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Japan Forward
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Forward
A Festival of Japan and America's Special Relationship
For all intents and purposes, it seems that May is the start of the summer festival season. Things start to heat up, in more ways than one! In Tokyo, Kanda Matsuri and Sanja Matsuri take place on the second and third weekends, but my favorite place to be on the third weekend of May is the Black Ships Festival in Shimoda. This celebrates the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry and his fleet of black ships, some of which were powered by steam, in 1854. At the time, I am convinced the event was not quite so wildly celebrated, but it resulted in the first treaty between an isolated Japan and a Western nation. It triggered the opening of the country at the end of the Edo period. This historical event is celebrated annually in the Black Ships Matsuri or "Kurofune Matsuri" and this year, 2025, was the 86th festival. It is a very well-loved festival bringing people from far and wide to what is normally a sleepy fishing town at the end of the Izu Peninsula. "Edo citizens" at the festival. (©Sheila Cliffe) The celebrations last for three days and on Friday a United States Navy ship arrives from Yokosuka and moors in the bay for the duration of the festival. Fireworks celebrate the arrival of the ship. Most years are marked by sunshine and intense heat, but this year, unfortunately, the Saturday celebration parade was washed out. However, a bit of inclement weather could not dampen the spirit of the event. Although ome performances were canceled, our annual kimono fashion show was able to take place. Fashion show participants. (©Sheila Cliffe) Usually, the fashion show is on a large stage in the grounds of Ryosenji temple. This temple is of great significance as it is the location for the signing of the treaty between Japan and America. The grounds are planted with American jasmine and the sweet perfume of these purple and white flowers is what hits you first upon arrival. Because of the rain, we were permitted to perform the show inside the main temple. Band playing in Ryosenji Temple. (©Sheila Cliffe) Every seat was full and people in raincoats with umbrellas were sheltering under the eaves to catch a glimpse of the show. A fashion show is a chance to dress in something a little more gorgeous than usual. I wore a black summer furisode which is over a hundred years old but paired it with modern accessories for a stylish look. The dark sunglasses and hat lent it a couture feeling even though it was a kimono. Parents and children also participated, demonstrating that kimono is for everyone. The wide variety of styles showcased was an opportunity to be inspired and especially see that there can be variety and color in men's kimono too. Parade in progress at the festival. (©Sheila Cliffe) Fashion show over, I visited the Museum of Black Ships at Ryosenji and learned a little bit about the history. It is hard to imagine that this small cove, in a location that takes longer to get to than Kyoto, was once a gateway to the West and had some of Japan's first encounters with new technologies, goods, and lifestyles. The main route to the temple is down the straight route now called Perry Road, which goes directly to the seafront. It has buildings from the Meiji and Taisho eras on it, and the small river next to the street is lined with willow trees. Perry Road (left) and the author's outfit for the fashion show . (©Sheila Cliffe) Now there are fashionable bars, restaurants, and coffee shops there. It is a great place for picturesque photoshoots with a little red bridge and all the romance of the historical buildings and willows waving by the water. One can imagine what a stir must have been caused by groups of American sailors arriving and walking up this street to the temple. After that, we hit the streets to enjoy some of the street food sellers and the entertainment around the town that cater to the visitors. The main streets are shut off to vehicles and chairs and tables enable one to partake in the pleasure of eating and drinking outside if the weather cooperates. On this day, it really didn't, so we retired to our hotel early. In the evening there were concerts with the US Navy marching band and others in the local culture center. Okinawan band at the festival. (©Sheila Cliffe) The main events of the festival on Sunday are a re-enactment of the treaty signing, and the parade around the town by various groups who have their skills or styles showcased. There are several bands including the one from Yokosuka, and various school bands. Minyo folk music and Okinawan drums can also be heard. The elementary school students ride on their unicycles and everyone enjoys dressing up. It was almost like going back to the future with Star Wars characters (who certainly did not arrive on black ships), Jack Sparrow (who might have), rubbing shoulders with samurai, geisha, sea captains, and various miscellaneous Edo shopkeepers and a few ruffians, too. Star Wars cosplayers (©Sheila Cliffe) The kimono group brings up the rear and we wave to the locals lining the streets. Every year, I am deeply moved by how happy the crowd is. The children wave Japanese and American flags, and parents, grandparents, and whole family groups gather at the edge of the road to clap, wave, and enjoy the parade going by. Sheila Cliffe with some "ruffians" at the Black Ship Festival. (©Sheila Cliffe) The street food sellers must have been a lot happier on Sunday While not sunny, the rain held off and people were enjoying their street food and drink. We even got up and danced to a local acoustic band playing the Beatles and Jackson Browne. There was magic, monkeys, storytelling, hip-hop, balloons and popcorn. Everyone from 2 to 102 could enjoy something out on the streets of Shimoda. I chose to walk along the bay past all the yachts and small fishing boats to the start of Perry Road. There is a memorial here to Commodore Perry and next to it, a candle is lighted to celebrate the friendship between Japan and America. Monument of Matthew C Perry. (©Sheila Cliffe) Carnations were laid in front of the Perry memorial and looking at the candle it seemed very poignant to me. In this time of political uncertainty and unrest, I thought that the Black Ships Matsuri is extremely significant, demonstrating the best of Japan–US friendship, literally on a street level. Author: Sheila Cliffe Read other columns on kimono by the author .
