This film is part of Free
Japanese Procession of State
A moment from a Shinto procession, surrounded by onlookers standing along the roadside.
Overview
With their eboshi headdresses and shaku (ritual baton) in hand, the Shinto priests in white robes sit on carts drawn either by a horse or a man on foot. The seemingly mismatched Western-style horse cart, driven by a coachman in full livery, suggests the combination of modernity and tradition. The name of Osaka's Ikasuri Shrine (aka Zama Shrine) can be seen on the jackets of a couple of men walking in the procession. (Kosuke Fujiki)
BFI silent film curator Bryony Dixon adds: This film was issued by the Hepworth Manufacturing Company in 1904, as part of a 14-part series on Japan and China. It was probably filmed by a cameraman looking for 'local colour' while waiting in hope to capture images of the Russo Japanese war.
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