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| Hakozaki Shrine Tamaseseri (Ball-Catching Festival) |
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When:
Jan 3 , 2013
Where: Hakozaki Shrine, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka City, Japan
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Once a year, on Jan 3rd, Hakozaki Shrine Tamaseseri (Ball-Catching Festival) is held in Fukuoka. This is a traditional event that exists for more than five hundred years. Group of men wearing loincloth only are struggle on catching a ball. This is a special ball 30 cm (0.98 foot) diameter and eight kg (17.64 Pound) weight. The competitor has to catch the ball and lift it high above his head. According to tradition it brings a good luck and success. The competitors are divided into two groups, one represents the farmers and the soil and the other represents the fishermen and the sea. If the winner comes from the group of the farmers, it's mean that the coming year will be a good fertile year with a great harvest. It the fishermen group wins, the coming year will be rich with fishes. On 13:00 o'clock the competitors enter the shrine and in spite of the frozen, winter, cold water are sprayed on them. The competition starts and the wet competitors call load ''Oisa! Oisa!'' and try to grab the ball while cold water are continuously sprayed during the struggle. Mass of locals and tourists watch and encourage the competitors in this ancient competition.
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Watch video
Hakozaki Shrine Tamaseseri (Ball-Catching Festival)
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IMPORTANT:
Please note that the details of the event are subject to change.
We strongly recommended that you check with the organizers
before making any travel arrangements.
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Event related information:
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Japan -
background and overview:
In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Following the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854, Japan opened its ports and began to intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia. It occupied Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern Sakhalin Island.
In 1931-32 Japan occupied Manchuria, and in 1937 it launched a full-scale invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, actual power rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives.
The economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth, but Japan still remains a major economic power, both in Asia and globally. In 2005, Japan began a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.
[Courtesy of The World Factbook]
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Japan details
Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula. |
Languages:
Japanese |
Climate:
Varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north . |
Capital:
Tokyo |
Time Zone:
UTC+9 |
Currency (code):
yen (JPY) |
Call Code:
+81 |
Electric Power:
100V 50/60 Hz |
Tourist office:
Japan National Tourism Organization 10th Floor, Tokyo Kotsu Kaikan Building, 2-10-1Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0006 |
Tourist website:
Click Here |
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