 Most viewed - Japan Day |
Okinawan Kimono1472 viewsOkinawa is a chain of subtropical islands in southern Japan between Kyushu and Taiwan. It developed its own language and culture while it was an independent kingdom centuries ago. Okinawan kimono, hairstyles, and dances therefore look quite different from the rest of Japan.
On the left is an Okinawan dancer wearing a kimono with her right arm exposed outside the sleeve. The dance is called "Nuchibana" (flower lei) featuring a string of red and white flowers. The dance expresses the feelings of a young woman in love.
The dancer on the right is wearing an Okinawan kimono called the bingata, perhaps Okinawa's most famous kimono. The design is made by applying dyes through a stencil. It was originally worn by Okinawa's royal family members. It is now the costume of a slow-moving Okinawan dance called "Yotsudake."
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Kamogawa Odori Geisha Dance, Kyoto1463 viewsA scene from the annual Kamogawa Odori dance held in May in Kyoto. She wears a multi-layer kimono whose colors contrast well with each other. This type of kimono was worn by the nobility.
See more photos of this dance here.
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Costume Player1414 viewsPurin from Pokemon.
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Costume Player988 viewsA vampiress.
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Back of a Maiko, Kyoto924 viewsThe maiko is an apprentice geisha (or geiko). She can be easily identified by the long length of her kimono sleeves and the long length of her obi sash on her back.
See more photos of Kyoto geisha here.
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Costume Player831 viewsIn Tokyo, large anime and manga fairs are held at convention halls such as Tokyo Big Sight and Makuhari Messe. Many cosplayers also attend these events and pose for photographers. You can see many anime, manga, and video game characters come to life in an incredible array of costumes.
See more photos of cosplayers here.
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Geisha and Maiko in Kyoto774 viewsThis is in Pontocho, one of Kyoto's geisha districts. The woman on the left is a geisha (called "geiko" in Kyoto), the woman in the middle is a helper, and the woman on the right is a maiko or apprentice geisha. They are on their way to see the Kamogawa Odori dance performed by the Pontocho geisha in May.
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Costume Player719 viewsCosplay costumes are sometimes based on Japanese kimono and Japanese elements such as the cherry blossom. She's Sakura Shinguuji from a video game called Sakura Wars (Sakura Taisen).
See more photos of cosplayers here.
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Aoi Festival, Kyoto672 viewsHeld in May, the Aoi (Hollyhock) Festival is one of Kyoto's Big Three festivals. It is a long parade of people dressed in historical costumes from the Heian Period (794-1185) when Kyoto was Japan's capital. Each participant also wears a small branch of hollyhock.
See more photos of this festival here.
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Aoi Festival, Kyoto620 viewsThe parade proceeds through a long route in Kyoto, taking a few hours.
See more photos of this festival here.
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Tekomai Geisha, Fukagawa Hachiman Festival, Tokyo544 viewsTomioka Hachimangu Shrine in Fukagawa, Tokyo holds the full-scale Fukagawa Hachiman Festival every three years in August. It is a parade of over 50 portable shrines preceded by a troupe of tekomai geisha.
Their colorful costume is partially masculine with trousers instead of skirts. Their right shoulder is "exposed" to show a peony flower design. They carry a red paper lantern imprinted with their names and use their right hand to drag along a metal wand. As they walk, they only sing traditional chant-like songs. They do not dance.
See more photos of this festival here.
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Awa Odori Dance, Koenji, Tokyo534 viewsIn late August, Koenji in Tokyo holds one of the largest Awa Odori dances outside Tokushima Prefecture. This woman is a different type of Awa dancer. She wears a head band, a happi coat imprinted with the name of her dance troupe, a pair of white shorts, and a pair of white sock-like shoes called tabi.
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Hanagasa Festival, Yamagata443 viewsDuring early August, northern Japan holds several large-scale summer festivals. One of them is the Hanagasa (Flower Hat) Festival in Yamagata city. Held in the evening, it is a long parade of women dancing while wearing a flowered hat.
See more photos of this festival here.
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Awa Odori Dance, Yamato, Kanagawa429 viewsAwa Odori dancers are characterized by their straw hats, a thin kimono called the yukata, and geta clogs. Their heels don't touch the ground, so they dance on their toes. They hop along while shaking their hands above their heads. Since the dance is performed in the summer, often the yukata gets soaked with perspiration.
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Annantalo Arts Centre, Helsinki. Their Japan Day event was held on April 9, 2006.364 viewsA former primary school built in 1886, this distinguished-looking building is now an arts center for children and young people. They held a Japan Day event on April 9, 2006 when they presented Budo demonstrations, kimono show, workshops, Japanese food, lectures, and a photo exhibition featuring my pictures of Japanese costumes. My friend Elina Moriya also showed a few of her pictures of temples.
Annantalo Web site: [url=http://www.kulttuuri.hel.fi/annantalo/index_en.html[/url]
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Hikiyama Festival, Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture333 viewsHeld in mid-April, the Hikiyama Festival features authentic kabuki plays performed by young boys. Several ornate floats on wheels move around the city to serve as portable stages for these well-trained actors. The boys play both the male and female roles and wear gorgeous kimono. They undergo rigorous practice sessions during the months before the festival.
See more photos of this festival here.
