The Rath Jatra was succesufuly celebrated for the first time in Japan among a large gathering of participants. Participants braved the heat wave to join the celebration and the success of the event goes entirely to their earnest enthusiasm. Odisha Community Japan thanks participants, distinguished guests and kind sponsors for their support and encouragement to realize this historic event.

Some pictures of the celebration.

Some videos here

The Rath Jatra is a famous festival in India celebrated in the coastal city of Puri in Odisha province. This is an occasion in which the famous god Jagannath together with his brother and sister are taken in chariots to meet common people on the street. This is a kind of thanks giving celebration resembling Kanda festival in Tokyo, Gion festival in Kyoto and several such matsuris throughout Japan. We hope our efforts will help to appreciate common cultural practices and to strengthen the Japan-India friendship.

Unlike the 15 meter tall huge chariot used in Puri, we pulled a modest 3 meter tall chariot.

The procession was covered by NHK, OTV, NHK Radio (Hindi) and Ashai Shinbun.

Pictures of rath construction and test runs.

Program schedule.

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