Saturday, July 24, 2010

Visit Medieval Europe in the Heart of Modern Tokyo...

Every once in a while Carl Jung likes to goose me from beyond the grave. I'm re-reading The Once and Future King by T.H. White, one of my most beloved books. I lived in Japan for six years. I even went to an Akihabara maid cafe styled after a German castle.

And I've just now discovered Castle Tintagel. During my time in Japan, I met quite a few people who traveled to Japan to learn Asian martial arts, but this is the first time I've seen people learning European martial arts there.

Heck yeah, why not? Why not do something out of the ordinary, something free from cliche while you're in Japan? Anyone can eat sushi or take an ikebana class (and I recommend you try both)-- only the daring few will take a class in the German longsword. I really had no idea there were chivalry enthusiasts over there, and the photos certainly make the experience look fun. This is something I wish I'd known about before I jetted back to the States because I would have loved doing a little Renaissance dancing in Tokyo. Not so sure about the sparring in full armor. I'm a lover, not a fighter.

2 comments:

DP said...

Neat. Do you know what portion is it westerners and what portion Japanese at Tintagel?

Unknown said...

That's a great question, but I have no idea. Sorry! Do you think you might check it out sometime?