An unknown history...

Prologue

After World WarⅡ(post 1945),

the American occupation army came to Japan and soldiers surfed fiberglass longboards

at Kamakura, Karatsu and beaches around the military bases.

But before that, Japan already had a traditional culture of surfing over 100 years old. 

Like the Polynesians, Japanese people subsisted off the bounties of the sea

where they, too, discovered how to ride waves in the ocean.  

In Hawaii, the prone style of surfing on a small wood bodyboard was called "Paipo", 

and today it is enjoyed at all over the world.  

In Japan, this style of surfing was called 'Itago' and it was a populer summer activity.

 

 

 

 

                 The Japanese bodyboarding 'Itago' is a part of the world's surfing history.

                                  I am researching this traditional style of surfing in Japan, 

                                        which is presently unknown to the rest of the world.

                                                 nobbywoodsurfboards / Nobuhito 'Nobby' Ohkawa

Copyright (c) 2007 nobbywoodsurfboards All Rights Reserved.