By SEN INOUE/ Staff Writer
August 4, 2023 at 13:18 JST
Lantern poles at the Akita Kanto Festival on Aug. 3 in Akita (Hideki Muroya)
AKITA--With live voices once again calling out “dokkoisho, dokkoisho,” the Akita Kanto Festival, one of the three major festivals in the Tohoku region, opened here on Aug. 3.
Last year, to help prevent the spread of novel coronavirus infections, the festival played a prerecorded version of the repeated chant.
Sixty-seven groups, more than last year, are participating in the festival, which will be held until Aug. 6, with 256 lantern poles adorning the streets.
The lanterns represent rice bales, with the entire formation of the lighting used to signify rice on the stalk, to pray for a bountiful harvest.
The biggest “O-Waka” lantern pole weighs about 50 kilograms and is 15 to 16 meters tall when the “jointing bamboo,” which extends the length of the pole, is added.
The audience along the street applauded when a performer called “Sashite” balanced a pole on his forehead or waist.
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