Iwate: Art students colorfully depict major Tohoku festivals on beer can labels

The Yomiuri Shimbun

10:25 JST, July 24, 2022

MORIOKA — The Tohoku branch of Suntory Liquors Ltd. in Sendai has begun selling limited-edition cans of Premium Malts beer decorated with images of the six major festivals in the Tohoku region. The 350-mililiter cans are sold only in the six prefectures of the Tohoku region and only about 380,000 will be available.

The company launched the campaign in 2017 to promote the festivals. This year, six students — one from each prefecture — studying at the Tohoku University of Art and Design in Yamagata City designed the cans. The beers feature colorful scenes from the Aomori Nebuta Festival, the Morioka Sansa Odori Festival and four other major festivals.

Yuzuki Omiya, 21, a fourth-year student from Shizukuishi, Iwate Prefecture, designed the can for the Morioka Sansa Odori Festival.

“I wanted to make sure I was able to express the power of the taiko drums and the sound of the woodwind,” said Omiya, who used to play woodwind at the festival. “This is the first time in three years that the festival will be held. I hope people can enjoy the summer with some beer as well.”