Takayama has 25 floats, 12 for the Spring Festival, 11 for the Autumn Festival,and 2 for the others. Four floats, Ryujin-tai,Shakyo-tai, Sanba-so (Spring), and Hotei-tai (Autumn), have marionetts which are manipulatedby means of strings which pass along a trough in the projecting arm.
The marionettes are manipulated with strings by expert puppet masters. Themovement of their arms, legs, head and body are so expertly manipulatedthat the marionettes almost seem to be alive. This marionette performancelasts approximately 20 minutes.
The audience is glued to every movement of the marionettes, applauding almostcontinously at the expert performance. This loud and sincere applause isfor the highly artistic performance by the puppet masters who put life intoa lifeless marionette.
Pictures:Festival floats of Takayama festival published by Hida takayama tourism association
Sanba-sou Karakuri
(Quick Time Movie about1,200KB)
Shakkyou-tai Karakuri
(Quick Time Movie about1,100KB)
Ryuujin-tai Karakuri
(Quick Time Movie about1,200KB)
Hotei-tai Karakuri
(Quick Time Movie about1,200KB)
