Portraits of an Island People

Seijin no Hi

2012-01-05T12:51:00.000-08:00

For years it was celebrated everyJanuary 15th. I know because it is also my father-in-law's birthday. It'scalled Seijin-no-hi, a Japanese national holiday which honors people who havereached, their twentieth birthday. Twenty is the age of majority in Japan, andanyone who's reached this age is subject to adult laws, gained the right tovote in elections and to partake of adult beverages. According to mymother-in-law, as a result of the holiday falling on the 15th of January for somany years, my father-in-law never grew up. He made it a point to alwayscelebrate his 20th birthday and did so for almost 50 years. You can imagine hisdismay when the holiday was officially changed to fall on the second Monday ofJanuary!

Women celebrate that day bydonning furisode kimono, which are kimono in which the sleeves are much longerwhen compared to the kimono worn by mature, married women. Kimonos areextremely beautiful and most young woman cannot put on a kimono by themselves.So, they go to a kimono kitsuke who dresses them. They also go to a hairstylist to have their hair set the day before or in the early morning hours onthe day of. Kimonos' are made from fine silk and ones worn for formalceremonies are quite ornate. Many have fine embroidery and it's not uncommonfor it to contain genuine gold and silver in the thread. As such, an authenticJapanese kimono can cost as much or more than a new car. Renting of Kimonos' isthe norm for most young people.

Travel Photo Thursday — January 5th, 201

The Incredible Mrs. Watanabe and her gaggle of Grus japonensis

2011-12-28T23:30:00.000-08:00

The Red-crowned Crane (Grusjaponensis), also called the Japanese Crane 丹頂 or タンチョウ, tancho; is a large East Asian crane and among therarest cranes in the world. Because legends say they live for 1000 years, theyare known as a symbol of longevity which in all Asian cultures is a sign of goodluck. Because they mate for life they are also symbols of fidelity.

Adult cranes are snow white withblack to the wings (appears almost like a black tail when standing, but thereal tail feathers are white), blackish to the head and neck, and a patch ofred skin on the crown. This patch of skin becomes brighter red when the cranebecomes angry or excited. This species is among the largest cranes, typicallymeasuring about 158 cm (62 in) tall. Typical body weight can rangefrom 7 to 10 kg (15 to 22 lb).

The estimated total population ofthe species is only 2,750 in the wild, including about 1,000 birds in theresident Japanese population found in eastern Hokkaidō. One famous lady, Mrs.Watanabe, has been feeding large numbers of them for more than 40 years nearher home on the northern edge of the Kushiro Shitsugen National Park.

The migratory populations of theRed-crowned Crane breed in Siberia (eastern Russia). Normally the cranes lay 2eggs, with only one surviving. Later, in the fall, they migrate in flocks to Korea and eastern Chinaand of course Hokkaido Japan to spend the winter. The habitats are marshes,riverbanks, rice fields, and other wetland areas. They eat small amphibians,aquatic invertebrates, insects, and plants that grow in marshes and swamps.

One of the official logos of Japan Airlines featured aRed-crowned Crane.

My submission for Travel Photo Thursday for December 28th, 2011

Daisetsuzan “Great Snowy Mountains” National Park, Sounkyo Valley, Hokkaido, Japan

2011-12-21T13:15:00.000-08:00

These photos are from our recent trip North toHokkaido, December 7^th through the 10^th. The tourgroup war made up entirely of folks from Okinawa who wanted to experience thesnow. This is my offering for Travel Photo Thursday for December 22nd, 2011.

After a quick potty break, the group assembles back near the tour bus for a group photo in front of the falls.

The photos in this post were all taken on day three of thetrip. Just so you know and don’t start looking for posts or photos you may havemissed, I’m not posting them in any particular order, I just happened to startworking on these photos first. More will follow in the days and weeks to comeso stay tuned!

The Sounkyo Gorge is a river valley found in CentralHokkaido that is hemmed in on both sides by rock walls rising almost 150m (500ft.) and extending some 19km (12 miles) from Sounkyo Onsen Spa up to the reservoir.About three kilometers or two miles above the spa, there is a large parkingarea beside the roaring river. This is a prime area to view much of the sceneryand during the season, to start off on hiking adventures. Here one can find twofamous waterfalls side by side: the Ginga no Taki (Silver River Falls)

Unfortunately this falls was completely frozen over

and the Ryuusei no Taki (Shooting Star Falls).

This one only partially frozen

Back on the main highway, a few hundred meters further downthe gorge one can see the rock formation seen here and known to the locals as “MariaIshi” or Maria’s Rock.

This rock formation was pointed out by our tour guide and said to resemble a woman in a robe with outstretched arms hanging at about 45 degrees. The locals call it Maria Ishi. What I didn't notice at the time I snapped it was the iron discoloration in the rock that puts a big Maltese looking cross right smack dab in what would be the center chest area.
(You can click on the individual photos to enlarge for better viewing)

English language links for more information on Daisetsuzanpark and Sounkyo Valley Gorge are listed here:

SounkakuGrand Hotel

Daisetsuzan National Park

Clacker Dancers

2011-11-21T19:51:00.001-08:00

Clacker Dancers, a photo by graffkeith on Flickr.

These dancers make their subtle moves and clack the wooden clackers in their hands to the rhythm of the music. The gal in the front of this formation seemed to be enjoying herself the most so that's why I composed this photo the way I did.

Goin fishin

2011-11-12T18:16:00.001-08:00

Goin fishin, a photo by graffkeith on Flickr.

Three local boys head out to their favorite fishing hole on a bright sunny morning. Even though it was late November, one of them couldn't resist getting his feet wet.

This shot is taken from Highway 58 on the north end of Nago City near the turn off for Yagami and Kouri Jima. This spot is one of the shallow outlets from Okinawa's inland sea.

The tide is half in and it looks as though these lads know a spot where the big ones lay in wait!

I couldn't resist the opportunity to get their reflections on the water or the wonderful colors this morning.

Riding the Zo-no-Hana

2011-11-09T00:22:00.001-08:00

Riding the Zo-no-Hana, a photo by graffkeith on Flickr.

I've taken literally hundreds of photos of the "Zo-no-Hana" or Elephant's nose at Manzamo park but most don't give the viewer the proper scale of just how big this natural rock formation really is.

I just happened to time it right as what appears to be a local walking to the edge and checking out the conditions.

Through the years, I've seen many people out on the point but just out of view from this angle who have found pretty good fishing success from these bluffs overlooking the East China Sea.

My contribution to Travel Photo Thursday for 9 Nov 2011

Mihara "Beach" Horse Club

2011-11-06T20:40:00.001-08:00

Mihara "Beach" Horse Club, a photo by graffkeith on Flickr.

A few years back I was working as a "Stringer" for Stripes Okinawa. That was a fun gig till they hired an editor who chopped the stories to hell, got the directions to the various tourist traps (my beat) that I wrote about and generally screwed up what had been a fun job that paid a decent wage for a story.

One of the places we covered was a place called the Mihara Horse Club. The story goes that one day a fellow was asked to pick out a horse as a gift. The giver of the gift asked "Which one would you like to eat?" He picked one and took it home.

Unfortunately he had daughters and of course like all girls, they admire and love horses and would never think of eating one for dinner.

Eventually he built a stable and little by little, added to the stable and the number of horses he owned. Eventually they started a riding club. because of it's proximity to one of the U.S. bases, many of his customers are Americans

Living on the Ledge

2011-11-03T17:59:00.001-07:00

Living on the Ledge, a photo by graffkeith on Flickr.

I took this little photo while out at Zanpa Misaki (Cape Zanpa) one cool and clear winter's day. I saw that this guy had the perfect fishing spot on that ledge. what made it perfect in my mind was that he probably didn't need to worry about his line getting snagged in the coral below as he reeled in a big one.

I knew that this tug was approaching so after snapping a few quick pics of him just enjoying the sun on a beautiful winter's day, I waited patiently for it to pass and get this photo. My desire was to make it look as though he hooked a "really" big one.

Mr. & Mrs. Kijimuna

2011-11-03T00:52:00.001-07:00

Mr. & Mrs. Kijimuna, a photo by graffkeith on Flickr.

Kinjimuna is a elfin like creature that is a mainstay of Okinawan mythology. He loves to fish more than anything else and can get quite attached to anyone who he befriends. So much so that the only way to get rid of him is to fart in his general direction or throw octopus at him. Here he's posing with the misses.

Mesmerized

2011-10-29T22:16:00.001-07:00

Mesmerized, a photo by graffkeith on Flickr.

Here’s an old photo from a few years back that I really liked. This is a young lad mesmerized by a street performer during the regular Sunday street festival on Kokusai “International” street in Naha, Okinawa’s capitol.

One of the things I like about Kokusai Street is the connection to the past it still holds. The main Ichiba or “market” for the city is located here. The area is now covered to allow shoppers to escape the brutal Okinawan summer sun. But many of the old shops still retain the old charm of a time not so long ago.

Some stores, especially the further away from the main entrance you go are not much larger than a coat rack with homemade wares hung for display. The whole market is alive with the sights, sounds and smells of a fond memory and well worth a visit.

A few years back when the large and modern “Shin Naha” New Naha district opened its doors with modern shopping malls, the old market was threatened with extinction. Many stores either closed their doors for good or moved to the newer and potentially richer hunting grounds of the modern shopping district.

The local merchants aware of the threat petitioned the city fathers and made way for the weekly closing of Kokusai Street and the establishment of a street festival. Now, with a few exceptions, the street is closed at noon on Sunday’s and local bands, street performers and small merchants by the hundreds take to the streets, literally, to show their stuff. The move has been a boon for local businessmen and women and for the moment has saved the old business district and its charm for at least a little while longer.

Live to Party

2011-10-27T18:52:00.000-07:00

The Okinawan people have a reputation for enjoying one of thelongest, if not the longest lifespan on the planet and I think I finallyfigured out why that’s so! Admittedly, there are a lot of different theoriesout there and I’ll even go out of my way to say that some of them may have somemerit. For example, there is the OkinawanDiet Program where you only eat till your stomach is 80% full. That one iswritten by two doctors from Canada and a local professor from the nearbyUniversity of the Ryukyu’s. They could have just listened to Dr. Laura beforethey yanked her off the air. She always said the secret losing weight and a healthier and subsequently longer life was to “movemore and eat less.”

Then there is that old dude on the late-nite TV infomercialsselling his coral calcium supplementstuff. On that one, I’m a bit confused. It seems that the “greenies” are all upin arms about the loss of coral reefs here in Okinawa and anything that mightremotely be a strain on the environment but, they seem to not notice that thisguy and his company are ripping up the reefs around Miyako-jima in pursuit ofthe stuff faster than that hypocrite anti-capitalist and all round commie fromHollyweird, MichaelMoore, can rip through a seven course meal at a five star restaurant.

Guess the coral calcium guy isn’t trading his company onWall Street or else he’s figured out that the greenies don’t watch anythingother than the Discovery Channel and the left wing nut job screamers on thatalleged cable “snooze” network MS-LSD, MS-DNC, PMS-NBC or whatever the hell it’scalled. He’s off their radar screen, at least for the moment. As soon assomeone figures out he’s exploiting the environment without Al gore’s expressedwritten permission or worse yet, makes a profit at it, they’ll be on him likestink on you know what!

So while I’ll admit that what you put into your body has aneffect on your health, my theory as to why the Okinawan people live so long isquite different. Just this last weekend, my in-laws had a special celebration. Onething I’ve learned from living in Okinawa is that Okinawan’s will go out of theirway to look for an excuse to celebrate and throw a party. So my in-laws bothturned 72 years old this year and as it just so happens, here on Okinawa thatcalls for a celebration called “Koki!” Koki is a celebration for having lived73 years. But, you may have just noticed, they are only 72 this year. So werethey cheating you ask, no, at least not really?

You see here in Okinawa, even though this is technicallyJapan, they still do things based on the old Chinese ways and the Chinese wayis to count the years from the beginning vice the western practice of waitingtill the end of the year before counting it. So here in Okinawa, if your 72 bywestern standards, your 73 in Chinese years. Not quite the same thing ascounting in dog years but it does come in handy when your filing for socialsecurity benefits or those all important AARP discounts!

Then my brother-in-law, the cop, showed my wife a list ofall the different parties that we have to look forward to celebrating in thecoming years. I say that we have to look forward to them because just like thisone, we’ll all be chipping in to pay for it. These party years start at age 61or 60 in western years. This is the age when most folks retire here in Japan. Maybethat’s why there isn’t a name for it on the list. For the first one, it’s sort ofhere’s your gold watch now don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your wayout!

The next big party is Koki at 73 and then there’s Kijiyu at77, Sanjiyu at 80, Beijyu at 88, Sotsujyu at 90, Hakujyu at 99 and Hiyakuga at100. Conspicuously absent on the list he showed us was a party that I had heardabout and had seen on the local news media. It’s called the Kajimaiyaat age 97. I guess when you get that long in the tooth; you can be forgiven forforgetting a few things here and there. That being said, there are probably afew other special dates missing from that list. When we remember them, I guesswe’ll just have to throw a party.

So my theory is that everyone loves a good party and sinceOkinawan’s, based on my living here for all these years and my astute scientificobservations, love to party more than most folks should be allowed to by law. Thatis why they live so long. They just have too many good times and an awful lotof partying to look forward to.

This year we started out with a nice luncheon for the whole familyat a local Chinese Restaurant and then we headed out for some Karaoke. I’m gladwe had the opportunity to do so before GeorgeSoros and the Rothschildfamily decide that they’ve stolen enough of the rest of the world’s moneyand the whole system crashes and burns. The next big party is four years fromnow. If by chance all them conspiracy theorists are right, by then we’ll belucky just to eat water. I just hope there’s a few greenies left that haven’tbeen shipped off to the concentration or excuse me, the “re-education” camps sothat it’s still clean enough to drink.

Don't Mess With Texas??

2011-10-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

They say everything is BIG in TEXAS. Everything that is except for the Okinawan "Kenjinkai" association. And this particular group was from Dallas. the "Big D" of all places! Still it was nice to see them here in this picture and that they were "Big" enough about it to show up. They were just one of many Kenjinkai groups that were big enough to show up for the Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival held in Naha, Okinawa from October 12th through the 16th.

Funny thing about it in my mind was that from all of the groups in America that came to celebrate their heritage here in Okinawa, one of the smallest states, Hawaii, had the biggest group and the Biggest state, in their own minds, Texas had one of the smallest if not "The" smallest delegation. I can't say for certain but I even think that the delegation from Sweden was bigger than this group. Don't mess with Texas??? Ha!

The Second American Invasion of Okinawa

2011-10-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

Just another picture from the opening parade from this year's Worldwide Uchinanchi festival in Okinawa. Just like it was some 66 years ago, the American's invaded Okinawa unopposed. This time there were no bullets flying, no rockets red glare, no bombs bursting in air but, this time the reception given by the locals was a lot more warm and friendly.

This smaller group was made up of Okinawan descendants living in Arizona and was one of many Okinawa Association and Kenjinkai groups from across the USA. Quite a change in climate if you ask me. The humidity had to be killing these folks but you couldn't tell from the expression on anyone's face. They were away from home and at the same time, they were home at last.

Far East Meets Midwest

2011-10-13T22:31:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to use this opportunity to give a shout out to our friends with the Chicago Kenjinkai visiting Okinawa for the 5th Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival. For those of you who follow this blog and those that don't but happened to be unfortunate enough to stumble across this page, you'll note that we have a link to the Okinawaology blog on our E-zine blog list. That's written by Mr. Tom Corrao of Kenosha Wisconsin.

(Click on the image to enlarge)

We thought somehow that Tom wasn't going to make it to the festival this go round but we were wrong. Though you can't see it very well, Tom is bringing up the rear at the top left corner of this picture and carrying a video camera. Though he hasn't posted in some time, probably due to getting everything ready for this big trip, he does put out a pretty interesting blog so if you feel or want to, why not click on the link provided and say hi!

Welcome Back Kenjinkai

2011-10-12T22:23:00.000-07:00

Remember that old TV sitcom "Welcome Back Kotter?" It was a story about a former high school loser who ends up going to college and becoming a teacher, only to end up working right back at the very same high school he almost got kicked out of. In case you forgot, it's the one that starred a very untalented comedian named Gabriel Kaplan as the teacher, Gabe Kotter, and an equally untalented and very young (pre-Saturday Night Fever) John Travolta as Vinnie Babarino, high school degenerate and supreme leader of a group of losers who called themselves the Sweat Hogs..

