Sunday afternoon and all day Monday were spent in roundtable discussions, until Monday evening, when we attended the Kanto Festival in Akita. The streets were crowded with people for the festival, and there were vendors selling souvenirs, food, and beer. Before sundown there was a parade with women performing traditional dancing. After sundown, the highlight of the festival began. Groups of people paraded through the streets with large poles bearing many candle lit lanterns, and weighing about 50-60 kilograms. The shape of the lanterns is supposed to represent the top of the rice plant. The groups were accompanied by taiko drums. They balanced the poles on their hands, hips, shoulders, wherever. One man balanced while holding a baby! A few fell down, but were quickly propped back up. The following are photos and video of the evening. A great festival, and a good time in Akita.
The parade before the balancing act:
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