Old Tobidashi Bōya "Running (or Jumping?) Boy" Sign in my Kadoma-shi Neighborhood

One day, while out on a jalan-jalan ("walking for nothing") with my camera I happened upon this very old sign. It was located on a storage garage at a Showa-era house in Kamishima-cho in Kadoma-shi.

The sign looked familiar, but I did not know what it really was or what the character on the sign was called. So I did a little AI research...

I uploaded the photo to Google Images and its AI said it was a pictograph or geoglyph. I guess the AI was fixated on the white lines. When I added more information ("Kadoma-shi, Osaka, Japan"), the AI said it was probably something from the Nazca Lines in Peru, because Japanese scientists had done research there (luckily I was familiar with the Nazca Lines after seeing them on the Ancient Aliens show on the History channel...). I typed "no, try again," and the AI said it was an image of Anpanman ("no"), Doraemon ("no"), and then Hoshio-kun (the Baby Star Ramen mascot). I then decided to give up with the AI and try to use my own memory.

I knew I had seen the sign and character before and then I finally found it on another jalan-jalan.

The sign, in flag form, was at an old tako-yaki shop near my home. I asked the master (after I ordered some tako-yaki, a benefit of ethnographic research) if I could take a picture of it. He said yes, of course, and added that the flag had been at the shop for a long time, since the time his father ran it.

I now had a new image to search, and when I did, I found out it was the Tobidashi Bōya (飛び出し坊や, or "Running Boy" or "Jumping Boy"). This character was made by Yasuhei Hisada for the city council of Yokaichi, Shiga Prefecture in 1973 as a warning sign that was adopted by local PTAs and neighborhood associations who placed them around schools and other areas to remind drivers to drive slowly and watch out for children in the street. Tobidashi Bōya spread to other communities who made their own versions.

So the sign I photographed is the Kadoma-shi version (I have seen it in Neyagawa-shi as well). The Kadoma-shi version has made it to also indicate a safety spot (business or home) for children to get help or call 110 to get emergency assistance from the police. I recently noticed that the small hospital behind my house puts the flag up whenever they are open.

Takeaways from this experience? 1) The sign, while severly weathered, is not as old as I thought it was... 2) My memory, also extremely weathered, along with fieldwork, seem to be superior to AI.

For more information, see "50 Years with the "Tobidashi Boy" Sign | Higashiomi, the Birthplace of the Tobidashi Boy Sign": https://tobidashibouya.com/

See also "An Exhibition of Tobidashi Boy": https://www.lmaga.jp/news/2016/08/14038/

"AI, drones and 4K cameras: New tech boosts security systems in Japan"

Photo and story from The Japan Times, 12/20/2020.

An increasing variety of technologies such as artificial intelligence, drones and high-quality 4K video cameras is being introduced in the field of security amid a serious shortage of personnel in the field.

A virtual “AI guard” developed by major Japanese security firm Secom Co. was tested at Ogikubo Hospital in Tokyo in late October. An animated character displayed on an electric panel at the hospital entrance takes visitors’ temperatures and then welcomes those without fevers into the facility.

The character has been programmed to respond verbally to basic inquiries and can tell visitors where the bathrooms are located and what time their buses will arrive. It is also able to make eye contact with visitors and lean down when approached by children or people in wheelchairs.

A human guard is on standby at a separate location to monitor footage sent by the system’s camera and rush to the scene to respond to any trouble.

The hospital stations two to three employees at the facility’s entrance to conduct mandatory temperature checks and ensure visitors are wearing masks to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

After observing the system in action, the hospital’s administrative director, Hayato Kawamura, said, “We may be able to move at least one employee to take care of other work.”

Another major security firm, Sohgo Security Services Co., known as Alsok, has been considering adopting an AI system to identify potential shoplifters by analyzing suspicious behavior in security camera footage.

The system can also be used to notify security guards of potential health emergencies by alerting them if someone falls over. Guards can then rush to the scene with an automated external defibrillator (AED).

The security firm has also been setting up high-quality 4K cameras at places including Tokyo Skytree to test their ability to monitor the surrounding environment.

It is hoped the high-tech cameras with AI image recognition technology will be able to detect smoke rising from fires in distant areas as well as reckless drivers on the roads.

Meanwhile, a prison in Yamaguchi Prefecture has been utilizing drones equipped with cameras from Secom to patrol the premises, using GPS to fly designated routes.

Alsok is also testing drones that utilize AI cameras to avoid obstacles when flying in indoor areas that aren’t friendly to the use of GPS.

“4K, AI and 5G will become the three sacred treasures of security from now on,” said an official of Alsok, referring to the three ancient treasures of the Japanese imperial regalia. The official said 4K would serve as the eyes, AI as the brains, and 5G as the nerves.

Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/12/20/national/ai-drones-cameras-security-systems-japan/

Another bad idea...