Compete in skill to manipulate a giant lantern

The Akita Kanto Festival is a festival in which ''sashite'' perform a gigantic ''kanto'' with many hanging lanterns, accompanied by ''ohayashi'' music. While it is widely known as one of Tohoku's three major summer festivals, did you know that it actually has a "competition" aspect to it? That is the Kanto Myogi Tournament.

First, let me explain about Kanto. A kanto is a lattice-shaped bamboo pole with 46 lanterns suspended from it. It was originally made to pray for a bountiful harvest for the year, with the lanterns being made to look like ''rice bags'' and the entire lantern to look like ''ears of rice.''

Of course, the lanterns themselves are spectacular, with the light of the lit lanterns swaying, but the biggest highlight of the festival is the skill with which the lanterns are controlled by the hands. The ''Kanto Taejutsu Tournament'' is a competition to see how perfect these techniques are. While the actual festival is held at night, the skill competition held during the day is also known as ''Hirukantou.''