Category: Japan

The Song of Kumamoto Castle

Kumamoto Castle (熊本城 Kumamoto-jō) is a hilltop Japanese castle located in Chūō-ku, Kumamoto in Kumamoto Prefecture. In 1588, Katō Kiyomasa was transferred to the early incarnation of Kumamoto Castle. From 1601 to 1607, Kiyomasa greatly expanded the castle, transforming it into a castle complex with 49 turrets, 18 turret gates, and 29 smaller gates.

Kumamon (くまモン) is a mascot created by the government of Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It was created in 2010 for a campaign called to draw tourists to the region after the Kyushu Shinkansen line opened.

Yuru-chara (Japanese: ゆるキャラ Hepburn: yuru kyara) is a Japanese term for a category of mascot characters; usually created to promote a place or region, event, organisation or business. They are characterized by their kawaii (cute) and unsophisticated designs, often incorporating motifs that represent local culture, history or produce.

エグスプロージョン（EGU-SPLOSION）は、日本のダンサー（ダンスユニット）・振付師。よしもとクリエイティブ・エージェンシー所属。

“EGU-SPLOSION is a Japanese dance and choreography group. They are represented by Yoshimoto Creative Agency.”

Kirin Ichiban Beer Bottle Orchestra “Sushi”

A beer bottle is a bottle made to contain beer, usually made of glass and comes in various sizes, shapes and colours (usually brown or green).

A blown bottle is a musical instrument that produces sound when the musician blows air over the bottle opening. Blown bottles, like the musical jug, are sometimes used by performers of folk music.

Radetzky March, Op. 228, is a march composed by Johann Strauss Sr. in 1848.

Makizushi (巻き寿司, “rolled sushi“), norimaki (海苔巻き, “Nori roll”) or makimono (巻物, “variety of rolls”) is a cylindrical piece, formed with the help of a bamboo mat known as a makisu (巻簾).

The Japan Brewery first began marketing Kirin Beer in 1888. The Kirin Brewery Company was established as a separate legal entity in February 1907, purchasing the assets of the Japan Brewery and expanding the business in an era of growing consumer demand.

KFC Family Pack Christmas

From December 1974, KFC Japan began to promote fried chicken as a Christmas meal (『クリスマスはケンタッキー』). Eating KFC as a Christmas time meal has since become a widely practised custom in Japan.

A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer such as spruce, pine, or fir or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas.

Beer boots (Bierstiefel in German) have over a century of history and culture behind them. It is commonly believed that a general somewhere promised his troops to drink beer from his boot if they were successful in battle. When the troops prevailed, the general had a glassmaker fashion a boot from glass to fulfill his promise without tasting his own feet and to avoid spoiling the beer in his leather boot.