In Japan you can see a number of different styles of lanterns, so today I wanted to show you some of the more common ones, especially ones that you’ll see and use in Japanese garden design.
Toro, or lanterns in general, were originally used in Buddhist temples to light the pathways on the temple grounds. However, in the Heian period (794–1185) Shinto shrines and home gardens started to use them so they slowly began to lose their religious affiliation.
There are 5 main types of stone lanterns that you will see in the Japanese garden, but there are actually dozens of sub-categories as well.
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5 Comments
Great video Josh, I’ve always been curious about the different shapes of lanterns & the reason behind placement. I noticed that you don’t call them pagodas. Is that a specific type of lantern?
Thanks so much, I had noticed different styles of lanterns but just assumed they were personal interpretations of each style, not that they had meanings behind each too 👍😁
This was really interesting.
I bought an old house in Kanazawa, which had an overgrown garden, and so i started cleaning it up and the more i did, the more Lanterns started coming up, in every shaped, in every style and height. So far i have found 17, the tallest which is like the first style you describe, is 3 meters tall if i put the pieces together, but it will necessitate a crane to do that as i can't even move the hat of the lantern and the leg must be over a ton in weight. Then there is a four legged one like the one you have in front of your house, and this one is gigantic, the hat is so large i could use it as a table for 8 people easily, and it is never going to move even an inch.
The house was an old Yashiki and i assume some people with power of means lived there once upon a time. But they really used a lot of Lanterns and there is also a large bridge made of stone, which is basically just an arch, which is also never going to move an inch without a crane and then rocks everywhere, three of them as tall or taller than me. I don't think even a crane can move them, which makes me wonder how on earth people brought them here over a century ago.
I love this house but i realized after buying it that now i must create or recreate the garden according to those lanterns and bridge, because i am never going to be able to move them. I don't even know how i am going to put back together the one which has fallen.
👍
I have 4 large lanterns which I haven’t
Placed in my yard .
Thank you for sharing