Travel Shot: Lunar New Year Ritual at Hakugindo Shrine

Ken Uehara and Friends

 

 

 

Things move along quickly at some of the cultural events, I attend and it was one of those days.

One camera crashed, due to human error and, luckily, I had a backup one handy.

One of the uminchu (fisherman) said, "Mikesan come over here."

This was the first, sailing of the sabani boats, since the beginning of the Chinese New Year.

Prayers and offerings were made at the shrine and, it was time to go out to sea.

Three martial arts experts had performed in the shrine, just minutes earlier.

They were posed, for photos, being taken by a young lady and, I was trying to get closer.

It's really, not a good idea, for a bearded foreigner, to shove people out of the way.

The lens, I was using was a 10-20MM and, I needed to get right up front, to take this shot.

For a split second, I thought maybe, these dudes, would start whacking me with their weapons. 

Finally, Ken Uehara (right) told them, who I was and, what I do.

"Mikesan, gets our story in newspapers and on the internet," he told them.

So, I got out of there without a scratch and, had to hurry, on down to the ocean.

Doing stuff like this can give you goose bumps and make hairs stand up on your neck.

Maybe, they should assign a note taker/translator to me, to keep me out of trouble ! 

More About Ken Uehara and Sabani People

Itoman Uminchu Koubou

Hakugindo Shrine

What the Heck Is a Sabani ? 

UPDATE:

 

From a martial arts establishment in Belgium, the friends above, were identified as:

"Yamashiro Kenichi Sensei with his son Takesi Yamasiro and his student Yuki."

Thanks to 

Federation Geido Tao Chi Kihon on Facebook for sharing this post !

Gross National Happiness and Other Notes

Where Flip-flops Meet the Road

 

 

Everything you need to know, isn't readily available on the internet.

Sometimes, you can learn more in a watering hole, than you can by researching online.

So, off I went on a mission to determine the starting date of the upcoming Chinese New Year.

There's my notes. Don't laugh. It's the old guy's version of the iPad.

While discussing the dates of the Lunar New Year with some locals, the TV was on in the bar.

It was a Japanese channel but, Gross National Happiness, showed up, in English.

So, I had to scribble that one down.

See the golf pencil ?  Well, I'm not a golfer.  I just hang around golfers sometimes.

They give me those little pencils that fit in my iPad, for free.

Not bad people to get to know. But, I still like girls better.

Lunar New Year's Day is January 31, 2014

That information was gathered in the very first bar I went to.

Several more bars are on my way home so, I thought it would be a good idea to stop in a few more.

The real world often imitates the internet.  It's best to verify your sources.

The Year of the Horse 2014 starts February 4th, I found out, at another place.

My old fashioned iPad was running out of space so, I memorized that information for you. 

Now, here I am, just as confused as everyone else, about this Lunar New Year.

So, I figured, it was time to quit worrying and do some more bar-hopping.

There are plenty of places with no golfers in them.  And, I like beer.

As the night wore on, every once in awhile, I'd ask somebody about the next New Year.

If you ask 5 people, you might get 5 different dates.

Along Came This Bar With A Beauty

 

It was a little chilly so, she had one of those winter scarfs, wrapped around her shoulders.

Nothing was revealed there.

After the place warmed up, she took the damn thing off.

By that time, I had done enough investigating and was getting sleepy.

So, I finished my beer and took my Gross National Happiness home.

Here's the real deal:

 

Gross National Happiness Homepage

New York Times Article





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