(Banners from every village, town and city on the island. Click on the individual pictures to enlarge)

What does that old and very horrible TV sitcom have to do with today's post, other than the theme of homecoming and the similarity in the title, not a damn thing! But yesterday was a big homecoming of sorts here in Okinawa. You see about a hundred or so years ago, when Okinawa was very poor and the people were pretty much oppressed by the Japanese who conquered them a few hundred years prior, the land couldn't sustain the population so some of their leaders decided it was time to pack up the few toys they had and emigrate to other lands.

(This is just the Brazilian Contingent sign bearers, the main body sort of lagged behind and went on and on and on and on)

Many people went to Hawaii where they worked the land and invented the "Aloha Shirt" by modifying old Kimono's and Yukattas. Still others went to places like Brazil, Argentina, Peru etc. Here they were promised land in a homestead type deal. If they cleared it and made it work, the land was theirs to keep. Unfortunately, more often than not, the land they were promised when they got there was the most inhospitable swamps or desserts in the entire country.

The really cool thing about it was that in spite of the hardships, they did make it work and today, all of these countries and more have significant populations of people with Okinawan ancestry. Wednesday, October 12th, 2011, 509 years after Columbus discovered the America's, many of the offspring of these Okinawan pioneers returned to the land of their fathers for a big celebration.

(You can't have a contingent from Brazil without Samba dancers!)

Today's pictures are just a few of the big welcoming parade for their triumphant return home and what a return it was. The Brazilian faction was huge and the number of people in it was probably close to the number of troops in three Marine battalions. There was hardly a dry eye on "Kokusai" International Street as they all marched on by.

The celebration is called the 5th Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival and for the next few days and nights, Okinawa will be rocking with excitement.

Travel Photo Thursday for 13 Oct, 2011

Occupy Mainstreet (Photo Essay)

2011-10-07T18:57:00.000-07:00

I've been reading a lot in the news lately about people occupying Wall Street. I'm told that these people are all upset about how "The Man" has been robbing them blind. Similar protests have sprung up in cities across America. In some cases it has gotten violent and people have been arrested. It's such a big thing that it's become a part of the U.S. presidential campaign with the current "occupant" praising them and one of his opponents telling them (paraphrased) "don't go getting upset, go get a job." I say that all of these people are rank amateurs.

These people can't hold a candle to the folks in Okinawa! They've been occupying a section of Highway 58, the main street in and out of the capitol city Naha, every year for years. More importantly, each year they occupy it, it gets a little "bigger" crowd wise and "heavier" as it pertains to the issue they're dealing with. It's such an important event here that each and every year it has Guinness Book of Records implications!

The main difference between occupying "mainstreet" in Okinawa and occupying Wall Street in the U.S. is here in Okinawa, the people are happy! Even the ones without jobs are happy about it. Everyone looks forward to it and instead of going head to head with the authorities over the issue at hand, everyone seems to be in concert to make sure that it's properly dealt with and that a good time is had by all.

Of course I'm talking about the Great Tsunahiki or the Naha Great Tug-O-War! The crowd estimates each year is in the "hundreds of thousands" where in the U.S. we're talking dozens and in rare instances, maybe even a few hundred people. Like I said, in this instance, the American's can't hold a candle to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the Okinawan people!

The giant rope weighs in at around 42 tons. It takes weeks to manufacture it and it has to be hauled in to the Kumoji intersection by special trucks the night before. It's divided into a eastern half representing the male and a western half representing the females. After a bunch of karate demonstrations and a bunch of banging drums and gongs, the rope halves are joined with the female end looped over the male end and they're locked in place with a giant wooden peg.

Then they dig up two ancient Okinawan kings and they're brought out from the far ends of the ropes on platforms. These aren't the real kings mind you, that would be a little gross if you were to ask me but rather they use local folks in period costumes. Once they get near the center, they issue challenges to each other, do a little choreographed sword play and then they're taken away where they can enjoy copious amounts of awamori sake while the rest of the crowd plays with the rope.

Lastly, a big golden ball suspended above the intersection is popped open, a bunch of streamers and confetti fill the sky and everyone grabs hold of the rope and pulls with all their might. The task, they have 30 minutes to pull the rope a distance of about 3 meters. If neither side is able to do it in the allotted time, the match is declared a draw and everyone cuts off a piece of the rope for good luck and either goes out to celebrate or goes home. Most folks opt for the former as this event coincides with the Naha "Matsuri" or festival.

As soon as the crowd disperses, the big cranes come in to load the remnants of the rope onto trucks and haul it away for storage until next year. Hey, it's 40 plus tons of straw weaved into a giant rope, you didn't think they made it from scratch each year did you?

Anyway, like I said, the American's occupying Wall Street are rank amateurs when it comes to occupying anything. They could learn a lesson or two from these Okinawan folks. They'd probably have a whole lot more fun if they did it the Okinawan way!

This year's "Great Tsunahiki" will take place on Sunday the 9th of October. Everyone's invited to come on down to occupy mainstreet for a few hours of fun!

Slick Stone

2011-10-05T21:03:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks back we took a trip to a little village spring in far southern Okinawa called Nakandakarihijya (try to say that three times fast). That day we had beautiful blue skies that gave us some really deep dark contrast shots and high winds that gave us lots of photos with camera shake in them. This time, it had rained for three days straight, there was no wind but there was also no sun.This time there were three of us and the results as well as the events that took place turned out quite different.

We had been there for about 10 minutes doing light readings, taking a few shots and praying the skies didn't open up on us when a car pulled up and a middle aged fellow got out and helped a much older lady out of her seat. As she started to make her way over to the alter (that's the little concrete looking thingy Ryukyu Mike is standing in front of in the one photo looking like he's Moses getting ready to part the Red Sea in) I told her to be careful as the wet stone pavement was quite slippery. More slippery than snot on a door knob would be more like it but, I didn't know how to say it that way in Japanese.

She smiled and nodded and then proceeded to give Ryukyu Ryu an earful. I guess she thought he was a local and being that he's half Okinawan on his mother's side, she could be forgiven for thinking so. Anyway, the message was abundantly clear that they were going to the alter to pray and didn't want to be disturbed by those two "gaijins" or foreigners with the cameras, meaning Ryukyu Mike and I.

Mike was busy shooting the bath area of the spring so Ryu and I backed off and chatted while she and the other fellow went and did their business. The last time Mike and I were here, I tried doing a few shots with the HDR feature of my camera. The results were mixed at best so this time I wanted to try something new. The wet stones gave me an idea to try a few low angle shots of the place to see how they would turn out. I'm a whole lot happier with these shots than the ones I took last time. You can check the links provided to that other post and let me know what you think too.

My submission to Travel Photo Thursday for 6 Oct, 2011.

Nakandakarihijya in HDR

2011-09-19T20:28:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, I upgraded my camera from a Pentax K200D to the newer and much more capable K7D. It has a few extra features and knobs on it and since I don't get out as much with my camera as I did when I was making a living as a freelance writer/photographer to supplement my retirement income, I just haven't quite figured everything out just yet. Be patient, eventually I will.

One of the features this camera has that the old one didn't is the ability to shoot HDR in camera. To do that with my old one, I'd have to take a series of three to five individual shots at different settings and then try to merge them into one using developing software. Hell, I can barely navigate the features of this blog software, how in the hell do you expect me to merge three to five photos?

(The contrasts of shadow and light made this a difficult shot. The roofed section to the right is where the old public bath is located complete with functional traditional wood burning water heater)

So the other day when Ryukyu Mike and I stopped by an old village spring called Nakandakarihijya to do some shooting, I decided to give it a try. The weather conditions weren't that great as the sky was vivid blue and the shadows extremely dark. The high contrast was giving me fits so when Mike suggested taking some HDR shots, I said to myself what the heck!

This old spring is a really neat place located not far from the Sefa Utaki, one of Okinawa's many UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It had been destroyed in the Battle of Okinawa but, because it was designated a tangible Cultural Asset by the Okinawa Prefecture government, was restored to it's former glory.

(A similar composition using the camera's built in HDR feature)

The one thing that makes this place different from all of the other natural neighborhood springs that I've found here is that this place also had a traditional Japanese style communal bath or "sento" added to it. Most others around the island are just for drawing drinking water for the home, washing off the vegetables you picked from your garden that morning and even doing the laundry. The bath feature makes this one pretty unique.

As we were snapping away one elderly lady passed by and looked at us rather suspiciously. I greeted her with the traditional Okinawan Hogen "Haisai" or hello and asked how she was doing with the traditional "chaganju?" Immediately she smiled and chuckled to herself and in perfect English replied, "I'm fine thank you!"

It turns out that she was a retired U.S. military base worker and more than just functional in English. It made me jealous that after having lived here a few years my Japanese is still at the two year old child level. I asked her if they still used the bath, not that the site of some elderly Okinawan lady or gentleman coming out in a bath towel might thrill me but, more about is it still utilized in the traditional way. She said that it hadn't been used that way since before she was born.

We snapped a few more pictures here at this site and headed out on more adventures about the island. As you can see from the photos posted here, I still have a little more experimenting to do in HDR but I'll get there eventually. But, this little adventure told me that if you just take a little time and treat the locals with a at least a modicum of respect, there's no limit to what you can learn about life on Okinawa. It's a wonderful place if you take the time to get to know it!

Sefa Utaki

2011-09-12T22:42:00.000-07:00

This is my submission to Travel Photo Thursdays for September 15, 2011

Here's a couple of photos from a recent trip to Okinawa's Sefa Utaki. For those unfamiliar, an Utaki is a holy site in the local religion known as So Sen Su Hai. That roughly translated comes out something like "Therefore because of them, therefore us" or more simply put, we exist because of them. It's a form of ancestors worship that incorporates a little Buddhism, a little Shinto, A little Taoism, Confucianism and a couple of other "ism's" I probably haven't even heard of yet.

One of the things that make this place special is, in addition to being a UNESCO World Heritage site, the interesting rock formations and the super low entry fee of only 300 Yen is the history of the place. This is considered the most holy of all the utaki's in Okinawa and it served as the official site for several annual ceremonies during the time of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Lastly, the site overlooks Kudaka Jima a small island to the east of Okinawa where local legends have it that all life began.

To my knowledge, there are no longer any "official" ceremonies still held here but many locals will come here to pray and make offerings to the ancestors and the spirits when things aren't going too well on the home front. Given the hard economic times we all face, this place is likely to be a hot spot of spiritual activity for the foreseeable future. Word of advice, if you happen to visit and see some of the locals doing their thing, be respectful. It's their island and even if we have a different orientation to things spiritual, we should at least have the decency respect their ways.

Terrorists on Okinawa

2011-09-03T17:49:00.000-07:00

There’s an awful lot of talk around the globe about the problem of terrorists in this country or that. Fortunately in Okinawa, we don’t have a lot of religious fanatics who strap bombs to women and children and tell them to go up to the nearest foreigner and blow themselves up.

Instead, the terrorist we have here clog up our highways with their rent-a-cars, pay outrageous sums of money to stay at an overpriced beach resort, throw away outlandish sums of money for local, made-in-China, trinkets, drink up our home brewed Orion Beer and Awamori Sake, eat all of our healthy cuisine and then leave.

That being the case, I think the rest of the world could learn a lesson or two from the Okinawans. To all terrorists, please come and visit, spend all of your money, have a good time and then leave.

We recently got a good look at some of the last batch of terrorists to visit our little jewel of the pacific in action and even got them on film, albeit digital film. It was during a recent trip to Manza Mo to get some photos of the Twin Jizo’s at the Elephant's Nose.

Manza Mo and the "Zoe no Hanna" or "Elephant's Nose"

I don’t know about you, but by the looks of these terrorists, I hope they come back and bring a few of their friends with them next time. It’ll be good for the local economy.

If they ever need someone to frisk them for bombs, I'll volunteer my services!

High Octane Grannies (Photo Essay)

2011-08-25T19:31:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday last, we head the opportunity to attend the Unjami Festival in the Shioya district of Ogimi Village on Okinawa’s northwest coast. It’s an unusual annual event that dates back some 400 years to the Ryukyu Kingdom, what Okinawa was once known as.

(That aint coffee in that cup)

(Click on the photos to enlarge)

The festival is unique in that the ladies of the village don traditional costumes, drink copious amounts of Awamori sake and go down into the waters to cheer on their team of boat racers. Please note that the wearing of traditional garb and the consumption of mass quantities of spirits is not unusual to Okinawan festivals. You might even be forgiven for thinking that it’s compulsory.

For a little background information, Shioya is a community within Ogimi village. It was once its own village and the main part of it hugs the coast and sits at the mouth of a huge shallow back bay. Along the north coast of the bay are two smaller communities and the three compete against each other in this annual event.

The event starts off much earlier in the day with prayers and a procession from the two outer communities to the main one in Shioya. This time Ryukyu Mike and Ryukyu Ryu got there early and I came along as the procession was approaching the second of the two smaller communities. I'll try to have more on the earlier events in another post.

(Life's a dance so swing out sister!)

Mike has a thing about some of these smaller festivals in Okinawa’s rural northern communities. He’s convinced that at one time, the folks of the villages used to go naked up into the mountains for their morning prayers. Being an older fellow and not shocked by such things, he has hopes of one day being able to capture this with his camera.

I don’t think the government allows such practices any more but, Mike still holds out hope. Anyway, most of the time these prayer rituals are conducted by the elders of the village and the thoughts of capturing a 90 year old lady romping through the jungle naked sort of nauseates me. I think I’ll stick to the more public ceremonies and leave the pubic ceremonies to Mike and his camera.

Once all the prayer vigils are held, the ladies gather at the port and start singing, beating their drums, dancing and drinking. The three groups approach each other and it would appear that they taunt each other and sometimes, in a friendly way assault one another. I did see one lady, decidedly under the influence, approach another and force some sake down her throat. At first the victim appeared to resist but then drank it all down like a professional!

(Here's Mud in your Eye! or some Awamori Sake anyway)

Once the taunting is done, all three groups head down into the water to cheer on the teams of men in their traditional “Sabani” boats from each respective community. They’ve been sitting patiently at the far end of the bay waiting for the women to get liquored up enough to go down into the water. Once everyone is in position, the races start.

(There was a gaggle f**k of photographers at the landing so I backed off to get the best view I could. Obviously at least one of the ladies had a little too much high octane prior to entering and went right on her fanny)

We stayed for the first two races but the events of the day were by no means over. I had a “honey-do” list from hell to take care of for the wife and had to get home at a reasonable hour. Ah the joys of married life. Mike and Ryu might have decided to go back for more. You’ll have to check out their blogs to find out for sure.

(The winning team from the first of two heats we stayed for celebrate a hard earned win. Note that they had at least one guy designated to bail out the boat)

(And a good time was had by all!)

This is my submission for Travel Photo Thursday for August 25th, 2011. Be sure to check out the links (Where the font changes color) provided here for more on this festival and other great places around the globe. Feel free to leave a comment and share with your friends too.

Chibi Chiri Gama - Photo Essay

2011-08-10T23:29:00.000-07:00

This last Wednesday’s Okinawa adventure outing took us to Southern Onna Son and Yomitan Cho. For those of you who may not be initiated to the Japanese language, “Son” is translated as village and “Cho” means town. We had no plan to speak of. Sometimes that’s when we find the most interesting stuff. Today was no exception.

At first the day started out slowly. We went to the Onna Village and photographed the harbor where just a few weeks before, Ryukyu Mike had the opportunity to photograph the dragon boat races. Just a few quick words in the native “Uchinaguchi,” Okinawan language, and he had a front row seat for the whole event.

(Going down by the Bow: Damage from the latest Typhoon at the Ramada Renaissance Hotel)

There wasn’t that much to see this time around. There were quite a few diving tourists getting ready to go out on a tour and some bikini clad young ladies caught our eye. What can we say, we’re guys! What would you expect? Anyway, Unfortunately after developing what I took, I wasn’t too impressed. Nice, but not nearly nice enough to post here. Sorry!

From here, we headed out to Chatan Cho for some business and a quick lunch. Then it was on to Yomitan Cho and the lighthouse at Zanpa Misaki. Again, there wasn’t too much that caught our eyes. We both practiced our techniques on a few birds in the bushes but, that was boring.

From here, we stopped at what appeared to be a failed attempt at someone building a tourist trap. Some interesting statues and buildings but the site looked abandoned and although it caught our eye from the highway on the way to the cape, it was pretty easy to see why it failed to garner much support from all the tourists who frequent the area.

(The monument at Chibi Chiri Gama. Ryukyu Mike puts the sign telling folks not to venture into the caves back in its place)

What was to be our last stop for the day was Zakimi Castle ruins to check out when the big Eisa festival would be taking place. While we were there we checked out some of the tourist signage and found a reference for something we had never seen before.

