Morimachi Float: Shimojuku, Sosuisha

A strange legend remains: long ago in China, a great drought dried up plants and crops, and people suffered terribly for lack of water, some even losing their lives. But in one village alone, people were able to quench their thirst with the droplets gathered on a huge mulberry tree. Following this story, the float was named "Sosuisha" (Mulberry Water) in the hope of the health and safety of the townspeople. Builder: Seitaro Matsuura and 7 others (Shimojuku); renovation by Shohei Yamamoto (Sakae-cho) Carving: Tanji Miyamoto (Yamanashi, Fukuroi City) Painting: a resident of Kutsube, Fukuroi City (name unknown); renovation by Kikuro Muramatsu (Minamimachi) Wheels: Kihei Suzuki (Morimachi) • After Sakae-cho (Tounsha) and Minamimachi (Yusuisha) became independent, Sosuisha became a small neighborhood, but it aims to be a town with close hearts, and the spirit of unity to carry on old traditions shows in how the float is paraded • The current float is the third generation. The first was built in the Edo period, the second in the early Meiji period, and its canopy was a thick scarlet-dyed felt (mosen) • When the current float was built, carvings were rare, and other neighborhoods are said to have envied it