Thousands have marched through Shirahama, in Himeji, Japan for the the Nada no Kenka Matsuri (Nada Fighting Festival). Portable shrines called yatai and men with bamboo poles march, and the shrines are put on men's shoulders and knocked against one another at random.
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Men wearing headbands related to their age then join the fight with bamboo poles. The so-called battle ends when one shrine is hoisted on top of another. The Oct. 15 event is the largest of Japan’s fighting festivals, and is becoming widely known internationally.
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Japanese Shrine Parishioners of Matsubarai and Nakamura shrines, jolt their Yatai, (portable shrines) against one another during a parade as part of the Nada No Kenka Matsuri. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
