Latest news with #HakataGionYamakasafestival
Nikkei Asia
6 days ago
- Politics
- Nikkei Asia
Through the Lens: Japan's upper house election; summer festivals in Kyoto and Fukuoka
In the election for the upper house of Japan's parliament, the ruling coalition failed to win the 50 seats it needed to maintain its majority, leaving Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in a precarious position without a majority in either chamber of the Diet. The poor showing may force Ishiba from office. Sohei Kamiya, the leader of Japan's Sanseito party, speaks to supporters at an event on the last day of campaigning for the upper house election, at Shiba Park in Tokyo, on July 19. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters) Sanseito supporters raise their fists during an event on the last day of campaigning for Japan's July 20 upper house election, at Shiba Park in Tokyo, on July 19. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters) Voters walk past a candidate bulletin board at a polling station in Tokyo on July 20. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi) A voter casts his ballot in Japan's upper house election at a polling station in Tokyo on July 20. (Photo by Koji Uema) People vote in Japan's upper house election at a polling station in Tokyo on July 20. (Photo by Koji Uema) Election officials open ballot boxes at a counting center in Tokyo on July 20. (Photo by Manami Yamada/Reuters) Election officials count votes in Tokyo on July 20. (Photo by Manami Yamada/Reuters) An election official carries a ballot box during Japan's upper house election, at a counting center in Tokyo on July 20. (Photo by Manami Yamada/Reuters) Members of the media gather at Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on July 20. (Photo by Mayumi Tsumita) Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya, right, and upper house candidate Saya place a victory flower next to her name in Tokyo, after she won her upper house race on July 20. (Photo by Rie Ishii) Leader of the Democratic Party For the People (DPFP) Yuichiro Tamaki, left, and the party's secretary-general, Shimba Kazuya, stand in front of a board with the names of DPFP candidates in Tokyo on July 20. (Photo by Yuki Kohara) Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, listens to a question from a journalist at LDP headquarters in Tokyo on July 20. (Photo Mayumi Tsumita) Shigeru Ishiba, Japan's prime minister, takes part in an interview at LDP headquarters in Tokyo on July 20. (Photo by Mayumi Tsumita) Rosettes to indicate election victories go unused at LDP headquarters in Tokyo on July 21. (Photo by Mayumi Tsumita) Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a news conference at Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on July 21, the day after the ruling coalition lost its majority in Japan's upper house. (Photo by Sae Kamae) Two of Japan's most colorful summer festivals were held recently, the Gion Festival in Kyoto and the Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival in Fukuoka. On July 17, the Yamahoko procession, the highlight of the Gion Festival in Kyoto, was held. About 20 ornately decorated "Yamahoko," or "moving museums," made their way through the center of the city. In Fukuoka, the Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival was also a lavish affair, with the event culminating in the "Oishi Yamakasa" race in which men carry seven floats weighing about 1 metric ton each, representing each neighborhood in Fukuoka's Hakata district, along a 5-kilometer course. Children visit Yasaka Shrine to pray for a safe Gion Festival, in Kyoto on July 1. (Photo by Kyodo) People fill the streets as floats with illuminated lanterns are displayed during the annual Gion Festival's Yoiyama event in Kyoto on July 16. (Photo by Kyodo) A "Yamahoko" float is pulled around a corner during the Gion Festival in Kyoto on July 17. The parade is designated an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. (Photo by Arisa Moriyama) People carry a float at Kushida Shrine in Fukuoka during the annual Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival on July 15, marking the finale of the 15-day event that dates back more than 780 years. (Photo by Kyodo) People carry - while others ride on - a float at Kushida Shrine in Fukuoka during the annual Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival on July 15. (Photo by Kyodo) (Photo by Kyodo)
The Mainichi
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
News in Easy English: Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival ends with big race in Fukuoka
FUKUOKA -- The Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival finished after 15 days of fun in Fukuoka. In this famous summer event, men wear traditional "happi" coats and loincloths. They run through the city streets carrying huge floats. Each float weighs about 1 metric ton. The festival's biggest event, called "Oiyama," happened early in the morning on July 15. Many people watched and cheered as the men ran with the floats, shouting "oisa, oisa." At 4:59 a.m., a big drum sounded at Kushida Shrine. The first team, Higashi Nagare, ran into the shrine with their float and shouted "Yaa!" They circled a flag and sang a celebration song. After that, six more teams and a special decorative float entered the shrine, each five minutes apart. Then, each team took their turn running about 5 kilometers to the finish. Ryuji Umezu, 60, who helped lead the first team, said, "There was pressure, but we approached the event as we do every year," and "I want to ... work hard to make next year's Yamakasa even better." A 65-year-old Buddhist priest from Mie Prefecture saw the festival for the first time. He said, "I've never seen such a powerful festival. I could feel the spirit of it." (Japanese original by Jangrae Kim, Kyushu News Department) Vocabulary festival: a special event with music, food, and fun, often every year float: a big, decorated platform carried or pulled in a festival happi coat: a short, traditional Japanese coat climax: the most exciting part
The Mainichi
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival closes with 1-ton floats dashing through central Fukuoka
FUKUOKA -- This year's Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival recently came to a close after 15 days of festivities, during which men dressed in traditional "happi" coats and loincloths dashed through streets of this southwestern Japan city carrying floats each weighing around 1 metric ton. The summer tradition in Fukuoka's Hakata Ward reached its climax early on July 15 with the "Oiyama" finale. Spectators erupted in cheers as participating men ran through the dawn streets carrying the massive floats with enthusiastic shouts of "oisa, oisa." The sound of a large drum resonated through Kushida Shrine in Hakata Ward at 4:59 a.m., and the Higashi Nagare group charged into the shrine grounds with a shout of "Yaa!" carrying this year's first float. Applause and cheers rose from the box seats as the float completed a ritual circling of a flag on the grounds, and participants chanted a celebration song. Six other groups and their floats and the eighth float, Kamikawabata Dori -- known as a "running decorative float" -- entered Kushida Shrine at five-minute intervals. Each team then raced toward a goal about 5 kilometers away in the same ward. Ryuji Umezu, 60, who was in charge of the Higashi Nagare float team's general affairs, expressed his relief, saying, "There was pressure, but we approached the event as we do every year. I'm relieved that we were able to make the offering safely. I want to switch gears and work hard to make next year's Yamakasa even better." A 65-year-old Buddhist priest visiting for the first time from Iga, Mie Prefecture, shared his excitement, saying, "I've never seen such a powerful festival. I could feel the spirit of it."
The Mainichi
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
In Photos: Fukuoka locals beat the heat with summer festival splash
A float is carried in Fukuoka's Chuo Ward as water is splashed on the participants during the Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival on July 13, 2025. (Mainichi/Tatsuro Tamaki)
The Mainichi
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
Hakata Yamakasa festival shows off floats to cheers in downtown Fukuoka
FUKUOKA -- Floats paraded through the streets of downtown Fukuoka July 13 during the Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival, to the cheers of locals and tourists. The Yamakasa floats are the main attraction of the 15-day festival. This year's first float left the Gofukumachi intersection in Fukuoka's Hakata Ward at 3:30 p.m., followed by another six floats at five-minute intervals. The floats then made U-turns in front of Fukuoka City Hall in the Tenjin district of Chuo Ward. Fukuoka Mayor Soichiro Takashima and other representatives from local business and political circles hopped on one of the floats and encouraged the float carriers. The festival's last highlight, "oi yamakasa," will start from Kushida Shrine in Hakata Ward at 4:59 a.m. on July 15.
