Onyudo is a giant kimono-clad, long-necked puppet that has been preserved by residents of the Nakanaya area of Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, for more than 200 years.
The puppet, regarded as a symbol of Yokkaichi, appears on a float in the annual Grand Yokkaichi Festival, showing off its red tongue.
But Onyudo has recently been said to be on the verge of extinction because the ban on commercial whaling has made it extremely difficult to obtain baleen plates from right whales. The plates, which act as a filter-feeder system in the mouths of the whales, are traditionally used as a spring-like mechanism to bend and stretch the puppet's neck.