Japan 2007 - spring

Blade Runner-esque night view down the Doutonbori canal, in downtown Osaka

Before the final matches, the yokozuna (sumo grand champion) perfoms a ritual which displays the intent of the fighters to compete fairly without weapons, and to drive evil from the ring (that's what the stomping is all about).

"Yokozuna" literally means "wide rope", you can see it as the badge of office around his waist.

Sorry this one's a little blurry, we had to return to our cheap seats.

The professional sumo divisions enter the ring with much pomp and ceremony before their matches. From the tournament in Osaka, March 20th.

Dervived from a traditional Shinto temple design, this "roof" hangs over the dohyo (sumo ring); the tassels replace pillars but allow a better view.

from the Osaka Sumo tournament, March 20th

The Daibutsu. You can't see from this photo but the statue is almost 49 feet high. A man can easily stand in its hand; just the ear is over 8 feet high.

This main hall at Todaiji is home of the Daibutsu, the largest bronze Buddha statue in the world. The building is the largest wooden one in the world, almost 160 feet high and 187 feet long. (And this one is only two-thirds the size of the original; it was rebuilt in 1692 after fire destroyed the old one.)

Funny how symbols become international; I didn't have to look up "enmusubi" (the column of hiragana characters on the right, the only part I can read) to figure out that these were romantic wishes.

Ancient Buddhist temple dedicated to the Medicine Buddha and to the "Twelve Divine Generals", fierce spirits that drive disease out of the body.