The Marble Hill School for

International Studies
Summer 2004 Trip to Japan, Part 3
by Roberta Young


The Nebuta Festival:


Japan is a country known for its various regional festivals. Of these, the Nebuta Festival is one of the three largest and most famous. It is held in Aomori from August 2-7. The festival’s distinctive feature is the large Nebuta float – up to 50 feet wide – that is paraded through the streets. The float is, in a sense, a giant lantern illuminated from within. A framework is covered with colorful paper. Each float depicts characters from Kabuki plays and legends, famous samurai warriors, and other historic figures. Altogether, there are about twenty-five floats.


The floats – pushed by large groups of men – follow a circular path through the streets of Aomori. Along with the floats are the “hayashigata,” musicians playing large drums, wooden flutes, and hand-held cymbals. There are also the “haneto,” people who travel along with the floats chanting and dancing. To be a haneto, you must wear the appropriate yukata (cotton kimono) and accessories (various sashes and lots of jingle bells attached with safety pins). The jingle bells make a nice rhythm as you dance – two hops on the right foot then two hops on the left foot.

The chant goes like this:
Leader: Rasse ra! Rasse ra!
Others: Rasse rasse rasse ra!


I was a haneto. The yukata and accessories had been given to me as a gift from the middle school teachers.


Alongside the streets, crowds of people gather to watch the floats go by. Bleachers are set up for the festival but people also sit on mats and chairs at the curbside. As you pass by, onlookers will often ask you for one of your jingle bells – which you are supposed to give them. The parade through the streets lasts for several hours. Afterwards, it seems that people are in a particularly friendly mood. I had a lot of interesting conversations on those nights.

This float is sponsored by the Aomori PTA (Parent-Teacher Association).

Nebuta Float - 2

Nebuta Float - 3

Some of the men who push and steer the floats.

Hayashigata (musicians) with taiko drums.

Hayashigata children

Me in a Nebuta Festival yukata. Wearing the appropriate yukata allows you to join a float group and dance through the streets as a “haneto” in the festival.

Three haneto girls in yukata.

 

Three haneto guys in yukata.
Arama:
Every town in Aomori prefecture has its own local version of the Nebuta festival. Aomori City has the largest festival; Goshogawara has the tallest floats. Each town has its own distinctive features. In my small town of Imabetsu, the “Arama” or the Wild Horse Dances are unique. I had the chance to learn a “Nagashi Odori” – a traditional dance that “streams” through the streets. I performed this with a large group of women. Although this festival was smaller than the one in Aomori City, my yukata (and yukata undergarments) were far more elaborate.

Preparing for Nagashi Odori -
wearing yukata undergarments.

Me in yukata - ready for Nagashi Odori.

 

Travelogue continues!

Go back to Imabetsu Travelogue, Page 1

Go back to Imabetsu Travelogue, Page 2

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