Photographs from a small group of islands
When it comes to Japanese TV dramas, it’s always easy to spot the rebellious teen boy type, as he’ll invariably be the one moodily sporting an elaborately coloured and carefully coiffured mane. And the badder he is, the bigger and bolder said bouffant will be.
Now whether this is art imitating life or vice versa is hard to say, but for the sake of this young man’s mother, it’s to be hoped that he spends as much time on the likes of maths as he does in front of the mirror.
For even the most dedicated or over-indulgent of eaters, each of Tokyo’s numerous cities offer so many restaurants that a lifetime of dining out probably wouldn’t even begin to dent the sheer number of delicacies on offer. A staggering array of options that not only vary wildly in both cost and contents, but also in regards sophistication and surroundings. And needless to say this already vast selection is multiplied into unimaginable numbers when there’s even the merest of mentions of the whole metropolis.
Yet if one has only a minute or two to wolf down some food, or much worse no money, then eating out in Tokyo can take on a very different interpretation.
A lovely Lilliputian landscape created by an even more lovely Lilliputian life form.
Along with mikoshi, or portable shrines, taiko drums are a mainstay of many Japanese festivals, although a large number of the latter generally aren’t as big as this lumbering beast.
An instrument that needless to say required quite a few people to pull it along the pre-arranged path.
But all the effort was worth it when the drum was made to produce its powerful, almost primeval sound. An effect that this recording unfortunately does little to reproduce, as although it may replicate the sound to a certain extent, it in no way recreates the vibrations that can be felt bouncing around the air, and even through one’s bones.
Of course knocking out such a noise is no easy task, and those with enough gumption to give it a go understandably had to psyche themselves up beforehand.
As well as utilise a variety of tricky looking techniques.
And of course muster the required strength and stamina.
All of which were warmly appreciated by those watching.
As a young lad, re-runs of the animated series Top Cat were a firm after school favourite, the exploits of the decidedly dapper gang of New York alley cats painting a really quite positive picture of feral feline life.
An existence so desirable in fact that were it somehow made aware of old American TV shows, this cat in Shinjuku’s kabukicho district would no doubt be completely and utterly confounded.
