Tokyo Photo News August 2007

It is said that one oyster will filter 400 liters of sea water a day to feed on plankton suspended in the water. Aiming to improve water quality in the Port of Tokyo, the Bureau of Port and Harbor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has begun tests for water purification using aquatic plants and animals including oysters. The first experiment was started on August 28 by suspending oysters tied to a rope like a bead curtain from a floating raft at Odaiba Kaihinkoen (Odaiba Seaside Park). On that day, ten visiting pairs of parents and children helped to fasten the oyster “bead curtain" to the bamboo raft. It is planned that 40,000 oysters will be suspended in the water over the next three years.

Lined up with meek countenances are the some 90 young athletes from teams competing in the “Asia Junior Sports Exchange Games 2007.” Tokyo, aspiring to be a “sports city,” held the badminton games with the aim of enhancing mutual understanding among young people from around Asia as well as improving their competitive techniques. The players visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office on August 29 to report on the success of the competition, and chatted with the Governor. In his message to the athletes, the Governor said, “Tokyo is an interesting city. Please come to Tokyo again and get to like it. Let us continue this friendship into the future.”

The Flame of Hope, lit in Athens for the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games Shanghai to be held in October, arrived at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office Citizen's Plaza on August 22 via South Korea. A grand ceremony was held to greet the arrival of the flame with Governor Ishihara, Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wang Yi, and Tokyo 2016 Bid Ambassador Yasuhiro Yamashita in attendance. The cauldron was lit using the torch's flame, which then continued on its journey to Sydney through a relay of runners including Barcelona Olympics gold medalist Kyoko Iwasaki.

This flower, described in the Manyoshu, the oldest existing collection of Japanese poetry, is called ominaeshi in Japanese. It has long been a part of our lives as one of the “seven flowers of autumn.” The record-breaking summer heat may have made going out an effort, but autumn is now just around the corner. You can sense it all around you: At Mukojima-Hyakkaen Gardens, the vivid yellow flowers of the patrinia can be enjoyed throughout September. Let the refreshing breezes of autumn take you on a journey to the world of the Manyoshu.