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Traditional

Traditional Japanese lanterns – Tourou, Chouchin, Andon

The first lightning technologies in Japan arrived from China during the 6th century. The commerce and exchange of technologies with China during that time was very intense. The first kind of lanterns that arrived from China were made of stone and they started being used in Buddhist temples to honor Buddha. This kind of lanterns can still be seen today in many different places in Japan, they are called “ishidouru” 石灯籠 (Stone lantern):

Japanese lantern
Ishidourou

1.- Tourou, 灯籠(とうろう)

Tourou, 灯籠(とうろう): generic term for traditional Japanese lanterns. The main types are:

  • Ishidourou 石灯籠 : traditional stone lantern. They were the first to be introduced in Japan.
  • Tsuridourou 釣灯篭: traditional hanging lantern.

Little by little the use of lanterns became also commonplace in Shintoist temples, and in gardens and houses of wealthy people as well. Their aesthetics started to evolve, thus starting to look different from the first designs that arrived from China.

Ishidourou structure
Detailed structure of an ishidourou. Source: aisf.or.jp

Ishidourou that are used in temples differ significantly from the ones used in gardens. The garden ones are usually smaller and wider; while the temple ones are tall and stylized. They are usually made of granite; nowadays they are only used as decoration and they are lighted up only in special celebrations. In the garden in Kill Bill and in the first scene of the movie Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi) some ishidourou can be seen.

Japanese traditional lantern

Japanese traditional lantern

Japanese traditional lantern in a garden
Ishidourou in a traditional Japanese garden.

Tsuridourou 釣灯篭 (Hanging lanterns), evolved from ishidourou. The shape of the space where you put the oil to start the fire is similar but instead of being attached to the ground with a granite column they hang from the ceiling; usually they are only seen in temples.

Tsuridourou. Hanging lanterns
Tsuridourou 釣灯篭 (Hanging lanterns).

If we take the column out and also the cable, then we have a plain lantern, a tourou 灯籠. One of the Summer traditions in many places in Japan consists on making many tourou 灯籠 using paper, lightning them up and leaving them floating on rivers. This tradition is known as tourou nagashi 灯籠流し.

Lanterns
Lanterns ready to be left floating on a river.


Tourou nagashi video.

2.- Chouchin, 提灯(ちょうちん)

Chouchin are another kind of lanterns, much simpler, that also originated in China. They are commonly seen at the entrance of Buddhist temples, in traditional festivals and at the entrance of bars and restaurants. On the contrary to tourou, chouchin are used daily, not only in special celebrations, but instead of oil like the tourou light bulbs are used.

Nikon 50mm f/1.2 Nikkor AI-S
Chouchin at the entrance of a yakitori restaurant.

Lanterns

酒

Shinjuku Park Hyatt

Lanterns

This photo of hundreds of Chouchin made it to the front cover of my second book “Momentos”.

Lanterns

Andon

3.- Andon 行灯 / 行燈(あんどん)

Finally, andon 行灯 lanterns. They are the most modern, they can usually be seen in interiors in hotels, restaurants and sometimes in small gardens. They usually have a tetrahedron, cylinder or cubic shape and are placed on the ground.

Andon

Candles

Categories
Traditional

Corporate graves

The other day we went to visit Okunoin, the largest cemetery in Japan. It is dedicated to Kukai, the founder of Shingon Buddhism and the supposed creator (it hasn’t been proved) of the hiragana alphabet of the Japanese language. The funny thing is that you can’t find Kukai’s grave at the cemetery, because he is supposedly alive. His spirit lives at the entrance to the forest that you can find at the end of the cemetery where there is a small temple.

One of the things that caught my attention at the cemetery is that there are several areas dedicated to special graves of employees of Japanese corporations. One of the largest ones belongs to Panasonic.

Panasonic grave
Grave for Panasonic employees

Kubota grave
Grave for Kubota employees

Corporate graves

Corporate graves

Corporate graves

Corporate graves

Corporate graves

Corporate graves

Corporate graves

Categories
Traditional

Fireworks in Japan

August is fireworks season in Japan. Events and festivals are held all throughout the country so that thousands of people can enjoy beautiful firework shows; the events usually are between one and two hours long. “Fireworks” in Japanese language is translated as “hanabi” and is written as 花火, whose kanji characters mean “flower” and “fire” respectively.

One of the most spectacular “hanabi” in Summer in Japan is the Edogawa hanabi, at the outskirts of Tokyo; however every year the “spectacularity” of each famous hanabi varies. These variations are noted in the fireworks official rankings that are published in magazines and on TV. The “spectacularity” of the hanabis is measured by counting the number of explosions. The top-ranked hanabi this year lasted for one hour and fifty minutes and 24428 explosions/blasts were recorded during that time, the second had 22776 explosions/blasts.

If you travel to Japan in August ask in the hotel where you are staying when and where are the nearest fireworks. It’s really worth it!

Fireworks in Japan

Fireworks in Japan

花火

花火

Fireworks in Japan

Fireworks in Japan

Japanese fireworks

Japanese fireworks

Japanese fireworks

Fireworks in Japan

Fireworks in Japan

Edogawa fireworks

Edogawa fireworks

Edogawa fireworks

花火