Yamaga Lanterns

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  • Kumamoto

Yamaga Lanterns Yamaga Toro

Yamaga Toro is crafted entirely from washi paper and glue, without frames or fasteners. Its delicate construction techniques create remarkably precise three-dimensional forms, from the iconic golden lanterns to miniature shrines, castles, and other architectural structures. It was designated a Traditional Craft by the Japanese government in 2013.

Description

What is Yamaga Lanterns ?

Yamaga Toro is a traditional washi paper craft produced in Yamaga City, Kumamoto Prefecture. On December 26, 2013, it was designated as a Traditional Craft by the Japanese government.

Its most distinctive characteristic is that highly intricate three-dimensional structures are made using only hand-made washi paper and a small amount of paste, without wood or metal fittings. The main sections of the structure are hollow, allowing the finished work to remain remarkably light despite its elaborate appearance.

The best-known form is the golden lantern, or kana-toro, worn during the famous Sennin Toro Odori at the Yamaga Toro Festival. Other traditional forms include miniature shrines, architectural interiors, castles, arrow containers, birdcages, and old-style standing lanterns.

Distinctive techniques include urauchi, in which hand-made washi is used to back gold or silver paper; bu-tsuki, in which dimensions and cutting or folding points are transferred to the lantern paper; and sokui-norizuke, a method of assembling the individual paper components using paste.

When recreating architecture, artisans do not simply reduce every dimension to the same scale. Experienced toro-shi, or lantern artisans, adjust proportions and shapes so that the completed work appears visually balanced and realistic.

Originally preserved primarily as offerings to Omiya Shrine, Yamaga Toro techniques are now also used for decorative objects, commemorative pieces, souvenirs, interior furnishings, and lampshades.

History

There are several traditions concerning the origins of Yamaga Toro, the best known of which is associated with the legendary journey of Emperor Keiko.

According to local tradition, Emperor Keiko and his party encountered dense fog while traveling through Kyushu. The people of Yamaga are said to have guided them safely to the site of present-day Omiya Shrine by carrying torches. The community subsequently began making offerings of light at the shrine, and these offerings are said to have developed into paper lanterns during the Muromachi period.

These accounts, however, belong to the traditional origin stories of Yamaga Toro. The earliest securely documented evidence dates from the seventeenth century. The Shimaya Nikki diary records that lanterns were viewed in Yamaga Yumachi on July 16, 1674, demonstrating that lanterns were being made and displayed by at least the mid-seventeenth century.

During the Edo period, Yamaga prospered as a post town and as an important center of transportation and trade along the Kikuchi River. Paper mulberry cultivation and washi production also flourished in the surrounding region. Against this economic and cultural background, Yamaga Toro developed into an increasingly sophisticated form of paper craft.

Supported in part by prosperous local merchants, lantern production expanded from golden lanterns to highly elaborate forms representing shrines, architectural interiors, castles, and other structures. In addition to offerings to Omiya Shrine, such works were also produced for ceremonial and hospitality purposes.

The techniques of Yamaga Toro were traditionally transmitted among specialist craftspeople known as toro-shi. In the modern period, master artisan Matsumoto Kiyoki played an important role in documenting and making previously guarded techniques more widely known, while also contributing to the training of later generations.

On December 26, 2013, Yamaga Toro was designated as a Traditional Craft by the Japanese government. Today, artisans continue to produce shrine offerings, golden lanterns, architectural works, and contemporary objects using the traditional techniques of washi construction.

Production Process

  1. 1. Backing Yamaga Toro must be made from handmade washi (Japanese traditional paper). Even gold and silver paper are lined with washi.
  2. 2. Pricking Using a bugami (paper pattern) with holes marking out the dimensions of each part, indicator points are pricked with a needle on the lantern paper, clearly marking lines for folding or cutting. Even though each lantern is small, they can contain as many as two hundred parts.
  3. 3. Line marking A hotarugai or metal spatula is used to mark lines on the lantern paper to indicate links between the prickpoints.
  4. 4. Cutting the roof, compound pier, and hexagon The parts for the roof, compound pier, and hexagon of the lantern are cut out with a small knife.
  5. 5. Paper pattern and pencil drawing Curves are marked using a pencil and paper pattern.
  6. 6. Cutting other parts Any remaining parts are now cut out with a small knife. For the ornamental rooftop section, since there is no space for gluing, the edges are chamfered or cut at a 45 degree angle.
  7. 7. Gluing All individual sections are glued in preparation for the full assembly.
  8. 8. Assembly of the ornamental rooftop The ornamental rooftop is made of six sections and the chamfered edges are carefully assembled.
  9. 9. Assembly of the entirety Finally each assembled section is joined together to complete a magnificent golden Yamaga Toro.

Facility Information

Kumamoto Perfectural Traditional Craft Center

Kumamoto Perfectural Traditional Craft Center Photo:Kumamoto Prefecture

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