1.
festival float, parade float
A large, elaborately decorated wheeled platform pulled or carried through the streets during Japanese festivals. Often features ornamental figures, lanterns, and sometimes musicians.
山車が通りを練り歩く。
The festival float parades through the streets.
祭りでは豪華な山車が何台も並んでいた。
At the festival, many gorgeous floats were lined up.
この地域の祭りでは江戸時代から伝わる山車が毎年引き回されている。
At this area's festival, floats handed down from the Edo period are paraded around every year.
READING:
The kanji 山車 is an irregular reading (ateji). The word 山車 originally referred to something brought out (出す) for display.
USAGE:
山車 are a central feature of many traditional Japanese festivals. Famous examples include the floats at the 祇園祭 in Kyoto, the 高山祭 in Gifu, and the 秩父夜祭 in Saitama. Some regions use different terms such as 屋台 or 曳山 for similar festival floats.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 山車を引く: to pull a float
- 山車行列: float procession
- 山車を飾る: to decorate a float