Nebuta; nighttime summer festival in Tōhoku (esp. Aomori)
Refers specifically to the Nebuta festival, famous for large illuminated floats and held in early August. Not a generic term for any festival.
This year's Nebuta Festival was very lively.
The Nebuta floats parade through the streets.
Usually written in kana; the kanji form 佞武多 is rare and mainly decorative.
Ateji spelling used in festival contexts, but kana is standard.
The name is commonly connected with the former 七夕 custom of 眠り流し and with dialectal forms corresponding to 眠たい, referring to driving away drowsiness or impurity. The precise phonological development remains uncertain.