Feb 27, 2014 - 1 min read

Yamaga Toro Roman Festival 2014

Lighting up the nights in Kumamoto prefecture

By Mandy Bartok

Community writer

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Umbrellas and bamboo temples light up the grounds of a Yamaga temple

A display near the Sakura-yu bathhouse

A shop owner serves amazake to passersby

A display of luminaries in central Yamaga

Both wagasa (paper umbrellas) and bamboo are used in the festival

Dragons dance at the end of the festival route

A small figure in a bamboo luminary

Only two more nights remain to enjoy the 2014 Yamaga Toro Roman Festival. Held in the small town of Yamaga in Kumamoto prefecture, the celebration has echoes of the town's famous summer festival where thousands of women dance all night with lanterns on their head. A similar performance is enacted every Friday night in February at the famed Yachiyoza theater in the center of town but the real beauty of this winter event are the hundreds of bamboo luminaries and wagasa (traditional umbrellas) scattered about town. Things get started around 6pm or 7pm and shops and restaurants stay open late on the festival nights to accommodate the extra crowds. While by no means a massive festival, this is arguably one of Kumamoto's most picturesque events.