On this episode of Journeys in Japan, photographer Kit Pancoast Nagamura travels to 2 towns in northern Kumamoto Prefecture, in Kyushu. In Yamato, she observes an autumn festival, which has been held for more than 250 years. The local townspeople make giant floats, using natural materials, and parade them through the streets. The festival originally began as a way for the traders in the town to thank the farmers in the surrounding countryside for their hard work in the fields, producing rice and other crops. In Yamaga, Kit visits an old theater that was built just over a century ago. The local merchants commissioned an architect to build the finest theater in Japan, to make their town livelier and better known. This was their way of showing their appreciation for the abundance of rice grown by the farmers, which helped bring prosperity to their community.