It’s the Great Pumpkin Cult, Charlie Brown!!!

It’s the Great Pumpkin Cult, Charlie Brown!

Linus Van Pelt: Portrait of a Fanatic

Many years ago a young boy would wait up every Halloween Night in a pumpkin patch he thought sincere enough in the hopes of catching a glimpse of what he called the Great Pumpkin. The Great Pumpkin, according to the boy, was some sort of Halloween spirit that would fly up out of only the sincerest pumpkin patches to give presents to all the attending good little boys and girls. That he never saw the Great Pumpkin in all those years of his childhood, never deterred him. Even as he got older, he would still wait out in a pumpkin patch on Halloween Night looking for the Great Pumpkin.

A Dark Twisted Soul

Though his friends and family thought his yearly vigil was just a harmless belief, in truth Linus Van Pelt was a sick and disturbed individual. He would often fly into an uncontrollable rage whenever anyone would dare mention that the Great Pumpkin possibly did not exist. Linus also began to develop a severe loathing for the Great Pumpkin’s Christmas counterpart: Santa Claus. Like a true religious zealot, he would ridicule any of his childhood friends that professed a belief in Santa Claus.

Linus sees orange when friends mock the existence of the Great Pumpkin

In his college years, Linus Van Pelt began to attract a number of shy gullible girls and awkward young men to join him in his yearly vigil. Over time, the Great Pumpkin’s repeated failure to arrive began to worry the group. “Perhaps their faith wasn’t strong enough?” They thought. “Perhaps they said the word “if” too much? Perhaps their pumpkin patches weren’t sincere enough and had too much hypocrisy?” Such questions plagued the small group for a long time.

Proselytizing The Great Pumpkin Faith

Some members of the group, including their leader, Linus, felt they needed to further convince the Great Pumpkin of their sincerity and devotion. They forbade the word “if” in their daily speech, punishing its use by a severe lashing. They went on pumpkin rescuing parties in an attempt to save pumpkins from being carved into Jack-o-Lanterns.

Linus was traumatized at an early age when he witnessed the annual pumpkin slaughter

On Halloween nights they would leave offerings of food in the hopes of appeasing and enticing the Great Pumpkin to appear. When these efforts didn’t seem to be enough they stepped up to burning effigies of the Great Pumpkin’s arch-enemy: Santa Claus. After a while grisly animal sacrifices were to follow.

Some years earlier, authorities found the bizarre remnants of one such Halloween ritual though at the time they weren’t aware of the cult. In what police described as a seemingly sincere pumpkin patch, they found the grim remains of an old beagle bizarrely dressed in a World War I aviation cap. The dog had apparently been choked to death by some kind of cloth: a towel or a small blanket. Written in black crayon on some pumpkins were the words: “Deceiver“, “False One“, and “Dog Germs“.

Snoopy – Dog and WWI Flying Ace: an early victim of the Great Pumpkin Cult

At this time, Linus Van Pelt was a Philosophy Grad school drop-out. His dissertation entitled: “The Great Pumpkin Manifesto” had been savagely ridiculed by the faculty. One of them even went so far as to say: “Wa-wa, wa-wa, wa-wa-waaaa.” In anger and despair, Linus left the academic world to concentrate on the Great Pumpkin full time.

By now the group had become a full-fledge cult and they took took the last final step into madness. They felt there was too much non-belief in the world and that the power of the Jolly Fat Menace (as they called Santa Claus) held too much sway. They began to perform human sacrifices on those whom the group deemed irreversible non-believers. It is believed that some of the first victims to be ritually slain had actually been childhood acquaintances of Linus’ that had once dared to mock the Great Pumpkin.

An earlier Missing Person’s report that was only later tied in with the cult had been dismissed when it was originally filed. A Charles Brown filed a Missing Person’s report several years prior about his sister Sally Brown. Given Mr. Brown’s long history of psychological problems, chronic depression, and dependency on medication, the report was ignored by local authorities at that time and Mr. Brown was given a rock.

