Stone lanterns in Sumiyoshi Taisha. Every mid-autumn, the festival is held with a traditional moon ritual in the Sumiyoshi Taisha, on which actors...
Stone lanterns in Sumiyoshi Taisha. Every mid-autumn, the festival is held with a traditional moon ritual in the Sumiyoshi Taisha, on which actors...
Bridge in Sumiyoshi Taisha is the stage of the Moon ritual. Every mid-autumn, the festival is held with a traditional moon ritual in the Sumiyoshi...
Actors are rehearsing for the moon ritual to be held later that night in Sumiyoshi Taisha. Every mid-autumn, the festival is held with a traditional...
An actress wearing traditional costume walks in Sumiyoshi Taisha. Every mid-autumn, the festival is held with a traditional moon ritual in the...
An actor is performing a traditional Japanese dance in the moon ritual of Sumiyoshi Every mid-autumn, the festival is held with a traditional moon...
An old man is lighting a fire in the moon ritual of Sumiyoshi Taisha. Every mid-autumn, the festival is held with a traditional moon ritual in the...
Mongolian yokozunas, sumo grand champions Harumafuji, Hakuho and Kakuryu are seen during their visit to Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine ahead of the Grand...
Mongolian yokozunas, sumo grand champions Harumafuji, Hakuho and Kakuryu bow during their visit to Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine ahead of the Grand Sumo...
Mongolian yokozuna, sumo grand champion Hakuho perfroms the 'Dohyo-iri' ring purification ritual at Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine ahead of the Grand Sumo...
Shrine maidens pack 'Chitose Ame' candy in preparation for the Shichi-Go-San Festival at Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine on October 31, 2014 in Osaka, Japan....
Local residents acting as ceremonial rice planters wade through the muddy water of a sacred paddy field to plant blessed seedlings during the...
Yaotome shrine maidens, dressed in traditional white robes and red hakama with irises adorning their hair, sit in formation inside the pavilion...
Ceremonial rice planters cast reflections in the flooded mud of a sacred paddy field as they bend over to plant blessed green seedlings during the...
Ceremonial rice planters gather along the concrete banks of the sacred paddy field following the completion of the cultivation phase during the...
Local residents acting as ceremonial rice planters wade through the muddy water of a sacred paddy field to plant blessed seedlings during the...
Attendants hold large red umbrellas to shade Ueme rice-planting maidens carrying blessed rice seedlings as they exit the main pavilion gate during...
Ueme rice-planting maidens stand in formation before seated Furyu-musha samurai warriors and shrine elders during the historic Otaue Rice Planting...
Local residents performing as kaeshi wear conical straw hats , white robes, and bright yellow sashes as they bend over to plant blessed seedlings in...
Shinto court musicians dressed in traditional green robes play sacred Gagaku wind instruments, including the sho mouth organ and ryuteki bamboo...
Ceremonial procession walks along a red carpet and passes under a historic stone torii gate as it exits the main pavilion grounds during the Otaue...
Yaotome shrine maidens, adorned with seasonal purple iris flowers in their hair and wearing traditional white robes and red sashes, march in a...
Attendants carry and strike a large traditional hanging drum and a bronze ritual bell as they march in a ceremonial procession from the main shrine...
Performer dressed as a Furyu-musha wearing full armor , an ornate helmet , and tall wooden clogs leads a historic military procession during the...
Young girls participating in the traditional Sumiyoshi Odori umbrella folk dance march in a close formation during the historic Otaue Rice Planting...
Security guard patrols past rows of traditional decorative sake barrels donated by local breweries, during the historic Otaue Rice Planting Festival...
Dancers dressed for the traditional Taue-odori stand in formation along the banks, watching ceremonial planters cultivate the paddy field during the...
Armored Furyu-musha samurai warriors lead the ceremonial procession from the main shrine buildings toward the sacred paddy field following the...
