2012-08-26

YOHTAKA ANDON MATSURI(Lantern Festival) in Numta Town!

 by Kazu

Thank you very much for inviting us to the fantabulous festival in Numata Town again, Mr.Kanehira, mayor of the town, and Mr Yokoyama, the senior director for policy planning! My wife and I really enjoyed the festival and culinary delights in Numata Town!

 With the sounds of drumming and Japanese flutes, the floasts of lanterns came to us! They went around the town and made several short stops for giving the visitors and citizens enough occasion to see the arts. 
These lanterns were like lava or flame in the darkness of the night. Before this parade of floats, the contest of the floats has been done.
 We were escorted by Mr.Yokoyama and followed the floats, wearing special gowns for the festival. The gown showed that we were the members of the stuff that arranged the festival.
The floats of lanterns were really beautiful in the night.
The visitors could experience to paint and make up the lantern during the daytime. 

There were three huge floats of lanterns and one was made by the staff of the municipality, and the other two were made by Chambers and Commerce of Numata Town or Self Defence Force in Numata Town.  Small floats of lanterns were following the huge floats.
This is the float of the municipality called "Yakuba". Wonderful!
During the short syops, each team was dancing around the floats and the audiences were allowed to take part in the dance. 










 After the parade of floats, these floats of lanterns went to the main venue of lantern fight, where the chairs for the audience set up.
Each floats has the horn for the fight in order to destroy the lantern on the front part of the floats that can be replaced with spare lantern. 
 During the fights, this kind of steam was exhausted from the body of lanterns.
I like the silhouette of the staff on the floats.
 As the steam was exhausted, the voltage of the people went up by leaps and bounds.
 This float was made by the chambers of commerce of Numata Town.
 After this festival, the staff members would raise glasses, enjoy the  a binge drinking all the night and do the water fight in which the persons who got married, got a child, built the house or had other happy thing or occasion, would be the object of the water shooting.
The lantern fight heated up as the time went by, praying for the bumper crop of this year.
After all the lantern fights have finished, the fireworks told the end of this festival and out-going summer.
What a fantastic festival it is!

I will come again next year! 

No comments:

Post a Comment