The beginning of a long trend for Brown

It was later learned that Ms. Sally Brown, who had been working as an exotic dancer in Florida before her disappearance, had once ridiculed Linus for talking her into missing Halloween fun one year so they could wait for the Great Pumpkin together. Linus secretly never forgave her and bore bitter resentment for her and her rejection of the Great Pumpkin.

Little did Sally know she was signing her death warrant that fateful night

Eventually everything came to a horrifyingly bloody climax one Halloween night when Pigpen, Linus’ trusted lieutenant, led a group of followers supposedly on orders from Linus to Jim Davis’ house. There they broke in and in an orgy of blood and violence, brutally massacred Garfield, Odie, and John.

The police quickly rounded up the group and Linus. Some of them were still covered in blood. Pigpen was covered in blood and dirt that wouldn’t wash off.

At his trial Linus shocked the court by appearing with a Jack-o-Lantern carved into his forehead. No one could get him to make any sense. He merely rambled incoherently damning unbelievers and Santa Claus.

A few of his more lucid mutterings were:

“…I have loosed the Great Pumpkin and devils into the world to torment Santa Claus and his followers…”

“…I am not the scary monster but only a dark reflection of a society that believes in Santa Claus and kills pumpkins in the name of fun…”

“…mangy mutt pretended to be the Great One…but we showed him, didn’t we?”

“…she laughed at me and at the G.P., she did, my Sally Brown until her sweet baboo put her under the ground…”

Testimony from surviving childhood acquaintances including his estranged sister Lucy Van Pelt, president of the ultra-radical feminist group, “The Society for Cutting Up Blockheads,” was enough to convince the court to sentence Linus Van Pelt to a mental institution for life. Mr. Charles Brown was unable to testify at that time as he was currently in jail for allegedly stalking red-headed girls.

Lucy Van Pelt – Psychologist and President of S.C.U.B.

Now Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin every year in a small padded cell with pumpkins drawn on the walls. This is where he will wait for the rest of his life. He still hasn’t seen the Great Pumpkin but as he tells his unbelieving guards: “Just wait till next year! You’ll see! The Great Pumpkin will rise out of the Pumpkin patch and I’ll be there to see him! Just wait and see!”

The Moment of Truth?

Bad Dog!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Kyoto’s Festival of Ages – Jidai Matsuri Part II

Kyoto’s Festival of the Ages
A look at the Jidai Matsuri (Festival of Ages) of Kyoto: Part II

An Imperial Guard – statues of these guards can be found at certain Shinto shrines

Court nobles and Imperial guards represent the Fujiwara Period (897-1185), a time when the powerful noble family, the Fujiwara, controlled the governance of the country as ministers to the imperial court. One of the most powerful Fujiwara ministers was Fujiwara-no-Michinaga (966-1027). He arranged to have his daughters marry the emperors and have his grandson of one of these unions ascend the throne. In time the Fujiwaras’ power weakened and they had to rely more often on the warrior families, chiefly the Heike and the Genji, to control the country. Eventually, the Fujiwara would be succeeded by the military Heike family who in turn were destroyed by the Genji in the Gempei War.

The fierce Tomoe Gozen – samurai warrior woman

Following in the train of the Fujiwara nobles comes some of the most famous women of Japanese history. Astride a horse dressed in samurai armor carrying the deadly long-bladed naginata is Tomoe Gozen. Tomoe fought beside her husband, Minamoto-no-Yoshinaka, as one of his most trusted captains in the Gempei War. In 1183, Yoshinaka captured Kyoto from Heike forces. His success went to his head and his ever-suspicious cousin, Yoritomo, ordered his half-brother, Yoshitsune, to destroy the would-be upstart. Tomoe fought gloriously in her husband’s last battle. Reports of her end are mixed. Some say she died in battle, others that she took Yoshinaka’s head with her and perished in the sea, and others say she ended her days as a nun.

Famous Writers of the 11th Century: Sei Shonagon and Murasaki Shikibu

The writers Sei Shonagon and Murasaki Shikibu follow the warlike Tomoe. Sei Shonagon (966-1025) was a sharp-witted lady of the court whose observations of courtly life are preserved in her famous work: “Makura-no-Soshi” (The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon). Murasaki Shikibu (980-1014), also a lady of the court, penned the internationally renowned classic, the “Genji Monogatari” (Tale of the Genji).

