Ashikari Yama (芦刈山) children

Posted by MShades (Kyoto, Japan) on 2 September 2008 in People & Portrait.

Ashikari Yama - this has the oldest figure in the parade, a doll dating back to the 16th century, though the clothes are relatively new. The float refers back to an old Noh drama wherein a husband and wife have to separate due to their extreme poverty. The wife moves to Kyoto to work in the Imperial Palace, and when she returns to her hometown she finds that her husband's situation has worsened. He is now an ashikari, or "Reed-reaper."

So, not a happy story, really....