HIMEJI: Nada Kenka Matsuri or Nada Fighting Festival

The Nada Kenka Matsuri or Nada Fighting Festival (participants are wearing =nada!) is an autumn festival to celebrate a good harvest and pray for the local communities. It involves seven large portable shrines which are carried by men in fundoshi (sumo type pants!) to the chant of yo-yasa!                                                                                    

Is one of Japan's more violent festivals.

Nada Kenka Matsuri in Himeji Japan

Each community represent a village (before Clan!) and has a different colour which is worn as a headband, happy coat and also large pompoms on bamboo poles.                        

The Mikoshi are portable shrines are carried by 30 to 50 naked men around the area until they reach the shrine gate then salt is thrown to purify them before having the very top of them removed so they can enter the shrine area through the gate.            

A taiko drummer sits in the shrine and beats a drum to which the members chant while dropping the shrine and slamming it down on the ground.

Nada Kenka Matsuri