Archive for Nara
September 29, 2008 at 1:32 pm · Filed under Art, Attraction, Nara
Sculptor Satoshi Yabuuchi is auctioning a limited-edition bronze statue of Sento-kun, the popular but controversial official mascot he designed for the Commemorative Events of the 1,300th Anniversary of the Nara-Heijokyo Capital (the upcoming festival marking 1,300 years since Nara’s establishment as Japan’s capital in 710 AD). The current bid on this 30.5-cm tall sculpture — one of only 130 created — is 185,000 yen ($1,750).
[Via: Yahoo! Auctions]
Original post by Edo
August 5, 2008 at 7:17 pm · Filed under Vegetation, Anomaly, Biota, Discovery, Nara
One of the world’s rarest fungi, an exotic star-shaped mushroom known to exist at only three locations on Earth, has been discovered in the mountains of Nara prefecture.
The Devil’s Cigar (a.k.a. “Texas Star”) — known to botanists as Chorioactis geaster — had been observed only in central Texas and at two remote locations in Japan prior to the recent discovery in Nara. The peculiar fungus is described as a dark brown cigar-shaped capsule that transforms into a tan-colored star when it splits open to release its spores. It is also one of only a few known fungi that produce an audible hiss when releasing spores.
First reported in 1893 in Austin, Texas, the curious mushroom appears in a limited area of central Texas each year, and until now, the rare sightings in Japan have occurred in forests in Miyazaki and Kochi prefectures. The fungus is included on the red […]
Original post by Edo
May 20, 2008 at 6:55 am · Filed under Attraction, Marketing, Nara
Sento-kun
Ever since his unveiling in February, Sento-kun, the official mascot character for the Commemorative Events of the 1,300th Anniversary of the Nara-Heijyoko Capital, has garnered widespread criticism from the media, religious groups and the blogosphere. A Buddhist child monk with a rack of deer antlers sprouting from his head, Sento-kun is supposed to evoke the image of Nara’s rich Buddhist history and the wild (but tame) deer that roam freely around town. But some citizens have expressed anger at officials for shutting them out of the selection process and wasting 5 million yen (about $50,000) of taxpayer money on an ugly mascot, and some Buddhist groups are upset with the sacrilegious decision to use the image of a monk.
Read the full post (338 words, 2 images)
Original post by Edo
