35°37’33.1″N 139°39’40.2″E
Japanish running culture reaches back way longer then the popular marathon race, running clubs, trendy sportswear and running shoes. A group of people named fleet-feet or flying feet, Hikyaku. This pre modern Japanish runners received neither medals nor recognition for their feats. The first career runners in Japan were a group of express couriers that goes back much further than the twentieth century. Hikyaku made up the most developed mode of long-distance delivery of documents and small parcels from the early 1600s to the late 1800s. The hikyaku system was incredibly reliable, and eventually served even the common man.
Fast men on foot were more ideal in Japan than men on fast horses however, because the country consists largely of mountain terrain. The fashion of the Hikyaku was far from today, he ran almost completely naked in both summer and winter. A thin white loincloth around the waist, and straw sandals on the feet. A bamboo pole on the left shoulder to one end of which a box of letters was attached. At the other end swung a lantern labeled with the name of the provincial lord the Hikyaku was running for and in his right hand he held a bell.
hikyaku, the flying feet
Running was not for the classy, the rich and fashnible in Japan, now more then 400 years later running has broke ground to be one of Japans national sports with some of the most moraton runners in the world and today grown to much more then just running. A way to spend time with friends, grab a bite of food with friends after a run.
On a flight over to Japan this year in January trying to kill time while suffering of the slow wifi on the flight scrolling true the explorer page on instagram searching for #tags and locations around Tokyo included the word running a picture of a trendy young japanish runner takes my attantion.
Yuki Tamazawa @yuxxuki a young creative youtube manager working for a gaming company in Tokyo with more running pictures and a big lack of selfie except one portrait sitting down on a bench with a concrete wall behind convinces me to send a DM. A couple hours later he replays and the same day arriving in Tokyo I’m on my way in the subway system to meet up with Yuki for our first shoot with RID.
Yuki grew up in Tokyo, so he has a very good knowledge of the city and locations around the suburbs. A passion for running, Trail Running, TV-games and Contemporary Art this young runner will out run most of on a marathon with a personal best of 2:23’15 at Tokyo Marathon 2017.
Chasing 2:20-Marathons
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Heritage of japanish running
Running is my lifestyle, It’s like a spice that is essential to my life. It is fun to connect and brings me encounters with various people in the wake of running. Im exited to see the world true running, and I feel exploring new places to running gives me exitedsment, Nature purifies my mind, I’m tired of the urban life and the streets in tokyo. And running it the one that can connect me with nature. In Japan, running used to be considered to be a bad thing, I want to eliminate it by running fashionable. I think that fashion is also necessary for running. With the roots back to the twentieth century and the fashnioble Hikyaku the running post man now we see every one from the business owner to the the todays post man straping on his or hers running shoes to fly true the city in Tokyo and Japan.