Gentle Journeys - NHK World - Memories that dance on the win

[Dave McCormick]

I watch the NHK World (Japanese channel) on sky often and one program I often watch is "Gentle Journeys" about peoples lives or events in Japan in different places. Last one I saw was "Memories that dance on the wing".

This was was about Nagasaka Town, Yamanashi in Japan. Here there is the butterfly, the Great Purple Emperor (Sasakia charonda) which they said used to be found all over Japan but is now known as "The phantom butterfly" because it became rare, no doubt to do with human activity. It is the national butterfly of Japan. The area has rice paddies which are surrounded by woodland at the foot of the mountains, and in the woodland, there is an inn called the butterfly inn, which was there so people could stay and watch the great purple emperor butterflies in July. The owners of the inn stopped running it and now live there surrounded by the nature of the forest and look forward to the butterflies arrival each year. The man who owns the inn, makes wood carvings and paints them to look like the butterfly.

The person they were talking to said that the adults can come down and land in your hand (which they showed) and said the adults lay eggs on the same tree as they fed on as a caterpillar. Foodplant is Nettle Tree and some people look after the woodland and the trees to save the butterfly and hope it remains there. When they were there, people were clearing some undergrowth from a small area of the forest as the butterflies like light in the woodland and they planted young sawtooth oak (Quercus acutissima) trees as they said the sap from the trees was the butterflies favourite nectar source and the ones they planted this year (was recorded in July of this year) they said would make a forest area in 10 years.

Children from a school come and visit the woodland and for 20 years the school has been taking caterpillars of the great purple emperor and the children have been rearing them to adults in this big area with growing nettle trees to ensure their survival, then taking the adults and releasing them into the woodland. They said the adults lay up to 500 eggs but only a few make it to adult. Showed one emerging from its chrysalis and showed the caterpillar.

Was great to see it, especially the footage of the butterfly and how enthusiastic people seemed about it. Just wish more people were like this when it came to butterflies then many species would be far better of. Don't know if anyone saw it? Don't think you can watch it on-line unfortunately and not sure if it will be on tv again.

[David M]

That would have been lovely to watch....and what a stunning insect:



http://www.olympus-global.com/en/event/ ... kami03.jpg

http://www.olympus-global.com/en/event/ ... /mizukami/

[Susie]

That sounds like a lovely programme. I will look to see if it is being repeated.

[Dave McCormick]

That sounds like a lovely programme. I will look to see if it is being repeated.

Not sure, it might be at some point but unsure, if something like this comes up again, I will post in advance, usually check what the programme is going to be about before watching it and on the NHK channel. Remember seeing one programme on NHK channel where a few people from Japan went to one of the islands of Scotland and were in a big group of other people who were on a walk along the large bog there and being told about the area (think it was world ECO Tours programme) and another where one person from Japan visited Cornwall and was walking around talking to locals and seeing how life was like there, was on the Somewhere Street programme where they go to different parts of the world and see show an area thats not in the typical tourist locations from the perspective of someone someone going around taking to locals and seeing local customs and how life is in that area.

David, that pic of the butterfly, there is a beetle sticking out of the tree bark haha and a hornet under the butterfly which I didn't see at first glance.

[David M]

David, that pic of the butterfly, there is a beetle sticking out of the tree bark haha and a hornet under the butterfly which I didn't see at first glance.

Yes, there's quite a menagerie in that photo. Those Japanese hornets are pretty nasty, aren't they?

[Susie]

Thanks, Dave. I did have a look online but couldn't see any more information other than the programme on next.