Fish toys made with bamboo and washi paper can be found all over Japan, including Niigata. Artificial flower makers and basket makers reportedly began making and selling them toward the end of the Edo period. At their peak in the early Showa period, some say that there were as many tai-guruma floats as there were children. At dusk during Obon, children dressed in yukata and geta sandals would light dozens of tai-guruma floats and pull them along the roads in the neighborhoods, creating a memorable sight in the late summer.