Sumo Mawashi Hanging Out to Dry

While I was riding around looking for the Oni slide, I came across this sumo stable out in the middle of nowhere. The white fabric on the fence is the wrestlers’ mawashi hung out to dry. It’s called the Sakaigawa-beya. Here’s their homepage and a photo of the wrestlers.

Odd Scenes From the Tokyo Marathon (Part 2)

I quite enjoyed the costumes in the Tokyo Marathon, but I couldn’t help wondering if there isn’t something a little passive-aggressive about them. On the one hand, people wearing costumes are saying, “Hey, look. I’m just out here having fun in my costume. I don’t take this seriously.” But on the other hand, if I was out running my heart out in a marathon I trained six months for and some guy dressed up as Doraemon ran past me, I don’t imagine I’d feel too good about it.

Kobudo (Traditional Martial Arts) at the Meiji Shrine Culture Day Festival

Every year on November third, thousands of martial artists gather on the grounds of the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo to give demonstrations of their techniques. There’s karate, aikido, kyudo, and jujutsu, but also some very unusual arts such as yabusame (horseback archery), and nawa-jutsu (rope fighting). The day culminates with a demonstration of samurai firearms called hinawaju.

If you like photography, you’re sure to get some great shots of martial artists in action.

Here are some other photos of the festival:
http://qjphotos.wordpress.com/2008/12/03/kobudo-at-meiji-shrine-culture-day-festival/
http://qjphotos.wordpress.com/2008/09/13/horseback-archery/
http://qjphotos.wordpress.com/2008/09/03/nawajutsu/
http://qjphotos.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/kyudo-demonstration-at-the-meiji-shrine/
http://qjphotos.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/samurai-reenactors-2/
http://qjphotos.wordpress.com/2008/12/24/kyudo-demonstration-at-the-meiji-shrine-2/

Kyudo Demonstration at the Meiji Shrine (2)

The Culture Day (Nov. 3) Festival at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo is something I look forward to every year. I’ve been four times, and still get excited about going because it’s so great for photography. I tried out the Jidai Matsuri in Asakusa last year, but a lot of the costumes were kind of cheesy, and it was so crowded it was hard to take photos.

Here are some other photos of the festival:
http://qjphotos.wordpress.com/2008/12/03/kobudo-at-meiji-shrine-culture-day-festival/
http://qjphotos.wordpress.com/2008/09/13/horseback-archery/
http://qjphotos.wordpress.com/2008/09/03/nawajutsu/
http://qjphotos.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/kyudo-demonstration-at-the-meiji-shrine/
http://qjphotos.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/samurai-reenactors-2/

Kobudo at Meiji Shrine Culture Day Festival

Every year on November third, thousands of martial artists gather on the grounds of the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo to give demonstrations of their techniques. There’s karate, aikido, kyudo, and jujutsu, but also some very unusual arts such as yabusame (horseback archery), and nawa-jutsu (rope fighting). The day culminates with a demonstration of samurai firearms called hinawaju.
If you like photography, you’re sure to get some great shots of martial artists in action.

By the way, the guy getting flipped over his opponent’s back with a steel chain around his neck just rolled out of it, completely unhurt.

Here are some other photos of the festival:
http://qjphotos.wordpress.com/2008/09/13/horseback-archery/
http://qjphotos.wordpress.com/2008/09/03/nawajutsu/
http://qjphotos.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/kyudo-demonstration-at-the-meiji-shrine/
http://qjphotos.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/samurai-reenactors-2/