Nebuta Floats
nature
ねぶた(山車燈籠)
Both the namesake and stars of the festival, the Nebuta floats are gargantuan creations weighing up to 4 tons, with a maximum height of 5 meters, a width of 9 meters, and depth of 7 meters.
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.
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