4,000 people parade with 45 danjiri floats to celebrate new era Reiwa in Kobe

KOBE -- A total of 45 "danjiri" floats paraded through streets here to celebrate the enthronement of the new Emperor Naruhito and the beginning of the new era Reiwa on May 1.

The floats, resembling portable shrines, were brought into Kobe's Higashinada Ward and were pulled through the streets by some 4,000 people who gathered there, making the event one of the biggest danjiri float parades ever. The elaborately decorated floats delighted spectators, who cheered at the extravaganza.

Higashinada Ward is known as the "town of danjiri." In 1990, a total of 28 floats were paraded through the ward to celebrate the enthronement of the former Emperor Akihito. This time, organizers asked danjiri organizations in Nada Ward and the Hyogo prefectural cities of Ashiya, Nishinomiya and Takarazuka to join the event.

(Japanese original by Koji Minemoto, Kobe Bureau)