(I guess this place is well protected from the elements. Even a typhoon couldn't clean all the bird and bat shit off this statue)

The map called it “Chibi Chiri Gama.” The last word is the local dialect for cave and that piqued our interest somewhat. In all our some 50 combined years on the island, neither of us had heard of this place before

I recognized from the map the general location of the place and in a flash, we were off to check it out. It’s less than a five minute drive from the castle and although I would normally offer directions to the place in my blog, I hesitate to do so at this time.

(What appears to be a statue of a mother holding on to her children is hidden inside the base of the monument)

When we arrived, we found the site unmarked. The only thing that told us that there was anything of significance here was the public restroom along the otherwise insignificant road through the farm fields of the town.

We pulled off the road and found a place to park. There was a series of steps with rails to help the elderly make their way down into the ravine and the cave area. The cave is located in a natural depression in the earth and a stream runs into it. From there the water rushes into one of the many caves and disappears from view.

At the one end of the gulley is a large opening into the side of the rocks and a statue of what appears to be a man playing a Sanshin. To the left are two large stone markers with Japanese carved on them and at the entrance to the main cave itself is a huge display of folded origami cranes.

The base of the statue has several holes or windows in it. At first glance, it almost appears to be a tomb but a quick glance inside revealed a sculpture of people in great agony and fear. We are all but certain that this was a hiding place for many of the locals to escape the carnage that was the Battle of Okinawa in the spring and summer of 1945.

(If this is any indication of what hell is like, I don't want to go there)

Ryukyu Mike and I quickly took some photos of the place and were careful to leave the place as undisturbed as we found it. You see there are many places like this across the island where the locals come every year in pilgrimages to remember their families and loved ones lost during the great battle. The last thing they or we would want is some drunken half crazed U.S. service members frequenting the place for a weekend beer blast or just to explore the caves.

(Ryukyu Mike checking out the base of the sculpture. Inside the base are more sculptures)

My advice to anyone who may come across this post and want to go see it, leave the “Liberty Risk” assholes on base and remember that places like this are considered sacred sites! Also, if while you’re out and about enjoying the sights and you happen across something like this, look but don’t touch and if there are any locals about, be respectful!

I tried to Google the name of the site (Chibi Chiri Gama) and came up goose eggs. If anyone has information regarding this site, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Umi Budo - Sea Grapes - Okinawa Photo

2011-07-19T15:10:00.000-07:00

Umi Budo or Sea Grapes are grown in abundance in Okinawa's subtropical waters.They look just like miniature grapes hence the name "umi" Japanese for sea and "budo" for grape. They're available at local fish markets, super markets or just about anywhere that sells fresh food.

Typically served fresh as a side dish and dipped in soy sauce or as a salad garnish. They are a bit salty to the taste, as one might expect from something that comes from the ocean but, they're also very refreshing to the pallet as they pop when you bite into them.

Okinawan locals swear they are an excellent source of vitamin C. At least that's what the wife tells me. Of course, according to her, everything in Okinawa is a source of vitamin this or that. In truth, I don't think she really knows what, if anything that it or anything else is good for. Like most folks, she just takes in what she hears and repeats it as the gospel.

I guess that's typical for most folks these days and exactly why I don't trust what I see, hear or read in the news. You know how it goes, one week drinking more than one cup of coffee a month will kill you and two weeks later there is some new "supposedly" scientific study that says it cures everything from AIDS to Zits!

As for me, I don't know what Umi Budo are good for. I do know that I like them in my salad. I also remember an old saying from my days in the service that goes, "That which doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger!" Another is from John Maynard Keynes who said, "In the long run, we're all dead!"

Whatever, if you have a chance, go out and try some Umi-budo. I don't know if they will kill you or cure you but, I do know that I like em! What's life if you don't go out and live it?!

(Photo Essay) Oh Tanabata

2011-07-06T19:25:00.000-07:00

We had spent half of the morning wandering (driving) around southern Okinawa looking for a cave that I had seen featured on local TV but, unfortunately due to my poor Japanese language skills didn't have a good fix on it's exact location. We, meaning Ryukyu Mike and I had given up and were heading back up north to the home front just happy for the few hours we had been able to get away from the daily routine.

(Decorated paper chains, cranes, stars and more are typical "Tanabata" ornaments)

For him, that means sitting for hours at his bar in front of a laptop computer going blind developing photos and pounding out a daily blog post with his one very badly bruised and blistered typing finger. for me, it was an escape from having the wife goad me into catching up on three years worth of neglected household repairs out in the sweltering Okinawa sun.

(Ryukyu Mike in his element)

I turned off coastal highway 331 just south of Chinen town and shot over and across the ridge using highway 137.This route runs through rural Nanjo City to meet up again with coastal highway 331 on the other side. This is a shortcut across the Chinen peninsula that would save us at least 20 minutes in driving time.

We were coming down the winding road on the other side telling wife jokes and just having a good old time like old timers sometimes do. The road was pretty curvy on the downhill side and I was busy paying attention to traffic and keeping it between the lines when all of a sudden Mike yelled out "Did you see that! what the hell is that?" or words to that effect. This is a family blog so I really cant use the kind of words he really used here but, you get the general idea.

I made an illegal U turn at the first opportunity and started back up the hill. That's when I first saw all the "stuff" hanging from the trees at this little house on the opposite side of the road. There were already a couple of cars parked along the side of the road and people gazing up at the display. In all my years of living here, I can't quite remember seeing anything like it. Of course that's probably because the first few years I spent here were a bit of a blur due to the ingestion of mass quantities of intoxicating substances, all perfectly legal of course!

Anyway, I headed back up the hill to put some distance between myself and the giant dump truck piloted by a former kamikaze who was about to climb up my tailpipe. This was so I could safely do another perfectly illegal U turn and be back on the correct side of the road. Notice that I said "correct" and not "right" as the Japanese drive on the left like the Brit's, Australian's and New Zealander's do.

(Ms. Nakamoto "seated center" and friends enjoying coffee on the front porch)

We found a place to park and when we asked if it was OK for us to take some pictures. The folks right there said of course. We weren't quite sure what all the hoopla was for and of course you don't want to start taking photos of something interesting like this only to find out that it's a private affair or worse yet, something deeply personal like a funeral or some other kind of family affair.

The trees up along the side of the first house were all decked out with hand made paper decorations and a few old CD's that spun in the wind and sparkled brightly on the unlabeled side. Mike asked what the celebration was and one of the gentlemen at the entrance said that it was "Tanabata." I had heard that word before as did Mike but neither of us could remember what it meant. Fortunately Mike has a Japanese dictionary in his "Keitai" or "cell phone" and discovered that it was the Star Festival that happens on the 7th day of the 7th month. You can check out Muza-chan's post on Tanabata for more information.

Of course once Mike gets a camera in front of his face, everything else in the world stops so even though it was just a minute or two after we got set up, we were both like kids in a candy store looking for what fancied our tastes the best. A few folks stopped and chatted with me and between my very bad Japanese and their equally bad English we were able connect and get more information on what this was all about. Thank goodness that communication is 70% visual! But, that is one of the adventures of living in a foreign land.

(Finally, something old Yiddish CD's are good for and Ryukyu Mike's best side)

Through this I was introduced to the owner of the property, Ms. Fumiko Nakamoto. It turns out that Ms. Nakamoto has been decorating her house for Tanabata every year for the last twenty years! I met with her briefly and found her to be one of the most gracious eloquent ladies, 69 years young, that I've ever had the pleasure to meet in all my travels here. She does this because she wants to and every year on the 7th day of the 7th month of the year, she opens her house to the public for it.

During our visit, several of the nearby nursing homes brought some of their patients out to see and enjoy it too. I can't say for sure but, that may be one of the driving forces behind why she does what she does. In Japan they still revere the aged. Seeing what I saw today makes me wish we all did.

By the way, after Mike charmed them with his "Hogen," Okinawa's native dialect we were given a couple of iced coffees and a personal invite to come back next year! Hopefully by then my Japanese will have improved. Guess I better mark my calendar now!

Gone Fishing

2011-06-22T20:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of shots left over from our last trip to Mina Jima as documented on my other blog. These were taken as our ferry was leaving Motobu port.

I think that this old man on the outer edge of the break had the right idea. First of all, it probably didn't cost him anything to get where he wanted to go and my guess is his morning was a whole lot more productive than our little trip.

I took this second picture just as he got a hit on his line. Unfortunately the fish got off the hook before he could get it up to put in his cooler. My guess is he got enough for his lunch before heading home.

On a side note, Ryukyu Mike informed me yesterday that on one little side trip down the beach, Ryukyu Rusty found a turtle's nest. Based on the tracks still visible in the sand, the eggs were probably laid the night before. I hear that he and his main squeeze will be heading out that way in a few weeks to see if there are any new sea turtles added to the local population. Lets hope his observations are right.

Boys will be Boys : Hot Fun in the Summer Time

2011-06-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

The old saying that boys will be boys is true no matter where you go in the world!

We went out with our cameras to Hamahiga Jima where I had photographed some shaman priestesses in the act a few years before. There's a ceremony that takes place in June of the lunar calendar that I wanted to verify the dates on. I could get the information I needed from a plaque that is "erected," not to be confused with that "twit" of a congressman with the most appropriate last name form New York, near the site where it all takes place.

As we crossed the bridge heading out to the island, we spotted an Osprey circling overhead. I was suprised to see one still on the island and my partner on this trip reminded me that I had recently posted that they had all migrated to cooler waters.

We also noticed a group of young boys camped out on the far end of the bridge. At first we paid them no mind but after taking a few shots of the ceremonial spot and losing a few pints of blood to a swarm of mosquitoes, we stopped at a small park, grabbed a cold drink from the machines and set up our cameras in a covered spot near the bridge's footings.

It wasn't too long after that that my partner, who is practically stone deaf, heard birds chirping so loudly right behind us that even he was able to notice. I'll be posting that on my other blog later in the week but he has a few shots available on his blog right (HERE)

That's when the boys we saw earlier started doing what boys do best, cause trouble and play daredevil games.

Unfortunately boys grow up and some of them, probably the ones who in their younger years were the worst of the bunch, do their level best to keep us all from doing really stupid shit!

Not to worry, this didn't stop the boys from being boys. As soon as the squad car was out of sight, they resumed their fun and everyone kept their cool.

Zenzai is not a religion but, it could be!

2011-05-29T20:39:00.000-07:00

Okinawa is known for its traditional sweet treats. I call them traditional but for most westerners, they are anything but. What makes them unique is the use of natural or “traditional” sweeteners.

For example, Beni-imo is a purple colored sweet potato that is often used for stuffing pastries. Sataandagi, sometimes known as Okinawan doughnuts are always a favorite. Then there’s the old standby cane sugar. This is often squeezed or milled to extract the juice and then cooked down to the raw sugar. It’s often used as a treat by itself or to sweeten other treats.
The last on my short list is the Azuki bean. This is a sweet red bean that is often cooked and used in the very popular dora-yaki. Dora-yaki is made when you make two small pancakes and stuff the sweet cooked Axuki beans, that have been mashed into a paste like substance, in-between them. Dora-yaki is so popular that Japan has a cartoon character named after them known as Doraemon!

There’s another popular Japanese sweet treat that makes use of the azuki bean called the zensai. This is made from cooked azuki beans and mochi. First the beans are soaked and soften then cooked. Mochi is rice that has been pounded and kneaded into a doughy consistency and then these too are cooked. The two are then served together in a dish.

In mainland Japan, this dish is usually served while it’s still hot. In Okinawa, it’s already plenty hot so what the locals do is let the concoction cool and then cover it with shaved ice. That my friends is how you cool off on a hot summer’s day, “Okinawan” style!

This is my submission for Travel Photo Thursday for June 2nd, 2011. To see all the great places, just follow the link!

Judgement Day: Back to the Garden

2011-05-24T00:05:00.000-07:00

Another Saturday with too much time on my hands so I hooked up with Ryukyu Mike again to go out shooting pictures. "Rusty," Mike's newest faithful sidekick, guess that makes me a “has been” or “never was,” was able to get off work in time to tag along. As soon as he got in the door he mentioned to Mike that his fiancé reminded him that some preacher back in the U.S. had predicted that today was supposed to be judgment day and that he should be nice to his wife and not cuss to much. I can’t repeat what Mike’s reply was without turning this post into something “X” rated.

We decided to head out to Izumi to check out the Hydrangea gardens. In last week's post I used pictures that were taken several years ago. Mike had never been there before and Rusty wasn’t sure how to get there so I led the way. Mike was cussing up a storm all the way there because he knew as soon as his wife saw him developing the pictures he took today she would want to go see it. I think he could have lived with that part no problem. It was the shopping ordeal that he knew she would drag him along on afterward that made him the most angry.

We were lucky this day. The deluge that hit us the night before assuaged and the sky broke open with a patch of blue sky just as we arrived. Mike and rusty just about fell over themselves to grab their gear to get as many low angle shots before the clouds rolled in again. We hadn’t even paid the modest entrance fee yet and they were already at it like little kids with a wad of change visiting a candy store for the first time in their lives.

It wasn’t long after we got in the gate that we went our separate ways. It only made sense since there were so many different paths to go down and so much to see. There were so many people there and the paths were so narrow anyway. I took the high road, they both took the low roads and none of us ended up in Scotland, thank God!

I was lucky enough to run into Mrs. Yohena, the little old lady who started the place and she was gracious enough to pose for a picture or two or three. I also talked to her son about the place too. Between my preschool level “nihongo” or Japanese and his equally bad "Engrish," I was able to find out that they are primarily “Mikan” or tangerine farmers but, more importantly, how proud they are of granny's flower garden.

Granny, Mrs. yohena, loves Hydrangeas or “Ajisai” so much that during the slow months, when they weren’t busy harvesting tangerines or maintaining the orchards, she just kept planting more Ajisai. It wasn’t very long before the whole hillside was covered with them. Granny is now 94 years young and surprizingly still quite spry. But, as she got older, it got a little harder for her to navigate the hillside. So, little by little, the family added walkways with steps and later some hand rails to help her get around the garden.

As people heard about the place, more and more visitors came to see Mrs. Yohena’s garden. So many that a few years back one of her sons got the bright idea to charge an entrance fee. The price of admission is still quite modest at 300 Yen for an adult, that’s about $3.60 U.S. They also built a little shack for folks to get out of the sun, or the rain for that matter and drink in the sights along with a cold drink two for their insides.

They’re still Mikan farmers by trade but, my guess is that with all the visitors coming to see it, they make just as much, if not more, from Mrs. Yohena’s Ajisai garden as they do from farming. And why not! They did all the back breaking work themselves and they are entitled to enjoy the “fruits” of their labor.

So what does all this have to do with judgment day? A couple of things! First, never put your trust in “Leaders!” It matters not whether they’re religious or political; they’ll let you down every time, even on the odd chance that they really do have “good intentions.” After all, isn’t that what they say that the road to hell is paved with!

About that preacher!? I really feel bad for all those folks he snookered. Most of them are probably decent hard working and honest people who, thanks to our political leaders, are just disillusioned with the way things are going to hell in a hand basket. I guess I feel sorry for them because I'm just old fashioned enough to still believe in God but, old enough that I don't believe in our glorious leaders any more than I believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Bunny!

I think that it's far better to trust in yourself and your own hard work. The Yohena family didn’t wait for some government appointed Czar, Commissar or a message from on high to tell them to build a garden. They did it on their own. Now compare the results of what they did on their own to what our so called "leaders" are doing to all of us. For the latter, let me suggest using some KY Gel! Lets just say that the results speak for themselves. They say that "God helps those who help themselves" and these days, that's more true than ever before!

Secondly, All that day and for the next few to follow, I had this old Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young tune "Woodstock" going through my head. In particular was the refrain that goes, "We are stardust, we are golden, we are billion year old carbon, And we got to get ourselves back to the garden." Of course when CSN&Y talked about getting back to the garden it was through gallons of cheap wine and mass quantities of hallucinogenic substances. For the Yohena family, it's just another day at the office.

Lastly, if it just so happened that Saturday really had been judgment day, I couldn’t think of a better place to go to heaven from. This place is so beautiful that you wouldn't even know you slipped over to the other side. My bet is when that day comes and the pearly gates finally open for me to walk on through, I'll find that Mrs. Yohena will more than likely already be there but, better yet, she'll have been appointed by God himself to the justly deserved position of Head Gardener!

