The Roving Ronin Report

UCHIWA MATSURI - JAPANESE FAN FESTIVAL Summer time is the time for matsuri -- or festivals -- in Japan. It seems like just about every city, town and village has some form of matsuri going on throughout the summer. Some matsuri are famous and pull in people from all over the world. Others are more local events. But big or small, matsuri can be a lot of fun. Kumagaya's Uchiwa Matsuri Just north of Tokyo, the small city of Kumagaya hosts several matsuri throughout the year. The Uchiwa Matsuri held at the end of July seems to be held just for the sake of having a good time. The origin of this festival is rather mundane. In the late 19th century, shops would hand out free fans -- Uchiwa -- to all passerbys and customers around the third weekend of July. Perhaps the sudden generosity of the shop owners so surprised the citizens of Kumagaya that they felt like putting together a festival just to celebrate it. Uchiwa - Flat Fans Fans that cool and advertise A couple holding traditio...

Japan vs Netherlands as seen from Design Festa Cafe in Harajuku Japan vs Denmark as seen in Shibuya Japan vs Paraguay - 2nd Round as also seen in Shibuya

Despite low expectations, Japan beat Cameroon June 14th 1-0. Many expected Japan to lose because they were lower in rank than Cameroon and hadn't done so hot in the pre-Cup games. I watched the game at a bar in Tokyo and later walked about and over to a Hub Pub and talked to Japanese and foreigners alike about the game. I forgot my video camera at home so I was forced to rely on the crappy video function of my small digital photo camera so the audio and video are bit rougher than usual.

THE JEWS KILLED JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The ridiculousness of an ancient blame Ugh! Was it something I said? Easter is a joyous occassion for those of the Christian faith. A day of to remember when Jesus Christ rose from the dead with the promise of life ever after. It’s a day to solemnly reflect how this Christian holiday with all its less than subvert pagan trappings came about in the first place, namely that:  the Jews Killed Jesus!!!  And Thank God for that! Otherwise Christianity would be up the spiritual creek without a paddle in lacking a messiah to die for our sins and come back. Well, another Easter has come and gone. The pagan Easter Bunny has laid his colorful pagan eggs for all the good Christian girls and boys while Jesus Christ has been crucified, buried, and risen from the grave again. Now it’s time to start thinking about Christmas shopping. But the lingering gloomy shadow of Easter is ever present and has been for a long time. What should have ...

Is the Easter Bunny a Controversial Christian Symbol  or a Godless Pagan Icon? Christian Symbol or Furry Pagan Idol? It’s Easter again. Time for young children to be forced against their will by their parents to put on uncomfortable tight-fitting new Easter clothes so they can be exploited by picture-snapping, cheek-pinching relatives. Then it’s off to Church where suffering tykes have to endure a lengthy and boring Easter Service that they can’t possibly hope to understand. The only thing that brings them comfort and makes the day worth it is the traditional hunt for colorfully painted Easter eggs left by Santa Claus’s estranged cousin: the Easter Bunny. The Easter Bunny is so thoroughly mixed into Easter traditions that he often upstages the main focus of the holiday namely Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus had to be crucified, buried, and resurrected in order to qualify for a second holiday. The Easter Bunny did not have to go through such ordeals and yet he gets equal if not top billing ...

Japanese Phallic Festival - Bonden Matsuri Sexual Innuendo Festiva l Festivals participants struggle uphill to deliver a gift, a decorative Bonden pole, to the god of a local shrine in return for a bountiful harvest At first glance, Yokote's Bondon Matsuri in Northern Japan may seem rather innocuous. Tall decorative pools are paraded through the streets where later they are taken up a mountain and offered to a Shrine for the sake of a good harvest. Bonden Poles with topped with decorations Anpan Man: hero to children and bread everywhere However, if one probes a little deeper they will discover that the 4-meter tall Bonden poles are actually suppose to represent the penis and only men can participate in carrying it up the mountain. When the Bondon poles are brought to the shrine on the mountain, the whole phallic symbolism becomes very clear.  A Bonden Pole is thrust through the Shrine's Gates Men lower their Bonden poles to a horizontal position before vigorously "enterin...