This "guard" and his companion, dressed in similar fashion, were posted at either side of the gates to Kumamoto Castle. In spite of all of our efforts to persuade Koji that the guard was a friendly "oniichan" (elder brother), he would have none of it. This desperate clutch on my neck is as close as he would get. Oh well, at least we reaped a smile from the guard, who, prior to the "win Koji over" campaign, was quite stoic.
posted by jcm