Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Cool Japanese Thing #42: Manhole Covers


You can find a variety of artistically-designed manhole covers throughout Japan. "Japan's manhole covers often include a symbol specific to an area or town as part of the overall design. In Kyoto, a turtle (a symbol of wisdom and longevity) is the main motif, in addition local landmarks, festivals or flora and fauna can all be incorporated into these works of art under our feet." (1)

The above manhole cover is from my village. You can see some unique designs. In the middle of the cover is what I believe to be the symbol for our village offices, resembling the letter for the first symbol of the village's name, hi (pronounced 'he'). Below is a manhole cover from Koriyama, a large, nearby city. You can see some other unique manhole covers with a simple Google search.



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