Random Japan #15 :: Render unto Caesar
Always look down when you are in Japan.
Most cities in Japan have at least one or two manhole cover designs that they use for most of the city manholes. I'm not sure why this started, but it is a thing now, with city manholes sporting interesting pictures showing some scene that reflects something about the city: either a famous flower in the area, a landmark, a bit of local history, or other.
My friend @boxcarblue wrote about this not so long ago and another friend made an entire website dedicated to showing off all the manhole cover designs in all of Japan.
The manhole cover shown here is from Okazaki, the city I've lived for the past 15 years, near Nagoya. The event shown is the city sending the rice tax to the Shogun. In the Edo era tax was a certain number of koku, one koku being the average amount of rice a person needed in one year—roughly 280 liters (or roughly 8 bushels). The tax for Okazaki was 50,000 koku, making it a smaller domain. Despite being small, the area received special privilege because Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, was born here. You can see Okazaki castle in the background of the scene.
If you like this random photo from Japan, be sure to check out @kaliju's simply spectacular Random Korea series. The latest entry there is Random Korea #4 - Busy faces, Lotte places, and Starbucks flavors!
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One of the first things that really impressed me when I was in japan for the first time was those manhole covers!
Those designs, just wow!
Same here. They really jump out at you, don't they? Esp the one that are fully painted in more touristy areas. It's a small thing, all things considered, but it really impresses.
Brings back memories from the past, good memories!
Did you live here or just visited?
Lived in Osaka for 5 years.
That's great. I have been there a few times. It's a bit too big for me, but I can see the appeal.
that's cool. we have some very old manhole covers here that are ornate and pretty, the new ones not so much.
That doesn't sound too surprising. In most places it seems like newer things are of less quality than older things.
the new ones are just not as ornate, decoration seemed to be a more important consideration in the past.
The japanese always pay great attention to details like that. It's so cool, @dbooster! Following for more
I wouldn't say always, but they do have a tendency to pick out things to care about that other people would never even consider.