Japanese-style Mazu float headlines parade at Taiwan Lantern Festival in Chiayi

Taipei, March 8 (CNA) A Japanese-style lantern float featuring Taiwan's favorite sea goddess Mazu headlined the Team Taiwan baseball parade at the Taiwan Lantern Festival in Chiayi County Saturday evening.

The mega-size art piece was a Japanese Nebuta, a traditional lantern float handmade from wood, metal wire, and paper.

The Nebuta float is such an artistic staple that the Aomori Nebuta Festival was designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan in 1980.

The Taiwan Lantern Festival float spotlighted Mazu in the center, secured by her famous ogre guardians to her left and right.

The float was crafted domestically in Taiwan by Nebuta artists Makoto Suwa and Hiromi Hayashi, from Japan's Aomori City, who were invited by the General Association of Chinese Culture (GACC) to serve as resident artists for the festival.

Both Nebuta artists frequented the county's Puzi Peitian Temple to get inspiration for the deities they sculpted for the annual lantern festival.

The float headlined the parade on Saturday to celebrate Team Taiwan at the ongoing 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), where Taiwan defeated the Czech Republic in a 14-0 victory at the Tokyo Dome the same day.

To celebrate the parade and Taiwan's first victory in this year's WBC, passionate dance and music performances, as well as drone shows also accompanied the various floats in the parade.