Word: akan
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...presence of so exalted a person as the Crown Prince Akihito. 24, the young girl who guided his tour of Lake Akan on the northern island of Hokkaido last week had observed the strictest decorum. But suddenly, for no apparent reason at all, she burst into an island song. "The black lily," she crooned, "is the flower of love. Shall I give this flower to you?" Then she presented the surprised prince with a real black lily "to symbolize our hope that he will soon marry a beautiful girl as his princess." The girl who spoke out of turn...
...tide began to turn when Emperor Hirohito visited Lake Akan. He watched marimos gamboling, but when a local official fished one out to give to him, the Emperor drew back in horror. "They are national treasures," he said reprovingly...
...proclamation backfired. It advertised the marimos, and a second fad swept through Japan. Stealthy marimo-kapparai (marimo snatchers) haunted Lake Akan, diving into the water at night to kidnap the helpless creatures. Marimo smugglers brought them to Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, and Japanese tourists bought them furtively, paying up to $50. Biologists and nature lovers wrung their hands in anguish, but nothing effective was done. The little pets from Lake Akan were snatched almost to extinction...
...Japanese public responded. Prime Minister Ichiro Hatoyama set the example by returning his treasured marimo. Transportation Minister Takeo Miki visited Lake Akan in person and gave two marimos their freedom. A hotel owner in Tokyo apprehended a marimo snatcher with 150 captives. Out of hidden aquariums came hundreds more...
Marimos flocking back to their home in Lake Akan are cared for and carried without cost by Japan Air Lines, the Japanese National Railways and the Mitsui Steamship Co. One problem still remains. Some marimo lovers fear that newly freed marimos will contaminate Lake Akan with ills picked up in captivity. They urge that all returning captives get medical examinations. If sick, they should be restored to health before being liberated...