The majority of Japanese festivals, with their cacophony of colours and men carrying mikoshi, are rarely reserved affairs, although those held after dark could possibly be deemed as even more dynamic. And especially so it seems when lots of lanterns are being lit.
But to begin with, at this particular procession at least, there was a considerable level of calm.
Even control.
Along with what appeared to be a fair amount of foreboding for those going forth for the first time.
However, once the proceedings got going, it was nothing but impeccably behaved bedlam, with the sound equalling the spectacle.
A short sample of which can be heard here:
And yet, even in the midst of such mayhem, there were still hints of composure.
Along with contemplation.
But on the whole, it was basically just people having a blast,
making a noise, and carrying lanterns both big,
and small.
With the further aloft they were the more fitting and fun it was.
Hackett says
Stunning!
looks like sooooo much fun!
Jonathan says
Absolutely brilliant Lee and a nice surprise with the audio clip 🙂
Jan says
Stunningly Beautiful
Lee says
Thanks a lot!
Matt says
Great photos as usual, and the audio really added a totally new dimension to it.
Katie says
Wow, brilliant post! I loved the audio too, it fit perfectly as I scrolled along the images. Great idea using B&W as well – it really bring out the pattern on the kimonos and lanterns
Tyler says
Lee, have you ever been to any festivals out in western Japan? I went to a 2 day long festival Kenka Matsuri, in Mega, which is south of Himeji. Teams dance 2 ton shrines around, drag them up a mountain, get drunk then bring them down to have the dance around in a natural bowl in the hillside.
Lee says
Unfortunately not Tyler, I’ve only been to festivals in and around Tokyo. That one sounds fantastic though, so maybe it’s about time I did.
Pius Lee says
I’m curious if this is as colorful as I imagine it to be. Any color images you might post?
Lee says
All the pictures were originally shot in colour, but it was really dark, so black & white (at least for me) works a lot better. So much so in fact that I’m reluctant to post any of them as they don’t have anything like the same impact.
adam says
daaamnnnn Lee!
Killing it with a half dozen photos (superb I might add) and a sound clip!
I like that there is absolutely no indication as to when this lantern festival took place. timeless.
Yoli says
Stunning, amazing how you have just shot this in black and white and all I can see is color.
Tornadoes28 says
In the third pic, I see someone holding what appears to be a Buudhist staff with the rings at the top. Is that the same staff that Jizo carries do you know?
Lee says
Thanks so much for the kind comments. As I’m currently dealing with the double whammy of a hard drive and back up drive failure, it’s really nice to read something positive. Plus I’m glad that I managed to capture at least some of the magic of the event.
As for the staff Tornadoes28, I’m really not sure. What I do know though, is that when they were banged on the ground (and there were quite a few people doing so), they made a very atmospheric sound.
Tornadoes28 says
Jizo Boddhisatva sometimes carries a staff with six rings on it. One of the meanings of the six rings is to symbolize the six realms of existence such as the hell realms, the human realm, and the realm of the gods. It looks like that but I am not certain.
Venkat says
Whats the deal with Black and White photos, it does not make any sense to see a lantern festival already devoid of light to cut out color as as well. I wish you put in some additional color photos.
VR