Organizers of a centuries-old Shinto ritual in the scenic coastal town of Matsushima are turning to international students to help carry its "mikoshi" portable shrine, as Japan's aging population leaves fewer locals to sustain the tradition.Every April, residents of the northeastern town near Sendai hoist the massive mikoshi, which weighs over one ton, onto wooden beams and carry it for eight kilometers along the coastline.The ritual is linked to the Date clan -- powerful feudal lords who ruled the area during the Sengoku period in the 15th-16th centuries at a time when it was particularly …READ FULL ARTICLE
