A festival reenacting the ancient practice of extracting ice from icehouses was held on Monday in Tenri City, Nara Prefecture in western Japan.
Many ruins of ancient icehouses, used to store ice obtained in winter and typically built partially or wholly underground, have been found in the woods of the Fukusumi district of the city. A reproduction of a thatched icehouse has been built there.
About 100 people, including local elementary school children, took part in the festival on Monday.
After a Shinto ritual was held outside the icehouse, a block of ice was taken out and loaded onto a cart. The ice was then taken to the festival venue about a kilometer away.
The block of ice had initially weighed about 3 tons, but it decreased to around 240 kilograms after more than five months in storage.
A boy who participated said the ice was heavy and the people in ancient times likely had a hard time.
The head of the festival organizing committee, Tsujisawa Masahiro, said the block of ice appears to have melted faster than last year, possibly due to warmer weather. He said he wants to continue the event to pass down the ancient practice to future generations.