Traditional samurai parade held at World Heritage shrine in Nikko

People dressed in samurai armor and other traditional attire have taken part in a parade at a shrine in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo on Friday. The parade, known as Hyakumonozoroi Sennin Musha Gyoretsu, is held every spring and autumn at Nikko Toshogu Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The event reenacts a procession for transferring the remains of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate that ruled Japan from the 17th to late 19th centuries. Visitors watched intently as a portable shrine weighing more than 800 kilograms was carried by around 50 people. The shrine honors Tokugawa Ieyasu.