The first Shogun and his troops returning after a successful campaign

The next military procession is of the early samurai warriors of the 9th century led by General Sakanoue Tamuramaro. Sakanoue was the first military commander to be named “Shogun” by Emperor Kammu. Originally, the title “shogun” was given temporarily to military leaders to subdue the turbulent Ezo (Ainu) natives of Tohoku, the northern region of Japan. This procession depicts the triumphant return of the Shogun Sakanoue after a successful campaign.

A court noble from Kyoto’s early days

Court nobles wearing straight swords come next to greet the emperor of the early Heian Period (794-1185). The colors of their robes signify their rank.

Boys dressed in colorful costumes with bird wings on their backs

Children wearing colorful costumes with the wings of butterflies or mythical birds on their backs precede the arrival of the mikoshi (portable shrine) of Emperors Kammu and Komei.

Mikoshi – portable shrine – of the spirit of the first and last reigning emperors in Kyoto

The Shinko-Retsu (Procession of the Sacred Carriages) brings a close to the Jidai Matsuri. The two mikoshi transfer the spirits of Kammu and Komei to the Heian Shrine.

Late 8th Century Archer who guarded Emperor Kammu’s procession into Kyoto on Oct. 22, 794

Accompanying the mikoshi are 8th – 9th century archers from the Tamba region noted for their skills with the bow. When Emperor Kammu first moved the capital to Kyoto, these archers guarded his sacred procession into his new capital. And with their departure, the Festival of Ages with its glimpse into the past draws to a close.

A Poet of an earlier age peeks out at the modern world

Cops, Nerds, and Halloween Trains

Cops, Nerds, and Halloween Trains
The Tokyo Yamanote Halloween Train serves up another saucy bit of fun

The Joker is a scream at the Yamanote Halloween Train party

The infamous Tokyo Yamanote Halloween Train rode yet once more this year despite fears of police crackdowns and potential violence from frustrated internet nerds. The Tokyo Yamanote Halloween Train is an unofficial semi-traditional event going back over 20 years where foreigners and Japanese in costume party on the Yamanote Train Line which loops through Tokyo.

Now, I’ve ridden this notorious public transportation menace a fair few times (four times as of now), and I must say this time was as nerve-wracking as it was exhilarating. Each time I’ve ridden the Halloween Train, it’s been fun but this time things were a bit more tense than before.

The few, the proud, the loud

Looming over the party atmosphere was the specter of the Akihabara murder-spree this past summer where a deranged man killed seven people with his vehicle and knife. Prior to doing so, he had posted on the internet that he would do so. Akihabara is a mecca for the anime otaku or Japanese animation nerd.

Otaku (nerds/geeks/dorks) are the pariah of Japan. They have been scapegoated for social ills sometimes unfairly and sometimes not. Many are just harmless individuals who just like anime and manga while indulging in a bit of cosplay now and then. These types lack the anger and alienation of other otaku whose behavior rather than their particular obsession sets them apart. The killer Kato Tomohiro is seen as one of these types who finally gave into his dark twisted inner nature.

Tengu – Japanese long-nosed Goblin

Our gathering was small for several reasons. One, there was little advance warning; two, it was rather early for Halloween being the 25th; three, there was worry the police would shut it down and arrest participants; and four, there was fear of violence from 2channel people.

Japan Man takes a Swig

2channel or Nichannel/Nichan is a Japanese internet community that is known for its outspoken members. Because of its complete anonymous nature, it attracts a certain number of individuals who slander and defame businesses, political figures, and celebrities. These individuals are often described as extremely conservative, angry, xenophobic, vindictive, and incapable of functioning in the real world.

In 2007 when certain 2channel members learned about the Halloween Train event, they saw red and plastered websites which mentioned the event with obscenities and violent threats. Japanprobe was hit especially hard as someone had posted an invite there to the Halloween Train and 2chan people assumed Japanprobe was sponsoring the event. Two commentators stood out at the time – one who threaten to blow away the trains and one who said he would go there with a knife.

After the Akihabara tragedy, such threats are no longer passed off as empty threats made by internet nerds who never leave their computer. There is a dark side to the otaku culture of frustrated young men angry at society, with their lives, and with their lack of human contact. Generally lashing out through their online personas is enough for many of them but for some it hasn’t and what Japan may experience is more internet-fueled rages in the real world.

We can’t reach our Beer!

The Halloween Train was packed with police most of them undercover while at the major stations a dozen uniformed police stood waiting. Some of us began to worry our night of merry mayhem would end in a Japanese jail cell and possible deportation. As it turns out, the police were less there because of us but more there because of the potential threat the 2channel users posed.

A Japanese maid chants station names

Due to their hatred for the Halloween Train event some 2channel members actually made the ultimate sacrifice of prying themselves away from their cyber fantasy worlds and entering the cold harsh realm called the real world. They came to our event but they certainly weren’t there to partake in the festivities. One of them tried to make off my bottle of Campari when I offered to him in a gesture of good will. I had to wrestle it out of his hand to get it back.

A police sign telling us not to … do something

The 2channel members were easy to spot as while other passengers just ignored the event going on around them, the 2channel people defiantly ignored the event going on around them. Some of them though harassed Japanese participants of the Halloween Train questioning their love of their home country and other nationalistic jingoism.

The Joker during a serious moment

Heath Ledger’s Joker is a frightening psychotic character and we had a Joker on our train complete with knife (fake). However, one regular-looking 2channel member proved to be far more frightening than our lovable clown-face psycho. When asked by a Halloween Train participant if he liked peace, he replied that he liked war and that he wanted to kill the participant. Immediately, in this packed train, that 2channel fellow found ample space around him as people recoiled in horror. Flashes of AKihabara went through many minds and through it all the placid expression on his face did not change – all the more frightening.

An undercover policeman inquired about the incident and let it be known that they were more here to protect the party participants from the 2channel members. This may strike one as strange that the police would willingly protect an event what some have condemned as hooliganism and even terrorism but one has to understand that this event has been going on for well over 20 years. It happens once a year (usually) and in recent times lasts only an hour or so. The worse that happens is some lights are turned off and some people get on the luggage rack.

Hey, Mom! I’m on the Tokyo Yamanote Halloween Train!

On the other side of the equation we have this subculture of embittered socially-awkward young men with chips on their shoulders who after the Akihabara incident are capable of doing far worse than turn off a few lights. Reportedly in 2007 after the Halloween Train event which started in Shinjuku and had police and otaku alike some party participants were beaten afterwards.

As for the Halloween Train, it was a bit more low key than previous ones but we did our usual station chanting. Hamamatsucho Station, however, defeated our best efforts. It’s hard getting a group of inebriates to chant multi-syllabic words. We ran into a slight snag at Osaki station. Although the Yamanote Line loops around Tokyo, not all its trains do. Some stop in Osaki and are switched out. We happened to be on one such train though we didn’t know it. We thought at first they were shutting down the train like they did with the Shinjuku Halloween Train last year.

Fortunately, it was a routine shutdown. We simply crossed over to the other side and grabbed another train going the same direction. Half of the group went over to the other platform and took a train in the direction we had just came no doubt surprising the police at the stations we had already left. Once again two Halloween Trains were on the loose and chaos reigned.

Another amusing note to the evening was the presence of a vocal foreign critic to our soiree. Buried beneath the press of passengers, photographers, and nerds, was our moral compass. Periodically we would hear over the din, the shrill nasally cry of “you shouldn’t be drinking on the train!” and “you shouldn’t be shouting!” even though he himself was shouting. I’m not sure what he got out of it but if it made him happy, good for him.

Our train party decided to exit at Ueno despite originally stating we would do so at Ikebukuro. This was to throw off any unwanted welcoming parties that might been waiting for us in the shadows outside the station. We received a celebrity sendoff by a mob of photographers. They formed a semi-circle and snapped away like we were rock stars. With the police protection, stalkers, and photographers and our larger-than-life behavior we kind of were rock stars.

Yamanote Halloween Train Paparazzi – “No Autographs!”

We finally got out of the station after having hundreds of photos taken of us by reporters and passerbys and celebrated out success (and survival) over a few cold ones. Scarily enough, we still had a few 2channel members tailing us. Two undercover cops were there though to make sure they didn’t try anything.

So another successful and highly interesting Yamanote Halloween Train went down in the annals of Tokyo lore. I cannot say truthfully if this was the proverbial “the” Tokyo Yamanote Halloween Train as another may still run in the near future but I can say this was definitely “A” Tokyo Yamanote Halloween Train and I was glad not to have missed it.

Tokyo Yamanote Halloween Train 2008

Tokyo Yamanote Halloween Train rides again and we get rockstar treatment.

Police protection, avidly-snapping photographers, and love-hate psycho stalkers.

We were the the few, the proud, the loud.

Some naysayers say there wasn’t a party but watch this video and judge for yourself. We all had fun.

Kyoto’s Jidai Matsuri – Festival of Ages Part 1

Kyoto Celebrates History with Festival Parade
Japan’s Imperial city on full display during ‘Jidai Matsuri’

An Imperial Princess with two attendants from yesteryear

Every year on Oct. 22, the city of Kyoto celebrates its long history with the Jidai Matsuri — “Festival of the Ages” — a long procession of participants dressed in the various fashions of Japanese history. The festival was created in 1895 to mark the 1,100 anniversary of the founding of Kyoto as Japan’s imperial capital.

On Oct. 22, 794, Emperor Kammu decided to relocate the imperial capital to what is today modern Kyoto. The imperial capital used to be 30 miles to the east in Nara, a city brimming with powerful, politically scheming Buddhist institutes. While the capital was in Nara (710-794) a certain amorous Buddhist priest nearly got himself named emperor by a lovesick empress. She died, however, before he could make his dream a reality and all the priest received was a swift banishment for his efforts. This incident and the strong influence of the Buddhist Temples on the imperial court, helped to prompt the move away from Nara.

The Imperial Court remained in Kyoto until 1867 when it was relocated to Tokyo. Kyoto was crushed by the news — even today some of Kyoto’s citizens will refer to Tokyo as the “new capital” despite the fact that all of Japan had been ruled from Tokyo since the beginning of the 17th century. Still, pride in their city is unflagging and a few decades later, Kyoto was seen celebrating its long and glorious history. In 1895, the Heian Shrine was constructed, which is a 2/3 scale model of the original imperial palace. The first Jidai Matsuri marked its opening.

The Heian Shrine and the Jidai Matsuri honor the spirits of Emperor Kammu (reigned 781-806) and Emperor Komei (1847-1866), the first and last reigning emperors of Kyoto. The participants in the procession represent famous moments and people who left their mark on Kyoto, Japanese history, and culture. The costumes are historically accurate and have been painstakingly recreated using traditional methods.

The Jidai Matsuri begins at Kyoto Gosho — the old Imperial Palace — and winds its long way to Heian Shrine. There are over 3000 participants in the Jidai Matsuri and the procession lasts for two hours. It takes the participants 2.5 hours to reach their destination at the Heian Shrine.

The Jidai Matsuri follows a reverse chronological order, starting in the mid 19th century and going backward to the founding of the city a thousand years earlier.

The first participants arrive in horse-drawn carriages that would have looked right at home in Victorian London, except for the dress of their passengers. Inside the carriages sit Japanese and foreigners dressed in kimono symbolizing the opening of Japan to the world in the 19th century.

Horsedrawn carriage with Japanese and Foreign Occupants from the Meiji Period

Behind them comes the Royal Army of the Meiji Restoration which fought against the Tokugawa Shogunate government in Tokyo in order to restore the power and dignity of the Imperial Court, led by Emperor Meiji. A number of Imperial supporters actually wanted Japan to remain closed off from the world but after the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate, it became all too apparent that Japan could not remain isolated any longer.

