A flagrant fragrant faux pas.
Of sorts.
Photographs from a small group of islands
Perhaps hoping to take some of the heat off their whale hunting and dolphin killing countrymen, the residents of Kochi in western Japan held one of their traditional dog fighting contests over the weekend, with tenacious Tosa dogs tackling each other’s, erm, tackle.
The fights themselves, whilst far from affable, are thankfully not to the death, with a set of judges scoring the animals on temperament, stamina and injuries inflicted, allowing successful entrants to gradually work their way up the ranks — the top slot being reserved for the Yokozuna.
Like this cuddly looking companion for example.
For a bit more in-depth info, this post in the Tokyo Times archive is possibly worth a peek.
Or not as the case may be.
With the Japanese being such feverish followers of fashion, it’s not surprising that even tradesman are picky about their appearance, with puffed-out Hammer-esque pants and fancy footwear very much the order of the day.
A sense of style that has now also reached the formerly frumpy world of farming, with the Japan Knitwear Designers Association (JAKDA) attempting to halt a declining interest in agriculture by establishing ‘agrifashion‘, somewhat optimistically hoping that it “will help promote farming not only as a worthwhile occupation, but also a cool and trendy one.â€
The winning designs at the Tokyo event however appear to suggest that they still have some way to go.
Although that said, 70-year-old style guru and seeding specialist Junko Suzuki appeared to be quite impressed — the bonnets in particular getting plenty of praise.
Her only reservation being the flaunting of what she considered to be just a little too much flesh.
The Volkswagen Beetle it has to be said doesn’t look anything like a beetle. And to be honest, neither does the comical car captured below.
But whether intentional or not, the Tokyo trundler does bear more than a passing resemblance to a crustacean — of sorts.
(click image for higher-res rubbish runabout)
For Japanese singer Kumi Koda, these are heady days indeed, as after already bagging this year’s much coveted Best Jeanist award, the Kyoto born star has now been named a Nail Queen.
The prize — perhaps unsurprisingly sponsored by the Japan Nailist Association — honours those deemed to have reached the pinnacle in finger-related fashion. And, as the picture below amply proves, the 24-year-old does indeed have a lovely set.
Other winners included the equally famous but far less photogenic Akiko Wada; plus, somewhat surprisingly, an Italian bloke.