Kyushu Island, Japan, October 1960: Japanese women, dressed in traditional dress, carry lanterns advertising the Fukuoka Night Club. They and many other merchants of Hakata, Fukuoka’s commercial district, participated in the Hakata Okunchi Festival parades here Saturday and Sunday, October 22 and 23, 1960.

The two-day festival dates back to feudal days when merchants of Hakata originated the festival. It gives thanks to the gods for Autumn’s harvest, with the parades starting at the Kushida Shrine, dedicated to Hakata’s Shinto deities Ohata Omikami (Kushida Omikami), Amaterasu Omikami, and Susanoo Omikami (Gion Omikami).

Apart from covering the U.S. military in the Pacific, staff at the Pacific editions of Stars and Stripes also covered — and photographed — local events and crafts, resulting in our archives holding some amazing shots like this one.

Check out Stars and Stripes Pacific’s special 80th anniversary section here.