I’m now making a daily posting of a photo to Instagram. So if you’d like to see a pretty pic from my travels everyday then please follow me @chrisinokinawa !
All posts filed under: Japan
Bodybuilder Hidekazu Taba
Hidekazu Taba is a champion bodybuilder. Several years ago I saw him compete at the Pacific Muscle Classic on Camp Foster. He won his weight class, he won his age group, he won overall. In other competitions, he’s repeated the feat. He dominates Okinawan body building, and he does it at age 67. For a long time I’ve been hoping to photograph Taba-san and yesterday I visited his home to take a few pics. Taba-san began bodybuilding around 40 years ago after seeing a Tarzan movie. He hits the gym for a couple of hours, 5 days a week. Unlike many bodybuilders who bulk up and then cut weight (shred?) for competitions he stay lean all year. The reason is that he’s not trying to peak for a single event, but has to be ready for local competitions or festivals all year. He’s very happy that his grandchildren are proud to have a super cool oji-chan. I’m looking forward to shooting more photos of Taba-san training at the gym and at competitions. Images shot with …
Guinness World Record Breaking Kata
On October 23rd 2016 the Okinawan karate community attempted to break the record for the most people performing a kata. The record had been set in India in 2013 with 809 people. The Okinawan attempt on the record was a resounding success with 3793 confirmed participants. There was also a one of the biggest congregations of karate masters. I have photographed most of them for the Karate Masters Portrait Project so it was great to be able to say hello to so many of them. 2017 will have the opening of the Okinawa Karate Kaikan (training center), and with karate a demonstration sport at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, I expect that a mass kata performance may even become an annual event. If so, hopefully next year will be even bigger!
Stamp of Approval
This week, Japan Post released a set of postage stamps to commemorate Karate Day in Okinawa. The series of eight stamps is made up of Okinawan karate masters of different styles. The bottom right image is of Yoshitaka Taira, 10th dan World Matsubayashi-ryu (Shorin-ryu) and is one of the photographs I shot for the Karate Masters Portrait Project. Pleasingly, this is the second time one of my images has been used on a Japanese stamp. The first was around 12 years ago when they chose my photograph of Kabira Bay to represent one of Okinawa’s beautiful landmarks. In all that time the price of a postage stamp has only gone up two yen!
Robot Restaurant, Shinjuku, Tokyo
Looking for a surreal experience that combines J-pop, anime, taiko drummers, carnivale, and robots. Of course you are. The Robot Restaurant is located in Kabukicho, the entertainment district in Shinjuku. The target audience was once the salarymen, but now it’s packed with international tourists. There are four 90 minute shows every evening. It begins with guests gathering together in the bar area, where a “robot” band plays Michael Jackson, The Eagles and Sting. My guess is that they originally played the themes from Astro Boy, Gundam or Doraemon. After all the guests have arrived you are ushered into the theatre. The main performance takes place in four 20 minute segments with 10 minutes breaks which allow the cast to change, and the robots to reset. The guests meanwhile can refill on drinks and popcorn. The show itself is a bit like watching a live action mixture of Power Rangers, Transformers, and Japanese music video. It should have been moronic, but everyone was having a great time. It doesn’t seem odd that you’re waving glow stick and booing …
Naked in the Rain
Ohara Hadaka Matsuri a.k.a. the Ohara Naked Festival took place in heavy rain on the 23rd of September. To clarify “naked” is clearly not an accurate description with the participants wearing far more than the fundoshi loincloths seen at the Okayama Hadaka Matsuri. As this is a traditional Shinto festival a priest gave blessings, and somewhat unusually two arrows were launched into the ocean. Teams carried mikoshi (portable shrines) down to the ocean. It was clear that the mikoshi were heavy and the teams looked exhausted as they shouldered the wooden beams. After dunking themselves and the shrine in the ocean waves they returned to the beach, and managed to raise it above their heads. All images shot with the Pentax 645Z and the 25mm lens. Glad both the camera and lens are weather sealed because they were subjected to rain for half an hour.
Kyoto Workshop – April 1st-7th 2017
Kyoto Workshop April 1st to 7th, 2017 An amazing photographic experience in Japan. 6 nights and 7 days exploring Kyoto and creating stunning images. We will be visiting iconic locations including temples, shrines, bamboo groves and traditional gardens. There will be monkeys, geisha, and a model (Yuki) in yukata and kimono. 6 nights and 7 days exploring and photographing Kyoto and the local area. We will also take side trips out to the castles and skyscrapers of Osaka, and the temples of Nara. As members of the workshop you’ll be doing more than just playing follow the leader. We’ll be learning as we shoot, capturing great images at each location. I’ll be bringing speedlights and a Profoto B1 so that we can add our own splash of magical light when desired. In the evenings you’ll have the opportunity to review images and work on your favorite shots in Lightroom. Price US$1800 (deposit US$500) Price includes accommodation in a business hotel in Kyoto for six nights (individual rooms with breakfasts), entry fees. Does not include transportation …
Pentax K-1 Exhibition, Tokyo
Today, September 14th, the Pentax K-1 photo exhibition begins at the Ricoh Imaging Square in Shinjuku Tokyo. The staff at the gallery just sent me some pics of the images on the wall including my photograph of Sam wearing a suit and tie. The exhibition runs until September 26th so if you’re in Tokyo please stop by and check it out. The Ricoh Imaging Square is in the Shinjuku Center Building just west of the (world’s busiest) train station. Shinjuku Center Building is a pretty generic skyscraper but it’s right next to the far more recognizable Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower モード学園コクーンタワー. A huge thanks to the people at Pentax and Ricoh Imaging for selecting me to produce work for their exhibition. Thanks also to the model Samantha Armistead and makeup by Audra Pesicka. For those interested here’s the technical details: Pentax K-1 with at 28-105 lens at 105mm ISO100 f8.0 1/200 sec Main light Profoto softlight reflector white powered by Profoto 7a 1200w generator. Fill light Profoto medium softbox 2 rim lights – 30x120cm strip boxes …
Pentax K-1 Exhibition, Tokyo
If you’re in Tokyo between September 14th and 26th, check out the Pentax K-1 exhibition at the Ricoh Imaging Square Shinjuku. There will be images by 18 photographers from across Japan. Glad to be part of the team 🙂 https://travel67.com/exhibitions/ The Ricoh Imaging Square Shinjuku is 5 minutes walk from Shinjuku Station. It’s on the middle basement floor of the Shinjuku Center Building which is next to the Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower just west of the station.
Chondara – Okinawan Clowns
Chondara are clowns that encourage the performers, and entertain the crowds during Okinawa’s summer eisa dance performances. They can be young or old, but you see very few women chondara. Usually they wear a straw conical hat and a short striped basa kimono. The makeup is nearly always white with designs drawn on to the face. The designs on the face vary between the chondara, but more surprisingly, unlike western “whiteface” clowns, a chondara doesn’t always stick with the same face. Below we can see the same chondara at Ryukyu Mura with four different faces. Send in the clowns!
TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography 