MATSURI: The Heartbeat of Japan

Higashinada Danjiri involves a parade of floats, decorated with images of people, plants and animals. They're pulled by teams of veterans and ridden by energetic young performers that lean out over the crowd. This is a tradition of Higashinada Ward, in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture. In front of the ward office, the floats are lifted up, and brought down in a bowing motion. Local high school students design the costumes, and performers create a festival atmosphere with drums and bells.

At the Niihama Taiko Matsuri in Niihama, Ehime Prefecture, teams of around 150 people carry taikodai: three-tonne parade floats housing a huge taiko drum. In a spectacular display of strength, the bearers raise the float up above their heads. They then keep their arms straight as they turn the taikodai, and move it as impressively as they can. The display takes the form of a contest with multiple teams attempting to give the most powerful synchronized performance.

In Saidaiji Eyo, a matsuri in Okayama Prefecture, thousands of near-naked men endure icy water and the winter cold as they are purified at the temple. This is part of one of Japan's most prominent "naked" festivals. Usually, the men scramble to grab one of two sacred wooden items called shingi, but the event was hit hard by COVID-19. Gradually, the normal rites are being reintroduced, and this time the public can view the climax. They enjoy performances of dancing and taiko drumming, as well as a firework display.

Every five years there's a major kagura event in Buzen, Fukuoka Prefecture, at which the gods are entertained with performances of music and dancing. 24 well-known pieces are presented over the course of a two-day festival. In one, a figure wearing a demon mask climbs a ten-meter pole without a safety rope. Another depicts a Japanese myth about unison between heaven and earth. Children perform the same pieces, and this helps to preserve the local kagura tradition for future generations.

Enormous floats called neputa paraded through the streets are the highlight of Hirosaki Neputa Matsuri in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture. The floats are decorated with vibrant images painted on washi paper. Some floats feature wireframe 3D figures. For most of the floats new art is produced every year, and preparations begin months in advance. This 300-year-old tradition began as a way to ward off drowsiness and keep people focused on farm work in the heat of summer.

A group of men use ladles to throw water over the buildings they pass at Hibuse Matsuri, the Fire Prevention Festival in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture. Temperatures are often below freezing, and bonfires help to keep everyone warm. The event conveys a prayer for the safety of residents and buildings in the coming year. It originated around 1,200 years ago, when bandits set fire to a local shrine. Legend has it that a herd of deer brought waterlogged bamboo grass to put out the flames.