Japan's Izanagi Shrine Summer Festival to Display Children's Painting Andon
Izanagi Shrine in Awaji City, Hyogo Prefecture, is preparing for its summer festival on 28 and 29 July by making about 1,000 andon (paper-covered lanterns) decorated with children's paintings. Members of the shrine's Izanagi Society pasted artworks from three nearby elementary schools featuring summer motifs such as fireworks, watermelon, and wind chimes, along with written wishes for health and prosperity. The lanterns will be installed along the front approach, horse ground, and before the worship hall, creating a dreamlike atmosphere at night. The festival includes a Chinowa ritual, Bon Odori dance, and main ceremony.
In Izanagi Shrine in Awaji City, Hyogo Prefecture, preparations are underway for the summer festival to be held on the 28th and 29th, with work on making andon (paper-covered candle lamps). Paintings by elementary school children have been pasted onto the wooden frames of the andon. As a seasonal fixture, the shrine's summer festival lights up about 1,000 andon each year, installed along the front approach, the horse ground, and before the worship hall, enveloping the entire area in a dreamlike atmosphere at night.
The andon-making took place on the 24th of this month at the shrine's assembly hall, carried out by members of the shrine's support group, the Izanagi Society. They skillfully pasted onto the wooden frames children's paintings from three nearby elementary schools depicting summer motifs such as fireworks, watermelon, and wind chimes, as well as written wishes for 'good health and freedom from illness' and 'prosperous business'.
The schedule for the summer festival is as follows: on the 28th at 4 p. m. , after the Chinowa ritual, the evening festival will be held, followed by a cooling event including Bon Odori dance. On the 29th, the main festival will begin at 10 a. On both evenings, candles will be lit in each andon.