protection in order to protect children and teens who may be tricked or threatened into sending naked selfies, although it also protects adults from making silly mistakes too.  

What do you think about this? Would you want this "Protection" on your phone or your child's phone?

No Naked Selfies on This Phone

This new Japanese smartphone prohibits users from taking naked selfies.

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Tone Mobile is the newest "kakiyasu smartphone", smartphone for people on a budget.  The Tone e20 is priced at 19,800 yen and has a 6.26 inch display, 64 gigs of storage, and a triple lens camera.  It also comes with "smartphone protection".  That's not to protect the phone from damage, but a way to protect the user.  An AI system works with the camera. After a photo is taken, the smartphone protection analyzes the picture to check if it is "inappropriate". It won't allow you to take naked selfies. If you try to, the camera will give you an error message that the image will be discarded without being saved.

▼ The error screen, with text saying “Photo not taken due to inappropriate content.”

Tone Mobile created this protection in order to protect children and teens who may be tricked or threatened into sending naked selfies, although it also protects adults from making silly mistakes too.  

What do you think about this? Would you want this "Protection" on your phone or your child's phone?

My Students Want to Know ...

Why so many old people want to be president of the United States. I don't know the answer for that.  What do you think?

(Yes, young people want to be president too, but why do people who are 70+ want to be president?)

March 2020 quilt of the Month - Famous Women Friendship Quilt

Every month, the International Quilt Museum in Nebraska, USA, chooses a quilt of the month.  This month, it is the Famous Women Friendship Quilt.  

From the website:

Made by multiple makers

Quilted by Essie Lawson
Circa 1978
United States
96.75 x 85 inches
246 x 216 centimeters
Hand appliquéd, machined appliquéd, embroidered, hand quilted
Mountain Mist Collection, Gift of the Robert and Ardis James Foundation

This quilt features the winning blocks of a 1978 contest for the batting company Mountain Mist. The quilt was used in advertising and exhibited throughout the United States.

The rules for the contest instructed entrants to: 
“Design and make a preshrunk 12” x12” (finished size) square showing your choice of a famous woman and / or her accomplishments... Winning squares will become the property of Stearns & Foster Co, and will be sewn together into the Famous Women Friendship Quilt.” 

The Mountain Mist quilt contests began in 1974 and continued through 1988. Early contests were block contests; later on, entrants had to enter a quilt.

This quilt previously appeared in the 2016 exhibition "Inside the Wrapper: The True Tales of the Mountain Mist Quilt Patterns," guest curated by Linda Pumphrey.

I couldn't read all of them, but some of the women depicted include Laura Ingalls Wilder, Betsy Ross, Eleanor Roosevelt, Abigail Adams, Sakajewea, Mary Cassatt, Emily Dickenson, Harriet Tubman, Grandma Moses, Eve, Louisa May Alcott, Juliette Gordon Low, Beatrix Potter, Florence Nightengale, Janet Guthrie, Beverly Sills, Clara Barton, Elizabeth I, Helen Keller, Mary, Madame Curie, and Amelia Earhart.

Work In Progress Wednesday

So far, I'm not tired of this, so I continue to stitch.

I was asked how much time I'm spending on it.  I usually stitch a couple of hours in the morning before work, during my lunch hour (after I eat), and an hour or so in the evening.  More time on the weekend.

Rusk

One of my students told me about Rusk, but I didn't know what it was. He brought me this delicious Sakura rusk, made by Tokyo Rusk Company.  Apparently it is a Japanese sweet snack, sort of like biscotti, but not really. After all this time in Japan, I hadn't seen or tried it before! 

So, tell me, do you know of this delicious treat, and have you tried it?

Monday Morning Star Count - Week 45

Year Three of the temperature quilt  

Week 45

March 1 - 7 63, 50, 61, 52, 54, 57, 52

I am reporting the high temperature each day.  My Year Three temperature/color (Fahrenheit) scheme remains the same: 

100 + Brown 

90-99 Red  

80-89 Orange 

70-79 Yellow  

60-69 Green  

50-59 Blue 

40-49 Purple 

30-39 Pink 

20-29 White 

10-19 Black  

You can see my finished Year One Quilt here.

Sengen Shrine in Fujinomiya

I've been here quite a few times, but it is a beautiful place to visit again and again.

Sattatoge Yui to Okitsu

In the fall, I hiked Okitsu to Yui with my friends.  This time I started walking in Yui.

Oranges

A beautiful day for a walk.

The Little Pink Dress

My friend brought me her niece's dress and asked if I could repair it.  I looked at it and though I wasn't sure if I could, I took it and said I would try. 

The fabric was a little fragile, but I did my best.  I trimmed the fraying edges and split the binding so I could put the fabric edges back inside.  I stitched it by hand with invisible thread and replaced the snaps.  

I think it turned out pretty well. My friend and her little niece were happy with it. The little girl made me a thank you present - a box of finger puppets of her favorite characters.  I love it!