A hanging-type "Fujin-Raijin" nebuta created by artist Hiroo Takenami, 60, will be displayed at Tokyo Station in the Square Zero atrium space scheduled to open in August.
Although this year's Aomori Nebuta Festival has been cancelled, Takenami has been working on this project in order to spread the appeal of nebuta to many people, devoting himself to this work.
The nebuta is about 1.5 meters in length and width, and features the gods of wind and thunder, who are considered to be gods of fertility.
For two consecutive years since 2018, he has been the recipient of the Nebuta Grand Prize, the highest award given to organizations participating in the annual summer festival. Takenami, a veteran nebuta craftsman, is in charge of the project. He uses the technique of applying Japanese paper to wires or wooden frameworks. This will be his first time to exhibit a puppet-shaped nebuta without a pedestal.
According to the JR East Group's TetsudoKaikan Co. in Tokyo, the work was planned as a symbol of culture and festivities for tourists ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, which were scheduled to be held this summer.
The Tokyo Games were postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak and plans for the exhibition were temporarily cancelled. However, East Japan Railway Co. wanted to carry on the spirit of the Aomori festival and asked Takenami to create the work again.
Square Zero is Tokyo Station's first full-scale event space and will be opened to the public on Aug. 3 to coincide with the opening of the commercial facility Gransta Tokyo. The nebuta exhibition is set to begin Aug. 7.
"We're still in a difficult situation with the new coronavirus and natural disasters. I would like to express my wish for the wind god and the god of thunder to bring an end to the disasters," Takenami said.
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