Akama Shingu
The cover photo of the latest Japanese Canadian Cultural Center (JCCC) Newsletter was taken by Timothy Homyak titled Akama Shingu showing a reflection of a miko as she walks along a shrine.
Photo of the Day: Riding The Mikoshi
Two elders with Japanese fans enthusiastically ride a large mikoshi along the streets of Akihabara during during the 2009 Kanda Myojin Omikoshi Togyo held in Tokyo.
Photo of the Day: Temple Door
The distinctive doors of the Tsukiji Honganji Temple in Tokyo.
Levitation Self Portraits
A Tokyo-based photographer named Natsumi Hayashi takes pictures of herself in various levitation poses.
All pictures in this blog post were taken from her blog, which is called Yowayowa Camera. Yowayowa is a Japanese term meaning “weak” or “feeble”.
For more information, visit her blog or read this recent article from Today MSNBC.
13 Assassins
Another Japanese movie which was recently shown in the Japanese Canadian Cultural Center in Toronto is the 2010 film titled 13 Assassins.
Directed by Takashi Miike and starring Kōji Yakusho (who appears in Memoirs of a Geisha, Babel and the Japanese version of Shall We Dance?), this movie a classic samurai epic based on a true story that happened around 1830 in feudal Japan about the assassination of the evil Lord Matsudaira Naritsugu, related to the current Shogun. The movie is slow at the start, but the action picks up during the assassination, with plenty of sword fighting.
Photo of the Day: Musical Floats On The Move
This set of pictures are musical floats on wheels commonly found at Japanese festivals. They are typically people powered, such as one found during the Sanja Matsuri …
… and the Kanda Myojin Omikoshi Togyo in 2009.
Sometimes, you find one on a truck such as these taiko drummers during the 2009 Ueno Natsu Matsuri parade in Tokyo.
Cool, huh?
Photo of the Day: Goldfish Scooping
One of the most popular (and fun) activities you will find in a Japanese festival is the traditional game called Kingyo-sukui (goldfish scooping) The player scoops goldfish with a special scooper called a poi which usually made of a round plastic frame and handgrip, and thin paper on the frame.
This game started in the late Edo period (circa 1810).
Photo of the Day: Through the Gates
A procession of mikoshis (portable shrine) passes under the main gate of the Senso-ji Shrine in Asakasa during the Sanja Matsuri in 2010 …
… and another one passes through the stone gate of Yasukuni Shrine during the Mitama Matsuri in 2009.
A mikoshi passes thru a stone gate and the main gate of the Kanda Myojin Shrine in Tokyo during the Kanda Myojin Omikoshi Togyo in 2009.
Space Battleship Yamato
Space Battleship Yamato is a live action film adaptation released in Japan in December 2010 of the anime TV series from 1974. Yamato is name of the famous Japanese battleship during World War II.
The movie stars Takuya Kimura, a member of the Japanese male idol group SMAP. This science fiction story is reminiscent of Battlestar Galactica, where an alien race known as the Gamilas wages war with Earth and the Space Battleship Yamato is the last ship in the fleet. Just like Battlestar Galactica, there are hotshot pilots and an old commander.
Photo of the Day: Wedding Carriage
This photo of a traditional dressed wedding couple riding a rickshaw was taken in Asakusa. Rickshaws are very popular in the area for tourist and local visitors.
