This spring market has a history of 400 years. Local and non local traders together make about 300 participants. Streets are also lined with stalls, attracting many people each year. The event hosts a Higo Camellia fair which is fun to observe as well.
"...Otemoyan, did you get married lately?" The familiar happy folk song "Otemoyan" was originated in Kumamoto.
Traffic is blocked off the main street where the Otemoyan Grand Dance is held accompanied by the Otemoyan song arranged on a samba beat.
The festival climaxes with 3,000 hits of fireworks displayed by Lake Ezu-ko.
Also known as the Zuihyo Festival, this dynamic event marks the end of the summer season. The parade of zuihyo (or samurai) and portable shrines is followed by about 50 horses led by local men.
After the festival, autumn season sets in dropping morning and evening temperatures in Kumamoto. This particular change in season is called zuihyo gan-ya in Kumamoto.
