Japanese monks can do it all... in robes
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Monks in Japan are filming themselves juggling, jumping rope, doing backflips, wielding Star Wars lightsabers and playing the drums – all in their traditional robes. But they aren’t doing this just to show off their skills. They’re proving that it’s possible to do all these things while wearing their traditional garments after a monk was fined for driving while wearing his robes.
A monk was stopped by police last September while he was driving to a Buddhist memorial service, according to a report published in late December in the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun. The officer reportedly told him that the “sleeves and length” of his robes could impede his driving and fined him 6,000 yen (about 48 euros). But the unnamed monk has refused to pay the ticket, saying such regulations would stop him from carrying out memorial services. He told the police he had been driving in robes for years and had never been fined before.
There is no specific law in Japan that specifically bans driving in monks’ robes, but road traffic law prohibits driving in clothes that may affect safe driving.
Monks rallied to their colleague’s defence under the hashtag "I can do this in monk’s robes". As the videos below show, they are able to pull off an impressive range physical activities while wearing traditional robes… to the delight of many viewers on social media.
話題なので・・! 衣でも十分動けますし、運転になんの支障もありゃしませんw ついでにジャグリング納めです・・!#僧衣でできるもん pic.twitter.com/F1b8qemYeO
てつっていう (@detteiu1109) December 31, 2018
スニーカーを履いていれば大体なんでも出来ますよ。
その他の坊主 (@bayashi567) January 4, 2019
あけましておめでとうございます。#僧衣でできるもん pic.twitter.com/5iWW87OB6q
これだけできるんだから、運転ぐらい困ることはないよね。#僧衣でできるもん pic.twitter.com/TneoRtCNMD
へんも@ブロガー&足技で日本一の住職 (@henmority) December 31, 2018
運転に支障があるとの事ですが、お坊さんの衣は足もちゃんと動きますよ。
とっしゃん@お坊さん大道芸人 (@tossyan753) December 31, 2018
#僧衣でできるもん pic.twitter.com/PVb1jepZQP
#僧衣でできるもん #StarWars
祥山(声優) (@showzan331) January 2, 2019
改良衣ですが参加!
動きやすくてとても便利です。 pic.twitter.com/oXZEHv0Dw0
僧衣を着ててもこんくらい出来るので、車の運転で僧衣が邪魔になることはないのです。#僧衣 #法衣 #僧侶 #お坊さん #リップスティック #安心安全の僧衣 #パジャマより気楽に着れちゃう pic.twitter.com/bFnjmVgxYV
麻田弘潤 (@gokurakusan) December 30, 2018
今年の叩き初め
山田和孝 (Kossan) (@kossan1108) January 3, 2019
#僧衣でできるもん pic.twitter.com/w8HUcxu5Ns
エアロバイクだって乗れるし、車の運転は支障ないと思うんだ!#僧衣でできるもん pic.twitter.com/tB2eLkEczT
焼け石に肉 (@yakeishininiku) January 2, 2019
乗り遅れたけどね…笑
かとけい (@katokeistaffjug) January 8, 2019
僧衣でもスタッフジャグリングできます!#僧衣でできるもん pic.twitter.com/PcXuCYOP5k