Kojima-an Lantern Maker
hands-on workshop tour

Why Japanese lantern making?

Traditional Japanese chochin (paper lanterns) are made using sustainable materials like washi paper and bamboo. Early records of chochin in Japan date back about 1,000 years and had significant meaning in Japanese culture. During the Obon festival to honor the dead in August, chochin are hung by families to guide the spirits of their ancestors. Chochin also often symbolize good luck and happiness and are often hand painted and used for festivals around Japan.

Why lantern-making in Kyoto by the Sea?

There is a reason that Japan’s top artisans are attracted to the Kyoto by the Sea area. It’s nature, its inspiration, its creativity, its freedom. Kojina-an, one of Japan’s premier lantern-makers moved up to the seaside of Kyoto by the Sea to continue the endangered art of chochin making. Kojima is an artisan who specializes in the entire process of lantern making, from the bamboo cutting and preparation, to frame construction, washi application, and painting. The workshop is in a renovated chirimen silk building in an area steeped in history, not to mention being a thirty second walk from the beach. As traditional chochin making is an artform that relies on nature, there is no better place to find inspirations for one’s work than a location that’s enveloped by the natural environment. Kojima’s work is practical, used for festivals and businesses. Kojima’s work is art, displayed in exhibitions and used as interior decoration and lighting for homes and events.

about our lantern maker

Shun Kojima is a lantern craftsman with two decades of career experience and is the ninth generation of Kojima Shoten, a 200 year old lantern making company based in Kyoto City. He has made lanterns for temples, shrines, stores, other artisans, as well as a large lantern for the Minami-za Theater. Kojima-an also produces modern interior lighting and lighting/art installations with the goal of bringing an endangered Japanese artform to modern audiences. The lanterns use wooden frames that have been passed down through the generations and Kojima specializes in creating lanterns from the very first step of bamboo splitting.

In collaboration with Kyoto by the Sea, Kojima-an is offering workshop visits where you can view the process of lantern making, get hands-on, and even make a lantern (guided by the experts of course).

where is this experience?

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