群馬県
Japanese Prefectures: Kantō - Gunma
都道府県 (とどうふけん) - Prefectures of Japan
Learning the kanji and a little bit about each of Japan’s 47 prefectures!
Kanji・漢字
群 む(れる)、むら、グン flock, group, crowd, herd, swarm, cluster
馬 うま、ま、バ horse
県 ケン prefecture
関東 かんとう Kanto, region consisting of Tokyo and surrounding prefectures
Prefectural Capital (県庁所在地) : Maebashi (前橋市)
The ancient province of Gunma was a center of horse breeding and trading activities, and thus the character for horse is one of the kanji in the prefecture's name. The horse came to Japan along with the arrival of a large migration of people from the mainland of Asia, and from then on the horse became a vital part of the Japanese military and displaced the older Yayoi tradition of fighting on foot.
One of only eight land-locked prefectures in Japan, Gunma is also very mountainous. Snowy mountains that are prime for winter sports give way to excellent hiking trails in the summer. Gunma has some of the nation's best hot springs and is famous for its daruma dolls, which are good luck charms. Other sports to do in Gunma include canyoning, waterfall sliding, rafting, and bungee jumping.
Recommended Tourist Spot・おすすめ観光スポット Sainokawara Park - 西の河原公園
Sainokawara Park at night
Sainokawara Park is in a valley just outside of the hot spring and ski resort town center of Kusatsu, where several hot spring sources and a large outdoor bath are located. There are walking trails around the upper part of the park that lead through the magnificent natural landscapes. This is the most active hot spring area in Japan, with an output of hot spring water of 1,070 litres per minute. Hot spring water can be seen bubbling to the surface in certain places, where they collect into hot water pools and run down the valley in warm streams before joining the central mountain stream. There is also a hot water waterfall with a free foot bath at the base. The park area is accessible free of charge.
Due to the high temperature of the hot spring waters that flow here, very little can grow in the areas where it collects. It was believed that the spirits of children who died before their parents would be sent to these barren pools. You may come across small stone statues called jizo, that are made in the image of the guardian deity of children and travelers, Jizo Bosatsu. These statues often are wearing red hats and bibs, and are meant to protect the spirits of the children from demons.
The natural pools in the park are not for bathing, but the park also houses the Sainokawara Rotenburo, a large open-air public bath with two gender-separated outdoor hot springs, with a capacity of 100 bathers each. The outdoor bath also offers an evening of mixed bathing every Friday, when the bath is open to everyone, including couples and families.
Yubatake, or Hot Water Field, in Kusatsu
A 10-minute walk from Sainokawara Park is the Yubatake (or "Hot Water Field"). Here in the center of Kusatsu is a field of pumps that removes 32,300 litres of hot water every minute, cools it a few degrees, then sends it off to various local hot springs. The healing waters of the Kusatsu Onsen (hot springs) vary from milky to clear, and sulfurous to acidic, and are said to soothe most of your troubles, except a broken heart.
Regional Cuisine - 郷土料理
Yakimanju - 焼きまんじゅう
Yakimanju (source)
Yakimanju is a popular snack in Gunma Prefecture, but is not well known outside of the prefecture. Yakimanju is a grilled sweet bun. Manju are sweet buns made of rice or wheat flour and commonly are steamed. Yakimanju is grilled after being steamed, giving the outside a crunchy texture rather than the usual fluffy texture. The outside is coated with a sweet mixture of brown sugar, syrup, and miso paste. Unlike manju, which usually has a filling of red bean or other sweet paste, yakimanju typically has no filling.
Yakimanju was invented at the end of the Edo period, about 150 years ago. Wheat was commonly grown in agricultural Gunma, and thus wheat flour was originally used to make the predecessor of yakimanju, called sakamanju. Sakamanju hardened quickly after being made, and so to make it easier to eat, people would grill it and season it with miso paste. And thus yakimanju was developed.
Gunma Dialect・Gunma-ben・群馬弁
1. あーね aa-ne oh really?, I see, etc. (aizuchi*)
「あーね」 (aa-ne)
Standard Japanese: 「そうなんだ」
(sou nan da)
English: "Oh, really?"
Note: If you use it too much, the other person will get irritated
*aizuchi (相槌): backchanneling, interjections during conversations that show you are paying attention
2. ~がね、~がん ~ga ne, ~gan isn't it, don't you think, right (ends a sentence)
「宿題やるって言ったがね!」
(shukudai yaru tte itta ga ne!)
Standard Japanese: 「宿題やるって言ったじゃん!」
(shukudai yaru tte itta jan!)
English: "I said do you do your homework didn't I!"
3. じゅーく juu-ku impertinent
「じゅーくこくな!」
(juu-ku koku na!)
Standard Japanese: 「生意気なことを言うな!」
(namaiki na koto o iu na!)
English: "Don't be cheeky!"
4. 世話ねえ sewa nee "no problem" or "too much of a bother"
「世話ねえ」
(sewa nee)
Standard Japanese: 「問題ない」 (mondai nai)
OR 「手に負えない」 (te ni oenai)
English: "No problem" OR "That's too much of a bother"
5. ~だんべえ ~danbee right, isn't it, etc. (sentence ending)
A: 「焼きまんじゅうって美味しいね。」
(yakimanju tte oishii ne)
B: 「そうだんべえ。」
(sou danbee)
Standard Japanese:
A: 「焼きまんじゅうって美味しいね。」
(yakimanju tte oishii ne)
B: 「そうだろ。」
(sou daro)
English:
A: "Yakimanju is delicious, isn't it?"
B: "That's right"
6. てんで tende very
うちの孫は、てんでかわいいよ~
(uchi no mago wa, tende kawaii yo~)
Standard Japanese: うちの孫、とてもかわいいよ~
(uchi no mago, totemo kawaii yo~)
English: Our grandson is so cute!
More Gunma dialect here (Japanese page)
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Japan removes monument for Korean forced labor victims despite criticism
By Yi Wonju
TOKYO, Feb. 1 (Yonhap) -- A Japanese local government has taken down a memorial stone for Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor at a public park earlier this week despite opposition from activist groups.
Authorities from Gunma Prefecture began pulling down the stone on Monday and finalized the removal on Wednesday, Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported the next day.
Aerial photographs taken by the news outlet showed the remains of what appeared to the base of the memorial stone smashed into pieces at the site.
The authorities are said to have spared the epitaph of the stone and handed it over to a civic group handling the memorial stone, before tearing down the concrete wall.
The phrase, "Remembrance, Reflection and Friendship," is engraved in Korean, Japanese and English on the epitaph.
The memorial stone was erected in 2004 by a civic group in Japan to promote the public's understanding of the shared past history from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula and the friendship between the two neighbors.
In 2014, Gunma Prefecture refused to extend the state approval for the establishment of the stone, claiming a civic activist made inappropriate remarks about the forced labor victims during a 2012 memorial event.
Japan's top court ruled in favor of the Gunma authorities in 2022, but the civic group has filed for separate suits seeking to block the removal.
Source: https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20240201008400315
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