Festival Beauties お祭り美人

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Koenji Awa Odori Dance 高円寺阿波おどりMore pictures here.

The biggest taiko drum festival in the Kanto region is held annually in April. Various taiko drum troupes perform for two full days on various outdoor stages in Narita, including the main stage in front of the Narita-san temple.

Tekomai

Tokushima Awa Odori dancer

Float pullers at Hirosaki Neputa Matsuri

Prayers to the Kanamara-bune mikoshi かなまら舟神輿Before the portable shrine is taken out to be paraded around town, the god of the shrine must be transferred to it. This is what the head priest is doing.

Shinjuku Eisa Matsuri, Tokyo

Tokushima Awa Odori dancer

Court ladies called uneme. Their kimono have a blue wave design. 釆女釆女

Tokushima Awa Odori dancer

White Heron Dance is one of the highlights of the festival. It is also performed on other occasions in Asakusa. The dance was revived in 1968 in Asakusa to mark the Meiji Period Centennial. It has been performed annually on Nov. 3 ever since. 白鷺の舞

Setsubun bean throwing at Takahata Fudoson temple, Hino, Tokyo

Oedo Sukeroku Taiko troupe. They were all girls and super good!大江戸助六太鼓

Oedo Sukeroku Taiko troupe

Nene, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's wife

Shrine maiden and Kaminarimon Gate in Asakusa三社大権現祭礼　船渡御

Tomioka Hachiman tekomai geisha

Genroku Flower-Viewing Dance 元禄花見踊り

Oiran Dochu Procession. This picture was taken next to the Sensoji Temple behind which the parade starts. Before, one oiran courtesan rode in a rickshaw. 花の吉原おいらん道中花の吉原おいらん道中

Oiran Dochu Procession 花の吉原おいらん道中

Oiran Dochu Procession. The two little girls are called kamuro.

She walks in a very slow and stylized way, her feet taking figure-8 steps. She needs the man's shoulder to steady herself.

Dance maidens

Awa Odori Dance, Yamato, KanagawaAwa Odori dancers are characterized by their straw hats, a thin kimono called the yukata, and geta clogs. Their heels don't touch the ground, so they dance on their toes. They hop along while shaking their hands above their heads. Since the dance is performed in the summer, often the yukata gets soaked with perspiration.

Awa Odori Dance, Koenji, TokyoIn late August, Koenji in Tokyo holds one of the largest Awa Odori dances outside Tokushima Prefecture. This woman is a different type of Awa dancer. She wears a head band, a happi coat imprinted with the name of her dance troupe, a pair of white shorts, and a pair of white sock-like shoes called tabi.

Hanagasa Festival, YamagataDuring early August, northern Japan holds several large-scale summer festivals. One of them is the Hanagasa (Flower Hat) Festival in Yamagata city. Held in the evening, it is a long parade of women dancing while wearing a flowered hat.
See more photos of this festival here.

Hana-yakko dancer at Chawan Matsuri, Yogo, Shiga

Fukushima Waraji Matsuri

She was definitely the focal point of the procession before they started using a celebrity to play the daimyo. They past Yumoto Station in the background in the Hakone Daimyo Gyoretsu Procession.

Taiko drummer at Hachioji Matsuri. She was very good.

Tekomai at Hachioji Matsuri, Tokyo.

Hyozu Matsuri Festival 兵主祭

The 50th Koenji Awa Odori Dance during Aug. 26-27, 2006.

Kagurazaka Awa Odori Dance 神楽坂阿波踊り

Kagurazaka Awa Odori Dance

Kitamachi Awa Odori, Tokyo

Kitamachi Awa Odori, Nerima-ku, Tokyo

Kichijoji Autumn Festival

This lady always poses for me, from Takarabune-ren. Koenji Awa Odori 2009.

Koenji Awa Odori 2009

Hatanaka-kikko-ren, Kita-Urawa Awa Odori in Saitama. 畑中亀甲連

Kokubunji-ren from Kokubunji. 国分寺連（国分寺）

Nakamurabashi Awa Odori dancer

Nakamurabashi Awa Odori

Nakamurabashi Awa Odori in Sept.

Okame-ren, Nakamurabashi Awa Odori

Aoniyoshi Parade at Heijo-kyo, Nara

These pictures were taken in early May so the flower motif might change in later seasons.

Tempyo Procession, Nara Heijo-kyo

Shrine maidens selling fuku-sasa branches at Nishinomiya Shrine's Toka Ebisu.

Shibuya Kagoshima Ohara Festival

Taiko drummer at Ome Taisai, Tokyo

Otsuka Awa Odori

Toshima Kuyakusho-ren (Ward Office), Otsuka Awa Odori 豊島区役所連

Rice-planting festival dancer, Yasu, Shiga Pref.

北海道美人

Girls in Hokkaido look healthy, thanks to Hokkaido's clean environment, wide-open spaces, and good food.

Shimada Mage Matsuri in Shimada, Shizuoka. Her real hair in Shimada-ryu style.

Shimada-ryu hairstyle at Shimada Mage Matsuri, Shizuoka.

Their costume is quite elegant whichever way you look at it. Shirasagi-no-Mai White Heron Dance, Asakusa.

Sanja means "Three Shrines," dedicated to the two fishermen who found the Kannon buddha statue and the wealthy landlord who converted them to Buddhism. The statue became the object of worship that founded Sensoji Temple.