023.Nebuta 02.Hirosaki Neputa (Japan)

2023-08-09

If you come the Hirosaki Neputa and are satisfied with only the main night event, it is a great pity.

7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. : See the parade of the Fan Neputas by Tsuchiko neighborhood association.

The secret of the Hirosaki Neputa is that the bearer is a neighborhood association. The associations to join were 82 in 2011. The number is amazing.

The start time of the main event was at 7:00 p.m. In reality, the evnet started around 2:00 p.m. Many floats heading into Hirosaki Park as a starting point appeared on the streets. Many teams pulled their floats by human power. So traffic congestion were generated everywhere. The town ruled by the car recovered the human rhythm only on the day of the Neputa.

Around 5:00 p.m., the area around Hirosaki Park was filled with Neputa floats. On the streets, participants laid sheets. Some teams prepared for the parade, and others had a meal before the performance. While the person in charge was giving instructions to children, a high school student crisply greeted a senior. The communication scene between the men and women beyond a generation showed the Hirosaki citizen bonds. This time and space that condensed the background of the Hirosaki Neputa were just the essence of this festival.

At 7:00 p.m., the main event of the Neputa began. Floats started in turn from Hirosaki Park with the calls of “Yah Yah Doh”.

The fan form of the Hirosaki Neputa gives a gentle and profound atmosphere. Once Neputa floats had developed to a large-scaled Neputa like the present Aomori Nebuta. But, due to confusion in the Meiji Restoration in the middle of the 19th century, a large-scale Neputa which needed a large budget had gone down and changed into a Fan Neputa.

In addition to the main Fan Neputa, small floats like a children float or a neighborhood name sign float were also a pleasure to see. I witnessed even a float that connected baby carriages mounting babies. It was a system that everyone in the neighborhood could join.

The children and participants painted and produced small floats. But, only the main big Fan Neputa were finished with the traditional Ukiyoe painting by an expert painter. The guidebook introduced 51 painters. In Aomori where a company pays 20 million Japanese Yen to production, the painter can live for one year only by manufacturing one set of Nebuta. Meanwhile, in Hirosaki where the bearer is a neighborhood association, the payment for a painter is about 500 thousand Japanese Yen for one set of fan Neputa. A painter needs to draw 10 sets for living. The business is not so easy. But, the number of painters shows the richness of the culture of Hirosaki.

The vulnerable point of tall floats of Hirosaki was passing under an electric wire and a signal. It was also the highlight scene. Not only the floats went up and down but also the menfolk on the top part pushed down the upper part and broke through an electric wire and a signal, using a hand and a stick. Another highlight of Hirosaki was the rotation of the float. About 3 persons rotated the float, running with a long string from the upper part of the float. While running around the float as drawing the circle, the rotator of one team flew in the air for a moment by centrifugal force.

In the morning, I went to tourist information to rent a bicycle. The staff looked depressed reading a just delivered fax. When I asked her the reason, she explained. On the first day on August, 1, 370,000 people visited Hirosaki. On August 2, when the Aomori Nebuta began, 250,000 peoples visited the Hirosaki Neputa, and 200,000 peoples on August 3. But, on August 4, when the Tachi-Nebuta in Gosyogawara added further, the number of visitors decreased even to 180,000 people. Among three adjacent cities within 1-hour distance by train, the Nebuta festivals were held in the same period. The competition was severe.