Kumamoto: Swimmers Demonstrate Centuries-Old Technique; Writing, Drinking While Treading Water

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:12 JST, August 31, 2024

KUMAMOTO — A group of swimmers recently demonstrated a traditional swimming technique, which has been handed down since around 1700, in a swimming pool at a high school in Kumamoto.

The technique is believed to have been developed about 300 years ago in the Shirakawa River, which runs through Kumamoto City, as a skill for samurai to use when fighting on water.

About 20 members of Kobori School of Treading Water Society performed the water treading-based technique at Seiseiko High School on Aug. 12. The group is the inheritor of the swimming technique, one of several that have been handed down from generation to generation in Japan.

They showed off the skill during a ceremony to dedicate the results of their swimming practice to the spirit of their previous swimming masters. The swimmers, who had rehearsed since July, followed the ritual by taking turns performing Japanese calligraphy or drinking sake while swimming.

They also swam in samurai armor and helmets that weighed more than 10 kilograms in total and introduced a number of different swimming styles to the audience, who applauded enthusiastically.

An official of the Kobori School said they were happy that their practice had really paid off.