Now held yearly on September 14th and 15th, the festival began in the early 1700's as a prayer for a good harvest.
The two-day festival is a test of strength, endurance, and artistic dexterity.
What is the goal?
Teams, which consist of 500 to 1000 members, compete to pull handcarved wagons through narrow streets and manuver them around sharp corners as fast as possible.
Who's on top?
Only carpenters or daiku-gata are allowed to ride on the roof. Daiku-gata express skill by surfing on the wagon's roof while it careens through streets and takes corners. There are many famous poses to strike while the manuvers take place. One of the most popular is known as the airplane-dance or Hikoki-nori.