Hidakagwa, Wakayama, Japan

Hidakagwa, Wakayama, Japan

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When goddess Niutsuhime no mikoto overslept for a great meeting of the kami (Japanese spirits), the other 8 million or so more punctual deities had a good laugh at her expense. And thus a tradition was born: each year the residents of Hidakagwa, led by a clown, take to the streets in decorated floats. They jangle bells and yell ‘Warau! Warau!’ (Laugh! Laugh!) to the gathered crowds. Like merry sheep, soon everyone is, indeed, chuckling, infectious good humor spilling all the way to Niu’s shrine itself. It’s nothing at all to do with the free-flowing rice wine, not at all.
Wakayama is in the Kansai region of Honshu; the Warai (Laughing) Festival takes place in October.