Hiroo Takenami - How This Ambitious Seventh Nebuta Master Artist Paves a Path for This Aomori Lantern Float Craft

Nebuta Floats: A Bigger Symbol of Aomori Than Their Famous Apples

In 2022, a travel agency conducted a survey of Japanese people over 20, asking them if they knew about Aomori’s nebuta floats. More than 80% of the respondents said “Yes,” confirming their popularity. There are, in fact, many different celebrations involving nebuta floats held all throughout Aomori Prefecture, but the one that gets the most attention - even ranked as one of the top three festivals in the Tohoku region - is the Aomori Nebuta Festival held in Aomori City.

Aomori City’s nebuta festivals always feature more than 20 giant floats. The artisans who create them are called “nebuta-shi” (nebuta float experts), and they do everything from drawing up blueprints for the floats to leading the groups that build their frameworks, applying the washi paper, and adding color to the floats. Their actions are what make the nebuta floats majestic works of art.

There are currently 16 Nebuta-shi in Aomori City. Among them, the most celebrated and skilled ones are called “nebuta meijin” (nebuta masters). In 2023, the Aomori Nebuta Preservation Society officially named Hiroo Takenami as the seventh nebuta master, the first person to achieve this honor in 11 years.

The First Time Hiroo Takenami Saw a Work of Art

Hiroo Takenami was born in 1959 in Kizukuri Town (modern-day Tsugaru City), Aomori Prefecture. He was 3 or 4 years old when he saw a nebuta float during the festival preparation period when the floats were being constructed in vacant lots and warehouses. “I watched a nebuta float come to life in a small shed next to a service station,” Takenami recounted. “I remember every small detail, because that was the first time I ever saw one of those floats."

Going to the shed to watch the nebuta float was a very exciting time for the young boy. With paper and pencil, he would copy the patterns of the floats. Seeing his strong interest, his relatives took him to Aomori City, the sacred place for nebuta.

In 1970, Takenami went to Aomori City for the first time to visit a nebuta hut, which is the proper name for the place where the floats are made. It was there that he first saw a large nebuta float made from wood, different from the ones he’d seen before. Created by Issei Shikanai (the fourth nebuta master), it won the Tamuramaro Prize, which was awarded to the best float of the parade. Takenami recalled the 1970 Nebuta Festival in Aomori as "Spectacular. I decided then that I wanted to make a nebuta like this, too.” At 11 years old, that was the spark that led him to start making his own floats.

The Road from Apprentice to Nebuta Master

At first, he taught himself, being satisfied if he could only recreate about 30% of the model he was following. He continued in this fashion until he was a university student. Back then, he spent long hours traveling between Aomori City and Sendai City, where he attended university. One day, before setting off to school, he went to the nebuta hut of the fifth nebuta master, Sakuryu Chiba, at 6:00 in the morning and stood in front of the workshop for four hours just to meet the famous craftsman. He took out a photo of a nebuta float that he had made, showed it to him, and told him that he wanted to apprentice under him. In 1979, Chiba took him on. Takenami was 20 years old at the time, and he undertook this apprenticeship while continuing to study at university.

Ten years into his apprenticeship, Takenami got a chance to make a large nebuta float for a festival. “The organizers originally wanted Master Chiba to do it, but he didn't have the time, so he recommended me,” Takenami told us. The theme of his first work was Kintaro, Japan’s legendary folk hero known for his superhuman strength. And with this, in 1989, Hiroo Takenami officially became a professional nebuta artist. He was 30 years old and working as a pharmacist at the time.

The Predicament of a Nebuta Artist: A Job That Does Not Pay the Bills

The year after his debut as a nebuta artist, Takenami was approached by the newly formed Aomori Ryoyukai organization and asked to produce a nebuta float for them. This marked the beginning of a 30-year-long association with Aomori Ryoyukai. His work for them has received numerous awards, helping spread his fame nationwide. In addition to large nebuta floats for festivals, he also began receiving commissions from individuals and companies.

Sadly, not all nebuta artists are this fortunate.

Most nebuta artists have a day job unrelated to float-making. Construction typically takes about four months once a year, and the income from it is not enough to cover living expenses for the remaining eight months. In short, nebuta production is a side job, and nearly all nebuta artists depend on the income from their day jobs to make ends meet outside of festivals. In the past, Takenami faced the same issue, which was why he worked a main job as a pharmacist.

However, to the people of Aomori, nebuta artists are like heroes or even gods. They are the reason why people from all over the world visit the prefecture. Still, the ironic reality is that if they devoted themselves solely to nebuta, they wouldn’t be able to survive.

