Yosakoi Festival starts in Kochi with 18,000 dancers participating

Yosakoi Festival started Monday in the western Japanese city of Kochi, drawing about 18,000 dancers in 197 teams from inside and outside Kochi Prefecture, organizers of the three-day event said.Dancers in vivid costumes performed in unison while sounding small wooden clappers called naruko, filling the festival venues with their sharp clack."I won't let the heat get the best of me, and I'll keep dancing with a smile until the end," Sato Ogasawara said.Before the main festival through Wednesday, pre-festival events took place Sunday evening.The festival began in 1954 to pray for residents' h…READ FULL ARTICLE