Continuing from the last post, the portable shrines have moved to the central staging area, where they rock it a few more times and take a break. There were around 3 or 4 of these and many people gathered.

During the periods in between there were other performances, involving dances and singing. The ones below seem to be carrying heavy boxes on staves. I presume they represent treasures and offerings.

Through out the whole festival many of the dancers and locals where drinking sake from large bottles. It would seem that most Japanese festivals have an element of drinking as Sake rice wine is seen to be a holy thing and not just for recreation.

The portable shrines themselves seem to be very well made and decorated lavishly. The frames are put together with high quality wood and hold large Taiko drum in the base. Guests were allowed to climb inside have a look, many children were treating it like a jungle gym.

During the main event all of the portable shrines begin to move around huge crowds, bouncing up and down. More to come in my next post.......

Thanks for viewing, my posts are about the journey, the process and showing my experiences. Where there are a lack of words I like my work to speak for its self. Don't hesitate to ask questions. All the photos are mine and can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/takoyaki_king/ Follow me if you interested in photography and travel.