A hanagasa is a hat decorated with artificial flowers. At the Yamagata Hanagasa Matsuri, dancers wearing the same costume per group and holding hanagasa hats adorned with Yamagata Prefecture’s unique safflowers parade through the main street of Yamagata City. About 100 groups of a total of 10,000 dancers participate in this dance. The parade is led by gorgeously decorated festival floats. The unique shouts ‘Yassho! Makkasho!’ and the jovial beat of the hanagasa-daiko drums enhance the merry mood of the festival.