青森ねぶた祭Aomori Nebuta Matsuri

 

A float being carried at the festival. The floats often depict historical or mythical figures.

Aomori Nebuta Matsuri

青森睡魔祭共有兩種睡魔山車：人形睡魔和扇形睡魔。青森睡魔採用是人形山車。

「青森睡魔祭（青森ねぶた祭）」係代表日本嘅知名「火祭」之一，並且與秋田竿燈祭及仙台七夕祭合稱為「東北三大祭典」。色彩鮮艷嘅大型「睡魔燈籠」喺 ...

日本的火之祭典「青森睡魔祭」於1980年被登記為重要無形民俗文化財，起源於古代為了在農作期間趕走睡魔，而進行「流放睡意」的古老習俗，也有一說是七夕祭典的演化。

青森睡魔祭起源於8世紀時征夷大將軍坂上田村麻呂和蝦夷作戰時曾使用大燈籠、笛、太鼓等麻痺敵對陣營。現在睡魔祭的燈籠多以日本或中國傳說級歷史人物、歌舞伎、神佛等為題材。青森睡魔祭每年舉辦費用約為2億2000萬日圓^[1]。

Origin and history[edit]

Video footage of an Aomori Nebuta Matsuri Float with festival music in Nebuta Museum Wa Rasse.

The most widely known explanation is that the festival originated from the flutes and taiko future shōgun Sakanoue no Tamuramaro used to attract the attention of the enemy during a battle in Mutsu Province. The Tamuramaro Shō (Tamuramaro Prize) was created around this explanation in 1962 to be awarded to the festival's best group participant (later renamed to the Nebuta Taishō). However, it is unlikely that Tamuramaro actually conducted military expeditions in what is currently Aomori Prefecture, so this explanation is considered to be a legend. The festival most likely evolved out of traditional Shinto ceremonies like Tanabata.

Another explanation involves the etymology of the word Nebuta (ねぶた). Aterui (阿弖流為), a general from the Tōhoku region, united the Emishi people who had been chased out of their native territory and defeated Ki no Kosami's army of 50,000 at Kitakami River to advance all the way to Fuji, Shizuoka. This army battled Sakanoue no Tamuramaro's forces for over 12 years, but was ultimately defeated. Aterui was captured and taken to Osaka Prefecture, where he was granted an audience with the ruler before being beheaded. Aterui's severed head was shown off to the public, and his family and followers still remaining in the Tōhoku region were forced to dig large holes where they were buried alive. Dirt was thrown over these graves, and those who surrendered to the Japanese forces and became slaves were instructed to stomp over the dirt. This event is said to be the origin of Nebuta (written "根蓋" in kanji), as Aterui's followers were sent back to their roots or to the world of the dead (根) with the dirt as a covering (蓋). According to this episode, the dancers stomp the ground while carrying the float of Sakanoue No Tamuramaro on their shoulders.

(青森ねぶた祭)：每年8/2-8/7 ...