Latest news with #Jingu
The Mainichi
12-05-2025
- The Mainichi
News in Easy English: Bank worker in Japan's Gunma Pref. helps man not lose money in scam
TOMIOKA, Gunma -- A bank worker in Gunma prefecture helped a man not lose money in a "romance scam." A bad person tried to take the man's money. The bank worker saw the problem and called the police. On May 8, the police said "thank you" to her for helping. The bank worker's name is Kumiko Jingu. She is 51 years old. She works at a bank in Shimonita, Gunma Prefecture. On April 25, a man around 60 years old came to use a bank machine (ATM). He wanted to send 100,000 yen (about $686) to a woman. He met this woman online only one day before. Jingu went to help him. She asked, "Why do you want to send money?" The man said, "To change money to foreign money." Jingu thought this was strange, because her bank usually does not do that. Jingu asked him more questions. The man showed messages from the online woman. The woman wrote about changing yen into dollars. It looked very strange. Jingu felt worried. She took the man inside the bank and asked more questions. She talked with other bank workers. Then they called the police. Police found out it was really a scam. The woman online was not real. She wanted to take the man's money. The man told police he met this woman online in February. She said nice things to him. Later she wrote, "Send 100,000 yen, and you will get 1,000 yen more every day." He believed her and wanted to send the money. Jingu said she is happy the man did not lose money. This was her second time helping stop a scam, and her second award from Gunma police. Police chief Hitoshi Hirukawa said, "Thanks to Jingu, the man did not lose money. We hope she will always call us if something looks strange." (Japanese original by Sakae Kato, Maebashi Bureau) Vocabulary bank: a place where people keep money safe. scam: when bad people tell lies or use tricks to get money. ATM: a machine to get money out or send money from a bank. online: on the internet, using phone or computer.
Japan Today
24-04-2025
- General
- Japan Today
Kashiigu Shrine: A gift from an empress
By Vicki L Beyer Kashiigu shrine in Fukuoka's Higashi Ward is a picturesque complex of vermillion and white structures surrounded by lush greenery that lend a feeling of serenity and repose. Last year the shrine celebrated 1,300 years since its founding, but its history actually goes back much further, all the way to 200 AD. The main shrine building sits atop a flight of stone stairs and is surrounded by cloisters. Image: Vicki L Beyer The Legend Legend has it that Emperor Chuai (149-200 AD) spent most of his years as emperor in the western part of Japan, possibly warring with various tribes in an attempt to consolidate his power and the nation. In 200 AD, while he was in what is today the city of Fukuoka, his wife, a shamaness known as Jingu (169-269 AD), had a vision that the gods desired him to continue west to Korea to vanquish enemies there. Chuai scoffed, saying that he could see no land to the west, only sea, even when he stood on the highest mountain. He refused to make plans to sail to Korea. Not long after ignoring his wife's prophecy (some legends say the very next day), Chuai died. His pregnant widow claimed the throne to rule as regent for her unborn child. She proceeded to conquer a number of Kyushu's tribes as well as to travel to Korea to pacify the three kingdoms then on the Korean peninsula, returning to Kyushu after two years. An artist's depiction of Empress Jingu preparing to set sail for Korea Image: Vicki L Beyer One component of Jingu's campaign to fulfill her husband's legacy was to establish Kashiigu shrine on the site of Chuai's death in order to appease the angry spirits that were believed to have killed him (he had, after all, ignored the message they had sent to him via Jingu's vision, namely to invade Korea). Throughout her lifetime, Jingu continued to honor her husband with prayers at Kashiigu. After her death, she was also enshrined there, reuniting the imperial couple in spirit. It is for this reason that Kashiigu shrine is also regarded as a romantic spot. Jingu's various military victories while pregnant has also made her popular to receive the prayers of expectant mothers wanting an easy delivery. The Shrine The current layout of the shrine and its grounds dates to the shrine's official founding in the eighth century, when it became one of only seventeen shrines in all of Japan at which imperial rites are conducted. These rites are conducted by an imperial envoy who arrives from the imperial court with gifts for the shrine and an imperial decree (actually a prayer) that the envoy relays to the gods. Various ancient customs must be followed when the rites are