January, 2025

This is a whole book that has been carefully selected and compiled by the author who has included in the lion dance over 500 lion dances nationwide over about five years. Although it is a folk performing art that has been popular throughout Japan, it has its characteristics in the design and dance of lion dance and the role of festivals in each region. You can get a glimpse of local culture, such as Tohoku's sushi dance with something like a deer-like horn, Ishikawa's lion killing, which is exorcized as evil, and lion dance traveling around the country to play Ise Dai-Kagura.

When a comet appears, it is so rare that it becomes news, but in fact, do you know that if there are more than 10 comets a year, do you know that there are dozens of comets? Because most of them are invisible to the naked eye, astronomers look into the telescope every day and look for comets. The author also follows various comets and divides their excitement into readers. It is a book filled with a lot of romance of authors who pursue comets, such as lamenting a comet that collapsed on the way, and observing meteor showers coming together by predicting the comet cycle.

When carriages were a familiar means of transportation, horses were familiar animals. On the other hand, for the convenience and appearance of human beings, they were treated harshly, such as using a "stop rope" to cut the tail and prevent the head from lowering. Meanwhile, "Kuroma Monogatari" will be published. The story of the horse's situation from the perspective of a single black horse triggered humans to think about the horse's feelings, leading to the prohibition of "stop ropes" in U.K.

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