Traditions & history
JapanTraditions & history
Nebuta Matsuri
For six August nights, washi-paper warrior floats cross Aomori to the beat of drums.
On the mapAomori
Each float weighs up to four tonnes and takes a nebuta-shi, a specialist craftsman, a full year: a wire frame, stretched washi paper, then painting done from the inside. The figures depict kabuki heroes, Chinese generals or deities, lit from within by hundreds of bulbs. The crowd is not an audience: costumed haneto dancers leap around the floats shouting "rassera", and anyone wearing the outfit may join in.
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