I know an Old Lady who lives in Izumi : Travel Photo Thursday 5/12/2011

2011-05-11T23:43:00.000-07:00

As I'm sure you’re all well aware, farming is a seasonal business. In most cases, you plant in the spring and harvest in the fall with a lot of hard back breaking work in-between. Fruit trees can be both a blessing and at the same time problematic. They are planted once and relatively maintenance free. With a little tender loving care, you can reap the benefits for years to come. But what do you do in the mean time?

Another problem farmer’s face is that land is a premium commodity here on Okinawa. Tangerine or Mikan as they’re known locally, are largely relegated to the more mountainous areas of the island like the Motobu peninsula. The rugged topography doesn’t really make it easy to put down a second cash crop. The Mikan trees do provide a blessing in that normally un-tillable land can be utilized. The trees also provide stability and prevent landslides. But what do you do during the ten months or so that you’re not harvesting?

Fortunately the long growing season on Okinawa makes it excellent for growing flowers. Believe it or not, they're a main cash crop here. Farmers across Okinawa provide a steady supply of flora for the many flower shops throughout Japan. One thing that makes the Ajisai (Hydrangea) gardens of Izumi so special is that this farmer happened across a profitable enterprise and combined it with something they loved. That meant it didn't always seem like work.

The little old lady who started this garden is now in her mid 90's. Through the investment of a great deal of backbreaking work, time and a whole lot of love she and her family have turned these rugged hillsides into a work of art. Just one visit and the visitor gains an appreciation for the hard work and ingenuity of these intrepid people. The Ajisai gardens of Izumi are indeed a work of genius. Here you can enjoy a leisurely stroll through a work of art, take in the beauty, enjoy the fragrance and feel a sense of peace that only a masterpiece of art could produce.

This is my contribution to Travel Photo Thursday for May 12th, 2011.

Life in the Slow Lane (A Long One)

2011-04-26T00:42:00.000-07:00

Travel Photo Thursday for April 28th, 2011

A couple of weeks back I blogged about a trip up to rural Kijioka in Ogimi village located on Okinawa's Northwest coast to shoot the Iris fields in bloom. In that post, you can see it right below this post, I mentioned how Okinawan's are noted for their longevity and how in this particular little hamlet, they live the longest overall.

Many have written books on the matter to include "The Okinawan Diet" plan and there is that guy on late nite TV hawking the benefits of Coral Calcium as the key to a long life. He's even got crews digging up the coral around Miyako jima to get it. I have little doubt that both ideas may have a little to do with it but based on my years of living here, I have another theory for the phenomena. Here on Okinawa, people, particularly the country folks, just don't give a shit!

The old gal on this bicycle above was totally oblivious to the terrorists, er make that tourists, in the rented cars behind her who came to her little village to see the flowers and spend their hard earned money. She wasn't being rude, just enjoying a ride back from the fields on a beautiful spring day!

Now when I say that they don't give a shit, I don't mean that in a derogatory way! Perhaps a better way to say it is they've learned to live and love life in the slow lane. I suppose I could have just said that right from the get-go but, I probably wouldn't have gotten your attention quite the way I did when I said they just don't give a shit!

That also doesn't mean that they don't have people down in the big city to the south who sit on their hands and do the minimum just to collect a pay check. That is true for some, my brother-in-law is a prime example of that but, they also have their fair share of folks down in the big city who, like other folks in big cities everywhere, worry about everything! Especially the stuff they have little or no control over! The late comedian George Carlin did a great rant on people like that called "Saving the Planet!"!

After we spent a few hours in tiny Kijioka, shooting the flowers and enjoying life in the slow lane, we, Ryukyu Mike and I, headed up the back roads into the mountains. Anyone familiar with Japanese road construction, particularly in rural areas knows that the back roads are usually quite narrow. Up in the mountains, they're often not much wider than the car you're in and instead of a shoulder or curb, they have these deep cement drainage ditches called a binjo. Suffice it to say, you really have to be careful not to round the corners too close or you may end up being there for a while waiting on a wrecker to pull you out. It can be even more fun if you meet up with another car heading the opposite direction.

That's Ryukyu Mike taking a picture of a roadside binjo, in this particular shot, you'll notice a set of steps built in to help the littler forrest critters climb out of it.

We were looking for the mythical Yonbaru Kuina. They are found only in the far north of Okinawa's main island and are endangered to a certain extent by man's encroachment in the area. Okinawa faces frequent water shortages so up here on this end of the island, they've built a bunch of dams to collect it and pipe it south so the city folks down there can wash their cars, take hot showers and make ice cubes for their sake. There are also all kinds of roads through the mountains, many that lead to nowhere and all this construction has taken a toll on this very rare and endangered species.

I had never seen a Yonbaru Kuina in the wild and heard that this was a good place to find them. When I saw all the little steps for them to climb out of the ditches, all spaced about 100 meters apart and the little steel plate bridges for them to cross over them was proof enough to me that I was in the right place. I figured that even if I didn't see a Kuina on this trip, I had to take a picture so you would know that I'm not Bullshitting you.

Now the Yonbaru Kuina doesn't fly and while the adults are large enough to jump over these barriers, their younguns ain't. So to help preserve the species, an intervention was needed. That meant spending a lot of taxpayer money to build all these little steps and bridges for the birds. Of course if the government hadn't wasted all of the tax payers money building all these roads to nowhere with the deep binjos or at least done it right the first time, they wouldn't have needed the intervention in the first place. Oh sorry, there I go again, taking the Austrian School position instead of the more popular but, utterly wrong, Keynesian economic view. To see what I mean, check out John Stossel's "The Broken Window Fallacy."

Here's another example of our government tax dollars NOT at work (Click on the image to enlarge and see what the yellow sign says).

Another problem they have on Okinawa is the Mongoose. You see Okinawa is also home to the deadly venomous Habu snake. Way back when, someone got the bright idea that if they imported a bunch of Mongeese, I guess that's plural for mongooses, like they did in Hawaii, they could get rid of the snakes. But once again, someone down in the big city worrying about everything and not knowing nothing overlooked something very, very important. Mongeese, mongooses, whatever, are daytime animals and Habu's are nocturnal hence, they rarely ever meet.

Now there's still as many Habu's as there ever were and maybe more. The mongooses/mongeese are everywhere too. In fact, there's so many of them that now they are threatening the Yonbaru Kuina's even more than the all people, the habu's, the dams and all the roads leading to nowhere combined ever could. So what was the next solution? They hired a bunch of folks to go out in the woods to trap them.

Now they could have saved a lot of time and money just by hiring a bunch of local guys to trap the Habu's in the first place. Guess they figured that Mongooses were cheaper. That's what happens when city slickers who worry about everything but don't know nothing and have no idea what they're doing get involved.

Sometimes I think we would all be a whole lot better off if we left everything alone and went about our own business like that old gal in the first picture. She was just as happy as can be! My guess is that is just one of the many reasons why the Okinawan folks who live out in the countryside, particularly in tiny Kijioka live so long. They have learned to live, let live and love life in the slow lane. And you didn't even have to buy a book to find that out.

What a Difference a Day Makes! Well, er, make that a week...

2011-04-09T16:35:00.000-07:00

It's Official! The Iris fields of Kijioka are now in bloom.

This first picture was taken on Saturday April 2nd. We couldn't have asked for better weather for our tasks. The day was sunny yet cool and although it warmed up as the day went along, you just couldn't have asked for more. Well, except for maybe some more flowers in bloom!

While on this trip, there were only a few iris' already flowering, there were plenty of buds to see. But who wants to see photos of flower buds? The weather was right, the lighting was right but alas, the flowers weren't! You can see what I mean in the photo above. Ryukyu Mike, a man who is clearly "outstanding in a field," had to get up close and personal just to get a decent picture.

Still, the evidence was clearly there that while the lighting was right, our timing wasn't. We would have to make one or more trips back to get the images we wanted! The photo below was taken exactly one week later on April 9th. This time we had plenty of flowers as well as terrorists, er make that tourists to fill up our SD cards with photos of. Unfortunately this time, the lighting just wasn't quite right. But, as you can see, that didn't stop the visitors and photographers from stopping by to get a photo as well as stopping to buy! The locals do sell flowers if you're interested!

In addition to all of the flowers that were in bloom on this trip, there were even more buds visible on the flower stems. That means that anyone heading up to the northern part of the island next weekend shoud see them at their peak!

Kijioka is a small sub-village and part of the Ogimi Village governmental unit. To get there drive north along Okinawa's West Coast on Highway 58 past Nago City. You will pass through Shioya and past the Ogimi Village hall. Look for the signs for the Bashofu Weaving Center and drive along the narrow back streets till you get to the iris fields. There are signs in Japanese but if you don't happen to read Japanese, don't worry, Kijioka is really small and eventually you'll find it.

If you happend to go up on the weekend of April 16th & 17th, just follow the hoards of terrorists till you find it!

By the way, just a quick side note for personal interest. While Okinawan's in general are known world wide for their longevity and spryness well into their senior years, Kijioka is THE one place on Okinawa that is known for where people live the longest!

By the way, this is my submission to this week's Travel Photo Thursday

Impromptu Concert in Naha

2011-04-06T02:48:00.000-07:00

This week's submission for Travel Photo Thursday

These days it seems the faster you go the behinder you get! I'm behind at work, I'm behind in my house duties (for the guys that means yard work) and I'm behind in my play. Long gone are the days of staying out all night drinking and cavorting like a horse's ass. Even though some might say that I still fit the description of the latter, very well I might add, these days for me, play means getting out with my camera and taking pictures.

(Click on the picture to enlarge)

This particular day was just two weeks after the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern Japan. The previous weekend, several well known Okinawan celebrities had gone to Kokusai (International) Street in Naha, Okinawa's capitol to raise money for relief efforts. Many musicians held concerts right in the street and collected money from the passers by. Our hope was to go there and document it so we could post about it in our blogs.

Who is the "our" I'm referring to? None other than that world famous wildlife photographer Ryukyu Mike. Mike has a unique approach to wildlife photography. You could say it comes from his "Many," with a capital "M," years of personal experience living the wild life! His philosophy is who better to shoot wildlife than someone who lives it. As you can see from the photo, it's taken its toll on him. He's the one on the right. Hard to believe from looking at him that he's only 36! Let that be a lesson to you. Like they say, "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time!"

We parked on the back side of "Heiwa Dori" or Peace Street at a little parking garage I know. From there we walked up through the marketplace toward the main drag, Kokusai Street. It was unbelievably quiet for a Sunday. A testiment to how our glorious leaders have done their best to mis-manage the economy and blame it all on the business people. You know, the folks who perform services for the rest of us, pay all those confiscatory taxes and if they have a little left over, hire people for jobs who in turn spend their money on stuff they want and need who in turn pay more taxes!

As we approached the center of the market, we noticed a young fellow playing a flute that was carved into a bamboo broom handle. He was putting on quite a show and had a little fellow and his parents enthralled. So much so that he even made a sale. No not the big broom handle looking thingy but a smaller wistle that the lad could annoy his parents with.

right behind him he had several Sanshin's on display. The sanshin is sometimes described as a three stringed lute but it looks and sounds more like a banjo. Several of them were covered with the traditional snakeskin and he also had two Kan-kan sanshin on display as well. Kan-kan sanshin are made out of old cookie tins instead of the traditional hand carved wood resonating chamber and covered with snakes hide.

You see the Okinawan people love to party. You could say they're party animals of the first order. Perhaps that is why Ryukyu Mike feels right at home here. As party animals go, I guess it's true when they say that it takes one to know one. Anyway, what is a party without any music? When the Battle of Okinawa ended in 1945, this island was totally devastated. People were lucky to have just the clothes on their backs.

But the people that survived the hell that was, needed to get on with their lives. So they made due with whatever they could find! If you ever come to visit, you must check out some of the local museums. Here you'll find cook pots made from artillery shell casings, fishing boats made from airplane gasoline tanks and of course, the Kan-kan sanshin. That's what the fellow above on the left is playing.

By the way, we never did see any celebrities on this trip. It was rather cold and rainy that day. How cold was it? So cold that you can see that Ryukyu Mike isn't decked out in his traditional "Wife Beater" T-shirt and trademark frip-frops! So after a good hot meal, we got a few shots of a local Eisa group performing and collecting money for thr relief efforts. I made sure to put a little in the pot myself and we headed home for the day. If I ever get caught up, I'll try to post some pictures of the Eisa troupe. There were two folks in that group that put on a hell of a show.

To be continued...

Their Finest Hour

2011-03-16T16:43:00.000-07:00

I normally use this blog to post pictures of where I live, Okinawa Japan, and write about the Japanese and Okinawan culture. But as you all know, a once in a lifetime event took place that has caused me to make an exception. This time I’m going to exclude the use of a photograph and try to paint for you a word picture instead.

One of my many jobs is as an adjunct professor in Business and management for a university that caters to the U.S. military here in Far East Asia. The class I’m teaching this term is online. While I am located in Okinawa, my students are spread across Asia. Some are located in Korea, Guam, Singapore, and Okinawa and across the Japanese mainland. Several of them are located in the Kanto (Tokyo) region, and they are “indirectly” feeling the effects of this terrible disaster.

Several months ago, as I was setting up my online classroom, I wrote questions far in advance for the students to answer as it related to the textbook and the class schedule. I had no idea of knowing that the earthquake and tsunami would hit Japan just as we would be talking about business research, data and the importance for businesses to prepare for and protect themselves in the case of a natural disaster.

I’d like to share a portion of our exchange on one particular question. Reminder, the questions I wrote for the students to answer was preloaded into the online classroom back in December of 2010.

Question: Why is disaster recovery important for businesses? Relate your answer to a natural disaster such as a hurricane or fire.

Student 1

Disaster recovery is important so companies may not lose valuable data and if so be able to recover the data quickly. If all data is lost, many companies will take year to recover; however, some may not go into business again at all. Companies should take proper measure to store data on multiple servers in the instance one server goes down, there is a backup ready.

One thing I think that didn’t prepare Japan was how violent the Tsunamis and earthquakes were going to be and that they were strong enough to cause meltdowns in nuclear reactors even though they had multiple failsafe mechanisms. However they are now responding and acquiring data on radiation fallout and how many people infected. They’ve also evacuated citizens from these fallout zones. Last I heard, it was a radius of 30km.

Student 2

I agree Japan wasn't prepared for the violent earthquake or resulting tsunami. That's surprising knowing Japan's vicinity to a major fault line and they have been expecting the so call big one for centuries. Word has it this was not it even though it was the biggest to date.

My Response:

I believe there have been larger recorded quakes in Alaska and Chile and it's more than likely there have been larger ones here in Japan as well as China before such recording methods were available. Even though the Japanese regularly hold drills for such disasters, I don't think anyone could have anticipated one of this magnitude!

Still, I like to relate things to movies and if anyone saw the movie "Apollo 13" you may remember early on immediately after the explosion that crippled the spacecraft, I believe it was “Deke Slayton's” character who said something along the lines of, "This will be our biggest disaster!" Actor Ed Harris who played the head of Mission Control said "No, this will be our finest hour!" In some ways I think that I'm seeing that here in Japan.

Watching CNN on Sat TV, I see news anchors, aka "talking heads" REPEATEDLY asking reporters on the ground if there is any evidence of violence, looting or price gouging, etc., going on. The answer each and every time is a resounding NO! I sometimes think these people want to see and report another Hurricane Katrina. It makes me sick to watch them.

Instead the Japanese are showing amazing character and patience given the circumstances. They're waiting in long lines without complaint for the most basic of services and there are numerous reports of those evil greedy merchants actually "LOWERING" prices and in some cases, even giving away necessities to the victims. My wife cried as we watched saying that “she is so proud of the people of Tohoku!” She's pretty tough and not one of those people who cries very easily. I think people like Bruce Willis or R. Lee Ermy are more likely to shed a tear than she is.

People in larger metropolitan areas like Tokyo and its surrounding areas are similarly going without. Rolling blackouts are the norm and are expected to remain so till sometime in April. Similarly, most rail systems, those that are running, are doing so at a reduced capacity. The Tokyo commute is hell even when they're at full capacity. The power outages are going to affect manufacturing in a big way and the economy is going to take a major hit. Given that Japan is the 3rd largest economy of the world; this will likely have global impact.

The evidence of the Japanese character is on display for the whole world to see and according to the reports I heard on the way in to work in the morning, it has even caused their adversaries in the Chinese media to take a softer stance. They're saying that they could learn a lesson or two from the Japanese Culture as a result of this and I've even heard of reports where they have reprimanded reporters and bloggers who say and write that Japan is finally getting what it deserves.

