processions

History of the Armistice On the morning of 11 November 1918, allied and German officials signed the Armistice, a formal agreement to cease the hostilities of the First World War. When the agreement came into effect at 11.00 am, the guns of the Western Front fell silent for the first time in more than four years. With the fighting on the front lines suspended, the two sides could work towards a peace settlement and negotiate the treaties that would officially end the First World War—most notably the Treaty of Versailles which was signed on 28 June 1919. Armistice Day The signing of the Armistice was such a momentous event that its anniversary—the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month—quickly became a key date of commemoration around the world, known as Armistice Day. The tradition of stopping at 11 am started on the very first Armistice Day in 1919 and continues to this day. It was initially suggested by an Australian journalist living in London, and was made official with a proclamation by King George V. His Majesty requested that “...all locomotion should cease, so that, in perfect stillness, the thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on reverent remembrance of the glorious dead.” Source: anzac100.initiatives.qld.gov.au/remembranceday/stop-and-r...

Busy time of day.

Now adays you hear "portable shrine", not "sacred car" for the translation. Either one works. Some basic info on what's going on here can be found in the Wikipedia Mikoshi article. The article is bland and boring, though. In contrast, the o-mikoshi is toured through the neighborhood once per year in the biggest festival the community is able to afford. (great anthropological discussion in Neighborhood Tokyo about how the o-mikoshi itself represents the community's fortunes) People are yelling, especially the strained men carrying the diety. They stop frequently for breaks in the parade at the high rollers who donate to the shrine - the rice shop, sake shop, soy sauce shop (don't find these today!), retaurants. After a couple drinks and small snacks, they heft up the shrine and bounce it furiously to the next stop. I love all of the panama hats. It's the one thing that really looks out of place from a summer festival today. That and the unobstructed dirt street.

It seems odd that there would be an ANZAC day procession only a year after the landing, and only a few months after the evacuation

Hi Ian Thanks for you comment. ANZAC Day processions or marches were held in many places in Australia in 1916. For more about this check out the Australian War Memorial's ANZAC Day Tradition webpage.