On November 13th, pre-sale of art tights with Neputa paintings started at the cafe and restaurant "BRICK" (Yoshino-cho, Hirosaki City, TEL 0172-40-2775 ) next to the Hirosaki Brick Warehouse Museum.

The art tights consist of leggings, tights, arm covers, and two types of masks, and are designed with the motif of Neputa peony paintings drawn by Ryusen Seiryuin (Yashima), a Neputa painter. Manufactured and sold by "tokone" (Tokyo).

The art tights were planned by Mr. Jo Okawa of Tsugaru Cybermedia (Joto Chuo, Hirosaki City), whose grandfather is Tokujiro Okawa, who was known as a master of the Neputa group. Due to the corona crisis, there are fewer opportunities for Neputa painters to work, so preparations have been underway for two years.

The design itself was completed in 2020, but Tokone wanted to actually experience the Neputa Festival, so it took two years to complete. Okawa said with a smile, "I wanted to spread Neputa as a part of the city's culture beyond festivals. The art tights were a new challenge that allowed me to incorporate Neputa into my daily life."

For the pre-sale, we asked "Brick", which sells local specialty products and has museum goods and souvenir sales space. Currently, the same product can only be purchased at "Brick". Brick's Mayumi Naraoka says, "It's a cute design, so there are quite a few customers who stop by." Tokone's online shop is also planning to sell it by the end of the year.

Oni Neputa (pink) leggings and Botan Neputa (black) tights are 5,280 yen, and Oni Neputa (pink) arm covers are 3,850 yen. Oni Neputa (pink) mask and Botan Neputa (black) mask are 3,080 yen.