Join the new world

Hello, I'm new MoCH Minister, Daisuke Hideyoshi. I was given the mandate to lead the Ministry of Culture and History for the period August-September 2012. Therefore, よろしくお願いします。

---

Plans for the Month

Obon Festival



August is the hottest month in Japan and the moon that held many festivals. One is the Obon Festival. What is Obon Festival? Here are brief explanation:

Obon (お盆?) or just Bon (盆?) is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist-Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors' graves, and when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars. It has been celebrated in Japan for more than 500 years and traditionally includes a dance, known as Bon-Odori.
The festival of Obon lasts for three days; however its starting date varies within different regions of Japan. When the lunar calendar was changed to the Gregorian calendar at the beginning of the Meiji era, the localities in Japan reacted differently and this resulted in three different times of Obon. "Shichigatsu Bon" (Bon in July) is based on the solar calendar and is celebrated around 15 July in eastern Japan (Kantō region such as Tokyo, Yokohama and the Tohoku region), coinciding with Chūgen. "Hachigatsu Bon" (Bon in August) is based on the lunar calendar, is celebrated around the 15th of August and is the most commonly celebrated time. "Kyu Bon" (Old Bon) is celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, and so differs each year. "Kyu Bon" is celebrated in areas like the northern part of the Kantō region, Chūgoku region, Shikoku, and the Ryukyu Islands. These three days are not listed as public holidays but it is customary that people are given leave.


From Wikipedia. Bon Festival

---

For the Obon festival to be held in eRepublik, I would make little difference. Obon festival theme for 2012 is: "Honoring People who have done much to eJapan"

MoCH will host a Auto/Biography writing contest to our predecessors who have contributed to build eJapan up until now. According to the plan, this event will be held in mid-August and MoCH will give a prize to the interesting article interesting and Based on history. The prize are (planned):

1st Place : ¥ 10,000
2nd Place : ¥ 5,000
3rd Place : ¥ 3,000

Every article that enter in the competition will get the prize of 1000 yen.

Link to the Discussion : Obon Festival on eJapan Forum

---

eJapan Historial Excavation Project



MoCH requires you to channel your ideas and energy to "dig" The Kyushu Library that have been crushed under the relentless war that so many artifacts of historical eJapan are missing. Here you can deliver ideas on how to collect artifacts (either in the form of the article and pictures), how much salary is admissible to the employees, and other matters.

This can be discussed here: [Discussion] eJapan Historial Excavation Project

---

Three days ago, we have just have a new president for the period Aug to Sept 2012. So, that means it's time we choose a new Empress. All nominations must be made on eJapan Forum, although I certainly recommend promotion of candidates through the newspaper system in-game. Visit MoCH on matters related to culture and history of eJapan. Here is a rule that applies this time.

RULES:
1 - Anyone with access to the MoCH forum has the right to nominate 1 (one) candidate for empress. All nominees should be female. If you wish to nominate a questionable candidate, please present a public case as to why you believe they are acceptable on the forums to the MoCH before making your nomination. MoCH staff reserve the right to determine what candidates qualify for the competition.

2 - All nominees must be from an Anime Series (OVA/OAV, movies, ONA, tv series), a Japanese Video Game, or a Japanese Manga. Please no Hentai/Porn. Again, even if a character does not fall into this category, MoCH staff still reserve the right to determine what candidates qualify for the competition.

3 - All nominations must at least include a name, image, and the name of the media (series, movie, manga, game, etc) the nominated character appeared in. Please do not post images containing nudity. Additional information regarding your character is welcome. Please bear in mind that any of the information given in your nomination may be placed in any future MoCH publication or posting.

4 - All nominations must be posted on this nomination thread in the national forums. Here

5 - No previous elected Empresses can be nominated for a 2nd term. However, Royal Ambassadors, or previous runner-ups for empress can be re-nominated for a chance to be Empress. They can continue to be renominated indefinitely, regardless of how many times they have been elected Royal Ambassador unless they are elected Empress even once. Following that election, they are permanently disqualified from running.

6 - Empress Day Nominations begin on the release of this article (http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/-moch-empress-day-august-2012-begins--2098029/1/20) and will end at the close of eDay 1,724.

7 - Empress Day Voting will begin immediately once the nomination period is over and will end at the close of eDay 1,726.

8 - Campaigns for specific nominations are allowed, but the MoCH will take no part in the campaigns. However, the MoCH will post content from each nomination in a uniform format in a future voting announcement article.

9 - The person who nominates the winning Empress will receive ¥3000 for this month. The runner up will receive ¥1500.

10 - The Minister of Culture and History reserves the right to change these rules at any time. The MoCH also reserves the right to disqualify nominations if rules are broken or if any questionable matters arise.

---

Places You Need to Be

Obon Festival on eJapan Forum
Empress Day August 2012 on eJapan Forum
[Discussion] eJapan Historial Excavation Project

---

Current Empress (July 2012): Collet Brunel



Current Royal Ambassador (July 2012): Eru Chitanda

---

Credits



Minister of Culture and History: Daisuke Hideyoshi
Head of Graphics (Should be credited for many of the graphics on this page): Zodiarque
Unofficial MoCH Consultant: ahava3233, DankChronic

---