A kanto is a long bamboo pole on which many lit lanterns are hung, swaying and glittering in the night sky. The local people compare the whole Kanto to ears of rice, and the hanging lanterns to bags of rice, as a prayer for a bountiful harvest of grains and cereals. The Akita Kantō Matsuri (Kanto Festival) is one of the most famous summer festivals in Japan’s Tohoku Region and an important intangible folk cultural heritage of the country, with a history of about 270 years. Performers are trained to use traditional techniques passed down from generation to generation, and are skilled at using their palms, foreheads, waists, and shoulders to support, balance, and maneuver the heavy and large kantos.

Every year from August 3 to August 6, about 280 kantos light up the main streets of Akita at the Akita Kanto Festival, where these kantos sway and glow in the night sky like golden rice stalks, creating a dreamlike visual extravaganza.