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A Japanese Festival Float at The British Museum
From: The British Museum
| By:
Sara Pimpaneau |
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION |
In November and December of 2001, The British Museum was host to the construction of a spectacular nebuta, a Japanese float that required five weeks of continuous work by a team of artists, electricians, and their assistants. After being built, it has a life span of merely several weeks before being dismantled, for the highly respected art of nebuta creation in Japan is often an ephemeral one.
Traditional nebuta floats draw on classical theatrical conceits, mythology, history and contemporary events. For the British Museum float, artist Takashi Kitamura has chosen the theme of Minamoto no Yoshitsune Crossing the Sea, which parallels the journey the artists have made in coming to The British Museum from Japan. Here curator Sara Pimpaneau gives an overview of the project, and a short video provides scenes from the construction. |
 he north of Honshu, Japan's main island, is known for its spectacular summer festivals. Some are characterised by night-time parades of large illuminated floats. In the port city of Aomori, these floats are called nebuta and the week-long festival attracts thousands of visitors each August to watch and join in. |
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| Images from the completed float, and its construction. | |
One of the tales about the origins of the floats tells the story of a ninth-century imperial general, Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, who was sent to pacify the rebellious tribes in north Honshu. He is said to have built huge paper models to frighten them into submission. |
Like many summer festivals in Japan, the Nebuta Festival is associated with rituals to drive away evil spirits that threaten crops and community life. The gods are invited to participate by entering into the floats. They are then paraded through the streets, entertained and feasted, before being sent on their way. At the end of the festival, most nebuta are destroyed. Although this ritual element is no longer prominent in the Nebuta Festival in Aomori, it continues to structure the event. |
From lanterns carried by individuals seen in eighteenth-century illustrations, the floats are now each up to 5 metres high, 9 metres wide and 7 metres deep. The introduction of wire replacing bamboo in the early twentieth century made it possible to dramatically increase the size and create fluid forms. Each nebuta is supported on a platform with wheels and pushed by 20 to 30 men who make them dance along the streets. Musicians and dancers in festival costume accompany the floats. Smaller floats and lanterns advertising sponsoring companies and local community groups complete the procession. |
The nebuta are judged according to their artistic qualities and the way they move in the procession, as well as the crowd's reaction. Most nebuta are destroyed at the end of the festival but details, such as the heads, are sometimes kept for display. |
Designing and building the <i>nebuta</i>
In Aomori, the nebuta are built between May and July. A wire structure is assembled on a wooden framework. Five to eight hundred light bulbs are installed before the structure is covered with paper. The nebuta is then decorated with ink and paints. Melted paraffin wax is used to provide a barrier between the colours and to create the translucent effect for which the nebuta are famous.
Fourteen lead artists build over 20 floats in Aomori every year, each helped by a number of assistants. Takashi Kitamura, who has designed the float for The British Museum, has been involved in nebuta construction for over forty years and has won many prizes. |
At the beginning of each year, the artists produce paintings to illustrate the nebuta they intend to build. The design is inspired by actors' poses in kabuki theatre, as are the features of the faces. Themes are taken from historical, religious and folk tales. They also contain visual puns referring to current events. The title of the nebuta made for The British Museum in 2001 is Minamoto no
Yoshitsune Crossing the Sea. It depicts a twelfth-century warrior whose popularity and military success posed a threat to his brother, who had him killed. He became the tragic hero of many different tales, including one in which he survives and flees Japan overseas on his horse. This parallels the voyage of the artists crossing the seas to construct a festival float in London. This is also a reference to 2002 as the Year of the Horse according to the Chinese calendar also in use in Japan. In addition, the unusual strength of Yoshitsune's horse is symbolised by its wings, themselves alluding to Pegasus and The British Museum's collections from ancient Greece, for which it is renowned. |
The artist Takashi Kitamura, who was born in 1948, has been involved in making nebuta floats since he was a child and is now one of the 14 recognised nebuta artists currently producing floats each year for the festival in Aomori. At the outcome of the 2001 Nebuta Festival, he won first and third prize for two of his nebuta and he was also nominated as the best nebuta artist for the summer of 2001. At The British Museum, he was helped by this team, consisting of an electrical engineer, Mr. Katsutoshi Funanashi, and experienced nebuta makers, including members of his family. Nebuta construction is a community-based activity, which engages many Aomori inhabitants as does the festival itself. |
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