Kyudo demonstration at the Meiji Shrine

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.

The festival starts at 9:00 in the morning, but the first big event is the kyuudo (Japanese archery) demonstration, which starts at 11:00.

This old man seemed really shaky – except when he had a bow in his hands.

Everyone was given a small cup of sacred sake after the ceremony.

The hats are kind of funny, but the kimono are just gorgeous.

There are more photos of this festival at:

http://qjphotos.wordpress.com/2008/09/03/nawajutsu/

http://qjphotos.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/samurai-reenactors-2/

Samurai Reenactors

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.

Nawajutsu

The entire crowd flinched when this guy got flipped over his opponent’s back with a rope around his neck, but, incredibly, instead of ending up as a quadriplegic, the guy just rolled out of it. This amazing demonstration of nawajutsu took place at the culture day festival (Nov. 3) at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo.