Japan Unveiled Late-Blooming Culture

Japanese manhole covers often feature intricate and artistic designs that reflect local culture, history, and landmarks. Many municipalities in Japan install unique manhole covers. The ones below are some of the manhole covers in Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture. This city is where Riyoko Ikeda grew up [1]. She is a Japanese manga artist and singer who published the manga series "The Rose of Versailles". It's set in the period leading up to and during the French Revolution, and it intricately intertwines the lives of its main characters: Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France, and Oscar François de Jarjayes, a woman raised as a man to serve in the royal guard. The manga explores themes of gender, class struggle, and historical events, blending romance, drama, and political intrigue. It's praised for its detailed artwork and compelling storytelling, making it a classic in the world of shojo (girls) manga. The manhole covers are so beautiful that passersby might avoid s...

  Fig. Japanese carpentry without a single nail. ( Great Big Story ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-u4T13guko&t=27s&ab_channel=GreatBigStory Takafumi Matsumoto is a Miya Daiku, a shrine and temple carpenter who works in Kamakura, Japan. Fig. Kamakura https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-u4T13guko&t=27s&ab_channel=GreatBigStory Fig. Kamakura, South West of Tokyo Source: google earth modified by the author   Kamakura is located 50 km southwest of Tokyo and is abundant in natural beauty.  It was the capital of Japan from the early 12th century to the mid-13th century. It was the site of the first government established by samurai under Shogun Minamoto Yoritomo. The feudal system lasted about 800 years until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Since Japanese shrines and temples are made of wood, they require restoration after a suitable number of years. For example, in wooden structures from 1,000 years ago, iron was hard to come by, so buildings were ...