More info on the bamboo fight...

My JET colleague David just wrote a long post on his blog about the festival, including this description:

"My town, Rokugo, holds a festival on the 15th of February every year which involves the North and South side of the town having a square go with 20 foot long bamboo sticks. The concept is simple, as well as being scientifically proven I'm sure, if the North wins then there will be a good harvest for the year to come and if the South wins then the price of rice will rise. There are 3 rounds and during the final round a huge bonfire is set a light. It is also worth mentioning that it has been suggested that this festival is the 6th most dangerous in the world."

in case you were wondering...
This is what poor David looked like after being whacked by bamboo, kicked in the head by four people, and having his face stepped on (on purpose) - 9 stitches.