In 2008, I traveled south in Japan to Matsuyama and its surroundings. Bowleggedness was so prevalent among women down there that we took photos of many of them, intrigued by why it should be so. We discussed it almost daily and started to notice more the occasional young lady with straight legs. By far the majority had degrees of bowleggedness. It is much wider spread in the south than you see in Tokyo or the other larger cities. When I googled the topic I hadn't really expected such a detailed cause for the phenomena, but I came across the article "O-kyaku" (bowlegged) by Alice Gordenker (Sept. 19, 2006). It was really interesting and it provided a rationale for our observations.
barry mclean
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