performed, requiring special permission from the Imperial Household Agency and assistance from senior priests of major shrines across Fukuoka Prefecture. An imperial envoy is expected to perform imperial rites at Kashiigu Shrine in 2025, the 110th such ritual at the shrine since 737 AD. The other deities at Kashiigu shrine are the Sumiyoshi Sanjin, three traditional gods of the sea and sea voyages. These gods are often enshrined together with Jingu and are doubtless credited with ensuring her safe voyage to Korea as well as her victorious return. The pond in front of the shrine has a Benten shrine on an island. Image: Vicki L Beyer Kashiigu shrine is situated on a slope, fronted by a pretty little pond that is home to decorative carp and lots of turtles, often seen sunning themselves on logs or stones. There is a little island in the pond with a small shrine to the goddess Benten. Small footbridges provide visitors with access from either side of the pond. In June floating boxes of purple iris turn the peaceful pond into a riot of color. The main shrine building, last rebuilt in 1801, is in a distinctive architectural style known as Kashii style. Its unique design, incorporating unusually sloped porticos and distinctive vermillion, verdigris and black lacquer, is acknowledged by the shrine's designation as an important cultural property. Visitors to the shrine offer prayers under its distinctive portico. Image: Vicki L Beyer Directly in front of the stairs leading to the main shrine building is a sacred pine tree, enclosed in a vermillion fence. The venerable tree is said to have been planted by Jingu in memory, or perhaps as an effigy, of her late husband. The Water At the back of the shrine grounds there is a signboard with a map showing the way to a spring known as Furosui (immortal water), a short walk away through a residential area. Along the way, there are stone markers showing the location of the original shrine established by Jingu in 200 AD and supposedly marking the place where Chuai died. Furosui spring is housed in a small shrine, with the water of the spring kept under a wooden cover. There are various tales of people whose lives were prolonged by its waters. Visitors may dip out a cup of water to drink to extend their own lives. It is said that this spring has never run dry. Furosui spring is housed in a small shrine and is said to have never run dry. Image: Vicki L Beyer The spring's sweet water and value as a tourist attraction has led it to be designated by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment as one of Japan's top 100 famous waters. The Way Kashiigu shrine is a 5-minute walk from Kashii Jingu station on the Kashii train line, or a 15-minute walk from Kashii Miyamae station on the Kaizuka train line. There is also ample parking near the entrance to the shrine. Vicki L Beyer, a regular Japan Today contributor, is a freelance travel writer who also blogs about experiencing Japan. Follow her blog at © Japan Today
New York Times
21-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
MLB is trying to expand in Japan. Can Japan's NPB grow in America?
TOKYO — Twenty minutes from the Tokyo Dome sits another of Japan's most revered ballparks, the 99-year-old Meiji Jingu Stadium, one of the few fields still in use anywhere that can claim Babe Ruth as a batter. Jingu's home club, the Yakult Swallows, held a spring exhibition Tuesday afternoon against the Hanshin Tigers, creating a crosstown doubleheader opportunity for fans lucky enough to also have tickets for the Dodgers-Cubs season opener at the Dome that night. Advertisement Swallows fans bob small umbrellas at their seats during coordinated cheers — an umbrella dance — and unlike at the Tokyo Dome, a contest at Jingu is open-air, a gorgeous scene on the right day. But what Jeff Shimizu of Los Angeles enjoyed most was the gameplay. When a batter pretended he would bunt and then pulled back to swing, something rarely seen in Major League Baseball anymore, the 70-year-old Shimizu called it out in the stands: 'That's a slash play!' 'I love how Japanese baseball is so much more fundamentally pure,' said Shimizu, who spent many years as a youth baseball coach. 'It's a big difference. I watch major-league games, you see them make really rookie mistakes frequently. You don't see that out here.' Shimizu arrived in Tokyo as part of a tour run by JapanBall, a business founded in 1999 that arranges travel for fans interested in seeing the country's top league, Nippon Professional Baseball. Plenty of Japanese fans have been drawn to MLB in the last 30 years as stars like Shohei Ohtani, formerly of the Nippon Ham Fighters, make their mark stateside, but new interest has also grown in the other direction. Some fans in the U.S. have taken a liking to the Japanese baseball circuit, albeit on a smaller scale. 