The Citizen
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
48 hours in pictures, 18 May 2025
48 hours in pictures, 18 May 2025 Through the lens: The Citizen's Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world. Cardinals attend as newly elected Pope Leo XIV attends his Papal Inauguration Mass at St. Peter's Square, in Vatican City, 18 May 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/DAREK DELMANOWICZ Motorcyclists take part in the mass ride the annual Distinguished Gentleman's Ride (DGR) in Johannesburg, 18 May 2025. The annual mass motorcycle ride has seen 500 000 vintage and classic motorcyclists ride in 121 countries and raise 50 million USD for men's cancer research and men's mental health. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen French confraternity of confraternity from Perpignan's members attend a procession at the occasion of the jubilee of confraternities, in Rome, Italy on 17 May, 2025. The Ordinary Jubilee or Holy Year takes place every 25 years. It aims to strengthen their faith, repent of their sins and promote works of solidarity and pilgrimages. More than 30 million visitors are expected to come to Rome for the 2025 Jubilee. Picture: Matrix Images / Andre Pain Rayno Nel of South Africa lifts a 154kg (340 lbs) circus barbell for two reps, during the Overhead Medley event on the first day of qualifying at the 'World's Strongest Man' competition on May 15, 2025 in Sacramento, California. Some people think weightlifters are 'a lot of angry people who just like to throw weight around,' 420-pound (190-kilogram) Australian Eddie Williams told AFP, but 'I can be, you know, a happy person, and still be able to lift heavy weights.' (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) Participants wearing loincloth pose showing traditional Japanese tattoos during the Sanja Matsuri festival in Tokyo, Japan, 18 May 2025. The Sanja Matsuri, a three-day annual festival, is one of Tokyo's most popular festivals and draws approximately two million visitors. Picture: EPA-EFE/FRANCK ROBICHON A man carrying an umbrella walks along a street amid rainfall in Colombo on May 18, 2025. (Photo by Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFP) A Bad Boys security officer walks past a mural of the Russian President Vladimir Putin in Braamfonein, Johannesburg, 18 May 2025. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/ The Citizen A masquerade performance takes place during the grand finale of the World Egungun Festival 2025 in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, on May 15, 2025. The 2025 World Egungun Festival, held in Ibadan, Oyo State from May 14-15, celebrated the deep rooted Yoruba tradition of honoring ancestors through vibrant masquerade performances. Originating as a spiritual rite to connect the living with the dead, the Egungun festival features elaborately costumed dancers who embody ancestral spirits, offering blessings, protection, and guidance to their communities. This year's event drew participants from all 33 local government areas and international guests from Brazil, Cuba, Ghana, and Benin Republic, reflecting the global spread of Yoruba culture. Alongside traditional music and food, the festival served as a powerful expression of cultural identity and continuity. Picture: Matrix Images / David Durowaiye Thousands of people, some waving the Palestinian flag, gather against the Dutch government's Israel policy, as they protest on Malieveld, in The Hague on May 18, 2025. The Gaza health ministry said that at least 3,131 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, 2025, taking the war's overall toll of killed Palestinians to 53,272. Israel's strikes on the Gaza Strip comes after the Palestinian militant group Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. (Photo by Phil Nijhuis / ANP / AFP) Dancers perform on Gandhi Square during an event to mark International Dance Day in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa, 16 May 2025. According to the organizers, more than 1000 dancers were expected to participate in the event titled 'Mjaivo Jaiva', a collaboration between the Johannesburg Inner City Partnership, Maharishi Invincibility Institute and Moving into Dance Trust. The International Dance Day is celebrated annually around the world on 29 April. Picture: EPA-EFE/KIM LUDBROOK A boy bats as he plays cricket in front of a mural of Hindu deity Lord Shiva, on the banks of the river Ganges at Manmahal Ghat in Varanasi on May 17, 2025. (Photo by Niharika KULKARNI / AFP) US actress Jennifer Lawrence arrives for the screening of the film 'Die, My Love' at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 17, 2025. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP) FC Barcelona supporters celebrate after being crowned La Liga champions defeating RCD Espanyol 2-0 in an intense Catalan derby Barcelona, Spain on May 16, 2025. At the final whistle, the city erupted in joy. Around 5,000 supporters gathered at the iconic Canaletes Fountain, the traditional epicenter of Barca celebrations, where the party continued late into the night. Festivities carried on the next day with the traditional champions' parade through the main streets of the Catalan capital. Picture: Matrix Images / Adria Tur Competitors take part in the Bog Commander endurance event near Ashbourne, in the Peak District moorlands, in northern England, on May 17, 2025. Featuring over 30 man made obstacles, the Bog Commander is a 6km muddy obstacle race through the Peak District's Manifold Valley that started in 2014. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) Competitors in the women's wellness open category perform on stage at the Sunfest Africa Bodybuilding Championships held in Pretoria, South Africa, 17 May 2025. The annual event sees bodybuilders converge on the Heartfelt Stadium to compete in various categories in their discipline. Picture: EPA-EFE/Kim Ludbrook Chen Yu Fei of China in action against Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand in their women's badminton singles finals match for the Toyota Thailand Open 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand, May 18 2025. Picture: Matrix Images / Diego Azubel IN PICTURES: KAP sani2c Adventure and 'OG'
