Consider one of several examples from Okinawa, three breakwaters situated in Naha Port. Introduction: Tetrapod are organisms that have four feet. Burokku 50 nenpy [A fifty-year chronology of wave blocks]. Kato visited New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to help assess damage. Homma and Horikawa also reminded their audience that Japans coasts are among the most battered in the world, suffering seasonal typhoons, earthquake-induced tsunami, and strong yearlong wind waves. [7] Fudo Tetra is one of fifteen major companies in Japan that manufacture some form of shha burokku (wave-dissipating block; or, shha negatame burokku , wave-dissipating foundation block), the trademark-neutral term for any block designed for armoring coastal structures against wave action. Within the year, a plush tetrapod was manufactured and marketed as a gray felt-covered cushion called Tetogurumi. It is no wonder that dams, highways, and coastal armoring appear more cutting-edge than most residential and commercial buildings in this local manifestation of what critics refer to as Japans Construction State.[9] Ironically, whereas Okinawa was behind the mainland in tetrapods per capita because of U.S. bases before reversion, it is now ahead of the mainland in tetrapods per capita, in part because of the compensation politics of U.S. bases after reversion. They are a long-lasting and durable option for water erosion control methods. They are effective in protecting cliffs from erosion They can only absorb the energy of oncoming waves. Washed ashore by the millions onto the beaches of the outlying Taketomi, Iriomote, and Hatoma islands, hoshizuna are collected as common souvenirs. Many ana-zuri enthusiasts appreciate the opportunity to fish for species that would otherwise require a boat to reach their natural habitats, but tetrapod critics claim that the fish drawn to tetrapods for shelter and to feed on the smaller marine life also drawn to tetrapods are often invasive, upsetting natural ecologies. However, the majority share of Japans industrial infrastructure in 1955 was still in agriculture, not manufacturing. With increasing capital and government-directed initiatives for port development, all that was needed was a company to exploit this opening. Tetrapods have been instrumental in the protection of the coast and many tourist attractions for a number of years. along with their cute fake seagull companions. These tiny star-shaped grains represent a bit of bottled paradise. With the aid of your textbook and creative minds, present the coastal protection measure on the blankA4-sized paper given to you in any creative way you can think of. These cats displayed familiarity with people too, nearing the one who had a camera but not the promise of food that likely propelled their approach. The well-prepared mainstream visitor to Okinawathe kind who pores over standard travel guides and promotional materialwill likely know about the famed hoshizuna (star sand), minuscule exoskeletons of a tiny marine organism. Note the connection between a safe and secure society (which in this context means physically safe and economically secure) and a preserved marine environment within a redefined ecosystem that naturalizes artificial structures. With a euphemistic resonance, it suggests the mutual benefits of development for human society and natural environment. Lateral line and electric organs function in water and occur only in the aquatic phase of the life cycle or in aquatic species. 1961. Instead, were building a good number of [underwater] artificial reefs that break the waves in order to preserve the view while still preventing things like erosion, Kato explains. Appearances, be damned: this country believes Tetrapods work in the fight against erosion. But how has human and animal life there evolved around this evolution in coastal protection? This latter phenomenon opens the way to the creation of artificial reefs, a whole other category of wave blocks and business that the NSNBK website features. [18] An outline map shows the breakwaters in relation to the port and area shoreline, accompanied by a cross-section drawing of construction type. Danel, Pierre, and Louis Greslou. Whether this combative stance (human versus nature) is sustainable in the future is debatable as studies of the long-term effects of these coastal interventions on beach erosion and shoreline ecologies suggest mixed benefits. [7] Japanese Registered Trademark 1184901. There are several forums on popular Japanese bulletin boards discussing minute details and sharing information, images, and observations about tetrapods, but the most extensive single-authored wave block web presence is the Engan Beitai Kenkyjo , also known (by its own translation) as the Coastal Defence Object Institute (CDOI), authored by Ganboken (an acronym of the sites name and also the authors Twitter handle). Originally created in France in the late 1940s, theyve found a real home in Japan thanks to their mother company, Fudo Tetra. American writer and Japanologist Alex Kerr (2000) pulls no punches in his critique of Japans Construction State. He singles out coastal concrete, especially in Okinawa, as the prime culprit for the ruination of Japans natural coastlines. There are, in fact, indications of a trend in Japanese coastal engineering to think more about shoreline aesthetics by submerging breakwaters further offshore and camouflaging seawalls with native vegetation (Baird 2016).