Danjiri Matsuri #1

Last weekend the citizens of Kishiwada, Ōsaka, got riled up for the Danjiri Matsuri the same way they have for the last three hundred years. Each district of the city creates a danjiri (pictured), and starting early in the morning with the sound of a blaring siren, all 33 danjiri teams haul their danjiri at a breakneck pace through the city streets for hours while stalls along the roadside sell trinkets and food for the spectators. All the danjiri are made entirely of zelkova wood. Each danjiri weighs 4 tons, is 12.5 feet high and 8 feet high. Each is constructed by master woodcarvers and carpenters.