chu-waka, ko-waka and yo-waka.
The major Akita Summer festival is a praying for an abundant harvest of the five grains, namely wheat, rice, beans, foxtail millet and Chinese millet. Its a festival in three cities – Tanabata Matsuri (Sendai City), Aomori Nebuta Matsuri (Aomori City), Yamagata Hanagasa Matsuri (Yamagata City). Akita Prefecture is located in the northern part of Japan’s main island, on the one hand of the island is the Japan Sea, on the other hand, high mountains – the most snowfalls in JapanA kanto is very important element for the festival, it’s a 8 meters high bamboo pole, with 9 bamboo poles attached horizontally to the main pole , and other 46 paper lanterns shaped like rice bales, by the way Akita is also known as a rice-farming region, the “Akita Komachi†brand of rice is considered nation-wide to be one of the best. At the festival are incredibly many energetic young people, dressed in short jackets, hachimaki headbands, tabi socks and zori straw sandals, they are hoisting up the kanto one at a time to the sound of flutes and drums.
All the idea is to drive the evil away, all the bed spirits are afraid of the prayers they are making, which are offered to Shinto and Buddhist deities. There are some Kanto, weighting 60kg, they are called in different versions – chu-waka, ko-waka and yo-waka. During the parade late in a night, you will see that the paper lanterns attached to the kanto do not go out.
Akita city offers you interesting, traditional events all year long, this is jus one of many, so the town keeps the visitors to come and enjoy the atmospheres of the festivals all the year round. This town represents a totally different face of Japan, than the chrome of Tokyo.
