Continuing from yesterday's post, Japan's Coming of Age Day Holiday Spectacle, here are some portrait-type shots I was able to get. Let me reiterate, though, that I was scrambling to get anything, having gotten there and hour and a half after the ceremonies had ended, and didn't have time to scout locations that would give me both a good background and steady stream of photographic fodder. So, I got what I could, where I could, when I could.

I had noticed a sliver of light from the setting sun make its way between buildings, and saw this girl approaching, so waited a second for her to enter the light and got this shot in passing.

These white stoles are, apparently, somewhat a symbol for the day, like a white dress is for a wedding. They go along with the formal furisode kimono that (according to the current Wikipedia article) "signifies that she is both single and a legal adult, and thus available for marriage." I doubt it truly means that for many these days, but nevertheless, it's a monumental moment in one's life. (We don't have anything like it in The States, although a distant second might be wearing a cap-and-gown at college graduation.)

I have occasionally seen these white stoles worn by guests at a wedding, but for the most part, I associate them with this Coming of Age Day holiday, and as such, I associate them with Tammy Faye makeup, garish accessories, and big big hair. Yuck.

I wish I would have gotten a better shot of the lady pictured above, because she's one of the few who doesn't fall into that category.

With the mountains in the east basking in the glow from sunset, I camped for a while at a spot that gave me that nice background with relatively few distractions. Like a spider waiting for lunch, I snapped photos of those who entered the area.

The lady above was a common sight, because just about everyone had a cell phone out, for its camera or for making a call or checking messages. The event had ended a while back, so many of those remaining were likely still coordinating their way home.

These three friends each gave immediate vibes as to their personalities, and each was different from the other. The girl was laid back, a friend to everyone, and happy just to be happy. If I didn't have my hands full with the camera (and if I didn't recoil from their cigarettes), I'm sure she would have offered me a drink. The man in the suit (a most-excellent suit, I'll note) just wanted to ham things up. So long as I was around, he was doing silly things. Maybe he just wanted to please?

The man in the formal Japanese ware was the tough one, and when he saw me he walked over directly to me with a look that was intended to intimidate me. I suspect he was just honing his skills to see what kind of reaction he could get, but I wasn't playing along because I'd already established eye contact with the girl, who communicated a “join in, the more the merrier” attitude. I told the tough man to go back with his friends so that I could take their picture, alright?, and he readily complied.

They were accommodating (even the tough guy) and I got more interesting shots, but their cigarettes drove me on to more breathable pastures.

These guys were partying in the parking lot of the convenience store next to my place. The guy pictured was drunk, but was also pretending to be more drunk than he really was. Maybe. Hamming it up after I took a group photo (the opening photo of yesterday's post), he found himself on the ground. I have a photo of him sitting pensively on the ground, as if he's considering where to aim when he throws up, but I prefer to believe that he was joking around, so am sharing this smiling shot of him getting up.

After he got up, he handed me a disposable film camera and asked with slurred speech for me to take their photo. Another guy produced a second camera, so I set mine down and took a couple of shots with theirs.