Nebuta matsuri is a large papier mache lantern
float parade in Aomori and is one of the three largest
festivals in the Tohoku region.
The Nebuta matsuri (ねぶた祭) is a
type of Tanabata
festival held on August 2-7 every year. It is a type of
parade with ginormous lantern floats. The largest of
this
type of festivity is in Aomori City where they attract
millions of spectators over the course of the festival.
Nebuta matsuri is one of the most colorful festivals in
Japan. The themes of the floats are centered on
folklore
and myths. The origins of the festival are argued
amongst historians. One theory is that it comes from
the
folk tradition of cleansing the spirit by transferring the
impurities to dolls or lanterns. There is another one
referencing to the laziness of the farmers because of
the
warmer summer months and how this festival came
about to rid them of that feeling. Some historians say
that there are a couple popular theories coming the
legend of Sakanoue no Tamuramaro who was a
warlord
around the 800s. It is said that he hid soldiers in giant
paper dolls to lure his enemies into a trap or made
gruesome creatures out of cloth and bamboo to scare
away the enemy. The Nebuta matsuri started back in
the
Edo period, but was banned at different times
because
the candles being used presented a fire hazard to a
town that was made of wood back then. It was also
banned during World War II as a way to conserve
resource, but towards the end of the war the festival
was brought back as a way to improve morale.
Today the floats are made of wire frames instead of
bamboo and are illuminated with led lights. It usually
takes 1 year to construct one of these floats and
many
of them are sponsored by companies. The maximum
size of these lantern floats is 9 meters in width, 5
meters
in height and 7 meters in depth. The reason is that
the
parade route goes through areas with telephone lines
and other hanging materials, which puts a limit on the
height. The best part of the Nebuta matsuri is that
anyone can participate in the parade as a haneto
dancer and chant “rassera, rassera” as long as they
wear the proper clothing, which can be bought at any
grocery store for 5000 yen or rented for 3000 yen.
The
setup of each float group goes with the haneto first,
then
the fan bearer who directs the Nebuta (float) to make
it
come alive, the hikite who move the float and the
hayashi who are the musicians that play taiko drums,
the flute and hand cymbals to match the theme of the
float. There are awards given for a variety of
categories,
but the top three floats will be put on a ship on the
last
day and paraded around the bay. From August 2 to 3
there are small floats a few of the large ones. It is
from
August 4 to 6 that the festival hits its full swing, but
the
last day the floats will only appear in the day time.
Please see below for tours that
include Aomori Nebuta Festival:
