The Sendai Aoba Festival, which is celebrating its 40^th anniversary this year, took place in Miyagi Prefecture’s capital in northeastern Japan.

In the center of Sendai, a ceremony was held to mark the opening of the festival, and the Sendai Matsuri Kiyari Ondo song, which was sung during the Edo period, was revived and performed for the first time in 69 years.

Its main event, the Suzume Odori dance, was held on May 18 and 19, with127 groups and approximately 3,800 participants, which was the same scale as before the COVID-19 pandemic.

From 8 p.m. on May 18, the So-Odori, where spectators along the route can freely participate in the Suzume Odori, was held for the first time in five years.

On May 19, the Hon-Matsuri, a historical picture scroll procession of floats and mikoshi portable shrines was held through the center of Sendai and 930,000 people visited the festival over the two days.