Month: June 2022

In and around the Togariishi Jomon Ruins Site, more than 200 pit dwellings were excavated. Most of them were estimated to be built in the Middle Jomon period (3500-2500 BCE) over a period of 1000 years. The Togariishi Museum of Jomon Archaeology is a municipal museum located in the city of Chino in Nagano Prefecture, specializing in artifacts of the Jomon period (between 14,000 and 1000 BCE). Its collection includes over two thousand artifacts containing two National Treasures the Venus of Jomon and the Masked Goddess. (https://www.city.chino.lg.jp/site/togariishi/; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Togariishi_Museum_of_J%C5%8Dmon_Archaeology)

Chino City’s advertising poster on the National Treasures “Dogu (Clay Figurines)” Masked Goddess and Venus of Jomon

Yosuke One (ridge) Jomon Ruins Site: Located next to the Togariishi Site, there were 40 pit dwellings excavated from the latter half of the Middle Jomon period in the Yosuke Ridge Site.

Lance-leaved tickseed (Coreopsis lanceolata) is one of the obnoxious weed species. It is native to North America and considered an invasive alien species in Japan (Refer to the article on 5/18/2022). It seems that it reproduces twice more in Japan than in the native areas.

Yoriko Hatase et al. reported some of their studies. “The Control Effect of Season and Time of Mowing On Coreopsis Lanceolata An Invasive Alien Species” (2010), Journal of The Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture, 73(5), pp. 421-426. “Restoration Effect of Topsoil Removal on the Herbaceous Community Invaded by Coreopsis lanceolata in the Vegetation of Dry Gravel Riverbeds” (2012), Journal of The Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture, 75(5), pp. 445-450. [Japan Wildlife Research Center, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management]

Similarly, kudzu or kuzu (Pueraria montana), native to Japan and southeast China, is considered an invasive alien species in the United States. It is a terrifying species in the southeastern United States.

Kudzu: The Invasive Vine that Ate the South, The Nature Conservancy (https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/indiana/stories-in-indiana/kudzu-invasive-species/). It was brought to the United States in 1876 as ornamental; however, it was used for erosion control from 1930s-1950s, and then it spread.

Kudzu (Pueraria montana in the botanical family Fabaceae) in the United States is like the one-seeded bur cucumber or star-cucumber (Sicyos angulatus in the botanical family Cucurbitaceae, native to eastern North America) in Japan. Although they belong to the different families, both are vine plants and have similar characteristics. And they are notoriously invasive weeds in the two countries.

Sicyos angulatus – Invasive Species of Japan (https://www.nies.go.jp/biodiversity/invasive/DB/detail/80220e.html); Assessing the Ecological Impact of Alien Species and Managing the Risks (https://www.naro.affrc.go.jp/archive/niaes/rp/eng/rp03.html); Sicyos angulatus (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicyos_angulatus).

The retrospective exhibition of French sculptor François Pompon has been held at the Yamanashi Prefecture Museum of Art, 4/16-6/12/2022. It has been touring the country since July 2021. François Pompon has been known for his animal sculptures, and his most renowned work is Ours blanc also known as White Bear or Polar Bear in Stride.

From the sculpture garden.

THE BIG APPLE No.45 by Masaaki Sato.