South China Morning Post
29-03-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Tokyo's Sanja Matsuri festival a carnival of bedlam, boozing and even brawling
Sensoji, Tokyo's oldest temple, is a dramatic complex, its large entry gates flanked by two fierce guardians, representing thunder and wind, and a 3.9-metre-tall vermilion lantern – Japan 's largest – hanging down the centre. Advertisement On the third weekend of May, the usual tourist hordes at Sensoji, in the eastern neighbourhood of Asakusa , are overwhelmed by another source of pandemonium, the Sanja Matsuri. For three days, participants in this traditional festival ('matsuri') take over Sensoji, the neighbouring Asakusa shrine and the surrounding blocks. Matsuri are regional gatherings usually held on days that are significant in the Shinto or Buddhist religious calendars, a great way to experience modern Japanese culture mixed with the traditional. And at Sanja, the two don't just meet, they end up in a drunken brawl. Asakusa was the downtown commoners' district during the Edo period (1603-1868), an era of peace and cultural endeavour. Then as now, the area housed artisans, merchants, craftsmen, carpenters, firefighters, food vendors and even members of the yakuza (organised-crime syndicates). The Sanja Matsuri ties all these people together, the event attracting all walks of life. The streets are lined with thousands of lanterns and ritualistic zigzag-shaped Shinto paper streamers. Indicating that a space is sacred, these paper decorations are usually found at shrines, but during the festival, they also adorn businesses and homes. Taiko drummers perform on the streets of Tokyo's Asakusa neighbourhood during the Sanja Matsuri. Photo: Emil Pacha Valencia With close to 2 million people having attended pre-Covid, the festival is one of Tokyo's largest traditional events. Its foundations are religious and in homage to the fishermen who, legend has it, established Sensoji in AD628 after they had found a statue of the Bodhisattva Kannon (the Japanese name for Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy) in a net.
South China Morning Post
29-03-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
This week in PostMag: from André Fu's designs to stem cell therapy
Occasionally, there is one thing in the magazine that I just can't stop thinking about. This issue, it's the photo of Jason Li in My Life. Everything about that image is unexpected. How is he suspended in mid-air, completely horizontal and almost a metre from the ground? The pieces of a deconstructed taxi cab in the garage behind him just add to the improbability of the photograph. A great part of this job is these Easter eggs that land on my desk and leave me in awe – both of the subject and the people telling the story, whether photographers or writers. Check out the story and you'll see what I'm talking about. Advertisement At a party last weekend, a man told me his favourite part of PostMag every week is our long-running column My Life. It's one of my favourites, too. We're all a nosy bunch, aren't we? It's such a privilege when anyone, famous or not, opens up to tell us about how they got to where they are – the twists and turns of their journey, the entertaining anecdotes. I always find there's some existential relief in just hearing all the different ways a life can be lived. Li, a professional stunt double, tells Kate Whitehead about going from flips in a squash court to working on Transformers. In this week's main feature, Daven Wu looks at one of the most recent projects by The Upper House designer and architect André Fu. The new Dusit Thani Bangkok is Fu's 'confident mid-career masterwork', he writes, detailing how the architect strove to balance a desire for authenticity with the need for a contemporary feel and relevance. Fu's not slowing down either, ploughing ahead with a spate of openings across Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Taipei and Osaka. Elsewhere in Bangkok, Tim Noonan dives into the world of regenerative medicine as he recounts taking a chance (twice) on stem cell therapy. It's an approach I've never personally had to consider, thankfully, and it was enlightening to read a first-person account. Beyond Thailand, this issue travels around Asia with two features that share a commonality: fishermen and fishing nets. In Tokyo, Manami Okazaki joins the Sanja Matsuri, a festival that started as an homage to the fishermen who founded the city's oldest temple, Sensoji. It's a lively, raucous affair, complete with taiko drumming that often runs into the early hours. In Kerala, large cantilevered fishing nets led Vincent Chow down a rabbit hole as he explores both the historical and modern influence of the Chinese on India's southwestern state – a long, winding tale to spend some time with. Advertisement
