Japanese artists to build lantern floats for Taiwan Lantern Festival

Taipei, Jan. 26 (CNA) Nebuta artists Makoto Suwa and Hiromi Hayashi from Japan's Aomori City on Monday announced that they will craft large lantern floats for the 2026 Taiwan Lantern Festival in Chiayi County at the invitation of the General Association of Chinese Culture (GACC).

Nebuta are traditional lantern floats handmade with wood, metal wire and paper. The Aomori Nebuta Festival was designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan in 1980.

According to a GACC news release, Suwa, Hayashi and their team will create nebuta for Chiayi County's Pei Tien Temple, featuring the deities Mazu and Hu Ye, in time for the Taiwan Lantern Festival, which will be held from March 3-15.

Although both Suwa and Hayashi have previously visited Taiwan to exhibit their nebuta works, this will be the first time they produce nebuta from scratch in Taiwan. It will also mark the first time in 25 years that a large-scale nebuta is created overseas, following a project at the British Museum in 2001, and the first time such a work has been made in Asia, the GACC noted.

Suwa said that nebuta are not simply craftwork or lanterns, but rather the collective fruit of labor by local communities in Aomori.

He said the project is under considerable time pressure, as the team has only slightly more than a month to complete it, compared with the usual minimum of two months. Nevertheless, they will do their utmost to meet public expectations, he added.

Hayashi said that unlike Japanese deities, which often have no fixed visual form, Mazu is depicted with more established imagery, including posture and attire. While paying close attention to such details, he said he felt honored to be invited to Taiwan to create nebuta as an artist, and expressed hope that the project will convey the charm of nebuta to Taiwanese audiences.

GACC Secretary-General Lee Hou-ching (李厚慶) noted that the lantern festival coincides with the 15th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, which occurred on March 11, 2011. Lighting the lanterns, which symbolize safety, blessings and friendship, will therefore carry special significance and highlight the enduring bond between Taiwan and Japan, he said.

The floats will also take part in the festival parade scheduled for the evening of March 7, accompanied by nebuta dancers known as haneto, a staple feature of the Aomori Nebuta Festival.