Fukushima Waraji Matsuri Festival 福島わらじまつり
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Held on the first Fri. and Sat. of Aug., the Fukushima Waraji Matsuri is mainly an evening parade of dancers. During Aug. 7-8, 2009, the 40th Fukushima Waraji Festival was held. I saw it on the second day.
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"Waraji" means straw sandals. In central Fukushima city, Ashio Shrine (足尾神社) at a mountain called Shinobu-yama (信夫山) has Japan's largest waraji at 12 meters long and weighing 2 tons.
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The giant waraji sandal is an offering for healthy legs/feet. On the first day of the festival (which I missed in 2009), they carry this giant waraji to the festival grounds along Route 13. Here it is displayed at the intersection.
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Closeup of the giant waraji.
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Ekimae-dori street leading to Fukushima Station is closed to traffic.
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On Aug. 8, 2009 at 12:30 pm, they held the 1st Waraji Day Dance Contest on Ekimae-dori. (わらじDayダンス選手権)
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For a few hours, numerous dance groups performed in a contest. They even had a hula troupe dance, to my delight as I'm from Hawaii.
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Notice anything unusual about these hula dancers?
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Look at their footwear. They are wearing a pair of waraji straw sandals.
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Many of the dancers wore waraji-related things.
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This girl's homemade happi coat says "Waraji Matsuri."
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A panel of judges were there to judge the dancers.
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Each dance group had to perform two numbers. The first one had to be "Dancing Soda Night" for 3 min. and the second one could be anything for 5 min. or less.
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A trio of belly dancers.
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Belly dancer at Fukushima Waraji Matsuri.
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Belly dancer at Fukushima Waraji Matsuri.
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Belly dancer at Fukushima Waraji Matsuri.
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My YouTube video featuring hula dancers in waraji straw sandals, hip-hop, belly dancers, and more during the 1st Waraji Day Dance Contest on Ekimae-dori near Fukushima Station on Aug. 8, 2009 at 12:30 pm. Also, giant waraji races.
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Announcement of the winners.
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A good-size crowd watched the dance contest.
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Near the intersection of Ekimae-dori and Route 13 was this entertainment stage.
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They also displayed this giant golden waraji.
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Giant golden waraji had ema votive tablets written with people's wishes.
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The giant golden waraji was used to open the waraji races on the second day of the festival.
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On Aug. 8, 2009 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm, the second day of the festival, they held waraji races along Route 13 (Shinobu-dori).
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Groups of children, women, etc., were to pull this large waraji on wheels on the 300-meter long race course along Route 13. A pair of large waraji were raced down the road. Then raced back by another pair of racers.
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Waraji race at Fukushima Waraji Matsuri Festival. Each race team had to have 10 members. Also see my YouTube video here.
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After the waraji races, they also had taiko float races where people pulled/pushed a taiko float in a race.
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Finally at 7:30 pm, the main event called Dancing Soda Night started along Route 13 and Ekimae-dori.
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Hula dancers
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Apparently, it was their first time to appear in this festival.
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They weren't wearing waraji.
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School girls
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Many of the dance groups were from dance studios or schools.
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Fukushima Waraji Matsuri
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Fukushima Waraji Matsuri
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Eisa group from Okinawa
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At the intersection. Notice the giant waraji straw sandal.
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Some fireworks
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Awards ceremony. The festival ended at about 9:30 pm.
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My YouTube video featuring Diverse dance troupes on the streets of Fukushima in the evening at the annual Fukushima Waraji Matsuri. This is the evening parade (Dancing Soda Night) on Aug. 8, 2009.
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