Thank you for choosing our tour at Meiji Shrine and Harajuku on September 21. We welcomed 22 guests from Isreal, the UK, Australia, the US and India. I hope all of you enjoyed and shared interesting conversations with us during the tour. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached to remember the fun times we had.
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
By the way, do you know Sumo? Sumo is Japanese traditional national sports that involves two wrestlers grappling with each other, trying to force their opponent out of the ring (called Dohyo). During the tour, we found the following sign in the photo below, so some people who like sumo in my group talked about it.
Sumo is very popular sports in Japan, but it is said that one of the reasons why it remains popular today is because of Emperor Meiji. During Emperor Meiji’s era, Japan started modernizing and adopting Western culture, so Sumo wrestlers with topknots (samurai-style hair) and fundoshi (loincloths) started to be seen as old-fashioned. However, Emperor Meiji was very fond of Sumo, so he attended Sumo matches many times. And when it was reported in the newspaper, people started to talk about it and Sumo got popular again.
Meiji Shrine is connected to Sumo. For example, when a Sumo wrestler become Yokozuna (the highest rank in Sumo wrestlers), they perform a ceremony at Meiji Shrine.
If you are interested in Sumo, try watching a sumo match! Actually, they occasionally hold sumo matches outside Japan.
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Posted by Mako