The goal today will be, while considering the photographs and descriptions, to fill in the blank in the following sentence with the only possible correct answer. It’s a bit difficult, so the first and last letters are provided:

THIS HOUSE IS BEING BUILT IN THE LAND OF E                                         Es.

1. Steel.

2. Lots of steel.

3. Bolts. Secured deeply into the concrete.

4. Concrete. Volume of concrete: lots.

5. This concrete will secure a lovely view of the mountains . . . in a mountainous land . . . with active volcanoes here and there . . . with seismic plates shifting, from time to time, deep beneath the surface.

6. More bolts.

And the drumroll . . . da da da da da da DA!  Yes, yes, you’re right. You are in the land of EARTHQUAKES.

I’ll only add that before building a house in Japan, you have to have the solidity of the ground you’re building on measured. If it’s not solid—if it’s subject to shifting, that is—you’ll have to pay to have steel-reinforced concrete pylons inserted way down into the ground. Fortunately, I’m building on top of what was, and I guess still is, a mountain. The subterranean “stuff” is solid.

So. Steel. Concrete. Bolts. I think we’re good to go here. We can go ahead and put up our foundation flag.