There’s a festival held here each year for the shrine next to Kumamoto Castle. We went up to the shrine at first. We were more than an hour early, and it was blazing hot, so we headed back down the hill. The group above show some children playing taiko (Japanese drums). I’ll let the videos do the talking, but I have to say I had a major case of operator-error that day! My favorite one had a series of four taiko groups, including one with women and another with young children. They all sounded great! For some reason, when I got home, the two videos I has taken of the groups were not to be found on my camera… Boo hoo!

These men are dressed as Shito priests:

Some of the mikoshi (I guess ‘float’ works here) were carried:

Others were on wheels:

Some groups were small, and some had many members. This one seemed to be a blend of two:

This group was working all the way down the shopping arcade:

Check out the festival next time you’re in town during the end of July…