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A Day At the Races - Samurai Style
In the northeast region of Japan, in the prefecture of Fukushima, the Soma Nomaoi, an age-old tradition handed down from samurai times, is celebrated to this day with a fanfare of medieval parades, horse racing, and horse chasing.
Nomaoi means “wild horse chasing” and dates back over a thousand years. Warriors in full battle dress would chase wild horses in the areas of Shinto shrines dedicating the best horse to the gods.
The Soma Nomaoi was started by the Soma clan, a small but valiant clan surrounded by powerful enemies. They used the Nomaoi festival as a military exercise in order to keep their fighting skills sharp.
Perhaps another reason they survived the Sengoku (Warring States) Period was their horses. Soma had a reputation for excellent horses in the Tohoku area (northern Japan). Good horses were always in demand by warring clans and it would not have been wise to wipe out the best horse trainers in the area. In 1622, when the country was at peace, Soma’s wild horses began to be painted onto teacups and pottery.
The Soma Nomaoi festivals spans three days: July 23-25. The first two days are held in the small town of Haramachi, two hours by train from Fukushima City. The first day is more like a preview of the second with a short parade and a few horse races.
In the northeast region of Japan, in the prefecture of Fukushima, the Soma Nomaoi, an age-old tradition handed down from samurai times... more -
Taiko Drum Festival brings Cheer to Old Island of Exile
In olden days, going to Sado Island generally meant one of two things: exile or gold. Sado Island, the 6th largest island of Japan, was for a long time not the pleasure excursion that is today. During the Heian Period (794-1192), Sado was often the dumping ground of political exiles from the Kyoto capital. The trend continued for nearly a thousand years up until 1700 with a scattering of dissent poets, irate Buddhists monks, and even an unfortunate emperor.
In 1601 gold was discovered and a new breed of exiles was flung upon the island: convicts and homeless. The gold came under the ownership of the Tokugawa Shogunate Government. No gold-digging prospectors or women of low virtues were allowed to clutter up the island. It was strictly controlled for the sake of the Shogunate’s coffers. Hard work and deadly misery not sudden fortune was the fate of these hard-pressed workers.
In more recent times, Sado became infamous for North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens. Lying off the coast of Niigata in Northwestern Japan, it was in convenient reach of North Korea.
Given the island’s rather grim history, it would seem a strange place to hold a music festival celebrating taiko drumming and the earth itself. Yet this is exactly what happens every summer in the normally sleepy town of Ogi in the South-Eastern section of Sado. In olden days, going to Sado Island generally meant one of two things: exile or gold. Sado Island, the 6th largest island of Japan, wa... more -
Scenes from the Aoba Festival of Sendai, Japan
This is old, old footage taken before I had a video camera. I shot these scenes with a digital photocamera so they're very low-res.
Anyway, these are some scenes from the first day of the Aoba Festival in Sendai which is several hundred miles north of Tokyo in the Tohoku region.
The festival celebrates the founder of the city - Date Masamune who was a warlord from the 16th-17th Century.
This is old, old footage taken before I had a video camera. I shot these scenes with a digital photocamera so they're very low-res. ... more -
A Look at the Emperor of Japan - the institution, the history, the birthday
Japan's Imperial System stretches back of two thousand years. According to Japanese mythology, the emperor is descended from Jimmu, a semi-divine being whose grandmother was Amaterasu-Omikami, the Sun Goddess. Jimmu reigned in 600 B.C. However, there is little evidence to support this. Most scholars believe the Imperial system developed from the Yamato culture in central Japan around the 3rd century A.D. with Chinese influences.
The emperor was seen as the divine manifested in the flesh; a representative of the gods on earth. To oppose the emperor was to oppose Japan itself. This made it quite risky for any usurpers not of Imperial blood to try and take the throne.
The history of the Imperial Line is a rocky one filled with political intrigue, murder, war, and betrayal. Emperors had been manipulated by politically-saavy ministers and later by powerful warlords. Emperors had been imprisoned, driven off, exiled, forced to abdicate and used to further the careers and schemes of others.
Today's Imperial Palace is off-limits except on the Emperor's birthday and January 2nd when the Emperor gives a New Year's Address. Japan's Imperial System stretches back of two thousand years. According to Japanese mythology, the emperor is descended from Jimmu, a ... more -
Zen Priest Playing the Shakuhachi
Get your Zen here with a Zen Buddhist Priest known as a Komuso playing the Shakuhachi while the world drifts by in a hurried haze. The music is actually superimposed as the original music was difficult to pick out of the noise of the city.
Komuso were Zen Buddhist Priests who used to travel about playing the Shakuhachi (Japanese Flute) for meditation and alms. Komuso means "Priest of Nothingness."
I encountered this Komuso while I was in Nagoya. Komuso ceased to exist from the late 19th Century onwards.
The titles are bits of Zen sayings from samurai and Zen Masters. The subtitles tell the tale of the Komuso and their ultimate fate.