Meiji Troops – they fought supporters of the Tokugawa Shogunate to restore the Emperor’s power

The Edo Period (1615-1866) is represented by a delegation from the Tokugawa Shogunate paying a visit to the emperor. In 1600 Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa Shogun, won a great battle at Sekigahara which assured his power as sole ruler of Japan. The emperor bestowed upon him the title of Shogun in 1603.

Representatives of the Tokugawa Shogunate

Though he retired in favor of his son two years later, Tokugawa still oversaw much of the governance of the country until his death in 1616. The seat of power for the Tokugawa Shogunate was Edo — modern day Tokyo. Tokugawa Ieyasu’s successors and their ministers were less inclined to deal with foreign affairs and so they passed a series of edicts which basically closed Japan off from the rest of the world for almost 250 years.

Another representative of the early Edo Period is Izumo-no-Okuni (1600) who was the originator of the art of Kabuki. She was once a maiden in the service of the Izumo Shrine, one of Japan’s holiest Shinto shrines, and became famous in Kyoto for her dancing. She created the first Kabuki dance with young women dressed as samurai. The dancing was apparently too distracting for the samurai and other men that the stuffy Tokugawa Shogunate banned women from the stage as of 1629. From then on, all roles, including those of the women, would be played by men.

Izumo-no-Okuni – creator of Kabuki dance with one of her players

A large ornate oxcart represents an official visit paid to the emperor by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1590. Toyotomi arose to power from humble beginnings in the wartorn Sengoku (Warring States) Period. After the death of his lord, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi continued his master’s work in uniting Japan under one banner.

A colorful wagon pulled by an ox

Under Toyotomi, the tea ceremony rose in popularity amongst the samurai and later other classes. Though a creative and innovative leader, in his later days he foolishly attempted to invade China through Korea, which bogged both countries down in needless destruction and death.

Following Hideyoshi is Oda Nobunaga. His entry into Kyoto in 1569 represented the culmination of many warlords’ life dream during the Sengoku Period. To be able to march into Kyoto and proclaim to fight in the emperor’s name was the ultimate sign of warlord’s success in those turbulent times. Many had been unable to do so because they were beset upon all sides by enemies.

Oda Nobunaga and his troops entered Kyoto in 1569

In 1560, a powerful warlord, Imagawa Yoshimoto, tried to march all the way to Kyoto but was killed enroute in a surprise attack by Oda Nobunaga. Oda fought many battles to quell the warlords who would not submit to his power — he even fought against the militant Buddhist clergy. His bloody career came to an end in 1582 when he was killed by one of his own generals in a surprise attack.

The gap in years shows with the arrival of Kusunoki Masashige, which jumps the procession back over 200 years to 1330. Kusunoki was a samurai of the early 14th century and fiercely loyal to the emperor. Japan was ruled at the time by the disintegrating Shogunate government in Kamakura (one hour south of Tokyo). Emperor Go-Daigo plotted to overthrow the Kamakura Shogunate, but was exiled. Kusunoki aided in the emperor’s escape and fought against Kamakura forces with skill and ingenuity.

The loyal Kusunoki Masashige

In 1333, the Kamakura Shogunate fell and Imperial power was restored, but only temporarily. Many samurai were dissatisfied with their reward for their aid and with the court noble’s high-handed attitude. One of the chief leaders at the time, Ashikaga Takauji, sided with the discontented samurai and drove Go-Daigo into exile where he set up a rival imperial court in the south which lasted several decades. Ashikaga Takauji then went on to set up a new Shogunate in the Muromachi district of Kyoto. He and his successors have been left out of the Jidai Matsuri entirely. I realized with this conspicuous absence that this “Festival of Ages” is not so much a celebration of Japanese history, but a celebration of Kyoto’s history and its emperor. Those who neglected the emperor have been left out of the procession.

However, in 2007 the gap between Oda Nobunaga and Kusunoki Masashige was finally filled with the added representation of the Shogun Ashikaga Takauji.

