Latest news with #Yoshimura
Asia News Network
3 days ago
- General
- Asia News Network
Puffed rice machine invented by Japanese woman to feed hungry children
August 15, 2025 TOKYO – Driven by her desire to feed hungry children, Toshiko Yoshimura invented a puffed rice snack machine that helped alleviate food shortages in Japan after World War II, bringing smiles across the nation. A piece of calligraphy hangs in the offices of Tachibana Kashiki, the confectionery machinery company founded in Kitakyushu by Yoshimura, now 99 years old. It reads, 'A pon-gashi machine is my life.' Born into a prominent family in Yao, Osaka, in 1926, Yoshimura studied physics and chemistry at a vocational school for women. As the Pacific War escalated and male teachers were drafted, she wanted to do something useful, so she began substitute teaching at a local school about two years into the war. Seeing the emaciated children at the school was a turning point in her life. Yoshimura remembered going to see a vendor when she was 4 years old and secretly taking home a few small white grains of what would become puffed rice. The snacks were made by using steam pressure to puff up the grains. Yoshimura believed this method would allow her to feed children nutritious food with very little fuel. She consulted with someone she knew who taught at a university, and they drew up plans together. However, metal was being requisitioned for weapons manufacturing, so she couldn't get the iron she needed for the machine. When they told her there was iron in Kitakyushu, Yoshimura decided to go. Her family strongly opposed this, but her resolve was unshakeable. 'All I could think about was giving the children puffed rice snacks,' she said. For her own safety, Yoshimura cut her hair short and dressed as a man. She traveled alone to Kitakyushu with her blueprints and visited factories there. 'The craftsmen were all drunk, and their faces were covered in oil. I'd thought they would be more professional, but they were completely different,' she said. Still, a few craftsmen took an interest in her idea, including the man who would eventually become her husband. Together, they completed a prototype in the spring of 1945, and the first machine was built that summer. When the machine was struck with a wooden mallet, a loud 'pop' and a cloud of white smoke erupted, and a stream of puffed rice shot out. She named the snack 'pon-gashi' and secured a patent for the machine. Amidst severe postwar food shortages, puffed rice machines were in high demand. Orders poured in from across the country because children loved the delicious taste. Apparent brokers would come from various regions, buying as many as five or six machines at a time. All over Japan, people would bring their rationed rice to soot-blackened men who would make puffed rice for them. Seeing the children's smiles brought Yoshimura great happiness, and she decided to dedicate her life to puffed rice. In 1946, she founded the Tachibana Kashiki company in Kitakyushu to manufacture and sell the puffed rice machines. Two years later, she got married. However, as Japan entered its period of rapid economic growth, sales of pon-gashi declined due to the spread of other snack foods. Soon after, her husband was stricken with cancer, and Yoshimura took over running the factory herself. Once, while working through the night grinding iron, her left hand got caught in a machine and she suffered a serious injury that required 78 stitches. Even so, she never took a day off. In the mid-1970s, her business experienced a resurgence. A government campaign to promote rice consumption led to an increase in orders from agricultural cooperatives and local governments. The machine's potential for an easy-to-start business also made it attractive to office workers looking to leave their corporate jobs. Yoshimura traveled all over the country, taking orders. It was around this time that she penned the calligraphy that reads, 'A pon-gashi machine is my life.' She retired from the front lines of the business about 20 years ago, but she continued bringing smiles to children's faces by giving demonstrations and promoting puffed rice snacks in various locations. Her third son, now 73, and others manufacture the machines. Puffed rice snacks remain a staple at events and festivals today. Yoshimura, who will soon turn 100, suffered an injury last autumn that made it difficult for her to keep working. During a recent interview, however, she gripped a wooden mallet in front of a puffed rice machine and said: 'I just gave it everything I had. I hope other young people will do their best with whatever they can.'