Given the circumstances, I think they're doing amazingly well! This may indeed turn out to be their "finest" hour!

Student 3

Professor.....your post echoes my thoughts and feelings on this whole thing. The people of Japan are truly inspirational. True character is shown during the worst times, and theirs has proven to be something the world should take notice of. I watched on TV one person who had 2 water bottles give one to someone who didn't get one. A ramen restaurant that withstood the disaster is offering hot meals to people for free because he said "he just wants people to be happy" . Simple acts of kindness like this inspire others to due so in disaster. Where I am we are experiencing the rolling blackouts and train issues. No one complains. On top of it when it is our turn for full power most people opt to use the bare minimal amount of electricity needed.

Most houses around my neighborhood seem to usually have one light on at night. The amount of order is amazing. They are so much more logical in a crisis than most countries, and shows that this is the better way to be. It is much more effective, and allows aid more widely spread and quicker. The way the Japanese people have reacted inspires me to be a better person.

As for their economy I think they will take a hit. So sad because they were just showing signs of taking some baby steps toward progress. The Japanese are strong minded people though. They have that on their side...so who knows? :)

My response:

This speaks volumes of the Japanese character and their culture. It’s without a doubt the major reason I decided to retire here with my wife after my 25 years of military service. The people have a strong sense of family and more importantly, “family honor” engrained in their culture. It’s not unlike the America I grew up in where we could play outside free, unfettered and unafraid. Something that I fear we’ve lost while I was out defending it for all those years.

End...

Below is just one example of how I see the "media" getting it wrong. Listen to this nuclear expert scold them as to how they are inciting fear! Thank goodness someone is speaking up. Without that, who knows what might happen. There could even be a run on iodine tablets on America's west coast! Oop's! too late, the Surgeon General just said that was a good idea....

Hina Matsuri, Coming Soon to a Department Store, School, Day Care Center or a Home near you!

2011-02-18T21:33:00.000-08:00

Our Travel Photo Thursday offering for 3 March 2011

One of the things I really enjoy about living in Japan is all the different cultural events and festivals that I have a chance to see and participate in that as a foreigner, most of us have very little knowledge of.

One of those cultural experiences in Japan occurs every year on the third of March. For girls all over the country, it is a very special day. It’s a celebration for just being a girl known to the local population as “Hina Matsuri” or the Festival of the Dolls.

Its origins have been traced back to ancient China but it really gained popularity in Japan during the Edo period, 1603–1867. In its original form, people would make dolls, commonly known as hina ningyo, out of paper and then float them down a stream as a way to get rid of bad luck. Later it was combined with other traditions and it evolved into what we see today.

Today, the festival consists of a display of dolls, either in the home or in a public display such as in a school. The dolls are set up at the end of February and remain on display through the 3rd of March. The display is taken down immediately on March the 4th. To keep the display up beyond that is believed to invite bad luck.

On that special day, girls will invite their closest friends to their home for a party. Special foods are prepared and enjoyed. If the day falls on a weekday, many times schools or day care centers will hold a separate party or celebration just for the girls and dolls are set up on a special tiered display.

Traditional displays consist of seven tiers but displays with lesser numbers of tiers are not uncommon. The upper top most level dolls that represent the Emperor and Empress. The next lower levels are filled with dolls that represent Ladies in Waiting, musicians, and Ministers of the Emperor. Lowest tiers are filled with miniatures of furniture, carriages, food, and musical instruments. The dolls are dressed in the traditional ancient Japanese style.

Usually, the parents or grandparents of a newborn baby girl will purchase a doll set or the set can be passed down from generation to generation. The new doll sets often become heirlooms and great care is taken to pack and unpack every individual piece of the set each year.

For families that cannot afford the larger and more expensive doll sets, smaller sets or even ornate origami (folded paper) doll figures are made and used in their place. Sometimes these modest hand made displays are just as beautiful and impressive as the more expensive versions.

Just prior to the festival, many of the popular local department stores will put out Hina-Matsuri displays of various sizes for sale. Some stores will cordon off very large areas for the displays. When these displays are up, it would probably be a very good idea for parents of young children to keep a closer eye on their youngsters while shopping. The reason being is that in Japanese business operations the principle is: if you break it, you bought it.

This Post featured in Travel Photo Thursday

Riding it "Doggy" Style

2011-02-12T00:59:00.000-08:00

A week ago we had one of those really rare (at least this year anyway) beautiful bright sunlit days that we just had to get out of the house with our cameras. Cherry blossom season up north was starting to wane, the traffic up that way is also a nightmare as a result of training season for the Japanese professional baseball teams being in session.

The Defending Champion Nippon Ham "Fighters" from Sapporo Japan make their training camp in Nago. This year they have a brand new rookie phenom pitcher named Saito. I can't remember his first name off the top of my head. Hell, it's a miracle I remembred his last name. It turns out that he was the last pitcher to win back to back championships at the National Koshien high school tournament four years ago.

After his senior year and having won every game he ever pitched as a high schooler, he opted to go to college instead of putting his name in the draft. If I remember correctly, he never lost a game in college where he was the pitcher of record either. Anyway, he made a name for himself during the high school tournament some years before which roughly translated to "Engrish" means the Handkerchief Prince.

Yeah, instead of wiping his sweaty brow with his forearm like a real man during the tournament, he pulled a hanky out of his back pocket during the middle of the game. All the old ladies thought that was so cute and a star was born. His mother wrote a best seller about how she raised him and ever since training camp opened, it's been wall to wall women (of all ages) at the stadium where they practice. I know because I drive past there on my way to work every day.

Now you're probably asking yourself what the hell does all of this have to do with the title of this post? Well I'll put those of you with dirty minds at ease because I did not catch young Mr. Saito doing the nasty in the bushes with some young baseball groupie bimbette! I didn't catch him with some older married woman cheating on her husband either. If I had, I would be selling that picture for gazzilions of Yen to the Japanese media. We didn't even go to see any of the teams in training, at least not yet.

We all gathered at Ryukyu Mike's hang out and headquarters, a bar in Kin called "My Place." We were going to take in the Cherry Blossom Festival in Kin at the base of the new mega-dam they're building. But Rusty, Mike's new sidekick, I guess I'm regulated to the status of has-been in that category, met us there and informed us that the festival didn't start until 4:00 PM that afternoon. Now we had about five hours to kill.

Well we stopped at a new place called the Okinawa House of Pancakes (OHOP) for lunch. That's a pretty decent place by the way, well worth a trip back and well worth a restaurant review. That is, if I ever get around to it. Anyway, when we stepped back out into the street, all the cloud cover that made it look as though it was going to be a really crappy day for shooting had burned off and the skies were the clearest blue we had seen in what seemed like weeks.

With all that time to kill, we quickly decided to head over to the Kin Nature Mirai. That's a really nice nature park built at the mouth of the river. They often hold festivals there and the place is popular with kayakers and bird watchers. There's all kinds of little mom & pop postage stamp sized farms there too.

We had been there only about 15 minutes when the first Osprey flew over. I'm talking about the bird and not the U.S. Marine Corps flying death trap. They aren't scheduled to be deployed to Okinawa till they move that air field from the big city down south to the coast line up north. That's if they ever get around to building it. Somehow in the back of my mind, I'm beginning to get the feeling they won't.

The tide was way out and the place was pretty busy for watching birds. Hell, it was just fun to be out of the house and enjoying the clear blue skies and for this time of year, unusually warm sun. Just to give you the idea of what the weather's been like here as of late, Ryukyu Mike actually wore a long sleeved shirt, regular length trousers and unbelieveable but true, he wore shoes instead of his trademark flip-flops!

Around 4:00 PM, just as we were getting ready to pack up and head on over up stream to the dam where the festival was going to take place, I got a call from the wife with a "honey-do" list. That meant my time for this day was up but just as I was about to leave, Rusty pointed over to the bridge and said something to the effect of "Holy Carp, will you get a load of that!" I hadn't yet put away my camera and turned to see a car crossing the bridge sporting something very unusual on it's roof. I quickly pointed my camera and zoomed in to get a shot of what you see below:

(Click on the image to enlarge)

I guess that's why I like living in Okinawa. Even on a relatively routine day, you're bound to spot something unusual that will bring a smile to your face!

Orchid Show in Progress at: Tropical "Day" Dream-in Center (Photo Essay)

2011-02-09T23:19:00.000-08:00

What do guys know about flowers? This is not intended to be a sexist or male bashing remark but the fact remains, most of us guys know very little about flowers. I know to get my wife roses on her birthday, St. Valentine’s Day, etc. I think I even wore a carnation in my lapel when I got married but beyond that, I think that most men know very little about flowers.

Point in fact, years ago when my nephew was visiting Okinawa, being thoughtful and wanting to be respectful, he stopped at the local super market to buy my wife a small bouquet of flowers. What he didn’t know, nor did I at the time, that most of the flowers you can buy at the local market here on Okinawa are intended for use with the Bhutsudan. That is the family altar found in most Okinawan homes. My wife was pleased and really appreciated the gesture. It was after all the thought that counts.

So back to my main question, what do we, guys, know about flowers? We know that ladies love them. We know they’re expensive, they’re pretty to look at, they don’t last very long, and for those of us who’ve tried to grow them, we know how hard it is to care for them. We have a growing garden at our house and I know from first hand experience the effort it takes to make a garden look nice.

Personally, I’d much rather grow lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, papaya, bananas, or some other fruit or vegetable that I can eventually eat. With the economy going to hell in a hand basket, we may all have to rip up our lawns and start growing veggies! Unfortunately, my wife, who has the final say in such matters, would rather grow flowers.

So when the love of my life drags me off to the botanical gardens or even to the local garden center, I have a new found appreciation for all the effort that all those nameless and faceless people put in to grow and display them for us.

One place that many people here have to go see is the Okinawa Expo Park in Motobu. Of course there is the mandatory visit to the Churaumi Aquarium. That place is just Guinness Book awesome. There is also the very entertaining whale and dolphin shows. Perhaps if time allows, you’ll even a stroll through the reconstruction of an old Okinawan village. For those of us who’ve been there already, we’ve seen the signs pointing to a place called the Tropical Dream Center.

The name conjures up visions of a beach resort with beautiful people enjoying the sun, listening to Jimmy Buffett tunes over the sound system, and sipping on a Margarita. To my dismay it’s only a botanical garden that your wife or girlfriend will just have to see that us guys are obliged to go with them or face excommunication.

Don’t fret gentlemen; it’s not a total loss. Sometimes there are events such as concerts and flower shows in the main event atrium. There are the reflecting pools filled with Japanese Coi. Lastly there is the observation tower where, on a clear day, you can see some fantastic views of not only the immediate area but the distant lee islands to the north. If you’re a camera buff, this is a great place to see, get some pictures for the family or to send back home during the winter months and gloat over how warm it is here.

To get to the Expo Park, just get on the highway and follow the signs to Expo Park and the Churaumi Aquarium. As you enter the main entrance of the park, go down the steps to the fountain. From there go to the left and follow the signs to the Tropical Dream Center, you can’t miss it. If you’ve got little ones in tow its advisable to take a stroller as the park is quite large or for 200 Yen, you can ride the trolley.

There is a fee to see the gardens of the Tropical Dream Center but, it is relatively inexpensive when compared to other attractions around the island. The adult fare is 670 Yen. Throw in an Orchid flavored ice cream, maybe a soft drink and if your lucky, a free concert. Not too bad for your money. It’s a small investment that is likely to pay off big dividends later. By the way, the annual orchid show is going on now through Sunday the 13th of February.

The Eki Den is not a box lunch

2011-01-29T22:47:00.000-08:00

It’s running season in Okinawa! Yes, the winter is here, the heat has abated and as long as the weather will cooperate, people tend to include more outdoor activities in their routines. That includes more running events and road races. Recently, in early December, Naha held its famous Marathon Race and soon Okinawa City will hold theirs too. Everyone who likes or lives to run will be out and trying to get some valuable road work in. Ask any self respecting Marine and they’ll say the temperature matters not, nor whether the sun is shining brightly or in liquid form, every day is running season here on Okinawa.

One of the more popular forms of road races held in Japan this time of year is a distance relay race known as the Eki-Den or “station run.” The word Eki means station as in train station and Den is an abbreviation of the word Densha or train. Please don’t confuse the word Eki-Den with Eki-Ben which, though they sound very much alike, the latter means “Station Bento.” Those are the popular box lunches found at most train stations throughout Japan. Even one of the monorail stations in Naha offers an Eki Ben. If you ask someone if they’d like to go for one and mean the other, well it could be embarrassing.

Rather, the Eki Den is a road race that usually pits teams of runners from local schools, the various branches of the Japanese military, police and fire departments and running clubs against each other. Many of the local high schools also compete against each other regularly in this manner. Because each runner has a shorter distance than the whole race to run, the pace is usually quite fast. I get short of breath just watching them. Of course now that I’m retired from active duty the only running I do is to the bathroom after my morning pot of coffee.

What does it all mean for the rest of us who live here? It means that you should be extra cautious while driving about the island during this time of year. No matter what your best laid plans have in store, you just never know IF, WHEN OR given the time of year it’s more likely to be WHERE (emphasis added) you’re going to see one. The police will be out on their motorcycles and they do watch the traffic very closely around the runners. If you’re out driving and happen to run into one, (pun intended) be patient and wait for the opportunity to pass safely. If you happen to out on the street and you see a group of runners passing by, cheer them on. They’ll appreciate the gesture. And lastly, just to help you keep it straight, Eki-Den are better to run when you’re less filled, Eki-Ben taste great!

Playing in Taffic

2011-01-22T22:40:00.000-08:00

It's Cherry Blossom season in Okinawa! For locals, as well as the "terrorists," er make that the "tourists," that means driving out to some of the places one usually doesn't go to, to take in the scenery. In the early part of the season, that means heading up to the northern parts of the island where the cherry blossoms bloom first. Popular "hot" spots include Hwy 58 between Cape Hedo and Oku, Nakijin Castle in Nakijin Village, Mt. Nago Dake in Nago City and of course, Mt. YaeDake in my adopted hometown of Motobu.

For those of you unfamiliar with Cherry blossom season in Okinawa, it's a bit different than what you may think. First of all, the trees here are Taiwanese Cherry trees. The blossoms are pink instead of white and they don't blossom because the spring temeratures are beginning to warm. These are subtropical warm weather trees and as part of their survival mechanism, at the first cold snap, they lose their leaves from the previous year and start to bud anew.

Mt. Yaedake is the second highest peak on Okinawa Honto with an elevation of about 1600 feet or just over 500 meters. At the very top is a automated communications station for the U.S. military. For years this was an actual military base but as the result of advances in technology, it was eventually automated and is now only visited periodically for inventory and inspection. Most of the people who come here not U.S. military but instead they are local technicians who maintain the facility.

It's said that when the military pulled out, they asked the local people what they wanted as a token of appreciation for hosting the U.S. forces. Instead of building a new school or some other form of municipal facility, it's said that the people asked that the road to the top of the mountain be planted "lined" with cherry trees so that they could all enjoy them for many years to come. If all of that is true, then I guess they got what they wanted because Mt. Yaedake is one of the most popular cherry blossom viewing spots on the whole island.

It had been a couple of weeks since Ryukyu Mike and I had had the opportunity to get out and shoot our cameras. The weather had been rather crappy for a couple of weeks and it seemed that no matter what the forecasters predicted, the exact opposite came true. Today was supposed to be sunny and rather warm, around 20 degrees celcius or 68 degrees farenheit. Given the recent track record, the odds were against us but, because I hadn't been out in a couple of weeks, I had a bad case of cabin fever. Besides, since the local prognosticators can't even agree or get the next day's weather right, I don't buy into the crap about Antropogenic Global Warming (AGW) anyway.

Aparently this happy "new" couple didn't buy the into it either. Though there was some intermittant sunshine, it was rather cool. I was happy to be wearing a sweater as well as a jacket. This poor girl, unless she was from Hokkaido had to be freezing her "you fill in the blank" off in that wedding gown. If they weren't really a happy couple and just models being paid to do this for an ad, I hope to hell they were properly compensated!

Anyway, you can see that at least "She" is lovely and if they really are a couple, rather than just models, I hope the photographers that were accompanying and shooting them did her justice. As you can see from a previous photo, I spotted them as we made our way up the hill from the parking area. When we got up to where they were being shot, I asked if we could take a picture. They smiled and agreed so I got this second shot off just before they made their way down the mountain. Ryukyu Mike was a little slow on the draw and got skunked.

He even spoke some English and politely asked me "How are you doing?" I replied back in the local dialect that I was "Cha-gan-ju!' or very well which got him chuckling. That's when I snapped the second shot.

