Sanja Matsuri festival – Yakuza day in pictures
Sanja Matsuri festival is a celebration of the three legendary founders of Sensoji Temple in Tokyo’s Asakusa neighbourhood, with nearly two million people visiting during the three-day event.
Main image: Heavily tattooed Japanese men wait for the arrival of a mikoshi (portable shrine) as they participate on the third and final day of Sanja Matsuri festival in Tokyo, Japan. Photograph: Carl Court/Getty ImagesMon 21 May 2018 04.15 EDT Last modified on Tue 22 May 2018 03.12 EDT
Participants carry a mikoshi (portable shrine) near the Asakusa shrine on the third and final day of the Sanja Matsuri festival in Tokyo Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterThe mikoshi bearers during the annual Sanja Matsuri festival Photograph: Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterParticipants with one of three mikoshi outside Sensoji Temple in the Asakusa district Photograph: Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterHeavily tattooed Japanese men and a woman pose for photographs Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterMen chat in the street near Asakusa shrine wearing fundoshi (sumo underwear) Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterParticipants attend the annual Sanja Matsuri festival in the Asakusa district of Tokyo Photograph: Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterMen wait for the arrival of a mikoshi near the Asakusa shrine Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterA heavily tattooed Japanese woman poses for photographs Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterParticipants pose to show off their traditional Japanese tattoos (Irezumi), related to the yakuza Photograph: Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterPolicemen stand guard during the Sanja Matsuri festival in Tokyo Photograph: Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterHeavily tattooed Japanese men wait for the arrival of a mikoshi near the Asakusa shrine Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterA man with traditional Japanese tattoos (irezumi), related to the yakuza, speaks on his smartphone Photograph: Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterThe portable mikoshi shrine borne aloft at the Sensoji Temple Photograph: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterPeople bearing a mikoshi at the Sensoji Temple Photograph: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
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