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Showing posts from January, 2012

Toshiya - Pretty Japanese Girls in Kimono doing Kyudo (Japanese Archery) in Kyoto

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At Sanjusangendo Temple in Kyoto, row upon row of gorgeously clad Japanese girls in kimono come to shoot arrows at the Toshiya Archery Event. Many of them are celebrating their coming of age and they wear a special kimono to mark this known as a furisode which is a long-sleeved kimono. Archers both male and female, master and student shoot two arrows each at a group of four round targets. Toshiya is an event that goes back some four hundred years though today it is significantly different. In the past, Toshiya was predominately for men to show off their prowess and skill with a bow. Today, archers shoot at targets 60 meters distant but in the past archers would shoot the entire length of the long Sanjusangendo Temple which measures about 120 meters.  There were a variety of competitions. Archers would try to score as many target hits as they could out of 100 or 1000 shots. The true test of strength was the 24-hour competition where an archer would try to shoot continuously the

Sumo - Love in the Ring (lol!)

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Hey, now! Not in front of the Ref! Thought I'd post this pic separately for a laugh. Two sumo wrestlers find love in the ring but really they should have waited till after the match to show their newfound appreciation for each other.

Some Photos from Day 13 of the January 2012 Sumo Tournament

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DAY 13 of January 2012 Sumo Tournament I caught the last hour or so of the January 2012 sumo basho or tournament. Almost didn't go as the weather was nasty with first rain then wet snow that didn't stick. I was glad I did though. Saw some intense matches especially the last one. Really enjoyed it! Here are some photos of the matches I saw on Day 13 mostly with winning shots. ARAN vs KAISEI Brazilian Kaisei beat Russian Aran with a yorikiri -   frontal force out while holding onto an opponent's mawashi - loincloth TENKAIHO vs KYOKUTENHO Tenkaiho wins with a yorikiri YOSHIKAZE vs TAKANOYAMA Czech Takanoyama wins with a hikiotoshi - hand pull down MYOGIRYU vs YOSHIAZUMI Myogiryu wins with a oshidashi - frontal push out without griping the opponent's mawashi and maintaining hand contact HOMASHO vs TOSAYUTAKA Match goes to Homasho with a yorikiri KITATAIKI vs TOYOHIBIKI Toyohibiki wins with a yorikiri TAKEKAZE vs OKINOUMI Okinoumi