Nebuta

Tanabata is a festival held in Hirosaki, Aomori and other parts of the Tohoku region. It is held from August 1st to 7th (originally the seventh month of the lunar calendar). It is also called Nemuri Nagashi or Nemuta Nagashi, and in Hirosaki it is pronounced Neputa. Frames are made from bamboo and wire, paper is pasted on them, and paintings of Japanese and Chinese warriors or scenes from Kabuki and Kyogen are painted on them. Lights are lit inside, and the floats are placed on floats and pulled around the town in carts. There are fan-shaped Ogi Nebuta, goldfish-shaped Goldfish Nebuta, and Kumi Nebuta made of dolls of historical figures, and the larger ones are made by as many as 30 young people. On the final day, the 7th, Nemuri Nagashi is held, originally in Hirosaki, where the floats are floated down the Iwaki River, and in Aomori, where they are floated down the coast or burned. The young people bathe in the water and hold drinking parties. There are various theories about its origins among local people, such as that Sakanoue no Tamuramaro hid soldiers in dolls when he was invading the Emishi, or that it began when a feudal lord's vassals brought out a large lantern while he was staying in Kyoto, earning him the reputation of other feudal lords. It was originally a Tanabata purification ritual in which a ritual to wash away sins and impurities by rubbing the body with tree branches and letting it flow was combined with the O-bon lantern floating ritual to become a nighttime event. In addition to the Shachi Nagashi of Noshiro and the Neburi Nagashi of Tsuruoka, similar events can be found in northern Kanto, Nagano Prefecture, and Aichi Prefecture, and in Nagasaki Prefecture there is a ritual to wash away sleepiness by rubbing the body with a silk tree branch.

[Shoji Inoguchi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

青森県弘前(ひろさき)市、青森市そのほか東北地方各地で行われる七夕(たなばた)の行事。8月1日から7日まで（もとは旧暦7月）。眠り流し、ねむた流しなどともいい、弘前市ではネプタと発音する。竹や針金で枠をつくって紙を張り、和漢の武者絵や歌舞伎(かぶき)狂言の場面を描き、中に灯(ひ)をともして屋台にのせて車で町中を引き回す。扇形の扇ねぶた、金魚形の金魚ねぶた、歴史上の人物を人形にした組みねぶたなどがあり、大きなものは30人もの若者がつく。最終日の7日には、眠り流しといって、もとは弘前市では岩木川へ、青森市では海岸へ流したり焼いたりした。若者たちは水浴して酒宴を開く。坂上田村麻呂(さかのうえのたむらまろ)が蝦夷(えぞ)征伐のとき人形に兵を隠したとか、藩主が京都に滞在中、家臣が大灯籠(とうろう)を出して諸侯の評判を得たのが始まりであるなどの民間起源説がある。本来は七夕の禊祓(みそぎはらえ)の行事で、木の枝などで体をなでて流すと、罪穢(つみけがれ)が除去されるという呪術(じゅじゅつ)と、盆の灯籠流しとが結び付いて夜の行事になったのであろう。能代(のしろ)のしゃち流し、鶴岡(つるおか)のねぶり流しのほか、北関東から長野県、愛知県にも同類の行事があり、長崎県でもネムの木枝で体をなでて睡魔を祓う呪術がある。

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