Livin' the McDream: 5 Festivals in 8 Days

Two down and three more to go! Tonight I'm knocking out festival #3 on my agenda, Hirosaki Neputa! Read on for festival info, photos and a video clip!

Festival History:

Hirosaki Neputa is a festival where about 80 small and large fan-shaped floats are paraded through town. The floats have images of gallant kagamie on the front and a contrasting image on the back of elegant miokuri. The images depicted are taken from a couple of Chinese legends "Sangokushi" and "Suikoden." The parade also includes flutes, taiko drumming and a yell of "Yah-Ya-Doh." The floats are made and paraded each year by groups of Hirosaki residents.

Neputa is said to have originated from a traditional event named Nemuri Nagashi which was held to banish the invisible sleep demon who makes people drowsy during the summer when farm work is the busiest. Nemuri Nagashi used lanterns and lights and is thought to have evolved into the current Neputa. Another source states Neputa is celebrating a "triumphant return" from battle.

The festival is held every year August 1 - 7, the parade is at 7pm on all days except the 7th when it is held at 10am. The parade changes between three different routes depending on the day. Hirosaki is about a 2 hour drive from Misawa via toll roads, 110 km (68 mi). Tolls cost approximately ¥1,680 or ¥2,050 each way depending on route.

The following link has the parade routes and dates for each: http://www.hirosaki-kanko.or.jp/en/edit.html?id=edit11

GPS coordinates for Hirosaki Station which is shown on all parade route maps: 40.599640, 140.485152

As mentioned above, the warrior images on the front of the floats were violent and graphic, the back of the floats were calm and beautiful. One interesting thing about the floats in this parade is the large ones are made to mechanically go up and down and also have sides with flaps that can be manually lowered making maneuvering under power lines and stoplights possible.

Video clips from the festival can be viewed below or by clicking here: http://youtu.be/bRBoB3xgePA

On August 5, 2014 (the night after my visit to the festival) an accident occurred during the festival and a man was killed. He had been working inside of a float when he apparently got caught in the lifting mechanism and was crushed. When his death was discovered the parade was stopped and the final two days of the festival were cancelled. So tragic.

One of three "odaiko" (very large traditional drum) located in Hirosaki.
Their sound is described as "so profound that viewers feel the vibrations to their core."
The drums are about 10 feet in diameter and weigh 2 tons.

What a cutie!

Fronts depict battle.

Backs are calm.

Four smaller Neputa's.

It started to sprinkle so for awhile all the floats were
coming by covered in plastic. Not quite the same this way...
I did come prepared with an umbrella this time!