Kanto Festival

This video is from this summer, when I went to Akita City for the Kanto Festival. During Kanto festival, gigantic bamboo frames are hung with paper lanterns. First, participants march down the Kanto Odori street with their bamboo poles, accompanied by floats and musicians. Then, they raise the poles into the air. They balance the poles, lanterns ablaze, on various parts of their bodies - including their hips, chins, foreheads or the palm of a single hand, passing them around among their teammates. The poles are many meters high and can weigh up to 150 pounds. For viewers’ safety, heavy-duty cables are strung between streetlights to ensure that no wayward bamboo poles squash the bystanders.