Shwedagon Impressions

by Robert George, Mar 13, 2003 | Destinations: Myanmar / Yangon

Image © 2002 Robert George

A story told with photos.

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The Tokyo district of Rygoku is home of one of Japan's most famous Sumo wrestling facilities. Sumo wrestlers train very strenuously for their six annual basho tournaments, and must consume up to 10,000 calories a day to achieve and maintain their enormous stature. When they're not in training however, they can be seen strolling the city sidewalks wearing blue and white cotton robes called yukata.

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The water is coldGive me strength to endure itAs I purge myselfOn the second Sunday of the New Year, wearing nothing more than loincloths called shitaobi and headbands called hachimaki, many Japanese men brave the icy waters of Teppozu Inari Jinja, a Shinto shrine in central Tokyo, to practice a yearly purification ritual.

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Every year on November 15, Japan celebrates Shichi-Go-San--Children's Day. Dressed in their very finest garments, girls and boys aged three, boys aged five, and girls aged seven, go with their families to nearby shrines, where they line up, sometimes for hours, to await their turn to be blessed by the presiding priest. After the blessing, the child is presented with a gift of long sticks of candy called chitose-ame, "thousand year sweets," wrapped in ornate bags decorated with cranes and turtles, both symbols of longevity.

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