Hirosaki Neputa Festival, featuring about 80 neputas in a row in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture, Japan.

  • Aomori
  • Sightseeing
Fan and Gumi Neputa
The Hirosaki Neputa Festival, held in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture, is a traditional festival that enlivens the summer nights of Tsugaru. The festival begins with small-sized neputas, and in the latter half of the festival, large-sized neputas (up to 9 meters in height) make their appearance! Here we introduce the history, highlights, and course of the "Hirosaki Neputa Festival," which features a lineup of about 80 neputas.

What is the Hirosaki Neputa Festival?

The Hirosaki Neputa Festival is a summer festival held every year from August 1 to 7 in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture. The festival is said to have evolved from the "Nemuri Nagashi" festival, which was once held to drive away sleepers during the busy summer season for farmers. It is designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Asset.

During the festival period, many neputas gather from various places in the city after dark, and parade through the streets with warm light emanating from them to the lively sounds of musical accompaniment and shouts. The floats come in various sizes, and each has a different design, such as fan-shaped or doll-shaped, which is interesting to see. It is also interesting to see the order of the procession, starting with the small-sized neputas and gradually changing to the larger-sized ones.
Scene of the Hirosaki Neputa Festival

Hirosaki Neputa Festival Highlights 1: Neputa paintings on fan neputas

Here are three highlights of the Hirosaki Neputa Festival with its long history that you should definitely pay attention to!

At the Hirosaki Neputa Festival, you can see both the "fan neputa" and the doll-shaped "kumi neputa," but the fan neputa is the main style in Hirosaki. The front of the fan features neputa paintings based on the Three Kingdoms and Suikoden, while the back is characterized by pictures of beautiful women. The front side of the neputa expresses "movement" by drawing dynamic pictures, and the reverse side expresses "stillness" in contrast.
(Left) Front side of fan neputa (Right) Back side of fan neputa
The neputas that run during the Hirosaki Neputa Festival have traditionally been made by town councils. During the production period, local children gather at the neputa hut immediately after returning from school to help with the production and practice the musical accompaniment. The community is formed through the production of the neputas. The neputas on display are the masterpieces of each town council, so be sure to take the time to compare them with each other.

Hirosaki Neputa Festival Highlights 2 "Tsugaru Jokkari Daiko" originated from a feudal lord's competitive spirit

Leading the joint operation of the Hirosaki Neputa Festival is the "Tsugaru Jyoppari Odaiko," a large drum with a diameter of 3.3 meters and a body length of 3.6 meters. The word "jokppari" is a dialect word used in Tsugaru dialect to describe the "stubbornness" of the people of Tsugaru.
In the Edo period (1603-1867), when the third lord of the Hirosaki domain heard that other o-daiko were the biggest in Japan, he said, "My o-daiko is bigger than yours! and had it made in a hurry at a later date. The festival is enlivened by this "Tsugaru Jotobari O-daiko" and the musical accompaniment provided by flutes and drums.
Tsugaru Emotional Big Drum

Hirosaki Neputa Festival Highlights 3 "Goldfish Neputa" is so cute you'll want to take it around with you!

At the Hirosaki Neputa Festival, you may see cute goldfish-shaped neputas displayed under the eaves of the houses, or children carrying them like lanterns. It is said that the motif of this "goldfish neputa" is based on a goldfish called Tsugaru-nishiki. It is said that this goldfish neputa was made in the image of Tsugaru-nishiki, which used to be very expensive and was coveted by the common people.

Nowadays, these cute goldfish neputas can be enjoyed as a casual production experience or as souvenirs, and have become more familiar to visitors.
Goldfish neputa displayed under the eaves

Outline of the Hirosaki Neputa Festival in 2024

The festival will be held from Thursday, August 1 to Wednesday, August 7, 2024. Please note that the course of the tour will differ depending on the day!

■August 1-4, 2024: Dote-cho course 7:00 PM～
■August 5-6, 2024: Ekimae course 7:00 PM～
■August 7, 2024: Dote-cho (morning) course 10:00 AM～

The Hirosaki Neputa Festival joint operation will be held rain or shine, but may be canceled in case of warnings or advisories. The schedule will be announced on the official website and SNS. Please check the official website and SNS in advance for the announcement.

Let's enjoy "Hirosaki Neputa Festival", a summer festival in Hirosaki!

We introduced the Hirosaki Neputa Festival, a summer festival in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture. How about taking a summer trip to experience a traditional event that has continued since ancient times? Traffic regulations will be enforced on the day of the festival, so please check the link at the bottom for details before participating.
Hirosaki Tourism & Convention Association HP

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