A centuries-old festival in Japan brings Shinto traditions and towering floats to the streets | Nation and World

KYOTO, Japan (AP) — There’s a special moment when Katsushi Horikawa feels closer to the gods. It comes as he rides atop one of the towering floats pulled through the streets in a centuries-old procession in Japan.

This is the Gion Matsuri festival, born more than 1,000 years ago as a ritual to ward off epidemics and celebrated in the former imperial city of Kyoto throughout July.

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