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The Kumamoto Drunken Horse Fest · 27 September 04
The tourism office calls it the Fujisaki Hachimangu Shrine Festival. And locals call it the “Chagu-Chagu Umakko”.
But when locals explain last week’s festival in English, they emphasize the hammered horse aspect.
To prepare a horse for the event, paticipants cover the beast in what look like look like inflatable candy-canes. Then they feed it alcohol.
It is then a drunken horse, and fit to be paraded through the center of the semi-outdoor mall.
Some locals avoid the whole thing because they think it’s a cruel exercise in animal cruelty. Others use the day to exercise insanely dope fashion sense:
I mean, the looks were solid.
Dudes slicked their hair for it.
Mommas fancied up their offspring for it.
The bright eye makeup came out.
And killer doo rags abounded.
After all the parading and sun, people did the same thing we do back in the US.
Grab a drink with their friends at the 7-11.
All more fun to watch than the drunken horses. Drunken horses are actually rather boring. They were like that friend you didn’t mean to invite, just stumbling around stealing all the alcohol, making funny noises, and disrupting the party.
I was told repeatedly that after the parade, people shoot the horses. Why? Because they have been drinking.
UPDATE: A co-worker just told me that the drunken horses must be killed off because alcohol makes their meat taste bad if eaten raw. Awesome
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