Steve Shelton

For more than 1,000 years, falconry—hunting with birds of prey—symbolized power for the emperor and, later, the elite samurai. The most highly trained keepers of the tradition were based in the mountains west of Tokyo, where late last year the 18th generational head of what is today called the Suwa Falconry Preservation Society received her title, prepared to teach a new generation devoted to Japan’s place in global falconry culture.

He considers himself Japan's last traditional falconer. Hidetoshi Matsubara, 66, of Tamugimata village, some 320 kilometers north of Tokyo, has been living and hunting with his eagles for the past 40 years.

An Arabian thoroughbred’s track performance in 1989 in Tokyo spurred the creation of a two-nation symbol of friendly relations: Japan’s annual Saudi Arabia Royal Cup, whose 18th trophy winner recently claimed victory by no more than a nose.

In 1973, the us port renowned for rain and the Soviet-run capital in semi-arid Central Asia could hardly have appeared more different, but what began then as the first us-Soviet sister city pairing has blossomed into 43 years of mutual enrichment and heartfelt friendship—at first despite the Cold War, and later boosted by Seattle’s economic growth and Uzbekistan’s independence.