'The metrics of how many people want to come on our tours and how many people want to subscribe to our NPB newsletter, follow our social media accounts — it's just been a steady, steady growth, and then it really feels like it's just exploded last year,' said Shane Barclay, who owns JapanBall. 'Ohtani is obviously the main force in everything.' JapanBall email subscribers have grown 31 percent in the last 12 months, Barclay said, while its Instagram and X followers have grown 27 percent. Yet, at a time when MLB is aggressively trying to leverage Ohtani's rise for its own gain in Japan — and making no secret of those ambitions — the 12-team NPB is not moving with nearly the same verve to capture its own set of international fans. That's because NPB rarely moves together as one, for reasons both cultural and institutional. Advertisement 'Japanese baseball has not grown in, I would say, 50 years,' said player agent Don Nomura, who was a thorn in the league's side when he orchestrated pitcher Hideo Nomo's groundbreaking departure to MLB in 1995. 'The uniforms, the players have changed, but their structure of baseball hasn't changed. They're owned by major, big corporations, and mostly what they care about is advertisement of their club, and they're not really into baseball business.' The result is what some fans in the U.S. consider a missed opportunity, hampering their ability to easily follow the sport from afar. Live in New York and want to buy an NPB jersey? There is no league-wide online store to do so. Resellers on eBay or Amazon might be your best bet. NPB also does not offer a full-league TV package, leading some to seek creative solutions. The New York-based author Robert Fitts, who's written several books on Japanese baseball and trading cards, signed up for a Japanese cable company's streaming bundle for about $200 a year. 'I have like 81 channels all in Japanese,' Fitts said 'Every morning it's like, OK, where's the game? It takes me 20 minutes.' For a long time, MLB was divided into two meaningfully different bodies, the American and National Leagues, but the distinction is irrelevant today outside of the standings. Not so in Japan, where the Central League and Pacific League run different programs. 'They function completely separately from each other,' said Yuri Karasawa, who built a following writing about NPB on social media and runs the website Yakyu Cosmopolitan. 'The league would have so much more recognition and so much more popularity overseas if they actually tried to get it. But they don't seem to be doing that.' Individual clubs hold virtually all the power in NPB, a contrast to baseball in the U.S.. Yomiuri is the most powerful team. While MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is ultimately at the mercy of his owners, his office is formally empowered to handle far more than the office of the NPB commissioner Sadayuki Sakakibara. One of the two leagues inside NPB is more progressive than the other, however. The six teams in the Pacific League operate a marketing venture that sells a streaming package for its half of NPB. The company, Pacific League Marketing, said it had approximately 490,000 digital viewers in North America last year. Advertisement Just last month, the Pacific League also began selling tickets on an English-language website, Tickets in Japan, run by an online ticket seller, WaveDash. 'We found that a very small percentage of visitors to Japan were taking advantage of the thriving live events scene,' Tickets in Japan said. 'The data shows that only about 1 percent of annual spending by international visitors in Japan is on sports events, and 2 percent on theater and music performances. … We know there is consumer demand and interest to capture, it's a matter of accessibility.' The U.S. isn't the only country where NPB could see more business, if it chose to pursue it. Tickets in Japan said it's getting traction among baseball fans in Taiwan, and that country might be the next frontier for merchandise sales, too. Fanatics, the major U.S. sports apparel retailer, has partnered with five NPB teams, including the Giants. Nori Kawana, head of the company's East Asia division, said that some club executives are interested in pushing further abroad, but bringing NPB marks to the States is tricky. 'There are complications around what IPs are protected in U.S.,' Kawana said. 'Let's say Tokyo Giants. Can you sell Giants in the U.S. where the San Francisco Giants are? 