A city near Osaka recently launched a call for foreigners living in Japan to apply for the role of a feudal warlord in a local festival.

The Daito government in Osaka Prefecture said it was looking for someone to play the role of Miyoshi Nagayoshi, a lord who ruled the region and island of Shikoku toward the end of Japan’s Sengoku Warring States period.

The person is expected to play the role at the Samurai Procession Festival in the western Japanese city in March.

The provided photo shows a flyer soliciting applications from foreign residents interested in playing the role of feudal warlord Miyoshi Nagayoshi at a local festival in Daito, Osaka Prefecture. (Kyodo)

The offer comes as the region prepares for the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, which opens in April next year.

Applications are open to all foreign residents aged 18 and over who are willing to participate in the March 1 parade. The city said it will provide the successful candidate with traditional armor and other costume elements to wear.

Miyoshi was born in 1522 in what is now Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku. He died in 1564 in a castle in Daito.

File photo shows people in traditional costumes taking part in the Samurai Procession Festival in Daito, Osaka Prefecture, on March 2, 2024. (Kyodo)

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