Yamato Aoshima, an artist from Japan, has created a giant stone artwork titled Taisho Neputa. Measuring 5.2 m in height and 5.1 m in width, the artwork is assembled from 442 separately engraved stone panels to form one unified image.Based on a 1914 historic photograph held by Hirosaki City Museum, the work was made in celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Hirosaki Neputa Festival.Verified by World Record Certification, Yamato Aoshima set the world record for the “Largest Stone Artwork Made of Engraved Panels.”

Crafting this monumental piece demanded meticulous craftsmanship. Each of the 442 stone panels was individually engraved with precise details, before being carefully fitted together to reconstruct the visual of the century‑old photograph. The artist spent long hours balancing texture, tonal gradation and structural stability, to translate a vintage photographic record into durable stone medium.

The artwork serves as a lasting cultural tribute to Hirosaki Neputa Festival, a treasured intangible folk heritage of Japan. Unlike ephemeral paper‑made festival floats that only appear during annual celebrations, this stone‑based creation preserves the grandeur of Taisho‑era festival aesthetics for permanent public appreciation, bridging historical archives and contemporary public art.