Even with all the great cameras that the Japanese make, for some reason, people here like to use their "Keitai" or cell phones to take photos with. I'm sure that some of these can do a really good job but, if you really want a good picture, you need a real camera. What is so surprizing here is that's what is hanging from her wrist but, who knows why they insist on using their cell phones.

As I mentioned, Ryukyu Mike came with me on this trip. He's the dude in the photo above that looks more like a civil war general than a professional photographer. After an hour or two near the top of the mountain, we decided to head down to where the local town built a huge park where they have plenty of parking set up as well as a bunch of "Yattai" boothes set up with eats, games of chance for the kids to waist all of mom or dads hard earned money and other stuff to buy.

Mke being the consumate professional photographer is always going for "The Shot" that he hopes one day will land him a big money contract with someone like National Geographic Magazine, even if he has to risk life and limb to get it. So playing in traffic, like he is here, is absolutely nothing to him if it means getting an award winning shot.

Down here at the park, they had all kinds of vendors and although I was getting hungry, Mike mentioned that he hadn't eaten since lunch the day before. We stopped at a food booth just a few meters further on down from the flower sales booth here and had us a heaping helping of unhealthy grease soaked french fried potatoes, mini-tofu sausages and deep fried chicken nuggets that Mike said would have broken his teeth if he had any!

We snapped a few pictures of some plumb blossoms as well as what the vendors were offering before heading over to Nakijin Castle to take a look. Over there, they do night viewings of the blossoms so we wanted to check out the dates. It was packed when we arrived so we kept driving on from there.

Cherry blossom season here in northern Okinawa will last through February 6th. This particular day, January 23rd, the trees were about 25% in bloom. I would expect that "Man-kai" or full bloom should hit us next week. Even if you miss out that week, you'll have at least one more after that to check it out. After the 6th, be sure to start heading to the southern end of the island. The trees there should be in full bloom from mid February to around the first of March. For some silly ass reason, the trees here blossom in the north first and south later.

So if you're here and have the chance, get out and see the blossoms. do yourself a favor and bring a real camera too!

Happy New Year at Naminoue Shrine

2010-12-23T16:58:00.000-08:00

The back side of Nainoue Shrine in Naha, Okinawa, Japan.

During the New Year celebration, temples like this one are a buzz of activity. In addition to the business the temples do selling talismans of good luck, smaller merchants and vendors set up temporary booths to sell their wares, food, gifts or games of chance. It's a carnival like atmosphere.

Many people will dress up in their finest, particularly the older and the youngest generations. It's wonderful to see people dressed in traditional Japanese kimonos, particularly the little ones like this little gal below.

Talismans of good luck are sold as well as figurines for display in the home. Themes are often associated with the Shichi-fuku-jin (the seven happy Gods) or the symbol of the Chinese zodiac symbol of the new year.

This is the main entrance to the Naminoue Temple Shrine in Naha, Okinawa Japan. Traditionally, folks make their way up to the temple by going in through the torii gate and up the left side of the walkway, then the leave out by going down on their left side (our right in this photo) of the gate. That may also explain, to some degree, why the Japanese drive on the left.

Balancing Act

2010-12-11T22:34:00.000-08:00

This photo is one of my favorites.

We, my wife and I, stumbled upon this just as it was happening. Here a ceremony is being performed by a local shaman priestess. Not to worry, we had permission to shoot photos of it. Several of the pictures were put into a story and posted on the Everywhere Magazine website. One of the pictures was even published in the last issue before the magazine folded. Things are tough all over!

Thinking the show was over, I had already put my big camera away and we were leaving. I squeezed it off using a little pocket sized point and shoot as we left. What happened was we thought it was all over. But in reality it was just beginning. Not wanting to disturb them in their work or provoke their anger I snapped this and got the heck out of their way.

We got off the causeway and onto the sea wall where we could see more and I got out my big camera, zoomed in as best I could and snapped off a few more which are viewable in the links provided below.

Check out the links here:
http://everywheremag.com/articles/567
or click on this link, open the PDF and check out page five
http://everywheremag.com/issues

Wild Life Photos???

2010-11-12T22:31:00.000-08:00

As you can see from the heading, I like to include things like Okinawan culture, dance, festivals, tourism information and the like on this blog. In particular, I like to post photos and let them do most of the talking. My partner in crime on most of my photography excursions is an old friend I've known for years.

Most bloggers on Okinawa know him as Ryukyu Mike and he caught the photography bug shortly after I began writing for a local English language rag. I enjoyed that stint for a few years until they hired a new editor who started cutting up my stories and limiting the photos due to what he said was "in the name of content." When I and most of my fellow freelancers went from earning a couple of grand a month to only a few dollars, we realized what he really meant by content.

But my good friend and I still enjoyed getting out with our cameras a couple of times a month just to see what we could shoot and post it on line for all to see. If you've been following this blog, you know that we've covered lots and lots of festivals. But Mike's first love with photography is still shooting wild life. As he likes to put it, "you don't need a model release from a bird to post it online or sell it to a magazine."

Over the years he's studied the art far more studiously than I and has garnered a good deal of respect. He's even had quite a few of his photos published both online and in print, had galleries exhibit his work and even though it's nothing to write home about, he's even made a little money at it.

so it was really nice for both of us to be able to get a day off during the week and go shooting wildlife again. We started not far from his home in the early morning light just to see if there were any birds feeding along the shore. The area near his house has a beach where it is not uncommon to see egrets feeding or Osprey's soaring overhead.

(Click on the photo to enlarge)

It wasn't long before this fellow landed on the beach nearby and did what he does best, catch fish. fortunately we were on the retaining wall for the boat harbor and had the sun to our backs. Mike had his 500mm Sigma lens already attached and took quite a few photos of this fella in action. Unfortunately all I had was my 18-200mm Tamron lens mounted on my Pentax K200D so this picture had to be cropped down quite a bit to bring it in to view. Still, that's the beauty of digital photography. With a few mouse clicks you can take a picture that you couldn't hardly see a bird in, crop, frame, adjust the exposure and blow it up to a decent image.

Mike's already posted some of his stuff from this shoot in his gallery at his website as well as online with his blogs. But I was really shocked today when I went to visit his blog. It seems as though Mike has taken the concept of shooting wildlife and gone in a totally new direction. All I can say is that you'll have to see it to believe it! It's available right (HERE).

Ryukyu Kingdom Festival Parade

2010-11-06T01:02:00.000-07:00

Sunday October 31st marked the beginning of this year’s Ryukyu Kingdom Festival. It was only a few short weeks ago that we covered the Great Tsunahiki “tug-o-war” in Naha. That time we were able to find a relatively unobstructed observation point well above the madding crowd so this time, we decided to see if we could accomplish the same feat.

We looked up and down Kokusai “International” street on which the grand parade, a recreation of the royal procession of the Ryukyu King and Queen would take place and spotted a second level balcony in front of a souvenir shop. It was on the opposite side of the street than where we would have liked to have been and we were worried about the angle of the sun affecting our shots but it was close to noon and if the sun was directly overhead, we felt it probably wouldn’t give us too much glare.

We walked up stairs and asked the manager of the store if it was OK and he said yeah. Unfortunately this is Okinawa and that means everything runs on what the locals know as “Okinawa Time!” Okinawa time is a result of the laid back atmosphere of the island culture. Things will happen eventually so don’t get your panties in a wad. For example, if you were waiting for the 2 O’clock bus, just plan to keep waiting if it’s late, it will eventually get there and who knows, one day it may even be on time.

So the parade finally got to where we were waiting and we were glad that we had a spot well above all the crowds. We’ve done the low angle street level shots before and it’s always a pain in the “you know what” when you’re setting up your tripod, have your shutter release in hand, you get your aperture and shutter speed set and are ready to squeeze off that perfectly composed shot only to have some terrorist, aka tourist with a $5.00 disposable camera step right in front of you.

After the King and Queen as well as the dignitaries passed by, we were ready to show our support for the local farmers i.e. have a smoke and something to drink. Kokusai Street is now mostly a “No Smoking” area so we had to go to one of the handful of designated areas. Just as we were heading across the street, the dance troupes came by. We stayed for a few more photos and since we were near the end of the parade route, the crazies aka terrorists weren’t too bad.

The festival this year seemed to be a little shorter than in past years. I’m almost certain that has to do with the down economy. On Wednesday the 3^rd of November, the players in this day’s events all gathered up at Shuri Castle to do it again. I wasn’t able to attend due to work but “Ryukyu” Mike was. He has some pretty interesting photos posted at his blog. You can see them by clicking on the link to his post provided (HERE).

Street People

2010-11-01T01:42:00.000-07:00

Sunday was the big Ryukyu Kingdom Festival Parade in Naha Okinawa. It was also Halloween! As you can see from the photos, the nuts were out in full force.

I can't quite understand the Japanese obsession with Samba dancing but it's taken the nation by storm. I first noticed it at a local festival when I was living up in mainland Japan about ten or so years ago. Although the festival was a "Mikoshi" parade, thats where they carry those local portable shrines on their shoulders and chant about the neighborhoods during summer festivals. That time it was a Japanese Samba group that led the parade.

While admittedly, I don't mind gawking at scantily clad women dancing in the street, I have to say that Japanese women tend to be a little small in the hip and leg area so perhaps it's my problem more than anything. I would also add that unlike up in mainland Japan, this troupe didn't end up leading the parade. Instead they took their little gig into the market. I guess they were paid to draw customers to the shopping area instead of watching the parade.

Another phenomenon that has gotten a little crazy over on this side of the pond lately is the desire to dress up like cartoon or as the Japanese call it "manga" characters. The other thing is the obsession with maid outfits. Up in mainland Japan, "maid kissa" or maid kissaten are said to be quite popular. A maid kissaten or "coffee shop" is where the men, usually losers who couldn't get a date even if they had Bill Gates sized pockets sip coffee and gawk at all the girls dressed in French maid style outfits.

I couldn't quite get whether the girls pictured here were doing the manga thing or the maid kissa thing.

This gal was the last to show and I thought the street sign was most appropriate for the occasion.

By the way, I will be posting pictures of the Ryukyu Kingdom festival parade a little later this week, probably this weekend so stay tuned. But just to make sure you know the real reason why I happened to be in the big city, click on the post title and it will redirect you to a story I posted for JPG Magazine a few years back. Lots of pictures there and more to come to this site later. Until then, peace!

The Hatagashira

2010-10-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

In many regions of Okinawa, people enjoy tug of war events. These events started over 600 years ago, during the Ryukyu Kingdom Era, for the extermination of harmful insects or exorcism when a plague was spreading. Today, these events are held for the pray for good harvests, morale uplift, or even exorcism.

Hatagashira is a must have item for any tug-o-war event on Okinawas. The shape, decoration, and words etched on it differ according to the region from which it came. It is believed that God will descend on the tall Hatagashira of a team or group that will join the tug of war to bring it good fortune. Hatagashira usually approach from east and west together with the people participating in the tug of war but, Hatagashira are found at other events for the purpose of morale uplift or just preservation of tradition.

The Hatagashira of Okinawa can be likened to the OMikoshi or Mikoshi of mainland Japan. For those of you who are unfamiliar, a Mikoshi is a portable Shinto shrine. Shinto followers believe that it serves as the vehicle of a divine spirit in Japan at the time of a parade or celebration. Often, the mikoshi resembles a miniature building, with pillars, walls, a roof, a veranda and a railing. Typical shapes are rectangles, hexagons, and octagons. The body, which stands on two or four poles (for carrying), is usually lavishly decorated, and the roof might hold a carving of a Dragon or a Phoenix. In all my years on Okinawa, I have only seen one Mikoshi but I have seen many Hatagashira.

During a matsuri, or Japanese festival, people bear a mikoshi on their shoulders by means of the two or four poles. They bring the mikoshi from the shrine, carry it around the neighborhoods that worship at the shrine, or in an organized special event or a parade. The Hatagashira however, is carried upright by one person at a time and bearers will switch out as they become tired. Others are positioned about the pole to catch it should it fall. In Japan, overhead wires are a constant concern and the hatagashira is lowered when necessary to avoid them. Still, if it is windy, it can be problematic if the hanging banners suddenly catch a strong gust as seen here.

During the Naha Matsuri and in preparation for the Great Tsunahiki or "Tug-O-War" sixteen teams, eight representing the East and eight representing the West, all proudly bearing their Hatagashira will march the length of Kokusai Dori or "Inetnational Street," past the prefectural building to the Kumoji intersection, a distance of roughly two miles. Then just before the great Tsunahiki, they will again gather where the ropes will be joined to dance and perform karate demonstrations for the crowds just before the big tug-o-war.

Not your Father's Hatagashira

2010-10-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

The Naha Matsuri "festival" was held the weekend of October 9th, 10th and 11th, Big events in addition to the music, food and fireworks was a parade down Kokusai "International" street and the great Tsunahiki, which we will be posting about in out "Goya Republic" blog (Linked Here).

A big part of the Tsunahiki is the parade where civic groups from around the island (16 in all) parade down Kokusai Street with their Hatagashira's These are long poles, around 10 meters in length that are decorated and carried upright the length of the street. If anyone has seen a "Mikoshi" parade in mainland Japan, that is what this can be compared to.

But it's not just for the mighty. Even the little ones are in training for the day they get to carry the big pole.

The expression on the one lad's face reminded me of the refrain from an old "Beatles" song that goes: "Boy, you're going to carry that weight, carry that weight a long time!"

"OK, so it ain't ten meters tall but neither am I!"

More pictures and posts as the week progresses....

Cheer Leaders

2010-09-17T17:03:00.001-07:00

Cheer Leaders
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

The Ungami, sometimes pronounced "Unjami," Matsuri or festival is held each August in tiny Shioya, part of the Ogimi Village governmental unit along Okinawa's northwestern coast.

Shioya is a beautiful little fishing village with a large back bay. This protected bay offers the locals a unique opportunity to hold boat races in traditional "sabani" boats, often used for "Hari" or dragon boat races. It is also one of the premire sites in Japan for sculling.

The festival is noted for it's prayer rituals. Prayers are primarily the duty of the women and every other year, they hold special "Women Only" prayer vigils in sacred groves.

But each and every year the festival is climaxed with a traditional Hari race. Unlike othher Hari races in Okinawa, in Shioya, at the finish line, the women will don traditional garb and enter the water to bang drums, dance and cheer on their favorite team of racers.

The women formed themselves into three groups and cheered on the participants in the Hari races. From what I can tell, this is unique to the village of Shioya. While it may have been comonplace in other locations in times past, Shioya is the only village where the practice is still done routinely.

Hit Parade

2010-09-17T17:02:00.001-07:00

Hit Parade
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

Shioya is a beautiful little fishing village with a large back bay. This protected bay offers the locals a unique opportunity to hold boat races in traditional "sabani" boats, often used for "Hari" or dragon boat races. It is also one of the premire sites in Japan for sculling.

The festival is noted for it's prayer rituals. Prayers are primarily the duty of the women and every other year, they hold special "Women Only" prayer vigils in sacred groves.

But each and every year the festival is climaxed with a traditional Hari race. Unlike othher Hari races in Okinawa, in Shioya, at the finish line, the women will don traditional garb and enter the water to bang drums, dance and cheer on their favorite team of racers.

Women of the village dressed in traditional garb marched and danced their way to the waterfront.

Missed Opportunity

2010-09-06T13:48:00.001-07:00

Missed Opportunity
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

This photo was also taken at the Ungami Festival in Shioya, Okinawa, Japan. Admittedly this was not one of my best shots but, come to think of it, it wasn't one of this poor slob's best photos either! The sun had just darted behind the clouds as they came around the corner. Since I shoot in "Manual Mode" almost all the time, I just didn't quite have my settings right for my own taste.

With the prayers on the hillside finished, the villagers were moving on down the road to the next ceremony and the starting point for the boat races later in the day. Unfortunately for one cameraman, he was so focussed on the boat team gathered in front of him that he missed the village elder being carried down the hill in a formal procession.

Damn Tourists

2010-09-06T13:26:00.001-07:00

Damn Tourists
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

This is a picture of a prayer shrine on a hillside above a small village in Okinawa Japan. Everyone is gathered to take part in a prayer ceremony or "Ungami" before the days events kick off. Ungami, sometimes pronounced "Unjami," Matsuri or festival is held each August in tiny Shioya, part of the Ogimi Village governmental unit along Okinawa's northwestern coast.

Shioya is a beautiful little fishing village with a large back bay. This protected bay offers the locals a unique opportunity to hold boat races in traditional "sabani" boats, often used for "Hari" or dragon boat races. It is also one of the premire sites in Japan for sculling.

