Nebuta Floats

Every August, Aomori's Nebuta Festival fills the streets with 22 illuminated floats, each taking a full year to build. The floats can weigh up to 4 tons and stand 5 meters tall, hand-crafted by specialist artisans called nebutashi who master three skills: sketching, modeling, and coloring. Subjects are drawn from Kabuki plays, historical events, and ancient folklore, and all figures share the same bold facial style with intense eyebrows. At night, the backlit paper surfaces glow against the dark sky. Teams of hikite pullers maneuver each float under the direction of a conductor who choreographs the movements to show all four decorated sides.