Venerable Swordsman In His 80s
80 year swordsman at a samurai festival in Saitama
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Martial Arts at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on Culture Day
Culture Day (Bunka no Hi) is a National holiday in Japan on November 3rd. Culture Day as the name implies is a celebration of culture. It's actually three commemorations at once. Besides culture, November 3rd marks the date when the post-war constitution was publicly announced in 1948. The real roots of the holiday though is the birthday of Emperor Meiji (1852-1912). Meiji oversaw the modernization of Japan and a return of governing power to the Imperial Court which had not ruled since the 12th Century. At Meiji Shrine in Tokyo there are a number of cultural activities as a result. Behind the main shrine, a number of martial arts demonstrations are held. One can a variety of weapons like katana, naginata, and spear. Also you can see yabusame - mounted archery - and old fashion matchlock guns including a small cannon.
Miyamoto Musashi Festival - Duel at Ganryujima (Samurai Duel Festival)
An Epic Samurai Duel Frozen In Stone On the southern tip of Japan's main island, Honshu, lies the small city of Shimonoseki. It's a small place physically but historically it has seen some big historical events. During Golden Week (May 3-5) a pair of festivals are held to honor two of those events. One festival is a larger spectacle which celebrates a great battle that was fought there over 800 years ago between two rival samurai clans. The other festival is much smaller but in fame, it is almost equal. Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro - Ganryujima 1612 The smaller festival is held to honor a famous duel fought between two legendary swordsmen the likes of which will probably never be seen again. One of the duelists was Miyamoto Musashi one of the most famous swordsmen who ever lived. His opponent was Sasaki Kojiro known as " The Demon of the West " for his feared prowess with a blade. Nearly everyone in Japan knows of this duel as well as many o...
Ninja vs Samurai at Japanese Festival (Nagoya Matsuri)
The age-old question of "Ninja vs Samurai - who would win?" was tackled recently at Nagoya Matsuri in a fight between a blue-clad ninja (a Smurf ninja?) and an armor-wearing samurai. The results may surprise you; however with Ninja, things are not always as they seem...