Japanese Lantern Art

Types of Japanese Lanterns

• Two primary types of Japanese lanterns exist: stone lanterns and paper lanterns. The nature of the Japanese language, in which the letters "T" and "D" are represented by the same syllables, dictates that stone lanterns have two common names, ishitoro and ishidoro. "Ishi" means stone, and "toro" or "doro" means lantern. Many types of toro exist, including Oribe toro, which comprises a stone lantern on a stone base with neither ornamentation nor adhesives -- the stones simply stand atop one another. Other types include the Krishitan, or Christian toro, Mizubotaru toro and the sankoudoro. Paper lanterns, known as chochin in Japanese, are made of skeletal wooden frames around which paper is glued.

Uses of Japanese Lantern Art

• The nature of ishitoro and chochin differ in that the former served as an object of art and aesthetic value upon its introduction to Japan, while the latter was put to more practical use for many centuries. Stone lanterns, inextricably linked with Buddhism in Japanese culture, lit the ground of Japanese temples, palaces and homes, though they also served as objects of religious symbolism and significance.

  Paper lanterns served as a portable means of light. Practitioners of Shinto, the native religion of Japan, believed the lights and decorations of paper lanterns drove away demons. As commerce developed in Japan, shops used paper lanterns as a means of external lighting that could be brought in at the end of the day. Chochin served an additional commercial purpose in that the name of the shop could be written on the surface of the lamp. Commercial chochin generally employ red paper and black lettering.

Symbolism in Japanese Stone Lantern Art

• Ishidoro arrived in Japan along with Buddhism in the sixth century; the symbol of the lanterns remains inextricably linked to the religion. Simple shapes such as circles and squares form the basis of all stone Japanese lanterns. Together, these objects symbolize the fundamental forms of this world, through which all energy passes. In the Japanese Buddhist tradition, two planes exist, being and emptiness. All being generates in emptiness and passes through the forms of this world until it achieves enlightenment, at which point it returns to emptiness. The lanterns themselves represent the presence of Buddha in all things, as they constitute a literal manifestation of Buddhist thought in the garden. An implicit connection exists between the outdoor placement of stone lanterns and the historical Buddha, who attained enlightenment while sitting beneath a tree.

Literalism in Japanese Paper Lantern Art

• Chochin lamps historically served a practical purpose in Japan; the lamps bore little symbolism. Though chochin were used to keep demons at bay, no symbolism figured into this act. People believed that the phrases or images on the lamps, combined with the brightness of the lights, deterred demons.

  Countless paper lantern festivals occur throughout Japan on an annual basis. Each August during the Buddhist toro nagashi festival, participants write messages to deceased relatives or loved ones on lanterns and place them in calm waters. Belief holds that the message drifts to another spiritual realm where it reaches the one for whom it is intended.

Making Your Own Japanese Lantern Art

• Homeowners in modern times use both types of lamps as decorative features in the garden. Others use the paper surface of the chochin as an object on which to create art. Some homemakers elect to make stone lanterns with concrete. This process proves time consuming, though not incredibly difficult. Pour concrete into objects such as paper towel tubes and milk cartons to create the basic shapes of the lantern. Once the cement hardens, simply remove the mold and place the objects on top of one another to form a lantern.

  To make a chochin, or paper lantern, at home, wrap heavy, opaque paper around a frame of wooden craft sticks or small, thin pieces of wood. When the glue is dry, decorate the surface of the paper as you like and hang it up for all to see. Alternately, purchase blank chochin from a party favor store or Japanese market and decorate it.