Twenty-nine teams vied in a qualifying event Sunday for the three-century-old annual dragon boat race in Nagasaki, including a team each from the Netherlands, China, South Korea and Thailand.
Crews of about 30 boarded slim wooden crafts called Peiron and raced for 1.2 km in Nagasaki harbor. A crowd of roughly 25,000 cheered the regatta under sunny skies as crew members beat drums and gongs on the boats.
Dragon boat racing originated in China. It was taken up in Nagasaki in the 17th century, when Chinese trading missions would race to pray for the safe voyage of their vessels.
Organizers invited the teams from abroad to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Japanese-Netherlands ties, which were founded when the Dutch ship Liefde arrived in what is now Oita Prefecture in 1600 after being blown off course during a trans-Pacific voyage. In 1609, a Dutch trading house was established in Nagasaki.