AKITA CITY - tourist guide

Kanto illustrated guide

Wonderful performance of Kanto

Showing the skill involved

Kanto has crossed over the sea

Wonderful performance of Kanto

From the strength to the skill
Kanto during the Bunka and Bunsei periods didn't need the skills of the present festival.
It was a big day for the people who were proud of their strength and wished to show people their strength by carrying heavy Kanto easily and walking around the town.
Through the times, various ideas came up. Now people need three to five years to become fully-fledged performers who master the techniques of balancing kanto on their body such as Nagashi, Hirate (hand), Hitai (forehead), Kata (shoulder) and Koshi (hip).
Children practice using a broomstick upside-down and gradually make progress with a clothes-pole and then a ladder.

40% is strength and 60 % is skill
Although the popular Oowaka is a 12 meter pole with the 8 meter main pole and two supporting poles, some people who participate in the competitions of free performance use a pole with four or five supporting poles.
At the moment, people are competing for an 18 meter Kanto with six supporting poles.
The gohei tells the performer how the bamboos are hanging and the direction of the wind, like a compass of kanto.
Smoothness of the movement and stability are most important to win.

Nagashi
	They support Kanto in order that the next performer can connect the bamboo pole easily. Two people make Kanto (lantern pole) stand with their dominant hands and the next person adds supporting poles into it. They balance Kanto higher on their hands, holding it still and then move it 15 to 20 cm between fingers.

Hirate(Hand)
the basic one of powerful and tremendous skills of Kanto, holding it up higher. The front people keep still, holding the pole until the other adds supporting poles into the main one. After adding the second supporting pole, they keep the Kanto still on the palm of the hand. Moving it between the fingers, they pass it onto the next person.

Koshi(Hip)
a very showy performance needing lots of practice. They lift it up on the palm of the dominant hand and keep it still. They move it from the fingers onto the hip, and they bend the upper part of the body towards the side, placing legs wider to balance.

Kata(Shoulder)
	The easiest technique to learn and perform. They keep Kanto on the palm of the dominant hand. Without bending the arm, they make a straight line from the pivot leg to Kanto. Then they lift it higher with one hand and pass it to the next person.

Hitai(Forehead)
	A very powerful technique by holding the head up. The performer receives Kanto on the palm of the hand from the previous person. They move it carefully between the fingers and put it onto the forehead. Then they keep it still and open the hands widely.