Young children participating as Chigo-musha in red armor run along the path ahead of adult Furyu-musha samurai and standard-bearers during a dramatic...
Local residents acting as ceremonial rice planters wade through the muddy water of a sacred paddy field to plant blessed seedlings during the...
Men performing as Tomoyakko from the Osaka Yakko Hozonkai preservation society lead a ceremonial procession through the shrine gates during the...
Close-up portrait of a Ueme maiden, dressed in an intricate green crane-patterned kimono and a ceremonial sedge hat, participating in the historic...
Local women performing as kaeshi wear conical straw hats and traditional white-and-red attire as they wade through the muddy water of the sacred...
Close-up view shows a ceremonial rice planter wading through a muddy sacred paddy field while holding a large, mud-encrusted bundle of blessed green...
Local residents acting as ceremonial rice planters wade through the muddy water of a sacred paddy field to plant blessed seedlings during the...
Local residents acting as ceremonial rice planters wade through the muddy water of a sacred paddy field to plant blessed seedlings during the...
Close-up portrait of a young performer dressed as a Furyu-musha samurai warrior wearing intricate traditional armor and a black lacquered helmet...
Ceremonial rice planters gather along the concrete banks of the sacred paddy field following the completion of the cultivation phase during the...
Performer dressed as a Furyu-musha samurai warrior brandishes a traditional long-bladed polearm over his head while field workers plant seedlings in...
Shinto priests hand bundles of sacred green rice seedlings to Ueme rice-planting maidens during the main altar ceremony of the historic Otaue Rice...
Ueme rice-planting maidens carry bundles of freshly blessed green rice seedlings after receiving them from Shinto priests during a sacred ritual at...
Local residents acting as ceremonial rice planters wade through the muddy water of a sacred paddy field to plant blessed seedlings during the...
Young children dressed as Chigo-musha wearing white ceremonial infantry armor and jingasa hats march in a line along a dirt path near the paddy field...
Local residents acting as ceremonial rice planters wade through the muddy water of a sacred paddy field to plant blessed seedlings during the...
Attendants carry a traditional hanging drum decorated with a mitsutomoe crest as Furyu-musha samurai warriors march past sake barrels during the...
Local residents acting as ceremonial rice planters wade through the muddy water of a sacred paddy field to plant blessed seedlings during the...
Young children dressed in traditional white robes and wide woven straw hats gather during preparations for the historic Otaue Rice Planting Festival...
Ceremonial rice planter holds bundles of blessed rice seedlings while standing in the muddy water of a sacred paddy field as female planters work in...
Attendants hold large red umbrellas to shade Ueme rice-planting maidens carrying blessed rice seedlings as they exit the main pavilion gate during...
Young Taue-odori performer adjusts her woven straw hat while stepping away from the sacred paddy field at the conclusion of the historic Otaue Rice...Bestpix
Ueme rice-planting maidens carry bundles of blessed green seedlings down a stone pathway under large red umbrellas during the historic Otaue Rice...
Local residents acting as ceremonial rice planters wade through the muddy water of a sacred paddy field to plant blessed seedlings during the...
Young children participating as sacred 'chigo' walk in a ceremonial procession alongside women holding traditional purple paper umbrellas during the...
Local residents acting as ceremonial rice planters wade through the muddy water of a sacred paddy field to plant blessed seedlings during the...
Ceremonial rice planters wearing conical straw hats work in unison to press blessed green seedlings into the flooded mud of the sacred paddy field...
Shinto priest presents a ceremonial jar containing sacred holy water on a traditional wooden tray to a shrine official during a ritual at the...
Local residents acting as ceremonial rice planters wade through the muddy water of a sacred paddy field to plant blessed seedlings during the...
Ueme rice-planting maidens carry bundles of blessed green seedlings down a stone pathway under large red umbrellas during the historic Otaue Rice...
Local residents performing as kaeshi wear conical straw hats , white robes, and bright yellow sashes as they bend over to plant blessed seedlings in...
