Culture 101: Lesson 1 - Meet your local Shogun day

Japan, a land where ancient culture and modern lifestyle harmoniously co-exist*.

Forget kimonos. People really still wear SAMURAI outfits!!!

Not all the time, mind you. That would be silly and impractical. 

But once a year in Okazaki, the local Shogun (sort of like the ruler of the local territory) will march out with his personal army and actually meet with the local residents in full regalia. 

Cars need less feeding than the more traditional forms of transport.

The Shogun is, of course, an important figure. So first, the representative of the common folk (in pink) negotiates the number of people the Shogun will have an audience with. As you can see, there are quite a few people yearning to meet the Shogun (opposite the river). 

The local Shogun taking a breather.
Having the common folk sitting on his lap asking for land and titles is a tiring job.

The friendly samurai chasing down that silly foreigner who stuck a doughnut through the horn of the Shogun's helmet for laughs. 

So there you have it. Meet your local Shogun day 2011.

*Disclaimer: Everything written in this post is a figment of the author's imagination. The author has little knowledge of what actually happens during the Tokugawa Ieyasu Parade held in Okazaki. The one thing the author can say convincingly is that there were LOTS of people.