This film is part of Free

Japanese Procession of State

A moment from a Shinto procession, surrounded by onlookers standing along the roadside.

Non-Fiction 1904 4 mins Silent

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.