Red-clad participants pull a rope attached to the "boat" of Shimosuwa's "Boat Festival" or Fune Matsuri.


During the Ofune Matsuri, a large wooden sleigh like float is pulled through the streets and then three times around the Akimiya Shrine buildings each August 1. This festival is thought to reach back over a thousand years.


Size: 3558px × 5315px
Location: Shimosuwa, Nagano, Japan
Photo credit: © Skye Hohmann / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: akimiya, ancient, boat, colourful, cooperation, festival, fune, group, japan, japanese, matsuri, ofune, religion, religious, riotous, shinto, shrine, suwa, taisha, traditional, travel, お船祭, 御船祭, 御船祭り, 秋宮, 船祭, 諏訪大社