Sumo with a history of many hundred years represents the essence of Japan and Shintoism within all its traditions and fanfare.  At one time, the sport allowed kids who had difficulty finding work, the ability and dignity of living a respectable life while teaching them about perseverance and hard work. That whole history of tradition and honor lately came under fire due to game fixing scandals and the public interest, already distracted by the tsunami tragedy, waned to the point that the Tokyo Bassho (one of the six major championships during the year) did not sell out in advance. However, as the Bassho progressed, there emerged the prospect of a new champion who was Japanese and that prompted previous supporters to return and cheer. It was unclear till the last day of the tournament as to who would be the champion with the reigning champion Hakuho and the Japanese contender Kotoshogiku both needing to win on the last day to lay a stake at the title.

With the new Japanese Prime Minister in attendance, the crowd cheered their favorites hoping for Kotoshogiku to beat the Estonian Baruto and it certainly seemed that Kotoshogiku knew that there was history to be made and that a win would allow him to be the only Japanese whose picture would be hung among all the other recent champions on the walls of this Sumo shrine.  A false start allowed Kotoshogiku’s opponent Baruto to prepare and thwart the first move and eventually allowed Baruto to win.  The only hopes for the crowd were if Hakuho would also lose but Hakuho prevailed becoming one of only six Sumo champions with more than 20 championship wins.  Kotoshogiku’s fine performance allowed him to be promoted to the title of Ozeki.  At the young age of 27, there are high hopes for Kotoshogiku from Japanese sumo lovers and one looks forward to the rivalry with the 26 year old Hakuho.

Watching 50+ matches and the different levels of the contenders for the length of the day, I could appreciate Sumo’s systematic and disciplined process of working up through the ranks for not only the Sumo wrestlers, but also the referees.  Yesterday marked the last day for the 35th Kimura Shonosuke (name bestowed to the top referee) who served as a referee for 50 years.  In Sumo, the last match of the day is the most important and is refereed by the Kimura Shonosuke. The next championship will thus see a new Kimura Shonosuke and the tradition will continue and with it the hopes of the sport winning back the hearts of many more viewers.

Following the tragic earthquake and tsunami, all sporting and entertainment events were cancelled all over Japan as a sign of respect and support for the ones affected.  During the past few weeks, all of Japan continued to watch and reconcile the drama that was unfolding at Fukushima – radiation fears, the horror of which this island nation is all well aware of.  As time passes, the frequency of images of the incident slowly begin to reduce and Japan tries to start the journey back to what was once “normal”.  The start is not without continuous fears due to the never ending aftershocks, any of which could trigger the domino of nuclear plant collapses across the Eastern coastline and cripple the country.  Life in Japan without the traditional “Hanami” (Cherry blossom viewing gathering/parties) is unnerving even to me as a resident foreigner and I sought a way to return to images of what I consider my “normal”.

Yabusame at the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine is a tradition surviving many centuries.  This year’s event event included a special service remembering the victims and the families of the earthquake and Tsunami and with prayers for the ones who are in shelters.  The best seats in the viewing gallery were reserved for donors, and for people who had come from the impacted Tohoku area. A bright, sunny day brought warmth and cheer and the tradition continued.

For this blog, I wanted to include some pictures of the ceremonies and the riders preparing for the event.  It was nice to greet familiar faces and to see some new ones among the riders.  The Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine still follows strict tradition which forbids female participants but who still played other roles in the staging of the event.  At the end of the day, all the riders joined the staff to collect donations for the Tohoku Earthquake relief fund. My thoughts and prayers continue to be with them.

One thing I never get tired of photographing is Yabusame (Horseback Archery).  This weekend was another Yabusame event and this was the first time for me to see Yabusame on the beach of Zushi near Kamakura.   For this post, I will share some of the information and technique behind the shots and how I prepare for the event.

I usually take my two Nikon cameras (D3s and D3x), one which is mounted with a 70-200 VRII, and the other with a 200/F2 and I interchange the cameras some time during the event depending on what I would like to photograph.  The 200/F2 is usually on a Gitzo 1257 with a Wimberley head and I also occasionally use the Nikon 2x tele-converter to get close head shots. Key is getting to the location early and scouting a good location which is at a curve and where one can see the rider at full gallop. I usually choose either the first or the third target since the riders have enough time to load and fire.  My experience is that many newer riders miss the second target since they approach the first one too fast.  Since there are usually only 20-24 times that one can photograph the riders during the event, each approach is critical.

My metering is always manual and I use continuous focus on both cameras for the telephoto shots.  I have not had too much luck with the auto-focus using 3D tracking and so I use a single point of focus technique.  Focus point is usually the eyes but I try to allow enough head room for the full bow.  Since I am manual metering, I also use manual settings of 1/800 to 1/1000 of a second and an f4-6.4 setting varying the ISO as needed.

