In some parts of Papua New Guinea you can still use certain shells as currency. The Tokua Culture group clearly held shells in high esteem as each wore multiple layers of shell necklaces that rattled as they danced.
There were a few singsing groups from the Asaro Mudmen tribe. The men and boys were always covered with grey clay and wore the iconic masks, while the women were covered in brown clay. In this group, the women also had yellow and orange polka dots on their faces.
The Andase Singsing Group of Kainantudis. Simple natural tones created using leaves, grasses and shells made up their traditional dress.
Toyama Zenshu was born in Awase in 1936, he used to swim in the bay as a kid, and now at age 77, his dojo looks out over the same bay. He is still very strong and demonstrated with James how easily he could throw someone to the floor and dominate an encounter. His favorite kata (set forms) are sepia, suparenpei and saifa. When asked about his favorite kotowaza (idiom / words of wisdom) he said Mikan se no kasei which refers to the imperfection of vision or the inability to see what is right in front of you, like your eyelashes. Fearsome and powerful, but also a lovely friendly grandfather. Toyama-san gave James advice on how to dislocate a man’s jaw. He gave me a can of coffee and a hug.
The Kunai Culture Singsing Group with their red, black, white and yellow face paint gives them one of the most distinctive looks of the Goroka Show.
Father and son shoot at the Toyama dojo on Sunday evening. Satoshi Toyama is 9th dan in Goju Ryu karate and now runs their dojo in Awase, Okinawa City.
Interesting to see another cultural parallel between Papua New Guinea and Okinawa. And remember, “Whoever holds the conch gets to speak.”
A few shots of the various Koteka worn by men of one tribe at the Goroka Show. I can’t find the name of this tribe in my notes so if anyone knows please tell me!
After the earlier demonstrations in the shicha-nu-una, the final events of karate day took place in the forecourt of Shuri Castle. Eight of the most senior karate masters in the world each performed a kata. Of the eight, I’ve only photographed Zenpo Shimabukuro sensei which just shows how much further we have to go with the Karate Masters Portrait Project.
On Okinawa, October 25th is Karate Day. There have been various events happening all month, but yesterday the main ceremony took place at Shuri Castle. As you can imagine, there were a lot of black belts, and quite a few red / white belts worn by the masters of certain karate styles. There were a few demonstrations of traditional kata both in groups and alone. And some set movement sparring Kiyohide Shinjo demonstrated why he’s known as the Okinawan Superman. And why he doesn’t need an axe to chop firewood.
TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography 