Because the medieval Japan wasn’t using glass, the traditional Japanese lantern was made either from metal or stone, having the flame in the open air, or from bamboo, with the flame covered by washi Japanese paper.

But here it is a beautiful glass lantern, photographed at the Kofuku-ji Temple in Nagasaki. Made in Shanghai and assembled here, this impressively decorated lantern is not only beautiful, it also holds the record of being the largest ruri-to (glass lantern) from Japan, with a height of 2.18 meters and a width of 1.3 meters.

Main Hall, Kofuku-ji Temple, Nagasaki

EXIF Info:

Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Decorative civil engineering, Gas storage tanks