Ashikaga Takauji finally gets to appear in the Jidai Matsuri

As for the faithful Kusunoki Masashige, he remained loyal to Go-Daigo and died heroically in battle against Takauji’s forces in 1336. A statue of Kusunoki was erected in Tokyo nearly six centuries later to commemorate his selfless devotion.

Kusunoki Masashige’s colorfully-attired troops from the early 14th Century

Behind Kusunoki comes the Lady Shizuka, a famed Kyoto dancer of the late 12th century, who was the lover of the hero Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune. Hers is a sad story. Yoshitsune was a brilliant Genji general in the Gempei War (1180-1185) fought between the great families of the Heike and the Genji. His success, however, earned him the jealously and distrust of his half-brother, Yoritomo, the leader of the Genji. In 1185, Yoritomo forced his half-brother to flee and live like an outlaw.

Shizuka Gozen (Lady Shizuka): tragic herione of the late 12th Century

Four years later facing capture and certain execution, Yoshitsune committed suicide. Shizuka, pregnant with his child, was captured by Yoritomo. Reportedly, she danced for him and so charmed him that Yoritomo spared her life and that of her unborn child only if it was a girl. Unfortunately, the baby turned out to be a boy and was soon put to death so it would not grow to manhood and seek vengeance for its father.

Representing the Kamakura Period (1185-1333) are the Yabusame Archers. Yabusame is a Shinto ritual with military practicality. A Yabusame archer had to shoot an arrow at three targets spaced out along a track while riding a galloping horse. The first Kamakura Shogun, Minamoto-no-Yoritomo, encouraged his samurai warriors to practice Yabusame to keep their skills sharp. Yoritomo set his capital in the east in Kamakura away from what he thought of as the debilitating influence of Kyoto.

Sometime after Yoritomo’s death, the position of the Shogun was usurped by his wife’s family, the Hojo, who ruled in the name of the figurehead Shogun as Regent. They established a firm government that resisted an attempt by one emperor to overthrow them (which probably reflects the absence of the Hojo in the Jidai Matsuri) and two invasions by the Mongols. They were financially weakened by their efforts to defend Japan against the Mongols. Half-a-century later, the Kamakura Shogunate was overthrown by forces loyal to the emperor.

A Yabusame Archer and his retainers

Hello Kitty Samurai!

Hello Kitty Samurai!!!

Hello Kitty Samurai

I was visiting Hikone which lies an hour north of Kyoto when I chanced upon a unusual figure in samurai armor. What struck me immediately as odd was that it didn’t have the typical scowl I had usually come to associate with statues and the like depicting samurai. On closer inspection I realized it was Japan’s official tourism ambassador, Hello Kitty, all decked out like a samurai warrior of bygone ages.

Hikone Castle is one Japan’s few preserved castles

Hikone was home to Ii clan. The land was given to their first lord Ii Naomasa whose scowling visage can be seen frozen in bronze outside of the train station.

The fierce Ii Naomasa scowls welcomingly to visitors

Naomasa served Tokugawa Ieyasu who became Shogun or military ruler over all of Japan in 1603. Naomasa fought in numerous battles and was wounded scores of times. His men were famous for painting their armor red. They were known as the Red Devils and the sight of them brought out screams of terror from their enemies.

Red Devil Armor

Now the Red Devils are tastefully emasculated with this lovely recreation of them in Hello Kitty dolls and the sight of them brings out squeals of delight from Japanese schoolgirls.

The Hello Kitty Red Devils

Off to storm the castle

Only in Japan!

Outside the Presidential Debate (Nashville, TN)

The second Presidential debate was held on Belmont College in Nashville, TN on Oct 7th. I happened to be in town that day so I thought I’d check it out.

Security was incredibly tight and it was relatively impossible to get in to see the debates in person. Most Nashvillians watched the debate on TV like everyone else around the country.

I wandered around outside to see what I could encounter. I came across some Obama supporters and pro-environment campaigners against the use of coal.

Despite Tennessee’s redness in the last two elections, urban areas there like Nashville are often strongly Democrat.