TOYAMA -- A traditional festival to pray for a good harvest kicked off in Yatsuomachi district, Toyama, on Saturday, with participants dancing for three days and nights.
On the first day of the "Owara Kaze no Bon" festival, which attracts many tourists, participants paraded through stone-paved streets while dancing to folk songs and melancholic music played on kokyu traditional stringed instruments.
Female dancers wore yukata summer kimono while the men donned traditional happi coats. Many participants also covered their faces with low-brimmed straw hats.
The event has been held during the typhoon season since the Edo period (1603-1867) to pray for the protection of rice crops before harvest.
"They dance gracefully and elegantly, and the town looks very charming," said a 67-year-old female company employee from Tanba, Hyogo Prefecture.
About 200,000 tourists are expected to visit the town for the festival, which runs through Monday.
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