leave me a message to tell me what you think.People pay their respects and pray for good fortune at the famous shrines. Factories shut down and businesses close, but shops and trains stay open all night. Women do up their hair in traditional Edo style, and old stories are told. In Tokyo, the temple bells (Joya-no-kane) ring out the 108 delusions of worldly passion as the old year dies.
Hakozakigu Shrine, Fukuoka City, Syushu. Two groups of youths struggle to catch a sacred wooden ball which will bring good luck to the winning team.
In Tokyo, agile firemen in traditional attire perform acrobatic stunts on top of bamboo ladders.
Priests of the Dazaifu Temmangu Shrine give away "good luck" bullfinches of gilt wood. They are passed from hand to hand in the dim light of a small bonfire.
Ebisu is the patron deity of business and good fortune. Women in colorful kimonos process through the main streets in palanquins.
Participants from different parts of Japan wear traditional attire and shoot arrows at a target.
Commemorates burning of this hill to end a boundary dispute between two temples which occurred over ten centuries ago. Fireworks streak through the sky.
Young men carry symbols of the Creative God to the shrine.
Marks the last day of winter. People crowd temple grounds to participate in a traditional ceremony of throwing beans to drive away imaginary devils, shouting "Fortune in, Devils out!"
More than 3,000 lanterns are lit and hung from buildings.
Elaborate figures are sculpted in snow along the main thoroughfare.
Children make snow houses called Kamakura in which they enshrine the God of Water and hold parties.
A harvest festival from Hachinohe, Aomori Pref.
This is a special festival for girls. A set of "Hina" dolls and miniature household articles are arranged on a tier of shelves covered with bright red cloth. The dolls consist of the Emperor and Empress in ancient costumes, their ministers and other dignitaries, court ladies, and musicians.
Gaily decorated floats parade through the streets. On the last day of the festival the floats are burned in the shrine precincts, surrounded by dancing devotees.
This festival features "Hifuri Shinji" or Fire Torch Swinging, "Noyaki" or Grassfire, and "Takigi Noh" or torch light Noh Performance.
All Buddhist temples throughout the country hold special services, and people pray for the souls of the departed.
Buddha's birthday celebration. A small image of Buddha is displayed and sweet tea called Amacha is poured over the image as an expression of devotion.
This festival is marked by various events reminiscent of great characters in history. There are elegantly performed sacred dances, a mikoshi parade and "yabusame" or horseback archery.
This festival, said to date back to the 15th century, features a gala procession of gorgeous floats.
People disguised as legendary gods on horseback parade through the streets to the accompaniment of "samisen," flutes and drums.
Huge kites are flown by groups of citizens, who try to cut the strings of their opponents' kites by skillful maneuvering.
Noh Plays are presented after dark to late evening, on a stage set up in the precincts of the temple, under the light of blazing torches.
Cormorant fishing is an ancient method of using trained birds to catch "ayu", a troutlike fish. It takes place at night under the light of blazing torches fastened to the prows of fishing boats.
Features a magnificent pageant reminiscent of the Imperial procession that paid homage to the shrines in ancient times.
A centuries-old festival that features a gala parade with over 1,000 armor-clad people escorting three shrine palanquins through the town streets.
Nearly 100 mikoshi portable shrines carried by happi-coated men and women, assemble at the shrine to begin their parade. The pageant consists of over 1,000 participants in traditional attire performing "sanja-bayashi," festival music, "geisha," and "kiyari."
Held on the Oi River in suburban Kyoto, it celebrates the Heian Period (794-1192) when the Emperor and his courtiers took pleasure trips on the river.
Open-air performances by the various Noh schools are presented after dark under the light of blazing torches.
Twelve selected girls ceremoniously transplant rice-seedlings in the shrine's paddyfield accompanied by music and rice-planting folk songs.
Colorfully decorated horses are led by their owners to Sozen Shrine where the owners pray for the longevity of their horses.
This festival originated in the Edo Period (1603-1867) and features a procession of mikoshi portable shrines through Tokyo.
A fleet of giant Yamagasa floats are pulled along or shouldered by youngsters through the streets. The floats carry decorations representing castles, halls, and dolls.
As an offering to the stars, Vega and Altair, who meet across the Milky Way, children set up bamboo branches to which colorful strips of paper bearing their wishes are tied.
