Leap Day Snow in Tokyo

Leap Day let its presence be known in Tokyo with a sudden snow shower that blanketed the city. I went around and took some photos and videos of certain spots. In the past several years, snowfalls in Tokyo have become somewhat rarer than in the past.

Ota Dokan (1432-1486)

Ota Dokan was a samurai leader of the 15th Century who built the first castle in Tokyo then known as Edo. He died at the hands of his master who had been deliberately misled that Ota was disloyal. His death occurred during the early part of the Sengoku Period (1476-1573) when treachery and murder was commonplace.

Buddha of Tenno-ji Temple of the Yanaka Area

 Golden Kannon Statue of Zenshoan Temple

Kusunoki Masashige (1294-1336)

Kusunoki Masashige was a samurai lord during the transitionary period from the fall of the Kamakura Shogunate to the rise of the Ashikaga Shogunate. He is remembered for his loyalty to the Emperor Godaigo. Against his better judgement, Kusunoki followed the Emperor's orders to march against their former ally Ashikaga Takauji at Minatogawa. There he died in battle and later Godaigo was forced to go into exile.

Yanaka Cemetery

Nijubashi - Imperial Palace

The Tomb of Tokugawa Yoshinobu

In Yanaka Cemetery is the grave of the last Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Tokugawa Yoshinobu (1837-1913). Yoshinobu surrendered his power as Shogun to Emperor Meiji in 1867 thus ending over 600 years of military rule in Japan.

Sake Shop Museum

Yamanote Train pushes through the snow

Benzaiten Shrine - Ueno Park

Kan'ei-ji Temple - Ueno Park

Tomb of Shogi-Tai - Shogun soldiers who died here in 1868

Saigo Takamori (1832-1877)

Saigo Takamori was arguably the last true samurai who rebelled against the Meiji Government in 1877 and died before the samurai class as a whole was abolished. Due to his popularity, he was posthumously pardoned in 1889 and his statue in Ueno was built in 1898.

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

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 entire time. In 1686 one samurai shot 13,053 arrows from 6pm to 6pm the next day and hit the target 8,133 times (62.3% accuracy). This averages out to about 6.6 seconds for every arrow. This record has never been beaten.


It is ironic that in the time of the samurai, the Toshiya event was often criticized as not being in the true spirit of archery. Too many archers were concerned with how many arrows they could get to fly the entire length of the temple or how many target hits they could get. The event as it is today is more in keeping with the old traditions of Kyudo in that form is more important that simple prowess.


Today, it's the petite kimono-clad young women not the brawny samurai of yore that are the center of attention. Numerous photographers crowd the sides clicking away madly as the young women try to ignore all the distractions around and focus on their shooting.