Guide to Sights and Festivals in Japan

See the famous cherry blossom all over Japan, Sumo wrestling and the Rocket Festival.

Guide to Sights and Festivals in Japan Female: Japan blooms with the magical shape of cherry blossom trees. It shoots to life during the rocket festival and it has carried on the tradition of Sumo Wrestling. And those are just the top three things to see in Japan. Each April, towns and cities throughout Japan’s well with the cloud like formations of cherry blossom trees dotted around the country. The cherry blossom tree has become an important symbol in Japanese Culture. The represent all man or things from femininity and love, it’s the nature of life. Cherry blossoms have been utilized in Japanese art, manga, anime, and film as well as musical performances for ambient effects. The flower is also represented on all manner of consumer goods in Japan including kimono, stationary, and dishware. Cherry blossoms are at the most picturess when they are flowering but they only flower for one week. Because of their short lifespan, the cherry blossom has come to represent the transient nature of life. Fukuda: We like cherry blossoms because of the message they carry. It tells us, we are released from the coldness of wind. We didn’t expect them too soon. Usually we have our party in the beginning of April. But as we know it predicts the best term to be this weekend. We’ll move the party forward. Female: As global temperatures increase, the cherry blossom trees bloom earlier and earlier. But when the weather is fine and the trees are in bloom, it seems that anytime of the year would be a good time for a party. You can see the cherry blossom trees blooming all over Japan during April. With their cloud like formations, make the whole country look like a dreamland. One of the most recognizable Japanese spectator sports is Sumo Wrestling. Sumo Wrestling has a long tradtion. it stretches back to hundreds of years. And it is highly skillful and reviewed throughout the country. Professional Sumo Wrestling goes back to the Edo period in Japan. As a form of sporting entertainment, the original wrestlers were probably samurai. They needed to find an alternative form of income. Before that, Sumo was used as a ritual and also as a strength charm for combat. Sumo’s popularity has changed according to the winds of its rules and the need for its use as a training tool in periods of civil strife. For professional wrestlers, Sumo is not just a sport. It’s a way of life. All practicing wrestlers are members of the training stable. The Sumo Wrestling Association creates strict rules. For example, after a wrestler was involved in a serious car accident, the association band wrestlers from driving their own cars. Sumo wrestlers must also grow their hair long to form a top knot. And they’re expected to wear traditional Japanese dress when they are in public. Becoming a Sumo wrestler is a great honor that takes years of dedication. Every year in sleepy mountain town outside Tokyo, the sky lights up with bamboo rockets. The Rocket Festival dates back to the 1500s until officials say its roots go back some 100 years 03:39 back. From 1600 to 1868, the festival with underground as people was band from using gun powder. However local farmers kept the tradition going, teaching each other by word of mouth and from father to son the secrets of bamboo rockets to this day. The festival was celebrated at harvest time and originally called upon the gods to bless their fields for another year. Kimio Konai: When we all say these are rockets, but I hear this festival draws from ancient far wood festivals in this region. However it’s just incredible. I can’t describe it. You’ve got to see it for yourself. Female: The festival, once a secrets of inner pass by the locals, now just thousands of national and international tourists to the usually sleepy mountain villages, two hours north of the Japanese capital Tokyo. Male: (SINGLE SPACE AFTER PERIOD. Start your transcription here. Remove this line. Please use the video to check the names and change the speaker tagging with the correct names of the speaker) Female: Male: Female: