- Title: Japanese rugby fan uses his body to show World Cup support
- Date: 9th October 2019
- Summary: SHIZUOKA, JAPAN (OCTOBER 9, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BAK-SAN HAVING HIS TORSO PAINTED TO RESEMBLE THE RUSSIAN TEAMS WORLD CUP RUGBY JERSEY (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) RUGBY FAN, BAK-SAN SAYING: "Hello, this is Moriyama. I am a big fan of rugby in Japan. During this rugby World Cup, I travel around Japan with my upper body painted in all the country's jerseys. I would like fans coming from overseas to enjoy it. It is nice to meet you." BAK-SAN BEING PAINTED IN WHITE TRIM BAK-SAN HAVING PHOTO TAKEN WHILE HIS TORSO IS PAINTED VARIOUS OF BAK-SAN'S WIFE, RIKA, PAINTING HIS BODY (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) RUGBY FAN, BAK-SAN SAYING: "I started to paint (my body) five years ago, though Japan was chosen to host the World Cup, the domestic league was still not so widely known. I thought if there was something more fun, because all the rugby spectators were quietly watching rugby games, so I wanted to do something funny and thought fellow spectators might be enjoying it. This is the reason why I started this body painting." WHITE TRIM BEING PAINTED ON RED PAINT (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) RUGBY FAN, BAK-SAN SAYING: "This is of course the first time for Japan to host such a big rugby event. People observed and learnt that every country has various ways of enjoying rugby, so I expect that the way for Japanese rugby fans to enjoy rugby might change." WHITE PAINT ON RED PAINT (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) RUGBY FAN, BAK-SAN SAYING: "When the World Cup started it was so hot that I sweated a lot. This paint does not release sweat, so it accumulated inside and ruined the paint. " RUSSIAN LETTERS BEING PATED ON BAK-SAN'S BACK (SOUNDBITE) (English) RUGBY FAN, SEAN FLEMING SAYING: "Great. I think he's been a real feature. Fans love it. When you're watching the TV coverage, everyone cheers when they see a picture of him flashed on the screens. So I think he's been a real feature of this world cup." RUSSIAN FLAG BEING PAINTED ON BAK-SAN'S ARM JAPANESE RUGBY FANS HAVING PHOTO TAKEN WITH BAK-SAN (SOUNDBITE) (English) RUGBY FAN, JON HORTON SAYING: "He'e been everywhere. The kids look out for him, he's part of it. The crowd cheer, the crowd stand up. Everyone sees him on the big screen, it's part and parcel of the whole tournament." RUGBY WORLD CUP JAPAN 2019 BEING PAINTED ON BAK-SAN'S CHEST SCOTTISH RUGBY FANS POSING FOR PICTURE WITH BAK-SAN PEOPLE WALKING TO STADIUM TO WATCH MATCH BETWEEN SCOTLAND AND RUSSIA VARIOUS OF BAK-SAN AND RIKA WALKING TO STADIUM TOKYO, JAPAN (SEPTEMBER 20, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS MORIYAMA AHEAD OF JAPAN'S OPENING MATCH WITH RUSSIA
- Embargoed: 23rd October 2019 12:23
- Keywords: Japan rugby Hiroshi Moriyama Bak-San Rugby World Cup Russia
- Location: SHIZUOKA, JAPAN
- City: SHIZUOKA, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Rugby Union,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA001B0DJ03J
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Japanese rugby fan Hiroshi Moriyama, commonly known as Bak-San, has become a hit at the Rugby World Cup as he embarks on a mission to paint the jerseys of participating teams on his torso.
The 53-year-old has tickets to watch 27 out of the 48 games during the cup and intends to paint all 20 teams' jerseys by the end of the competition.
On Wednesday (October 9) outside Shizuoka Stadium, he chose the Russian strip, having already worn Scotland.
Rika, Bak-San's wife, is the artist in the family, and using non-toxic body paint, each jersey takes about two hours to complete.
Bak-San is instantly recognised where ever he goes and fans cheer when he's seen on the stadium camera.
His antics have even been noticed by organisers of the event, who posted about him on the official Rugby World Cup twitter account.
"Not all heroes wear capes. Literally." said one tweet from their official account.
The twitter hashtag #BakSansBack has been used by spectators and fans to chronicle his body art. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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