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Tekomai Children, Hie Shrine, Tokyo291 viewsHie Shrine in Tokyo holds the annual Sanno Festival in June. It consists of a parade and ceremony at the shrine. These children are dressed as tekomai geisha who originally provided side entertainment at festivals.
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Oiran Courtesan Procession, Tokyo265 viewsOn Nov. 3, Japan's Culture Day holiday, the Tokyo Festival of the Ages (Jidai Matsuri) is held in Asakusa, Tokyo. It is a long parade of people dressed in historical costumes tracing the history of Tokyo. One highlight is the Oiran Dochu, a procession for a high-ranking courtesan called "oiran." One of the trademarks of the oiran was her very high and heavy platform clogs. She walks in a very stylized figure 8 pattern. Her hair also has many ornaments.
See more photos of this festival here.
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Shinto Shrine Maidens, Taga Taisha Shrine, Shiga Prefecture255 viewsMany Shinto shrines in Japan employ female attendants called "miko." They perform ceremonial dances, clean the shrine grounds, and sell charms at the shrine's gift shop. The shrine maiden's standard costume consists of a short, white kimono worn over a scarlet-red hakama (skirt-trousers). They usually wear their hair long, bundled on the back.
This picture was taken on New Year's Day when many people in Japan visit shrines to pray for a happy and safe new year. They perform a dance on the shrine's outdoor stage.
See more photos of this shrine here.
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Kagurazaka Geisha Dance, Tokyo246 viewsMost people associate the geisha with Kyoto. However, Tokyo also has authentic geisha. Kagurazaka is one of the few remaining geisha districts in Tokyo. The Kagurazaka geisha give public dance performances in spring called "Hana no Kai" (Glamorous Gathering). They have proven to be very popular with sold-out performances every year. The geisha change into different kimono as they perform graceful dances and musical plays.
See more photos of this dance here.
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A total of 10 local Finnish women modeled the kimono.235 views
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Costume Players220 viewsJapan has long been home to anime cartoons, manga comics, and video games. But it was only from the mid-1990s when it became very popular for teenagers and young women to dress up as characters from their favorite anime, manga, or video game. They congregate at manga, video game, and anime fairs where they pose for hordes of photographers.
They either buy or make their costumes. They depict so many characters that it's impossible to recognize all of them unless you ask them who they are costumed as. The girl on the left is dressed as Felicia from Vampire Savior.
See more photos of cosplayers here.
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Kimono demonstration186 views
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Awa Odori Dance, Koenji, Tokyo176 viewsThe Awa Odori is a summer dance festival originally from Tokushima Prefecture in Shikoku. It has spread to other cities such as Koenji, Tokyo and Yamato, Kanagawa Prefecture. It is a simple dance accompanied by an infectious drum beat. The hands are raised above the head and shaken. It is the same gesture as saying, "I'm a fool." Hence, it is nicknamed the "Fool's Dance." It is originally a Buddhist bon dance held in August to welcome back the souls of the deceased returning to visit Earth. The crescent moon-shaped straw hat is one symbol of the dance.
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Awa Odori Dance, Yamato, Kanagawa158 viewsThe city of Yamato in Kanagawa Prefecture holds its annual Awa Odori dance during the last weekend in July. Numerous Awa Odori dance troupes (including those from Tokushima) participate in the evening dance parade in the city's main streets.
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Kimono demonstration attracted the most attention. Many people could not enter the auditorium to see this.153 views
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In case you missed the exhibition, you can see most of the pictures on this page. Lion Dance above.125 viewsFrom a kabuki dance called Renjishi, this is one of Japan's most famous and dramatic costumes. The dance is usually performed by a father and son both appearing first as ordinary dancers holding a lion mask. Later, they transform into fierce-looking lions, the father with long white hair and the son with long red hair. The dance climaxes with both father and son spinning their hair furiously in the air accompanied by quick drum beating and music. A similar kabuki dance called Kagamijishi features only the white lion.
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Kimono demonstration125 views
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Japan Day Opening Ceremony with the Japanese ambassador to Finland and his wife sitting front and center.117 viewsOn Ambassador Kondo's left is Mrs. Johanna Lindstedt, the director of Annantalo, and next to her is Ronny Rönnqvist, the chairman of the Friends of Japanese Culture Society which was the co-organizer of the Japan Day event.
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One wall also showed photos of Japanese temples by Elina Moriya, a Helsinki-based Japanese-Finnish photographer.112 viewsSo it was actually a joint photo exhibition by Philbert and Elina. How about that... When I first met Elina, I never dreamed something like this would happen.
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Awa Odori Dance, Yamato, Kanagawa111 viewsThe dance is accompanied by taiko drums and other traditional music. This woman was strong enough to be "one of the drum boys." She wears a head band and a full-length yukata.
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Flower arrangement lesson111 views
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Photo exhibition room with "Japanese Costume" photos by Philbert Ono.109 views
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Completed flower arrangements.104 views
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The entire building is jam-packed. This is the bazaar section.98 views
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My video clips of Japanese festivals were also shown by a monitor.97 views
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Shodo calligraphy lesson97 views
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Japan Day announcement in Helsingin Sanomat, Helsinki's leading newspaper.96 viewsThe announcement was one-fourth page. My two photos contrasted between the traditional and pop cultures.
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People crowding the photo exhibition room with "Japanese Costume" photos by Philbert Ono.95 views
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Budo booth94 views
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A steady stream of people came to see the exhibition of about 30 pictures.86 views
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