LIGHTING UP THE NIGHT SKY

Every year in early October, Nihonmatsu in central Fukushima holds a traditional festival that features huge drum-carts that are pulled through the city's streets. These carts are festooned with hundreds of paper lanterns. A total of about 2500 lanterns are hung from the seven carts for this popular three hundred year old event. The colourful lamps, however, are quite fragile and many must be replaced each year. There are two enterprises that create traditional chochin or lanterns in Nihonmatsu, one of which has a history almost as long as that of the area's vibrant festival.

When the Asakura family started making lanterns some eight generations ago, in the early 1700's, the product of their labours were widely used for illumination in everyday life. In modern Japan, however, the paper lamps are in demand for decorative purposes and for traditional festivals only. Yuji Asakura, the eighth generation of the clan to run the family business, says that because of the changes in demand over the years the family decided to focus on crafting artistic creations instead of mass production. This philosophy led to some downsizing several years ago, leaving only Yuji, his wife, and his mother to run the business. The decrease in demand also reduced the number of local lantern - making enterprises from five to the present two. Today, instead of starting from scratch, the Asakura family buys plain collapsible lanterns of bamboo and paper and then adds the colour to them that makes celebrations like the Nihonmatsu Chouchin Mat -suri such a vibrant event.

Ironically, after seeing firsthand the hardships his parents went through in devoting themselves to their craft, Yuji Asakura chose the life of an office worker, only to be called back to help the family when his father fell ill. A few years later, the elder Asakura passed away, and Yuji found himself running the enterprise. As his apprenticeship was a quick one, Yuji had to labour hard in learning the difficult art of painting the uneven lantern surfaces. His father's shadow draws long over Yuji's work even today, as the son pushes himself to great lengths to match the brilliance of his father's art.

It is important to Yuji Asakura that he carries on the traditional craft that he has learned, as he feels it is significant to the culture and character of the people of his hometown. He does not, however, want to push his own sons into following his footsteps.

The traditional Japanese chouchin lantern is made with thread and course paper stretched over bamboo hoops in an oval shape and is often hung from the eaves of houses, or carried through the streets in a procession. It takes about two weeks to make such a lantern, with most of that time spent decorating and protecting the paper exterior. Japanese characters, family crests and festive patterns are often painted onto the exterior, a painstaking job because of the bumpy surfaces created by the lantern's bamboo ribs. Yuji Asakura says that achieving the proper balance in design when decorating a lantern is something that requires intense concentration, and is therefore quite tiring. After decorating, the lantern is covered with linseed oil in order to protect the course paper from the elements. Paper lanterns are then left to dry for a few days before wooden rings are attached to the top and bottom and they are collapsed down into a flat ring for market.

Lanterns have been used in Japan for over 1200 years, so it is not surprising that there are a variety of sizes and types. The Asakura family handles about twenty different types to fill orders from around the prefecture and around the country. They decorate between 3000 and 4000 lanterns a year, shipping most of them in the summer and autumn for various festivals such as the Chouchin Matsuri or lizaka's "Fight" Festival.

The Asakura clan's fortunes have paralleled that of the paper lantern for generations. Despite the ups and downs, they are proud to further a traditional art form that, for them, is a family affair.