Get your Zen here with a Zen Buddhist Priest known as a Komuso playing the Shakuhachi while the world drifts by in a hurried haze. The... more -
Chance Encounter with a Komuso Zen Priest - A Vision from Japan's Past
While in the city of Nagoya, I happened upon a fellow dressed up as Zen Buddhist priest/monk from olden days playing the Shakuhachi - Japanese bamboo flute. I did some digging into the past of this strange apparition to discover where these Komuso, as they were known, had come from and what had happened to them. While in the city of Nagoya, I happened upon a fellow dressed up as Zen Buddhist priest/monk from olden days playing the Shakuhachi - ... more
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Sexy Japanese Belly Dancers
I encountered a Japanese belly dancing duo during a taiko drum festival on Sado Island in northwestern Japan. They call themselves by the Hindu name “jud Wa” which means “twins” due to the similarity of their appearance. Their stage names are K and Aco. jud Wa is currently based in Tokyo and perform there regularly. I encountered a Japanese belly dancing duo during a taiko drum festival on Sado Island in northwestern Japan. They call themselves by ... more
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Often Overlooked Odawara Pt 2 - A Castle Town Remembers It's Past
Odawara, the once great city of the Kanto region, declined over the centuries. Yet on May 3rd every year, like ghosts summoned from across the void, armor-clad samurai, spear-toting footmen, mounted warriors, and elegant noble ladies appear to reclaim their lost glory. The Hojo Godai festival allows the citizens of Odawara to relive their city’s great past through an impressive historical procession.
Without the rise of the Odawara Hojo clan and their subsequent fall, there would be no Tokyo as it is today.
Odawara, the once great city of the Kanto region, declined over the centuries. Yet on May 3rd every year, like ghosts summoned from ac... more -
Often Overlooked Odawara Part 1 - Japanese Castle Town
Odawara is a little over an hour southwest of Tokyo. It's relatively a small town that many speed by on the train. Centuries ago, however, Odawara was an important city and capital of the powerful Hojo clan. Odawara has a rich history whose destiny eventually led to the founding of modern-day Tokyo. Odawara is a little over an hour southwest of Tokyo. It's relatively a small town that many speed by on the train. Centuries ago, howe... more
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Sakura - Japanese Cherry Blossom Montage
Sakura - Japanese Cherry Blossoms have been a part of Japanese culture for over a thousand years. They're the subject of countless poems from waka to haiku.
This is a photo video montage of shots I've taken over the years in different locations of sakura in Japan. You'll see scenes from Tokyo, Kyoto, Kamakura, Himeji and few places you may not be aware of such as Ofuna and it's giant Kannon statue. I put in a few Japanese poems to go along with the photos.
The geisha are from the Miyako Odori which is an annual geisha pulbic dance performance in Gion.
Sakura - Japanese Cherry Blossoms have been a part of Japanese culture for over a thousand years. They're the subject of countless poe... more -
Why I Like Japan.
Here I explain why it is I like Japan and my first year in Japan and why my Japanese sucks.
Basically three main reasons I like Japan:
*History
*Festivals
*Culture
Plus I also like the food, hot sake, and cold Sapporo beer.
When I first came to Japaan, I didn't have the economic security to spend much time getting around or getting into the culture. I slowly came to acquire a love of Japan rather than coming over here head-over-heels with Japan to begin with.
Here I explain why it is I like Japan and my first year in Japan and why my Japanese sucks. ... more -
U.S. Marine accused of raping teen in Okinawa
From Wikipedia
From 1952 to 2004 there have been 200,000 accidents and crimes committed by the U.S. soldiers, which killed 1,076 Japanese civilians. According to the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement U.S. personnel have partial extraterritorial right, so in most cases suspects were not arrested. In 1995 the abduction and rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan schoolgirl by three U.S. marines led to demands for the removal of all U.S. military bases in Japan. Other controversial incidents include helicopter crashes, the Girard Incident and the Michael Brown Okinawa assault incident.
In February 2008, a 38-year-old U.S. Marine based on Okinawa was arrested in connection with the reported rape of a 14-year-old Japanese girl From Wikipedia ... more -
Futenma
This pod is about issues surrounding the numerous U.S. military bases located in the tiny island of Okinawa, Japan.
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Hiroshima bomb pilot dies aged 92
Paul Tibbets, the man who led the crew that dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, died in Columbus, Ohio today. He was 92.
The five-ton "Little Boy" bomb was dropped on the morning of 6 August 1945, killing about 140,000 Japanese, with many of them dying later.
On the 60th anniversary of the bombing, the three surviving crew members of the Enola Gay - named after Tibbet's mother - said they had "no regrets." Paul Tibbets, the man who led the crew that dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, died in Columbus, Ohio today. He was ... more -
Japanese Biwa Player
I was fortunate to catch this performance at an hot springs area north of Tokyo. This pod about a woman playing an old song of battle on a tradtional Japanese instrument known as a biwa. The camera work is quite shaky because I didn't have a tripod. The background noise is a bit loud at the beginning but her voice eerily drowns out the noise. She later helped me find a hotel to stay at when I missed the last bus. If anyone has seen or read Kwaiden there is a reference to it in this pod. I was fortunate to catch this performance at an hot springs area north of Tokyo. This pod about a woman playing an old song of battle ... more
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Japanese History
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Japanese History
