William The Fujisaki Hachiman Shrine festival is the main festival in Kumamoto and will be held this year on 9/18 after a multi-year furlough due to corona. Known officially as the Autumn Festival (aki kisetsu reidaisai, 秋季節例大祭), it involves numerous horses paraded from the shrine down the shopping streets to the castle and back. The shrine website credits it with a history of over 1,000 years; however, it’s commonly known as “Boshita Matsuri” (or simply “Boshita,” which means “Destroy” - this derives from Katō Kiyomasa’s invasion of Korea (1592–1598) during which he infamously killed a tiger). Participants once chanted “Boshiita! Boshita! Hora boshita!” which means “Destroyed! Destroyed! Completely destroyed!” until wiser heads decided that was not the image Kumamoto wanted to present; today, the meaningless “Dokai!” (‘Sup?) is chanted instead. Early risers should head to the shrine no later than 5:00 AM (4:00 is better) to watch the preparations. This is much more interesting than the procession itself and offers a wealth of photographic opportunities. Then you can return home and go back to sleep. You may also see horses paraded around town before the festival: they are visiting houses of donors. (It’s not cheap to rent a big horse.) Images: Kiyomasa doing his boshita thing with a tiger; the wrong end of a horse to be on. Official shrine site: https://fujisakigu.or.jp/reisai/index.html Pro Tip: Do NOT get behind a horse.