So I designated today our "family fun day." I have those from time to time whether the kids like it or not. They have been getting up at about 2-3 pm every day. They need some "fresh air and sunshine" as my father used to say. I woke them up at the ungodly hour of 12 noon to go to the Okinawa bullfights.
You have to see a bullfight while you are here. That is what everyone says. I thought it would be a great opportunity to have a cultural lesson and some fun.
The trick was getting the kids up and moving before 3 pm....
Take a look this crew..."family fun day" anyone?
The Okinawa bullfights are different than what you may think. They are not violent at all. They are a fun event. It actually is just two bulls who fight for about 10-15 minutes. No blood, no violence. It s actually more like wrestling than fighting.
Before the matches, we got to take our picture with the bulls.
They put Caroline on the bull. Hilarious.
We caught up with the clown. As you can see the kids came around...
The arena before opening ceremonies.
The opening ceremonies included Eisa dancers.
Before the match, they had a demonstration of the various strategies used by the bulls when they fight. They used people in costumes for the demonstration.
The bulls are judged for their various techniques and the panel chooses a winner.
Between matches there are more Eisa dancers and entertainers. Eisa dancers represent their town or village. Each town/village has its own banner and colors.
Little kids dressed up in "baby" Shisha" costumes. They were so cute.
The shisha are always a crowd favorite.
The whole event was 2 hours. A great cultural event.
