［September 2012］
Summer festivals and Japanese local governments

In summer (around August, since the seasons in Japan are the opposite of Australia’s), there are a lot of summer festivals and fireworks all around Japan. Most of them are originally based on religious ceremonies to welcome the return of one’s ancestors’ souls and to send them back to the spiritual world.

Usually summer festivals are community based, but some are famous national events which attract many people. One of the major summer festivals is the Aomori Nebuta Festival.

This festival is held annually from August 2–7 and features colourful lantern floats called Nebuta which are pulled through the streets of Central Aomori. This event attracts around 2 million visitors.  During this festival, about 20 large Nebuta floats are paraded through the streets. These floats are constructed of wooden bases and metal frames. Japanese papers, called washi, are glued over the frames. These amazing floats, with more than 5 metres height, are finished off with historical figures or kabuki scenes being painted onto the paper and are stunningly illuminated from inside. These floats can take up to a year to complete.

There is a dance portion of this festival. The dancers are known as ‘haneto’ and they wear special costumes for this dance. Everyone is welcome to join in.  I had worked for Aomori prefectural government as the director general for three years before I came to Australia. At that time, I had also been assigned as the leader of the Aomori prefectural government Nebuta team.  Aomori prefectural government, as one of the big enterprises in this area, participates in the Nebuta festival with a giant Nebuta float which is paraded with the staff of Aomori prefectural government.  In the same way, Aomori city participates in this event. (In Japan, there are many cases where the capital city of a prefecture is the same name of the prefecture. For example, Kyoto city is the capital of Kyoto prefecture.) The governor of Aomori prefecture and the mayor of Aomori city also participate in the Nebuta festival and promote their local brand for millions of visitors.

Major summer festivals in Japan are closely connected with the tourist industry and offer the best opportunities for local governments to promote their tourist spots, local food, local products and above all their historical cultures. When you visit Japan in summer (again, it means winter here), be sure not to miss out.

For further information: http://www.atca.info/nebuta_en/