Yomiuri Shimbun
3 days ago
- General
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Puffed Rice Machine Invented to Feed Hungry Children; Inventor Urges Today's Young People to ‘Give It Their All'
Driven by her desire to feed hungry children, Toshiko Yoshimura invented a puffed rice snack machine that helped alleviate food shortages in Japan after World War II, bringing smiles across the nation. A piece of calligraphy hangs in the offices of Tachibana Kashiki, the confectionery machinery company founded in Kitakyushu by Yoshimura, now 99 years old. It reads, 'A pon-gashi machine is my life.' Born into a prominent family in Yao, Osaka, in 1926, Yoshimura studied physics and chemistry at a vocational school for women. As the Pacific War escalated and male teachers were drafted, she wanted to do something useful, so she began substitute teaching at a local school about two years into the war. Seeing the emaciated children at the school was a turning point in her remembered going to see a vendor when she was 4 years old and secretly taking home a few small white grains of what would become puffed rice. The snacks were made by using steam pressure to puff up the grains. Yoshimura believed this method would allow her to feed children nutritious food with very little fuel. She consulted with someone she knew who taught at a university, and they drew up plans together. However, metal was being requisitioned for weapons manufacturing, so she couldn't get the iron she needed for the machine. When they told her there was iron in Kitakyushu, Yoshimura decided to go. Her family strongly opposed this, but her resolve was unshakeable. 'All I could think about was giving the children puffed rice snacks,' she said. For her own safety, Yoshimura cut her hair short and dressed as a man. She traveled alone to Kitakyushu with her blueprints and visited factories there. 'The craftsmen were all drunk, and their faces were covered in oil. I'd thought they would be more professional, but they were completely different,' she said. Still, a few craftsmen took an interest in her idea, including the man who would eventually become her husband. Together, they completed a prototype in the spring of 1945, and the first machine was built that summer. When the machine was struck with a wooden mallet, a loud 'pop' and a cloud of white smoke erupted, and a stream of puffed rice shot out. She named the snack 'pon-gashi' and secured a patent for the machine. Amidst severe postwar food shortages, puffed rice machines were in high demand. Orders poured in from across the country because children loved the delicious taste. Apparent brokers would come from various regions, buying as many as five or six machines at a time. All over Japan, people would bring their rationed rice to soot-blackened men who would make puffed rice for them. Seeing the children's smiles brought Yoshimura great happiness, and she decided to dedicate her life to puffed rice. In 1946, she founded the Tachibana Kashiki company in Kitakyushu to manufacture and sell the puffed rice machines. Two years later, she got married. However, as Japan entered its period of rapid economic growth, sales of pon-gashi declined due to the spread of other snack foods. Soon after, her husband was stricken with cancer, and Yoshimura took over running the factory herself. Once, while working through the night grinding iron, her left hand got caught in a machine and she suffered a serious injury that required 78 stitches. Even so, she never took a day off. In the mid-1970s, her business experienced a resurgence. A government campaign to promote rice consumption led to an increase in orders from agricultural cooperatives and local governments. The machine's potential for an easy-to-start business also made it attractive to office workers looking to leave their corporate traveled all over the country, taking orders. It was around this time that she penned the calligraphy that reads, 'A pon-gashi machine is my life.' She retired from the front lines of the business about 20 years ago, but she continued bringing smiles to children's faces by giving demonstrations and promoting puffed rice snacks in various locations. Her third son, now 73, and others manufacture the machines. Puffed rice snacks remain a staple at events and festivals today. Yoshimura, who will soon turn 100, suffered an injury last autumn that made it difficult for her to keep working. During a recent interview, however, she gripped a wooden mallet in front of a puffed rice machine and said: 'I just gave it everything I had. I hope other young people will do their best with whatever they can.'
The Mainichi
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
Osaka students translate A-bomb survivor's picture story into over 100 languages
OSAKA -- In a bid to convey the horror of nuclear weapons to people across the world, high school students from Osaka have translated a story on the Hiroshima bombing experience, conveyed via the traditional "kamishibai" storytelling format with pictures, into over 100 languages. The task of passing on people's wartime experiences has become challenging as it has been 80 years since the end of World War II. This summer, the students grappled with each word in the story, reflecting on the meaning of "peace." The story was translated over a period of three months by 11 members of the mechatronics research club at Osaka Prefectural Miyakojima Technical Senior High School in the city of Osaka's Miyakojima Ward. The club normally focuses on building robots, but its members have also participated in social engagement activities, such as supporting victims of the Noto Peninsula Earthquake that struck on Jan. 1, 2024. The idea of creating a kamishibai work in different languages came after their adviser, Minato Kimura, 26, met Daisaku Yoshimura, 45, a local newspaper publisher and kamishibai creator from Osaka's Tsurumi Ward, through earthquake relief efforts. Yoshimura told Kimura, "I want to widely convey the A-bomb experiences from Hiroshima and Nagasaki to foreigners and younger generations." Sharing Yoshimura's sentiments, Kimura thought, "This could be an opportunity for students to think about peace," and shared his conversations with Yoshimura to the club members. The students pondered, "What can we do?" and decided to take on the translation challenge, the adviser said. Performance based on account of A-bomb survivor who still shares her story The 12-page kamishibai performance titled "The Cloud that Won't Disappear by Kei," is based on the testimony of 87-year-old hibakusha, or A-bomb survivor, Keiko Ogura, who continues to share her story. "In a flash, the entire city vanished. Houses, schools, and hospitals all disappeared without a trace. It was a terrifying