Sometimes celebrated in August, religious rites are held throughout the country in memory of the dead who, according to Buddhist belief, revisit the earth during this period. Lanterns are lit and Bon Odori folk dances are offered to comfort the souls.
Twelve giant torches are carried by white-robed priests.
One of the most popular folk dances, attracting thousands.
Festival dates back to the 9th century when the head priest of the Yasaka Shrine led a procession of men and women to escort decorated palanquins seeking protection from the gods against the pestilence that was ravaging the city.
Many mikoshi cross the river accompanied by hundreds of people with torches in their hands. Togyu, or bull fighting, and a fireworks display are also held.
A thousand riders in ancient armor vie for three shrine flags set up on the plain. Men in white costumes try to catch the wild horses chased into an enclosure by the horsemen.
A fleet of sacred boats bear shrine palanquins and historical images down the river.
Brightly decorated sacred boats are towed from the large red-painted "torii" gate standing in the sea across the channel to the opposite shore. On the boats court music and dances are performed.
The grandest one of its kind in Tokyo.
Papier-mache dummies representing men, animals, and birds are placed on carriages and pulled through the streets.
A festival to invoke divine help for a properous autumnal harvest. Young men try to balance "kanto," long bamboo poles hung with lighted lanterns, on their hands, foreheads, and shoulders.
A ceremony held in memory of the A-bomb victims, with prayers for world peace. In the evening, thousands of lighted lanterns are set adrift on the Ota River.
More than 10,000 townspeople dance through the city's main streets, each wearing a low round sedge-hat adorned with artificial flowers.
A festival of singing and dancing; groups of musicians in fancy attire parade on the streets.
A parade of Toro Odori dances are performed by women wearing yukata. Each has a lit lantern on her head as she parades through the main streets.
A bonfire in the shape of the Chinese character DAI (meaning large) is lit near the summit.
Great paper lanterns painted with colorful designs are lit in the shrine.
Folk dances are presented in the evenings.
Sport of horseback archery recalls feudal days when samurai warriors competed in horsemanship and archery.
Mt. Iwaki, known as Tsugaru Fuji because it resembles Mt. Fuji, is considered a sacred place by local people, who march to the shrine on this day.
This festival includes a parade of floats of Chinese origin including kawa-boko carts, lavishly decked with umbrella-shaped decorations. Colorful dances of Chinese origin are also performed.
Marimo is a spherical green weed. On the 9th Ainu dances are performed on the lakeshore, and on the 10th the weeds are ceremoniously thrown into the water.
This festival dates back to the 15th century and is noted for a procession of floats.
Celebrated in commemoration of the Buddhist leader Nichiren (1222-1282). People march toward the temple carrying large lanterns decorated with paper flowers.
Shrine palanquins jostle each other, and the bearers vie to show their skill in managing them.
A palanquin is carried from the main shrine to the sacred place called Otabisho, escorted by armor-clad parishioners.
Held to commemorate the founding of the old capital city of Kyoto in 794, it features a procession of over 2,000 people in groups. Picturesque costumes represent important epochs in the city's history.
Long rows of torches placed along the street leading to the shrine are set on fire and gaily dressed children march to the shrine holding burning torches.
A long parade passes along the old Tokaido Highway lined on both sides with tall cryptomeria trees.
Parade of huge colorful floats pulled along the streets by young men in uniforms.
Literally means seven-five-three, and children of these ages, all dressed in their best, are taken to the shrines by their parents to express thanks for their good health and to pray for future blessings.
Kumade or bamboo rakes adorned with ornaments symbolizing good fortune are sold.
One of the three grandest float festivals in Japan, featuring a parade of six huge, lantern-lit floats, fireworks, and a local Kabuki Play.
Memorial celebration of the famous vendetta carried out by the 47 Ronin (masterless samurai) of Ako in 1702.
Festival marked by a gala procession of people masquerading as courtiers, retainers, and wrestlers of ancient times.
Groups of Namahage, men disguised as devils, make door-to-door visits, growling, "Any good- for-nothing fellows hereabouts?"
At midnight a sacred fire is kindled in the shrine precincts, and each workshiper tries to take some of the sparks home to cook the first meal of the new year.
compiled from on-line sources by Rebecca Arkenberg for the North Texas Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts.
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