The festival is noted for it's prayer rituals. Prayers are primarily the duty of the women and every other year, they hold special "Women Only" prayer vigils in sacred groves.

But each and every year the festival is climaxed with a traditional Hari race. Unlike othher Hari races in Okinawa, in Shioya, at the finish line, the women will don traditional garb and enter the water to bang drums, dance and cheer on their favorite team of racers.

Ryukyu Mike (in the foreground with the blue "wife-beater" T-shirt) and I had got here early and painstakingly positioned ourselves where the light was right and then set up our cameras to get some shots of the prayer session.

By the time everything finally got underway, we were besieged by a host of amature cameramen and women, mostly terrorists aka. tourists from mainland Japan who didn't even bother to notice, let alone care, that we were there first.

Frustrated by their rudeness, we took a couple of shots from different angles (this one included) and left back down to the waterfront where there was some shade and a nice breeze that made it a bit cooler and more confortable.

Happy Obaa

2010-09-06T13:22:00.001-07:00

Happy Obaa
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

The Ungami, sometimes pronounced "Unjami," Matsuri or festival is held each August in tiny Shioya, part of the Ogimi Village governmental unit along Okinawa's northwestern coast.

Okinawa's indiginous religion is called "So-Sen-Su-Hai" and is a form of ancestor's worship that incorporates a little bit of Taoism, Shamanism, Buddhism with a couple of other "ism's" thrown in for good measure. This festival is noted for it's prayer rituals. Prayers are primarily the duty of the women and every other year, they hold special "Women Only" prayer vigils in sacred groves.

The village elder, a 94 years young lady was for lack of a better way of putting it, the Master of Ceremonies for this prayer session. Here we caught her giving us just a little hint of a smile.

Though they drove her up the hill to the shrine, she still was able to navigate the incline and steps with minimal assistance. Okinawan's are noted for their longevity. My guess is this old gal will be with us for a few more festivals.

Practice makes Perfect

2010-09-03T18:25:00.001-07:00

Practice makes Perfect
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

The Ungami, sometimes pronounced "Unjami," Matsuri or festival is held each August in tiny Shioya, part of the Ogimi Village governmental unit along Okinawa's northwestern coast.

Shioya is a beautiful little fishing village with a large back bay. This protected bay offers the locals a unique opportunity to hold boat races in traditional "sabani" boats, often used for "Hari" or dragon boat races. It is also one of the premire sites in Japan for sculling.

The festival is noted for it's prayer rituals. Prayers are primarily the duty of the women and every other year, they hold special "Women Only" prayer vigils in sacred groves.

But each and every year the festival is climaxed with a traditional Hari race. Unlike othher Hari races in Okinawa, in Shioya, at the finish line, the women will don traditional garb and enter the water to bang drums, dance and cheer on their favorite team of racers.

With the two boats from their teams launched, the men work on getting their timming down as well as work on their style. The boat on the left is manned by the older men of the village while the smaller boat on the right is manned by the younger men and boys.

Launch

2010-09-03T18:15:00.001-07:00

Launch
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

The Ungami, sometimes pronounced "Unjami," Matsuri or festival is held each August in tiny Shioya, part of the Ogimi Village governmental unit along Okinawa's northwestern coast.

Shioya is a beautiful little fishing village with a large back bay. This protected bay offers the locals a unique opportunity to hold boat races in traditional "sabani" boats, often used for "Hari" or dragon boat races. It is also one of the premire sites in Japan for sculling.

The festival is noted for it's prayer rituals. Prayers are primarily the duty of the women and every other year, they hold special "Women Only" prayer vigils in sacred groves.

But each and every year the festival is climaxed with a traditional Hari race. Unlike othher Hari races in Okinawa, in Shioya, at the finish line, the women will don traditional garb and enter the water to bang drums, dance and cheer on their favorite team of racers.

At one of the three sub-villages that make up Shioya village, the locals perform a ceremony and bless the boats with Okinawan Awamori Sake. In this picture they are launching the smaller of two boats. This one will be manned by the younger men and boys of the village and raced against by the other two sub-village teams.

Eye Candy

2010-07-04T23:31:00.001-07:00

Eye Candy
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

The real reason guys go to the beach? Girls! Fortunately there was at least one worth taking a photo of in this group

Posing for a picture

2010-07-04T23:30:00.001-07:00

Posing for a picture
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

A group of famale terrorists, er make that tourists, from mainland Japan visit one of the more remote beaches along Okinawa's Pacific coast. No worry about hidden bombs with this group. This is on the Kin Bay side of the Henza peninsula

Hu Yu Lookin At?

2010-07-04T23:24:00.001-07:00

Hu Yu Lookin At?
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

We were wondering what this guy was wearing on his head. It wasn't till he reversed it and put it on correctly that we realized he was wearing his dive suit "hoodie" bass ackwards! Note the small harpoon on his shoulder. Likely he was going to snorkel to look for some sea urchin, octopus or anything edible that was unlucky enough to pass infront of him..

This photo corresponds to the one below entitled "A Day at the Office"

A Day at the Office

2010-07-04T23:17:00.001-07:00

A Day at the Office
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

With the Rainy Season on Okinawa finally over, it was time to recharge our solar batteries at the beach. This particular beach is one we never visited before our on the outer islands past the Kaichudoro off the Henza peninsula. By the looks of his outfit and the equipment he was carrying, this gentleman was not here to catch some rays.

Mesmerized

2010-06-13T15:42:00.001-07:00

Mesmerized
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

Sorry for not posting for so long, work and a prolonged rainy season have prevented me from getting out and about with my camera. Unfortunately its been the former which has been much more pervasive in interfering with my hobby/work of writing about Okinawa, Japan.

Here’s an old photo which I had published on the front page of the “Stripes Okinawa” a few years back that I really liked. This is a young lad mesmerized by a street performer during the regular Sunday street festival on Kokusai “International” street in Naha, Okinawa’s capitol.

One of the things I like about Kokusai Street is the connection to the past it still holds. The main Ichiba or “market” for the city is located here. The area is now covered to allow shoppers to escape the brutal Okinawan summer sun. But many of the old shops still retain the old charm of a time not so long ago.

Some stores, especially the further away from the main entrance you go are not much larger than a coat rack with homemade wares hung for display. The whole market is alive with the sights, sounds and smells of a fond memory and well worth a visit.

A few years back when the large and modern “Shin Naha” New Naha district opened its doors with modern shopping malls, the old market was threatened with extinction. Many stores either closed their doors for good or moved to the newer and potentially richer hunting grounds of the modern shopping district.

The local merchants aware of the threat petitioned the city fathers and made way for the weekly closing of Kokusai Street and the establishment of a street festival. Now, with a few exceptions, the street is closed at noon on Sunday’s and local bands, street performers and small merchants by the hundreds take to the streets, literally, to show their stuff. The move has been a boon for local businessmen and women and for the moment has saved the old business district and its charm for at least a little while longer.

Up to Their Iris's in it

2010-04-02T17:51:00.001-07:00

Up to Their Iris's in it
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

The northwest coast of Okinawa is largely rural. Here the bluffs drop off steeply into the East China Sea. The main highway hugs the coastline and arable land is scarce. Along the way the cliff sides open up at the mouths of the small streams that empty into the sea and hidden behind the steep hillsides are small valleys dotted with postage stamp sized plots of farmland. With temperate climate year round, flowers are a main cash crop.

With tourism being a major industry for the island as a whole, entrepreneurial farmers in this village have found a way to make a little money on both ends of the deal. By inviting tourists by the busload to tour their farms right before their harvest, they have found a way to increase their potential return on investment. Locals also take the opportunity to not only sell the flowers direct but also offer a variety of their wares.

Pretty Maids all in a row

2010-03-08T23:51:00.001-08:00

Pretty Maids all in a row
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

Classical Ryukyu dancers perform in a parade on Kokusai (International) Street in the Capitol City of Naha, Okinawa during the “Ryukyu Kingdom Festival” November 2009. The weather this day threatened all throughout but for some strange reason held off just long enough for us to capture images like this. Though the light was less than ideal, the colors of the costumes and the dedication of all of the participants made this a day to remember.

Tege

2010-03-06T14:47:00.001-08:00

tege
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

Here's a photo I took that's not necessarily artistic but, I really liked for the colors and the contrasts. A better way would have been to catch the old woman riding her three wheel bike toward me or into the picture rather than away.

But she was so cute I couldn't just throw it away. She had to be in her late 80's and had just finished working a hot day in the fields. She filled up the basket of her bike and was taking home just enough for her personal use.

Though I prefer to put out pictures that are just what I saw through the view finder, I decided to experiment with this one a little. I don't own photoshop software, the curse of being a retiree on a budget but GIMP is a freeware program that offeres many of the same abilities to manipulate images.

I played with the Artistic features, using first a function called "cubism" and then "oilify" to give this photograph a painting like appearence.

I think in the future I'll still prefer to stick with photos that look great period, This is displayed to give viewers an idea of what they can do with images that are OK but for whatever reason, you just can't throw away.

This photo was taken in the Igei rice fields of Kin Town, Okinawa Japan using a Sony Cybershot DSC H-7.

By the way, Tege pronounced "tay-gay" means to take it easy, don't sweat the small stuff. Perhaps that is just one reason, if not the main reason, that Okinawan's stay so spry well into their "Golden Years!"

Harvest

2010-02-22T23:38:00.001-08:00

Harvest
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

In central Okinawa in Kin town are the smaller sub-villages of Igei and Yaka. Both are centrally located and sit right along Kin Bay on the east coast of the island. Though they have nice beaches, they missed out on the tourism business as most of the big resort hotels chose to build on the West coast so guests could take romantic walks along the beaches and take in the glorious sunsets.

The East coast of Okinawa is where you'll find all of the blue collar types that make the island work. If it's not some sort of industry, it's either farming or fishing. Igei and Kin are no different.

The warm climate allows farmers to get in two or more crops in a single year. Since farming isn't as sexy as working at one of the posh resorts, the people who work the fields are often elderly. This woman, as well as her companions just off camera were all easily well into her 70's.

They didn't work at a break neck pace but none the less, they brought in the harvest in a timely manner. Everyone worked together and seemed to enjoy themselves all the while they worked. Maybe this is the real reason they live so long.

This photo is just one of many that I'll have on display at the Camp Foster Library during the month of March. If you're on Okinawa and have access to the base, feel free to check it out...

Benchmark

2010-02-21T00:07:00.001-08:00

Benchmark
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

Ryukyu Mike uses a concrete park bench to steady his camera vice his tripod for this shot of the Tomori Lion. A story written by me along with most of Mike's photos was recently published in Apogee Photo Magazine Online and is viewable at: www.apogeephoto.com/feb2010/mlynch22010.shtml

Click (HERE) to order an official Tomori Lion Tee Shirt from Goya Republic!

Worship

2010-02-19T00:23:00.001-08:00

Worship
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

This photo was originally titled "Shaman Priestess at Work" and was actually published in the last ever print copy of "Everywhere Magazine." Like so many print media, with the cost of printing, staff, facilities and with advertizing revenue having completely fallen off the table and through the floor, they are going the way of the dinosaur. Just so it didn't go totally to waste, I did post a photo essay to the magazine's online site and it's still viewable at: http://everywheremag.com/articles/567 if you care to take a look. It'll tell you about my once in a lifetime opportunity to get a photo like this!

Balancing Act

2010-02-15T13:57:00.001-08:00

Balancing Act
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

This photo was taken on Hama-Higa Jima along Okinawa, Japan's pacific coast. This smaller island is accessable only by the Kaichudoro causway and then another bridge.

Legend says that during the time of the Ryukyu Kingdom, "what Okinawa was once known as," the popular saying was that "the king lived in Shuri and the Gods lived in Hama-Higa."

So it was no surprise as we drove the coast road of this small island to see two women dressed all in white performing a ritual in a hidden cove. What was most surprising is that when we stopped and asked if we could take photos, they said yes!

I snapped away and put together a photo essay which can be seen at the Everywhere magazine website: http://everywheremag.com/articles/567

Though this particular one did not make the cut for getting published in the last ever print issue of that magazine, it is one of my favorites.

Comparison and contrast

2010-02-02T23:55:00.003-08:00

Comparison and contrast
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

Seijin-no-hi or comming of age day comes every January. Anyone who turned 20 years of age will take part in a grand ceremony marking this important right of passage. 20 is the age of majority in Japan and once you've reached it you can drink, vote, enter in to contracts and the part they de-emphasize is taking responsibility for your own actions. Sometimes people who take part in the ceremonies get a little carried away. Sort of a one last time, for old times sake. These two young ladies were checking out gifts they just received or comparing what they had just bought.

Happy to meet you

2010-02-02T23:55:00.001-08:00

Happy to meet you
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

We were heading to Kokusai (international) street in Naha specifically to see if we could get some shots of young ladies like this as they made their rounds about the town celebrating. We had just parked our car and were walking along when My friend Mike noticed this young lady and her mother in the van right behind her in this shot. In no time at all Mike had both of them grinning and this young lady kindly posed for us.

Bad Company

2010-02-02T23:54:00.001-08:00

Bad Company
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

Though they are much more common up in mainland Japan, Okinawa does have a few "Right Wing" kooks running around. If you've never seen them before, you can't miss them when they ride around in their speaker trucks with the Japanese Battle Flags flying.

Shima Gwa

2010-02-02T23:53:00.001-08:00

Shima Gwa
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

A shima gwa is an island person. Shima is Japanese for island and the gwa comes from the Okinawan Hogen dialect. While it can mean either male or female it is most often used when speaking of the fairer sex. This little character is not anything I've seen from any Japanese manga but the figure can be seen at tourist traps all across the island. Note the Hibiscus flower in her hair. This flower is symbolic of Okinawa.

Brooding

2009-12-31T20:53:00.003-08:00

Brooding
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

This is a view of Kan Misaki or Cape Kan, Okinawa's southern most point. I had just set up when this fellow walked into my view finder and gave me this split second pose of him looking out over the brooding point. I tried to get another but he noticed me focusing my camera and walked away.

Reflections on the Passing Scene

2009-12-31T20:53:00.001-08:00

Reflections on the Passing Scene
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

A trip down to Itoman city found us with not much to do other than shoot birds. We did see one Osprey in flight but he never really got within range of our cameras. We did get a few good closeups of this Greater Egret or "Shirosagi" as they are known in Japanese but I didn't much care for the results. I did like this reflection of him in the water after he was spooked by a fisherman along the bank.

Here's Looking at You Kid

2009-12-31T20:52:00.001-08:00

Here's Looking at You Kid
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

Just prior to the start of the Ryukyu Kingdom Festival Parade, Ryukyu Mike coaxed one of these gals into posing for a quick picture:

Check out the story at: blog.gaijinpot.com/travel/the-okinawan-rain-kami-sama/3848/

Down and Dirty

2009-12-31T20:51:00.001-08:00

Down and Dirty
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

At the Royal Gardens of Shikinaen. A detailed story of the place is available at: The Royal “Crib” at Shikinaen

The General Buckner Monument

2009-12-31T20:50:00.001-08:00

The General Buckner Monument
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

Surprisingly, the "Buckner Monument" isn't any of the fine stone and marble monuments errected on this site but rather its a simple bronze plaque attached to the large stone. Here in this photo, Ryukyu Mike gets a close up shot of the inscription. The larger and more ornate monuments at this site are dedicated to General Easley (not pictured) who replaced Buckner and others. Easely was killed in battle the very next day.

Impressionist Artist at Work

2009-12-31T20:48:00.001-08:00

Impressionist Artist at Work
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

Ryukyu Mike shoots a painting of the tomori Lion on display at the Peace Statue monument at the Peace Prayer Park where the battle of Okinawa came to it's bloody end some 65 years ago in Itoman City.

Check out the story at: blog.gaijinpot.com/travel/okinawan-artist-shinzan-yamada/...

The Peace Statue

2009-12-15T23:01:00.001-08:00

Peace Statue 1
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

Celebrated Okinawan born artist, Shinzan Yamada was born in 1885 and died in 1977. Several of his major works are stored in the collection of the Meiji Shrine Memorial Art Museum in Tokyo. Though throughout his life he created many masterpieces, one piece in particular stands out above all the others. We know it as the Peace Prayer Statue enshrined in the Okinawa Peace Memorial Hall (Heiwa Kinendo) in Southernmost Okinawa.

