The Aomori Nebuta Matsuri (青森ねぶた祭り, is a Japanese summer festival that takes place in Aomori, Japan and is counted among the three largest festivals in the Tōhoku region.Nebuta means drowsiness. It is thought that the festival began as a way of waking up sleepy souls for the upcoming fall harvest season. It used to be part of the Tanabata Festival, which was traditionally held on the seventh day of the seventh month on the old Japanese calendar. That date roughly corresponds to August 7  on today’s calendar.
The Nebuta Festival features a parade of approximately 20 floats with large lanterns in the shape of samurai warriors. The lanterns are illuminated at dusk and they become a spectacular sight at night. Surrounding each float are hundreds of male and female dancers called haneto, who parade about to the accompaniment of flutes and drums chanting “Rasse-rah, rasse-rah.”
The Nebuta Festival takes place from August 2 to 7. On August 5 and 6, is when the largest number of floats are on parade. On the final day, August 7 the floats begin their procession in the afternoon and later three of the best floats are taken to the sea and placed on ships for a tour around the port of Aomori.
The young artist writes of his art piece, “Nebuta Festival is one of the biggest festivals in Tohoku.  People attend these festivals which are intense and nice.  It is important for us to continue these festivals to keep people happy.”