Tōrō nagashi
Tōrō nagashi ( Japanese 灯籠 流 し , also 灯 篭 流 し ) is a Japanese ceremony in which the participants place lanterns with and without offerings on a river or the sea to commemorate the dead and their souls on the last evening of the O-bon festival. Tōrō stands for stone lantern in Japanese, and nagashi means 'to let go'. It is believed to help the traveling preta (hunger spirits) find their way.
The ceremony also takes place on the memorial days for the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and in memory of the victims of the Japan Air Lines flight 123 . It is also held in other parts of the world, such as Hawaii , to commemorate the end of World War II. In traditional Japanese understanding, people come out of the water, so the lanterns represent the way back there.
Major Tōrō nagashi
- in Japan
- Fukushima Tōrō nagashi and large fireworks ( Fukushima Prefecture ) on both sides of the Abukama River
- Yokohama Tōrō nagashi on the Ōoka River ( Kanagawa Prefecture )
- Kaki River Tōrō nagashi in Nagaoka ( Niigata Prefecture ) on August 1st for war bomb victims
- Eihei-ji Tōrō nagashi and fireworks on the Kuzuryū River ( Fukui Prefecture )
- Kyōto Arashiyama Tōrō nagashi on August 16 at the Togetsu Bridge over the Katsura River ( Kyoto Prefecture )
- Tōrō nagashi and fireworks in Miyazu Bay (Kyoto Prefecture)
- Kawasuso-matsuri in Fukui Prefecture and the northern part of Hyogo Prefecture
- outside of Japan
- ala moana Tōrō nagashi ( Hawaii ), held annually on Memorial Day , organized by Shinnyo-En
- Loi Krathong in Thailand with a full moon in the 12th month of the lunar calendar (i.e. November)
- Registro, Brazil on November 2nd, to All Souls' Day , for the souls of Japanese people who died in a flood (see also: Meiji Mura # House of Japanese Migrants in Registro, Brazil (ブ ラ ジ ル 移民 住宅) )
See also
Web links
- Lantern Floating Hawaii. In: lanternfloatinghawaii.com. Retrieved March 23, 2017 .
- IMR: Extras: HawaiiVog: Toro Nagashi. In: lightfantastic.org. Retrieved March 23, 2017 .