Kohata-no-hatamaturi (Flag festival in Kohata) is said to be one of the biggest flag festivals in Japan.
When we left home in the morning, it was -1℃ and cloudy. By the time we got to Kohata, it was getting warm and sunny.
There were a lot of flags carried by men in traditional clothes, all walking up Mount Kohata. The flags looked very heavy so it was fortunate there was no wind. It would have been much harder if it had been windy.
We climbed up Mt. Kohata ahead of them. It was hard enough without carrying anything heavy.
Kohata is a village in the mountains. Many houses are built on the side of the mountain. The festival itself was very nice. We could walk with them. They were offering sake to everyone.
There were a lot of photographers as they have a photo contest. Some of them knew the best spots to take photos and were waiting there for the procession to pass by.
木幡の幡祭りは日本三大旗祭りのひとつと言われています。
朝家を出た時はマイナス一度で曇っていました。木幡に着く頃には暖かくなり始め晴れてきました。
たくさんの旗があり、旗を持ちながら木幡山まで練り歩くそうです。旗は重そうで風がなくて良かったと思いました。風が吹いていたなら大変だったでしょう。
行列が行く前に木幡山まで行って見ましたが、特に重い荷物がなくても坂道を歩くのは結構大変でした。
木幡は山間の村です。ほとんどの家は丘の中腹に建っています。お祭り自体はとても良かったです。行列と一緒に歩く事も出来ました。お酒をふるまっても貰えました。
たくさんのフォトグラファーがいました。毎年フォトコンテストがあるそうです。常連らしき人たちは行列が行く前に写真が撮れる場所を陣取っていました。