A traditional process for washing off glue from musha-e nobori banners depicting warriors as well as koinobori carp streamers -- which are crafted to wish children good health -- using river water was carried out by banner maker Watanabe Koinobori Co. in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, on Saturday.
The long-standing company resumed the tradition for the first time in about 60 years in the Otogawa river, which flows through Okazaki, thanks to the improvement of the river's water quality.
In the process, the glue used by artisans to draw with pigments on the cotton cloth needs to be washed off before the next steps in creating the banner.
Although the company used to carry out this process in a nearby river, this was suspended from around the late 1950s because the water quality in the river had deteriorated. The traditional process was resumed after a suggestion from a local tourism association.
The musha-e banners, which are about 9 meters long, come in four designs, including one with the historical figure Tokugawa Ieyasu. Local residents and tourists stopped by to watch the process on Saturday, taking advantage of the warm, early spring weather.
The company said the banners will be completed in about a week, after washing off the glue and drawing in the faces of warriors, among other steps.
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