Of course, not everyone can make these nebuta. They are made by craftsmen called "nebuta masters." This year's Shingen Nebuta was made by Nebuta master Hiroo Takenami. After the year's festival, the Nebuta masters start thinking about the next year's Nebuta. In the home of the festival, Aomori, every year, a competition is held to see which Nebuta is the best in terms of theme and beauty. This year's winners are here. ( List of winning Nebuta ) -- This is the first Nebuta to appear in Nisei Week. Did you know that there are craftsmen called "nebuta masters" who make these nebuta? These Nebuta masters decide the Nebuta's preliminary design (blueprint), overall structure, colors, etc. This year's Shingen Nebuta was made by Nebuta master Hiroo Takenami. To transport the gigantic Nebuta, 30ft wide x 24ft long x 17ft high, to America, Takenami started making it at the end of January, and it was shipped from Aomori to Los Angeles by boat in early June. Of course, there was no container to fit such a large object, so it was disassembled into nine pieces and transported. Takenami arrived in Los Angeles in August and carried out the final assembly work in a corner of Little Tokyo in time for Nisei Week. August 19, 2007, Los Angeles, California.