Different riders employ different shooting techniques and it is always interesting to be able to photograph a variety of the approach shots.  I personally prefer the over the head shots since the approach is classic and “cool”.

During the course of the event, the targets get smaller and smaller. Occasionally, I will also pre-focus at the target to get the wide angle shots since it is difficult to get the rider in focus and compose correctly in time due to the fast speeds of the riders.  This is a hit or miss technique since the riders shoot from various points in the curve and often shoot back at the target so I use f6-8 depending on how much light I have and what ISO I am using.  It does become a challenge since the background when in focus is usually very distracting.

For this event,  three of the horses were brought in specially from Hokkaido.  These were examples of typical thoroughbred Japanese (Dosanko) horses versus others in Japan that were imported.

Lately there are many female riders and it was good to see them getting more and more competitive.  Depending on the location, some temples still do not allow female riders for religious events.

Yabusame events tend to have a regular following and it is always nice to run into people who recognize each other from other events. Some of them are photographers who are continuously attracted by the pursuit of the perfect photograph, and some are just attracted by the artistry of the riders. I think I belong to both camps ]]> http://arifiqball.com/blog/2010/11/21/yabusame-at-zushi-beach/feed/ 1 http://arifiqball.com/blog/2010/11/15/negara-buffalo-races-mekepung-not-for-the-faint-hearted/ http://arifiqball.com/blog/2010/11/15/negara-buffalo-races-mekepung-not-for-the-faint-hearted/#comments Mon, 15 Nov 2010 12:00:36 +0000 Arif http://arifiqball.com/blog/?p=527 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

A Balinese tradition, the Negara Bull Races (Mekepung) are held in Perancak, a little way away from Negara in Bali. The origin of the race is not known, but it is assumed to be a celebration of the end of the rice harvest.

Hundreds of bull and rider teams compete in this event which occurs on Sundays between July and October.  To get there, I had to wake up at 2:00 AM and leave Ubud by 3:00 AM to reach Negara by 6:00 AM.  We were not the first to reach there, but were among the few foreigners that were seen in what is still not a tourist attraction – a show put on by the locals just for the locals.  I have always respected Balinese traditions which are always meant not for tourists but for the Balinese themselves.

Two pairs of bulls are hitched to make-shift chariots and ridden by jockeys around a one-track course. The bulls are chosen carefully, on the basis of strength and color and they are not used for ploughing fields.  The Bulls are bathed and decorated with colourful garlands and headdresses. Many have their horns painted and also wear large wooden bells.

At first, these bulls are paraded before the spectators, and then the race begins, with two pairs racing at one time. The winner is not necessarily the first past the post. The judgment is based on speed and style, points are awarded for the most elegant runner and winning is considered very important.  Although gambling is illegal in Bali, I am sure there was some wagering going on at the sides.

The dexterity and the riding skills of the jockeys was impressive.  What was however painful to watch were the whips lashing out at the bulls many of which are spiked with nails to get the extra push.  It was not uncommon to see bloodied sides of bulls which the locals assured would heal quickly.

It may only be a matter of time before the races become less bloody and the animal activists challenge this long standing local tradition. For those who want to experience pure Bali, one may be able to see these in the interim but a word of caution for the fainthearted.

In 2001, a tennis poster titled “New Balls Please”  was released by the ATP which included the new generation of tennis players, many of them whom were young, but who very soon fulfilled the prophecy of being among the best in Tennis.  Those players (Gustavo Kuerten; Lleyton Hewitt; Jan-Michael Gambill; Tommy Haas; Juan Carlos Ferrero; Nicolas Lapentti; Mariano Zabaleta; Roger Federer; Marat Safin; Andy Roddick; Mark Philippoussis; Magnus Norman) are still going strong and still having an impact in the game and inspiring new generations of Tennis players.

When that poster originally came out, Rafael Nadal was only 14 so was too young to be noticed at the world scene.  However today, both he and Gael Monfils easily represent the next generation of players who are making headlines in Tennis.  Gael was the World Junior Champion in 2004 and is currently ranked number 15 in the world. Nadal of course needs no introduction anymore and has already won seven ATP tournaments this year.

Today, I was able to watch both of them play in the 2010 Rakuten Tennis Open Championship Final where Nadal made his Japan debut and for a change I tried my hand in some sports photography.  I was surprised to see how many fans Nadal had and even felt it was an unfair advantage going in to the game.  Monfils has always been a crowd pleaser and even though he was hurt early in the game, kept his spirits up to show that he was a valid contender.

Nadal proved to be the stronger of the two winning in two straight sets much to the delight of the Tokyo crowd. I, for one, was hoping that the match could go longer since these two seemed to enjoy playing together.

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