Production Year 1995
Japan in Focus | Fly, Cranes, Fly
DC039510
新日本探訪 | 翔べタンチョウ 岡山・“鶴のお父さん”の挑戦 [NHK]
|Length : 24min. |Year : 1995 |
Mr. Inoguchi is working to bring back the great flocks of cranes once so common in Japanese skies - no easy task since these splendid creatures are now an endangered species. Inoguchi not only breeds cranes at the Okayama Prefectural Conservation Center, he must act as a surrogate parent teaching his charges to fly. While aware of the difficulties, Inoguchi is determined that the crane, so important in Japanese culture, will survive for the next generation to marvel at.
On the Trail of the Snow Goose
DC219514
ハクガンの道100年の空白 アジアの空にはばたけ [TBC]
|Length : 45min. |Year : 1995 |
Although the snow goose was once plentiful in East Asia, it has now almost disappeared from the region. The Japanese Association for wild Geese Protection is involved in a joint Japanese, Russian, and American project which is using white-fronted geese to parent snow geese. A family of eight Snow Geese and one wild goose was recently spotted by television cameras. And satellite imagery has revealed for the first time the Snow Goose's migratory pattern in Asia.
The Mystery of Pearls
DC219515
真珠の神秘 [NHK]
|Length : 20min. |Year : 1995 |
What is the only gem that does not require cutting, grinding or polishing? The pearl, of course, and of the some 100,000 kinds of shellfish, only six can be used to produce these lustrous natural jewels. One of the best known pearl oysters is the Akoya variety which produces smaller pearls of superb shape, color, and luster. This program explains how pearls are produced, why Japanese pearls have that distinctive luster, and why cultivated pearls are superior to natural ones.
The Mountains Are Dying
DC229506
山の声届かず [IBC]
|Length : 28min. |Year : 1995 |
Deforestation is destroying the beauty of Iwate Prefecture, which is home to some of northern Japan's most breathtaking scenery. In fact, mountain logging is having a disastrous effect on the whole ecosystem: bare of trees, the mountains are unable to hold water, leading to flooding and drought and massive soil erosion. As is so often the case in Japan, the culprit is the bureaucracy - the Forestry Agency, which mandates continued logging despite low demand for timber.
The Always Cheerful Christine
DC239514
クリスティンは今日も元気印!山形・真室川町 [NHK]
|Length : 29min. |Year : 1995 |
Are international marriages difficult? Katsuyoshi Sato would most likely answer no. Katsuyoshi met Christine when she came to Yamagata Prefecture from the Philippines as an apprentice seamstress. Married for five years now, they live in a large household of seven, including their two children, and are very happy. With the support of her family and other Filipino wives married to Japanese, Christine has largely overcome the problems of an "international marriage" and living in Japan.