As a nebuta artist, Takenami understands the plight of his fellow craftspeople. That’s why, after much planning, in 2010, he established the Hiroo Takenami Nebuta Research Institute.

Cultivating a New Generation of Nebuta Artists and Taking the Craft to New Heights

Inside the institute, with its pure white exterior and simple design, is an office and a production center. The production area is larger than the office, and is filled with many nebuta floats in construction. On the day of our visit, several people were working on the floats, including Takenami's apprentice, Shigeki Tezuka.

Takenami established the institute for three reasons. The first was to secure a place to produce nebuta. “Huts are erected to make large floats,” Takenami explained. “However, the huts [for the Aomori Nebuta Festival] are only available from the end of April until the day after the festival ends on August 8, and in fall and winter, there are no places available to make nebuta. During this period, if a nebuta artist gets a commission, they must rent a warehouse or work from home. Without a place to produce these floats, new apprentices cannot learn. This is a big problem."

Takenami told us that he used to spend summers learning while working in the nebuta hut of his master, Chiba. However, there is a limit to how much one can learn during the short summer months. That’s why Takenami built an institute that would also function as a production site where he’d be able to teach his students at any time of the year and give them all sorts of opportunities to learn. The institute currently has four students. Three of them are from outside Aomori Prefecture and are young people in their 20s.

The second reason for the establishment of the institute was to spread awareness about the activities of nebuta artists. For many nebuta artists in Aomori, their biggest works of art are the floats made for the Aomori Nebuta Festival. Leading up to the festival, you can visit a nebuta hut to see for yourself just how demanding and busy their profession really is. However, many people assume that once the festival is over, the nebuta artists return to their main jobs.

However, as Takenami explained to us, "Our busiest month is actually October.” After the festival ends in August, nebuta artists must prepare for next year, gather materials, and come up with a theme. This often necessitates travel to other regions to gather info. “Through this institute, we hope to shed light on the activities of nebuta artists that were invisible in the past,” Takenami said. The institute is open to the public for tours as long as you make a reservation. Visitors will be able to see the work of the nebuta artisans up close and gain a deeper understanding of what their job truly entails.

The last reason is the most important: the development of nebuta float culture.

NEBUTA: An Art School That Teaches More Than Just Float Construction

Today, nebuta floats are synonymous with Aomori. However, if you trace the origin of nebuta festivals, you will find that all the celebrations along the Sea of Japan, such as the Aomori Nebuta Festival, the Akita Kanto Festival, and the Issaki Hoto Festival in Ishikawa, come from the same place: Tanabata. Tanabata is celebrated on July 7 when lovers Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair) cross the Milky Way and meet just for this one night. Japanese people write their wishes on strips of paper and hang them on bamboo branches on this day.

In the beginning, in some parts of Japan, people celebrated Tanabata by making small paper lanterns, writing characters on them, and floating them down the water. The custom gradually developed and took on different forms in various parts of the country. However, one common element remained in all of those celebrations: lanterns.

Aomori doll lanterns were created during the Bunka era (1804 – 1818), and they are the ancestors of modern nebuta floats. In the old days, festival lanterns were small, simple, and exquisitely decorated, but as the nebuta craft advanced, the lanterns gradually became more magnificent and larger, eventually growing into the floats that we know today. Entire neighborhood associations once worked together to make nebuta floats, but today we have specialized nebuta artists and various styles of float construction. “Nebuta are no longer just lanterns, but an art form," said Takenami.

Takenami has created a new definition of nebuta: “paper and light crafting.” Following this concept, he continues to experiment and explore all the possibilities of nebuta floats. He travels around the world introducing the lantern floats to people and teaching them the art of nebuta, going as far as Los Angeles!

In addition to his technical expertise, Takenami also donates his works to manufacturers who use them to create a wide variety of nebuta-related products like T-shirts, towels, fans, stationery, and even face packs. Koshuya, an apparel store in Aomori City, has been collaborating with Takenami since 2006 to sell nebuta-patterned neckties and jackets, which have proven to be quite popular.

Koshuya was moved by Takenami's flexible attitude and strong desire to promote nebuta culture. Now, Koshuya comes out with a new T-shirt design every year, basing them on Takenami's work from the previous year. The T-shirts have been a hit with customers, and their sales have been steadily increasing.

A Strong Drive to Pass On Nebuta Culture

“I dream of a day when museums have a nebuta float area,” Takenami answered when asked about his future goals. Not Japanese paintings, not lanterns, but specifically nebuta. To achieve this, Takenami will continue to create and nurture talented newcomers to further develop nebuta culture.

Thumbnail: Hiroo Takenami Nebuta Research Institute