name change – SoraNews24 —Japan News— https://soranews24.com Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today. Tue, 29 Dec 2020 17:31:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/05/en_rocket_1024.png?w=32 name change – SoraNews24 —Japan News— https://soranews24.com 32 32 176746664 Shibushi-shi Shibushi-cho Shibushi no Shibushi Shiyakusho Shibushi Shisho to change name https://soranews24.com/2020/12/30/shibushi-shi-shibushi-cho-shibushi-no-shibushi-shiyakusho-shibushi-shisho-to-change-name/ https://soranews24.com/2020/12/30/shibushi-shi-shibushi-cho-shibushi-no-shibushi-shiyakusho-shibushi-shisho-to-change-name/#comments Tue, 29 Dec 2020 17:30:54 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=527243 
And I JUST learned how to say it!
Bummed voices echoed across the Internet after news broke that a branch of the Shibushi City Hall will be converted to a main office as of 1 January, 2021. Normally, such news would go unnoticed, but this particular municipal support center in Kagoshima Prefecture attracted national fame for its difficult to read name.
▼ Shibushi’s other claim to fame is being the hometown of Japan’s most adorable sumo wrestler, Chiyomaru
Breaking it all down: the office is located in the Shibushi district of Shibushi Town. However, in 2006 Shibushi town amalgamated Ariake and Matsuyama towns to become Shibushi City. As a result, the Shibushi district was renamed “Shibushi Town Shibushi” district. So the official name of the office as of this writing is as follows:
Things get even more fun when you translate everything back to Japanese, where words such as “city” become “shi” and “branch office” is “shisho.”
And then, when you convert it to Japanese script, which often doesn’t use spaces in between words? Have some Advil ready before reading this:
However, when it reopens on 4 January, it will become:
While it still retains a lot of its confusion, a big part of the original’s charm was trying to stick that “shisho” landing. Replacing it with “honcho” is just drearily anticlimactic. Readers of the news too were saddened by the modification, though many tried to keep their chins up.
“A surly and surely shitty story from Shibushi City.”
“Are Shibushishishibushichoshibushinoshibushishiyakushoshibushishisho and Shibushishishibushichoshibushinoshibushishiyakushohoncho really all that different?”
“The whole Gestalt of it is ruined now.”
“I love Shibushi City! They have great steak and eel from furusato tax.”
“Every time I see that name I think it’s a puzzle.”
“The new name still hurts my head.”
It’s unfortunate, but improving government efficiency is usually a good thing, so it was probably a wise decision. I think Bob Dylan was talking about exactly this situation in the lyrics to The Times They Are A Changin’, which I dare not repeat for fear of lawsuit. He never actually mentions Shibushi-shi Shibushi-cho Shibushi no Shibushi Shiyakusho Shibushi Shiso by name, but you could tell it was on his mind because he usually had a puzzled look on his face.
Source: Twitter/@S_N1125 via Hachima Kiko
Top image: Wikipedia/Gahukuro
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2020/12/30/shibushi-shi-shibushi-cho-shibushi-no-shibushi-shiyakusho-shibushi-shisho-to-change-name/feed/ 0 527243 RocketNews24 is now SoraNews24! https://soranews24.com/2017/04/19/rocketnews24-is-now-soranews24/ https://soranews24.com/2017/04/19/rocketnews24-is-now-soranews24/#comments Wed, 19 Apr 2017 11:30:38 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=373062 
Brand-new name, same great news from Japan and Asia!
Ten years ago, RocketNews24 published its first Japanese-language article, and two years later we welcomed a new addition to the family. When our English website launched in 2009, it existed exclusively to translate articles from our Japanese sister site, but over time we’ve expanded the amount of English-language content we produce while maintaining a focus on fun, weird, and intriguing news from Asia, particularly Japan (where our English-language site is based).
Because of that, we’ve decided to give the English-language RocketNews24 a very special eighth-birthday gift: the new name of SoraNews24.
Sora is the Japanese word for “sky,” representing our commitment to bringing coverage of modern and traditional culture from Japan and Asia to people around the world, no matter which part of the sky we share that you happen to be living under.
As we put the final touches on our new site, you might see remnants of our old name, RocketNews24, here and there, but we’re gradually sweeping the corners and dusting off the cobwebs to bring SoraNews24 to you as smoothly as possible.
A great writer (we think it might have been Mr. Sato) once said that “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” so while we may have a new name, rest assured that our content will remain as pleasingly fragrant as ever. Thank you all for reading RocketNews24, and welcome to SoraNews24!
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