Winter can be a bleak time of year. The nights are long and the temperatures low. But throughout much of Japan, people in towns and cities illuminate the gloom with festivals, and have been doing so for centuries.
Akita Prefecture's Yokote Kamakura Festival is one of these, dating back almost 500 years. This example, like many others, coincides with koshōgatsu or "little new year," usually falling in mid-February.
Filled with prayers and rituals for good fortune and harvest in the year ahead, these festivals sometimes involve fire and they often involve snow. Japan's modern-day snow festivals usually include a plethora of sculptures, slides and other attractions. They began in earnest in the 1950s, and have been growing in number as their popularity has risen.