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Japan: Performers Balance Towering Lanterns at Akita Kanto Festival

The Akita Kanto Festival, one of the three major festivals in Japan's Tohoku region with roughly 270 years of history, opened Sunday, August 2, in central Akita City and runs through August 6. This year's event features 67 groups—38 neighborhood teams and 29 school and workplace teams—swaying 273 lantern-laden bamboo poles through the night sky in a prayer for a bountiful harvest, the poles representing rice stalks. The largest of the poles measure up to 12 meters long and weigh 50 kilograms, balanced skillfully by performers on their foreheads, palms, and other parts of the body.

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Traditional dance parade in northeastern Japan

Performers march through the streets on the opening day of the Morioka Sansa dance festival in Morioka in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Aug. 1, 2026. About 26,600 people are expected to take part in the four-day event.

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Traditional dance parade in northeastern Japan

Performers march through the streets on the opening day of the Morioka Sansa dance festival in Morioka in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Aug. 1, 2026. About 26,600 people are expected to take part in the four-day event.

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Traditional dance parade in northeastern Japan

Performers march through the streets on the opening day of the Morioka Sansa dance festival in Morioka in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Aug. 1, 2026. About 26,600 people are expected to take part in the four-day event.

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Traditional dance parade in northeastern Japan

Performers march through the streets on the opening day of the Morioka Sansa dance festival in Morioka in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Aug. 1, 2026. About 26,600 people are expected to take part in the four-day event.

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Traditional dance parade in northeastern Japan

Performers march through the streets on the opening day of the Morioka Sansa dance festival in Morioka in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Aug. 1, 2026. About 26,600 people are expected to take part in the four-day event.

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Ainu festival in New York

NEW YORK, United States, July 23 Kyodo - Participants try playing the traditional Ainu mouth harp known as the mukkuri with the help of performers from the Ainu indigenous community in Hokkaido, northern Japan, during a festival introducing Ainu culture in New York, on July 22, 2026. (Kyodo)

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Ainu festival in New York

Participants try playing the traditional Ainu mouth harp known as the mukkuri with the help of performers from the Ainu indigenous community in Hokkaido, northern Japan, during a festival introducing Ainu culture in New York, on July 22, 2026.

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Ainu festival in New York

Performers from the Ainu indigenous community in Hokkaido, northern Japan, present a traditional dance during a festival introducing Ainu culture in New York, on July 22, 2026.

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Football: 2026 World Cup

Performers dance during the opening ceremony of the 2026 football World Cup held at Mexico City Stadium in the Mexican capital on June 11, 2026, ahead of the tournament opener between Mexico and South Africa.

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"Mibu Kyogen" drama in Kyoto

Performers shove dishes from the stage in a popular dish-smashing routine during a "Mibu Kyogen" traditional drama at Mibu temple in Kyoto on April 29, 2026.

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"Mibu Kyogen" drama in Kyoto

Performers shove dishes from the stage in a popular dish-smashing routine during a "Mibu Kyogen" traditional drama at Mibu temple in Kyoto on April 29, 2026.

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"Mibu Kyogen" drama in Kyoto

Performers shove dishes from the stage in a popular dish-smashing routine during a "Mibu Kyogen" traditional drama at Mibu temple in Kyoto on April 29, 2026.

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