'There's definitely interest (in expanding sales) more towards Asia, like Taiwan. There are Taiwanese players, there are Korean players playing in Japan. NPB definitely has a potential to go beyond Japan, which is somewhere I think we can play a big role.' Topps, the Fanatics-owned trading card company, produces its own sets of NPB cards, competing with three other major manufacturers: BBM, Epoch and Calbee. The last sells its cards with potato chips. NPB cards sell 'very, very well' in Japan, Topps head of trading cards David Leiner said, but the U.S. allocation is 'much more limited because the demand isn't as strong.' Advertisement 'They like that we're exposing them further in the States, but I don't know how big of a push it actually is for them,' Leiner said of NPB. 'The Samurai, the national team, their global presence is definitely important.' Asked if Topps was interested in acquiring any of the other card makers, Leiner said, 'At Fanatics, everything's on the table.' Amy Moses, a 48-year-old Virginia resident, has attended several MLB special events in the past, including games in London, but had never been to Japan before joining JapanBall's tour. She watched Hanshin play both at Meiji Jingu on Tuesday and on Saturday as well, in an exhibition against her Cubs at the Dome. 'I had no idea what it'd be like coming into this,' Moses said. 'I was so excited because the Hanshin Tiger fans were electric, and I've never been in an atmosphere like that.' On Sunday, Moses spoke with Japanese fans in the stands about their game's idiosyncrasies: Where were the bullpens at the Tokyo Dome? The conversation later moved to cheering. In Japan, fans often hit souvenir sticks together, which is not as common in the U.S. 'He said, 'How do you make noise in America? Is it just with your voice and your hands?'' Moses said. 'And I thought that was such an unusual way to phrase it, right? What I love the most was talking to the two of them and then sharing back and forth.' Moses on the trip read a well-known book about Japanese baseball, 'You Gotta Have Wa,' by Robert Whiting. Whiting, who first came to Japan in the 1960s and has chronicled the sport and country for decades, feels NPB's reliance on the status quo could eventually be perilous, if it isn't already. 'The days of NPB games on nightly nationwide TV are long declining as Japanese people prefer to watch Japanese players like Ohtani in MLB telecasts rather than NPB,' Whiting said. 'Younger people find baseball too slow.' Whiting thinks NPB needs to pay its players more and shell out big bucks to pry away some top MLB talent to come to NPB. Advertisement NPB's revenues were about $2 billion in 2024, a person briefed on the league's finances who was not authorized to speak publicly said. That's about $10 billion less than MLB. But growth and expansion aren't necessarily goals unto themselves for the league's owners. In part, that's because of a lack of competition. Unlike in the U.S., where MLB has to compete with the NFL and NBA, baseball and NPB are at the top of the chain. 'It's not all about making every dollar, maximizing our team's exposure and doing everything we can to win,' Barclay of JapanBall said. 'That's a reason behind a lot of appealing things about Japanese baseball, because I think any MLB fan can tell you how much they resent being treated as just a credit card to maximize spending at every game. 'But then in other ways, it's frustrating, because I'm like, 'I want to give you money.'' The longtime Japanese baseball writer Jim Allen, of said the goal for NPB teams is to maximize advertising value and take a tax deduction on the operating losses. New stadiums, which can boost attendance and profits, also aren't built very often. Only two have opened this century. 'It's not America. They can't just go to Tokyo (government) and say, 'Build me a stadium or I'm gonna leave,'' Allen said. 'They'll say, 'Yeah, take a hike.'' Change in NPB might always be gradual. A new generation of owners could produce different thinking, but nothing is likely to happen fast, save perhaps for a scenario where NPB starts to be threatened by MLB's competition for top players. 'I think you're going to have to see just a mass, mass exodus, and even then, I don't know if it'd be enough to spur change,' said reporter Jason Coskrey of The Japan Times, who grew up in the States and went to Japan to cover baseball in 2007. 'There's no impetus to make money. There's no impetus to grow the fan base. It's a very insular way of thinking. It's like, 'This works in Japan, so why should we do anything else?'' Advertisement Shimizu had done a JapanBall tour once before, of the league's spring training. He liked it so much that he returned. But back home in the States, he doesn't detect a lot of interest in NPB around him. 'Not much, to be quite honest,' Shimizu said. 'It's not really on the radar unless you're a baseball guy like me.' (Top photo of Jingu Stadium: Kiyoshi Ota / Getty Images)