bomb, a nuclear weapon, that had been dropped." "The grief of those who perished and those who survived has remained throughout the passing decades." Ogura, 87, was 8 years old when she survived the Hiroshima bombing, and she has continued to share her testimony in English. Through her story, the work conveys the horrors of war to younger generations and expresses a longing for peace. Yoshimura was moved by Ogura's activities when he met her during a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in 2022 and decided to preserve her testimony in the form of a kamishibai for future generations. Yoshimura wrote the script and a female artist who had evacuated from Ukraine to Japan created the illustrations, and both Japanese and English versions were produced. The translation work started in early May. The students deepened their understanding of war by listening to a local woman who experienced the wartime bombing of Osaka, increasing their motivation for the project. They dedicated two to three hours after school each day, using computer translation software to convert the story into languages ranging from widely spoken ones such as French and Spanish to more local ones including Tamil from southern India and Igbo from Nigeria. However, when they reviewed the literal translations by converting them back into Japanese, they often found expressions that differed from the original meaning. For example, when talking about dead bodies, "drifting in the river" was mistranslated as "swimming in the river." In such cases, they searched for words that matched the intended meaning, such as "floating in the river," and repeatedly revised and rechecked the translations. Appreciating the value of peace "It's my first time translating. And I'm really bad at English," confided Kei Nakajima, a 17-year-old second-year student who took part in the project. He was completely unfamiliar with some languages and struggled, but he took the challenge seriously, saying, "It's a rare and valuable opportunity to convey war experiences in foreign languages." Through the project, he realized, "Everyday life, which we take for granted, is precious and something to be grateful for," and deeply appreciates the value of peace. Fellow second-year student Hinata Shiono shared, "The translation was difficult, and it sometimes made my head spin," but the 17-year-old added with a serious look, "I've become more interested in learning about that time. I want to ask my 87-year-old grandfather about his experiences." Yoshimura commented, "We've laid the foundation for sharing the horrors of the atomic bombing with the world. I hope the high school students will never forget the feelings regarding peace and the determination they gained through the translations and pass them on to the next generation." The completed translations and kamishibai can be viewed and downloaded by anyone from the project website
Yomiuri Shimbun
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Yoshimura to Remain as Nippon Ishin Chief
OSAKA (Jiji Press) — Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) members on Thursday decided through a vote not to hold a leadership election, meaning that Hirofumi Yoshimura will remain as chief of the party. Under its rules, the Japanese opposition party decides whether to hold a leadership election after a national or unified local election. Covering 842 lawmakers, local assembly members, local government chiefs and others belonging to the JIP, the online voting was held for three days through Thursday following the July 20 election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the country's parliament. The vote ended with 93 people in favor of holding a leadership election and 521 against. 'It's important that we work together as one in order to carry out our election promises,' Yoshimura, also governor of Osaka Prefecture, told reporters at the party's headquarters in the namesake capital city of the western prefecture. Yoshimura said that the JIP has 'no intention at all' to join the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito under the current administration of Prime Minister and LDP President Shigeru Ishiba. Still, he remained coy when asked whether his party will join the ruling camp in the future, saying, 'As of now, the answer is no.' The JIP also decided to hold an election Friday to pick a new party co-leader to succeed Seiji Maehara, who has announced that he would resign in the wake of the party's unimpressive showing in the Upper House election. Former Secretary-General Fumitake Fujita, Upper House lawmaker Shigefumi Matsuzawa and Takeshi Saiki, a member of the House of Representatives, the lower parliamentary chamber, filed their candidacies in the election, in which 57 party lawmakers will vote. 'We'll aim again to become a national political party,' Fujita told reporters. 'We need to bring back our former self of challenging vested interests,' Saiki told the press. 'We do have to reform our party,' Matsuzawa said on X, formerly Twitter. Yoshimura became the party's chief after winning a leadership election held shortly after last October's Lower House election. Attempting to push for a generational turnover in the party's leadership team, Yoshimura actively appointed younger party members to senior positions. This, however, led to a rift between Yoshimura and members of the former leadership team, including his predecessor, Nobuyuki Baba, and Fujita. In last month's Upper House election, the JIP managed to clinch seven seats, one more than its target. But the number of votes it collected under the proportional representation system hit a record low.
07-08-2025
- Politics
Yoshimura to Remain as Nippon Ishin Chief
News from Japan Politics Aug 7, 2025 22:01 (JST) Osaka, Aug. 7 (Jiji Press)--Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) members on Thursday decided through a vote not to hold a leadership election, meaning that Hirofumi Yoshimura will remain as chief of the party. Under its rules, the Japanese opposition party decides whether to hold a leadership election after a national or unified local election. Covering 842 lawmakers, local assembly members, local government chiefs and others belonging to Nippon Ishin, the online voting was held for three days through Thursday following the July 20 election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the country's parliament. The vote ended with 93 people in favor of holding a leadership election and 521 against. "It's important that we work together as one in order to carry out our election promises," Yoshimura, also governor of Osaka Prefecture, told reporters at the party's headquarters in the namesake capital city of the western prefecture. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
