2008 Nagasaki Tall Ship Festival

Nagasaki hosted some nice big windjammers over the weekend that we were there. Not only could we visit the nice ships but we also joined in a huge on the beach festival with foodstands, activities for the kids, music and art's exhibition.



And of course the Japanese flag is blowing nicely in the wind- the red circle is a symbol for the sun. The name Nisshōki means sunflag but is known as Hinomaru which means sun disc.




Here we can see one of the many beautiful ships and the crowds relaxing and having a great Saturday with their families.






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The Kanji signs mean: Choei Takano

Huge posters seem all the way to the port. A friend from flickr posted the following information:

"Choei Takano was a Mizusawa native who lived from 1804 to 1850. He studied medicine in Edo (Tokyo) then in Nagasaki under Franz von Siebold. He became famous for his meticulous anatomical illustrations. Unfortunately he didn't stop there. In 1838 he wrote a work criticizing the shogunates xenophobic policies and was sentenced to life in prison. In 1844 his prison caught fire and he managed to escape. With the police hot on his trail he adopted a desperate plan - he poured acid on his face and changed his name. Eventually he was caught and thrown in jail where he adopted another drastic plan of action to escape the authorities - he killed himself. Presumably he was not recaptured again! His grave is at Daian Temple in downtown Mizusawa Ward, Oshu City, Iwate Prefecture, Japan"

cit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10604163@N00/109180088/



And when it is over, this is what is waiting for you there....

P.S. Apart from tea this is the drink the Japanese like best.

And again: no, they don't drink sweat as people might think when they read my post of yesterday.