Yamada entered the Tokyo Art School in 1906 and majored in sculpture. After graduating in 1910, he went to the Beijing Art School to take an instructor position and worked there for two years. Upon his return to Japan he lived and worked mainly in Tokyo and became a celebrated member of the Japanese art community.

He returned to Okinawa in 1940 and remained here for the rest of his life. The Battle of Okinawa fought in the spring of 1945 and known locally as the “Typhoon of Steel,” was the largest and most devastating land battle of the Pacific theater and claimed an estimated quarter-million lives. It was in this battle that Yamada lost his eldest and third sons, an incident that would change him forever.

In 1957, at the age of 72, Yamada announced that he would finally pursue his long cherished dream of building a statue dedicated to the prospect of peace, “so people would never have war again.” Though he did have a little help with the fund raising, he worked mostly on his own to construct the massive statue. The entire project took him eighteen years to complete. Construction was halted several times due to lack of funds as well more than a few times when he fell from the scaffolding and was injured, two times very seriously.

The statue, completed just two years before his death at age 92, stands twelve meters high and spans eight meters across. It is made entirely from lacquer using the Tsuikin lacquer technique and weighs in at a whopping 3.5 tons! Though it resembles a statue of Buddha, it is said that this one differs from other statues in that this one is non-religious.

The Peace Hall is now part of the massive Peace Prayer Park (Okinawa Heiwa Kinen Koen) and open daily from 9:00 – 17:00 year round. It serves as one of the focal points for the Seimei festival in April, Children’s Day Festival (May 5), the Okinawa Memorial Day Eve service (June 22) and the Fire and Bell Festival (Dec 31 – Jan 1).

While the rest of the park is free, admission to the Peace Hall where Mr. Yamada’s masterpiece is on display is 450 Yen for adults, 350 Yen for Junior and Senior High School students and free for elementary school students. There are discounts for groups of twenty or more. To get to Peace Prayer Park from Naha, head south on highway 331through downtown Itoman City and follow the signs to Peace Prayer Park.

Gardians of the Village

2009-11-23T22:59:00.001-08:00

Gardians of the Village
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

Shisa or lion dogs are very popular in Okinawa. Typically they are placed on the rooftops of houses or at the gates. They are believed to be protectors. One shisa represents the male and the other represents the female. The difference is best seen by which one has its mouth opened. I always had a hard time remembering which one was which so I try and tell myself that since a woman can never keep her yap shut, especially when her husband is around, the one with the open mouth is the female of the species!

Mr. & Mrs. Kijimuna

2009-11-23T22:58:00.001-08:00

Mr. & Mrs. Kijimuna
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

Kinjimuna is a elfen like creature that is a mainstay of Okinawan mythology. He loves to fish more than anything else and can get quite attached to anyone who he befriends. So much so that the only way to get rid of him is to fart in his general direction or throw octopus at him. Here he's posing with the misses.

Hold Still Dammit!

2009-11-23T22:57:00.003-08:00

Hold Still Dammit!
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

This guy taking a picture of his wife had a really nice camera but he seemed to want to waste the shots on a woman who just would not stand still. This location was part of a film set built long ago. When the series that was filmed here ended, the place stood vacant for a few years until enterprising businessmen decided to turn it into a tourist trap. This venue was a mock 18th Century Okinawan village that is now lined with trinket shops and interactive arts and crafts vendors.

Ring of Dancers

2009-11-23T22:57:00.001-08:00

Ring of Dancers
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

This is not really a Eisa troupe per se but a group of students who are getting a lesson. Real Eisa dancing is much more organized but when your exploring a new culture, the best way is to try and have fun with it.

Out of Step

2009-11-23T22:56:00.001-08:00

Out of Step
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

Students visiting Okinawa don costumes and give their try at performing Eisa Dances. Some folks have it and some don't. No matter how hard she tried the gal in the middle just couldn't keep in step with the others.

The Gajan-gani

2009-11-13T17:00:00.001-08:00

The Gajan-gani
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

Similar to clowns performing in a circus, the Gajan-gani is a character who dances among the regular drummers and dancers one regularly sees at Eisa festivals. Often they are made up in garish makeup and odd clothing combinations. Their claim to fame is the fan that they carry as the dance. They often dance counter to the beat of the music and flick the fan as if they are shooing flies or mosquitos away from the other performers. Hence the name "Gajan" mosquito and "gani" person.

High Stepping

2009-11-13T16:59:00.003-08:00

High Stepping
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

Taiko drummers performing Eisa at a festival in Uruma City Okinawa Japan. The dancers are often quite athletic and put on a rousing performance. The more effort they put into the dance and music, the more the spirits of the ancestors are believed to have been pleased.

Two of a Kind

2009-11-13T16:59:00.001-08:00

Two of a Kind
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

Clacker Dancers

2009-11-13T01:02:00.001-08:00

Clacker Dancers
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

These dancers make their subtle moves and clack the wooden clackers in their hands to the rhythem of the music. The gal in thr front of this formation seemed to be enjoying herself the most so that's why I composed this photo the way I did.

Bustin a Move

2009-11-13T01:01:00.001-08:00

Bustin a Move
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

Classic Ryukyu Style Dancers wear brightly colored Kimonos that are similar in design to Traditional Japanese Kimonos but are fastened loosely about the waist instead of tightly bound in an Obi. The funny looking hat is said to resemble a plumb blossom floating on the ocean hence the design and colors. This group included over two-hundred dancers in formation in a parade.

Tiny Dancer

2009-11-13T01:00:00.001-08:00

Tiny Dancer
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

On Tour

2009-11-13T00:43:00.003-08:00

On Tour
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

A group of high school students tour the royal quarters and the gardens on a field trip at Shikinaen.

Hexagon House

2009-11-13T00:43:00.001-08:00

Hexagon House
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

This small hexagonal house was built as a place of quiet contemplation. Surrounded by still waters and manicured gardens arranged under the principles of Fang Shui.

The bridges at Shikinaen

2009-11-13T00:42:00.001-08:00

The bridges at Shikinaen
Originally uploaded by graffkeith

Two stone bridges cross this spring fed manmade lake at the royal gardens. In the background is the royal residence. The bridges are arched in the Chinese style with one made from rough natural stone and the other from mason cut and fitted stone

Uploaded by graffkeith on 13 Nov 09, 5.

Simply Luv-a-Bull

2009-10-16T00:35:00.000-07:00

Higashi Onna is a largely quiet residential area of Ishikawa, situated high on a hilltop in Uruma City. Long ago the place was known for its “Artist’s Colony.” Today it’s dotted with small businesses that line the main roads with quiet residential houses along the back streets and small postage stamp sized farming plots scattered throughout. It’s also the home of the “Taka Hana” group, an Okinawan Moai group that has a passion for Okinawa style bull fighting.

Mr. Moriyaka Iha greets us on our arrival. He’s a proud looking barrel chested fellow with sinewy arms, a testament to all his years working in construction. His hair is raven black and combed straight back and his eyes are like steel. Though not tall in stature, he stands with his chest puffed out as though he’s ten feet tall. He looks to be not the kind of fellow you’d want to meet in a dark alley. Our camera man greets him with the traditional Okinawan Hogen “Hai-Sai” and immediately a Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde transformation takes place. His eyes light up as he chuckles to himself, his expression softens and a broad smile is painted across his face.

He proudly leads us around their facility. The whole site is about two to three hundred tsubo in my estimation. The property is rented and has a large building for housing the animals, a store room, an office, a covered patio where everyone relaxes at the end of a hard day and a training yard for the bulls. Toward the back we can see two bulls are already in the yard. One has a rope through his nose and tethered to a line stretched in between two poles. It allows him to move back and forth somewhat freely. Another bull is being lead by hand up and over a huge earthen mound in the back corner of the property. They seem rather passive. Not at all like the fearsome beast that, one would expect to see when encountering a fighting bull.

In an opposite corner nearer to the office and patio area is another large wooden pole with four large tires looped over it. These are not just your run of the mill car or truck tires. Instead these tires come from heavy equipment like a farm tractor or perhaps even a construction earth mover. The bull walking the mounds is taken to his stall before the other is loosed from his tether and then he’s led to the pole with the tires on it, Instinctively he begins to assault them voraciously. He rams them head on and the whole pole vibrates. With a flick of a horn three tires are lifted clean off the ground.

After a few minutes of play time, the behemoth bull is lead from the truck tires to the mounds. Here he’s led up one side and down the other several times. Iha explains that the idea behind this part of the training regimen is to ready the bull for any type of fighting surface. Although a fight ring is relatively flat, the surface can get torn up quite a bit by the bulls that may fight before yours enters the ring. Also the bull may end up near the edge of the ring where the surface is built up in an earthen berm.

Once the training is complete, the grooming begins. The bull is led back toward the stalls but first they stop at a large steel cage like contraption. The bull is led in and his head is guided through an opening. The width of the device limits the animal’s movements. One man steady’s the bull by pulling on the rope as a few of the others brush it to keep it calm. Iha grabs a large rasp file like a carpenter would use. He begins to work at the bulls horns.

This bull’s horns are short and pointed forward. They’ve been shaped over the years to match his fighting style. Like a boxer, each bull has its own personality and fighting style. This bull happens to be a pusher meaning he’s a straight on fighter. Some are twisters and others like to push their opponent down. Trainers typically will watch a bull as they grow and shape the horns accordingly. To shape the horns they will use a heavy gauge steel pipe to shape the horn till it takes the desired contour. After the horns have been filed, they are rubbed with salt and sake. It’s a tradition and likened to the purification ritual that a Sumo wrestler does when he throws salt into the Dohyo before a match.

After the training and the grooming comes the feeding. Everything as it pertains to bull fighting and training is strictly regimented. Through this the bulls instinctively know when a fight is forthcoming and ready themselves accordingly. Similarly, training comes first before eating. The bulls learn that food is a reward for desired behavior. If they train hard, they will eat well. Similarly, train not so hard, eat not so well.

Iha and his group owns three bulls, one of which they are preparing for an upcoming fight. This bull eats 30 to 50 kg a day. Much of the bulk comes from fresh green bundles of satokibi or sugar cane. He’ll consume 15 bundles of this daily along with a variety of fresh cut grasses and a special mixture that he and his partners concoct. It’s a mixture of miso paste “like one would use to make soup,” rice, herbs, grasses and special nutrients. As the fight day approaches, they’ll feed them grasses that are less humid. This is designed to get the bull’s intestines right and ready for the fight.

Iha likens Okinawa style bull fighting to boxing, noting that each bull has his own style and personality and each trainer has their own preferred methods. Experience plays a big part in the training regimen too. Typically a bull starts to fight at four years of age and will hopefully have a career of four to five years. Older bulls need less training than young ones. Tradition can play a large part in the training as well. Some trainers run their training regimen according to the phases of the moon. Others will begin a week or two prior to a match and others still begin only a day or two prior.

For Iha and the men in the Taka-Hana Moai group, bull fighting is more than just an expensive hobby. To be truthful, it’s more like a passion. They live for this. Though he wouldn’t give us any figures to speak of, he did say that for anyone considering getting into the sport, if you have to think about how much it costs before you start, don’t even waste another thought on it. You really have to love it to do it. It’s obvious that they do!

Click (HERE) for some more photos (not taken by me) as well as scroll down for some videos of the training of the bulls

FYI if you follow the links and scroll down the extra pictures and look at the videos, the guy with the white beard who looks like either a civil war general or an anemic Santa is Mike from Mike's Ryukyu Gallery, I'm the good looking guy in the dark blue jacket and khaki colored ball cap.

The Great Tsunahiki

2009-09-14T23:55:00.000-07:00

It's a great source of pride here on tiny Okinawa. It's listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest Tug-O-War in the world and each year they seem to find a way to make it bigger than the year before. It's undoubtedly the biggest party of the year and it happens every October. You could even call it Oktoberfest Okinawa style. What is it? It's the "Great Naha Tsunahiki" or great tug-o-war! It's a party like no other and everyone is invited!

Okinawa Japan is the southernmost and smallest of Japan's forty-seven prefectures. It accounts for less than 1% of the total land mass and roughly 1% of the total population. The capital city of Naha sits at roughly the same latitude as Miami Florida. The city's population accounts for roughly 10% of the prefectures total population yet for this one short half-an-hour event, the population of the city more than doubles. Adding insult to injury, they cram them all into a six block long section along one of the city's main streets. Last year the officials from the Guinness Book made the estimate at 280,000 plus people and the rope they pulled at just over 43 tons.

The big day typically starts at 12 noon with a big parade down the main business and shopping district along Kokusai (international) street. Here entertainers and civic groups all dressed in traditional Okinawan costumes perform and wow the crowd in preparation for the big event. Several community groups are represented and many of the groups were international in that they have foreign members in their groups. Each of the groups participating in the parade carries a Hattagashira (not quite sure on the spelling). That's a bamboo pole about 30 feet high and decorated with flags ornaments and gold designs. They're quite heavy, very susceptible to a gust of wind and some are not very well balanced.

Members of the group take turns carrying this giant pole upright the length of Kokusai Street, about a mile and a half. The big deal isn't just to carry it but to rhythmically bounce it up and down. It's a show of not only strength but balance and skill. The more wildly they carry it, without tipping it over, the greater the prestige they receive from the masses and the judges. Of course at certain intersections and where they have to worry about power lines they carefully take it down and once carried past the obstruction, it's raised back up and the fun begins again.

You might say that these are the Okinawan equivalent to the Omikoshi or neighborhood God. Anyone who's seen Japanese festivals on the Discovery or National Geographic channel has probably seen a bunch of half naked men dancing, chanting and carrying a little wooden house around the streets. Inside the little houses are the local God's or Kami-sama's. They're brought out for festivals and important community events. Though there are a few, these are not common on Okinawa. The Hattagashira would be the closest thing to a Omikoshi they have.

Each civic group in the parade is preceded by an entourage of musicians and performers. The musicians blow on Conch shells and bang brass gongs. The performers put on karate demonstrations and there are lots of firecrackers going off. One group dances the streets carrying a colorful Chinese Dragon. It's a smorgasbord of sights, sounds and smells for all the senses. Several groups represent the East and an equal number represent the west for the big pull at the end of the day.

By 2:30 the parade is finished and the crowds as well as the participating groups make their way down Kokusai Street and past the Prefectural Capital building to the Kumoji crossroads where the big tug-o-war takes place. The rope is divided in to two sections, one on each side of the intersection. They are looped at the ends facing each other. One represents the male and is on the east side of the street and the other female is on the west side. Each section is made from rice straw that has been carefully woven together and each side weighs over 20 tons. It takes almost two full months to weave it together.

At 3pm the main road is closed off to traffic and the civic groups, along with their entourage's carry their Hattagashira's and make their way to the center of the intersection. Then for the next hour or so, speeches are given, Eisa groups perform musical and dance routines and each group puts on a karate demonstration. Once all the pomp and circumstance finishes, the regular folks make their way to the rope and get ready to pull.

The two ends of the rope must first be joined. It takes quite a bit of effort and coordination to move such a massive beast. The East or male side moves to the center and then waits while the west or female side is brought out to meet it. In a very symbolic yet public display of the sex act, (emphasis on the symbolic) the female side is looped around the male end and they are locked into place with a ten foot long wooden peg.

Once everything is set, the challenge of the kings is made. Everyone must now back away from the rope and famous two kings from Okinawa's past, one from the east and the other from the west are carried on platforms the entire length of the rope. Of course they're actors in period dress but the demonstration that follows is quite a show. They meet in the center and issue challenges at each other. They thrust pikes and swing axes at each other in a choreographed dance that takes but a few minutes. Once the challenges are issued, they are carried out the way they came in and wave to the cheering crowds.

With the challenges made, everyone (roughly 280,000 of your closest friends and neighbors) grabs onto the rope and with the drop of a flag, the great Tsunahiki is on. The goal is to move the rope a total of 5 meters, around 15 feet within 30 minutes. If by the end of 30 minutes, no group is a clear winner, the match is declared a tie. Last year the east side (representing the males) won in grand fashion, easily defeating the west in about ten minutes time. The significance is that for the next year, men will rule the household and will not have to take out the trash or do other menial household shores for the next year. Okay, that part isn't really true but since that is the norm for Okinawa anyway, I thought I'd just add it for good measure.

But the fun isn't over just yet. To the victors as well as the losers go the spoils. Tradition says that you should take a portion of the rope with you for good luck for the rest of the year. Everyone from little children to grandmothers and grandfathers will take a piece of the great Tsunahiki home with them. For the victors, it's the rights to be able to brag that you won. To the vanquished, it's the dreams of next year and revenge. To everyone, it's the opportunity to say that you were part of something extraordinary and the memories that will last for a lifetime.