Tokyo, 19 September, /AJMEDIA/
The main event of a long-running festival in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, is being held for the first time in two years.
The Danjiri festival in Kishiwada City to pray for a good harvest started more than 300 years ago during the Edo Period. It is known for “yarimawashi,” in which shouting people haul large wooden carts weighing more than four tons each.
The cart-hauling event was canceled last year amid the coronavirus pandemic. But this year, the organizer is holding it for two days from Saturday in order to carry on the tradition.
City officials urged the organizer to take measures to prevent infections. They banned food stalls and set up screens along the street to keep people from gathering to view the procession.
The screens carried signs that called on people to stay away. But some people still watched the event and took pictures through the gaps.
Some criticized the holding of the event amid the pandemic. But the organizer said the people hauling carts had been vaccinated, and that additional measures are being taken, such as banning drinking on streets.
