Traditional lighting equipment of Japan



The traditional lighting equipment of Japan includes the andon (行灯), the bonbori (雪洞), the chōchin (提灯), and the tōrō (灯篭).

The is a lamp consisting of paper stretched over a frame of bamboo, wood or metal. The paper protected the flame from the wind. Burning oil in a stone, metal, or ceramic holder, with a wick of cotton or pith, provided the light. They were usually open on the top and bottom, with one side that could be lifted to provide access. Rapeseed oil was popular. Candles were also used, but their higher price made them less popular. A lower-priced alternative was sardine oil.

The became popular in the Edo period (1603–1867). Early on, the was handheld; it could also be placed on a stand or hung on a wall. The was most common indoors. Many had a vertical box shape with an inner stand for the light. Some had a drawer on the bottom to facilitate refilling and lighting. A handle on top made it portable. A variety was the. One explanation attributes it to Kobori Enshu, who lived in the late Azuchi-Momoyama period and early Edo period. Tubular in shape, it had an opening instead of a drawer. Another variety was the, a bedside lamp. The under the eaves of a shop, often bearing the name of the merchant, was a common sight in the towns.

The expression, or "daytime lamp," meant someone or something that seemed to serve no purpose. In dramatizations of the story of the forty-seven ronin, Oishi Yoshio is often given this description.

The bonbori is a kind of Japanese paper lamp used in the open during festivals. It normally has an hexagonal profile and a rather wide, open top. It can either hang from a wire or stand on a pole. Famous is the Bonbori Festival (ぼんぼり祭り), held annually at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū in Kamakura, Kanagawa. Artists paint on the about 400 erected for the occasion on the shrine's grounds.

A relative of the Chinese paper lantern, the has a frame of split bamboo wound in a spiral. Paper or silk protect the flame from wind. The spiral structure permits it to be collapsed into the basket at the bottom. The is used outdoors, either carried or hung outside the house. In present-day Japan, plastic with electric bulbs are produced as novelties, souvenirs, and for  and events. The earliest record of a dates to 1085, and one appears in a 1536 illustration.

The, or red lantern, marks an. In Japanese folklore, the appears as a, the.

Gifu is known for its Gifu lanterns, a kind of made from.

Originally used in the broad sense to mean any lantern, the term came to refer to a lamp of stone, bronze, iron, wood, or another heavy material. These illuminate the grounds of Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, Japanese gardens, and other places that include tradition in their decor. The earlier use of oil and candles has in the modern day been replaced by electric bulbs.