[13]. Presenting raw photographs of concrete-hardened stretches of coastline as if they speak for themselves risks limiting them to the role of evidence in a critique of the environmental degradation of Okinawas natural shoreline. For example, coral reefs are some of the most effective barriers to coastal damage and erosion. In its brief historical outline of wave-dissipating blocks in Japan, the Nihon Shha Nagatame Burokku Kykai (Japan Wave-Dissipating Block Association; hereafter, the NSNBK) highlights the 1960s as the decade of their rapid spread in Japan, following the 1960 publication of government plans for coastal protection and the first of a series of seaport development plans in 1961 (Nihon Shha Nagatame Burokku Kykai 2017, 4). Coastal Protection Works and Related Problems in Japan. Coastal Engineering Proceedings 1 (7): 904930. [22] Fudo Tetra CSR Report, 2018, available at http://www.fudotetra.co.jp/csrreport.html. Figal, Gerald. Simply pour new or leftover concrete into the mould, wait for the concrete to cure and demould your brand-new tetrapod! [14] The combination of creatures and their forms of interaction also distinguish the particular ecological environments that tetrapods generate. eisenhower epic login; . Trapping sand to rebuild eroded shorelines or maintain current shoreline form. In hopes of encouraging more nuanced thinking about the relationships between natural and built environments, I consider the ways local wildlife and human culture have, for better or worse, reacted and adapted to the spread of this curious concrete form. As we will see, there are people who consider tetrapods beautifuleven cuteregardless of context. In coastal engineering, a tetrapod is a four-legged concrete structure used as armour unit on breakwaters. His publications include Civilization and Monsters: Spirits of Modernity in Meiji Japan (2000) and Beachheads: War, Peace, and Tourism in Postwar Okinawa (2012). Founded in 1967, six years after the incorporation of Japan Tetrapod, the NSNBK states its goals as follows: The Associations activities aim to conduct research surveys of construction technology related to civil engineering that uses wave-dissipating blocks, to work diligently on construction methods and technology, and to contribute to the preservation of national land and the improvement of the environment, thereby improving the everyday life of the national citizenry.[16]. Tokyo: Nihon Shha Nagatame Burokku Kykai. A disadvantage is that when they are used, it is hard to find a beach to go to where you can see the coast. Dozens of photos from longitudinal studies of the ecological effects of block installations serve to demonstrate empirically that sea life thrives with them as they foster an ecosystem with an outstanding natural symbiosis function and preserve the marine environment, thus contributing to a safe and secure society (Nihon Shha Nagatame Burokku Kykai 2007, 2). If you look closely at tourist guides to beaches in Okinawa, however, tetrapods are sometimes visible in the background, especially of public-access beaches, because most of those photos have been artificially enhanced. [3] Danel and his team aimed to improve on three main aspects of the walls: their hydraulic properties (stability of components, overall strength of structure, reduction of wave overtopping, wave reflection), construction properties (weights of materials, ease of fabrication, simplicity of installation), and cost. Under contemporary conditions of advanced consumer capitalism in a country chock full of technological knowhow, design sense, artistic creativity, ardent hobbyists, tinkerers, and aficionados of all things cute, the transformation of this coastal armor unit into art piece, plush toy, brand logo, and object of desire should not be, upon reflection, too surprising. Large-scale port development throughout the country did not take off until the early 1960s. Coastal . They werent going anywhere; the wall of tetrapods was their home. Before looking at what this particular odd artifact is doing in Okinawa, lets review its origins and global spread. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZJRFwJMFqE. This lease system cuts overall shipping costs and offers flexibility for production but also requires special equipment onsite and coordination with local transport and material suppliers. These structures accumulate sand transported by wave-driven longshore drift, depositing it on the updrift side of the structure, thus building up the beach on the updrift side at the expense of the loss of deposits on the downdrift side. By contrast, tetrapods have taken an alternative route: they have lost the buoyancy control function of their air bladders, and instead this organ been elaborated to form the lungs that we all use to get around on land. Its function is twofold: (1) to protect the finer material below it against severe wave action; (2) to dissipate the wave energy to reduce the wave run-up, overtopping and reflection. [26] Tetogurumi Official Web Store is at https://tetogurumi.thebase.in/. McCormack, Gaven. My Gold Coast is the tetrapod group on the southern tip of the Miura Peninsula.[25] His paper tetrapod pattern caught the eye of a designer who approached him for the rights to use it as a model for a nuigurumi (plush toy), which he freely granted. Naha: Okinawa-ken. As in the case of Kansai International Airport (for which Fudo Tetra provided the seawall armoring), the runway is being built on an artificial island created by landfill secured with a perimeter of seawalls reinforced by tetrapods.
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