まゆの部屋

Everyone's a star

and deserves the right to twinkle.

-Marilyn Monroe

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Nagoya's golden statues readied for Expo opening



Yomiuri Shimbun

Selected Nagoya residents Sunday polished a pair of golden shachihoko statues that were taken down last week from the top of Nagoya Castle for display at the opening ceremony of the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi Prefecture. The statues also will be the main feature of an exhibition inside the castle

About 150 members of a shachihoko-polishing team chosen by lottery were divided into five groups, spending about 10 minutes each polishing the symbols of the castle.

The statues, weighing about 1.2 tons each, were taken down for the first time in 21 years Thursday from their 50-meter-high perch using a crane truck.

The shachihoko, a dolphin-like imaginary fish with a sharp dorsal fin and a head resembling a tiger, will be on display for "The New Century--Nagoya Castle Exhibition" to be held between March 19 and June 19 in Nagoya Castle, as well as a one-day special exhibition on March 24 for the exposition's opening ceremony.