explore Japan

Nebuta Festival

ecotwaza — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:15:41 +0900

Nebuta Festival in the northernmost part of Honshu Island is one of Japan’s three largest festivals, along with Gion in Kyoto and Tenjin in Osaka. It features a night parade of lantern floats—usually 5 meters high, long meters wide and 7 meters wide—in various shapes including the traditional women in kimono, samurai, horses, dragons, and such more funky, modern ones as polar bears and cartoon characters. Scores of young men drag and occasionally spin the glowing giant floats around so that the patterns both on the front and the back can be seen by the audience. As far as a conjecture about its origin goes, Nebuta, which in local Japanese can also mean sleepy, was held in order to keep the farmers awake in preparation of the upcoming harvest season. It seems to be incredibly effective, as crowds after crowds of rowdy festival-goers, the haneto were wildly dancing, stomping and chanting, “Rasse-ra-rasse-ra,” in harmony with the clamorous sounds of flutes, cymbals and Taiko (Japanese drums). The festival lasts about a week from August, 2 to August, 7—during the last night of the event, the lantern floats will actually be floating along the Aomori Bay Area.

All of the 22 lantern floats are made of a wire or bamboo structure and colored papier-mâché. Almost every one of them contains a number of fluorescent bulbs and a power generator for illuminating the outer framework. Nebuta-shi, or masters of Nebuta, together with a few hundreds of labor in papier-mâché and electrical wirings are responsible in construction of a single Nebuta float. According to the official Nebuta Festival website, a Nebuta-shi earns around 4,000,000 yen ($40,000) a year while an entire Nebuta float requires 20,000,000 yen ($200,000) to complete. It takes about three months to build a float, albeit most Nebuta-shi begin planning their floats half a year before the festival.

A gargantuan amount of time and natural resources is undoubtedly poured into Nebuta Festival and the same for Gion, Tenjin, and countless Japanese local firework festivals. With simple physical calculation, they are bounded to be a ‘waste’ of the resources; however, I doubt they should be labeled to be against sustainability, for true sustainability involves not only the sufficiency and preservation of natural resources, but also the culture, traditions and hearts of the local people.

Gero Hot Spring

ecotwaza — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:06:23 +0900

This is the statue called ‘Dragon and Heron’ I found in front of Gero Station, Gifu during my school trip. The artwork could be inspired by the legend about the foundation of the Gero Hot Spring. It is said that the Buddha of Medicine (Yakushi Nyorai, in Japanese) transformed into a heron and guided the people to the hot spring. Gero Hot Spring is one of the three most famous hot springs in Japan. It is definitely worth a visit during your trip to the country.

Okage Alley--New Year's Eve

ecotwaza — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:05:13 +0900

New Year’s Eve countdown at Ise Shrine and Okage Alley, Mie comes with much fanfare and a lot of fireworks. Both of the places are the pride of Japanese culture. I would love foreigners to come and see for themselves.

Goryokaku Tower

ecotwaza — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:24:11 +0900

This is the picture Goryokaku Tower located in Hakodate, Hokkaido taken in May, 2005 before its renewal in 2006. In the tower situated the statue of the famous historical figure—Toshizo Hijikata of Shinzengumi. I found myself with quite a crowd during my visit to the tower. On the topmost floor, there is an observatory, where you can glance down at the impressive five-pointed-star layout of Goryokaku Fortress. Spectacular is not only the view from inside, but also from the outside of the tower. In the beginning of May, colorful carp banners are put on display to celebrate the Boy’s Day. And unlike in Tokyo, where I come from, cherry blossoms—the flower representative of Japan—are beautifully blooming. I was truly glad to be able to see them even in May.
Whether it is day or night, Hakodate’s scenery always has its way of catching the eyes of the spectators. Do not forget your camera when you visit the city.

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