Pretoria - The embassy of Japan in South Africa hosted an exhilarating three-day Japan Cultural Expo showcasing arts and culture the country has to offer at Brooklyn Mall in Pretoria from Friday.
The annual expo, which celebrated various aspects of Japanese arts and culture, attracted hundreds of revellers who were thrilled to view some of the displays, performing arts productions, and arts festivals.
Visitors were also exposed to Japanese food at Sterlings, exhibits of traditional ikebana flower arrangements, Bonsai, uchikake wedding kimonos and samurai armour.
Bonsai are potted trees that have been shaped through careful pruning and care over many years.
A fulfilling experience for many was to learn about both Iaido and Battodo, which are martial arts involving the drawing of the sword. They both begin and end with the sword in the saya (sheath).
Nakamura Ryu was founded and developed by Nakamura Taizaburo as a practical style of swordsmanship rooted in the realities of combat.
Nakamura Ryu Battodo practitioners train in katana (sword) and yari (spear), with kata (individual forms), kumitachi (two person forms) and tameshigiri (mat cutting) forming part of the training.
Visitors got to learn more about the complexities of the Japanese tea ceremony and the values it teaches.
To top off the day, visitors were afforded a chance to watch judo, karate, aikido, kendo and kyudo martial arts demonstrations.
Each day ends with screenings of Dad's Lunch Box and Every Day a Good Day, respectively. Every Day a Good Day, is based on essayist Morishita Noriko's long selling book, Nichinichi kore kojitsu.
Pretoria News