2025 Aoyama Star Lantern Revival Program

Name of the organization or individual

Aoyama Star Lantern Executive Committee

subsidy category

Grant for Creating Attractive Art and Culture

Grant Type

single year

FY 2025 1st Grant for Creating Attractive Arts and Culture

Aoyama Hoshi Lantern (2025) Photo by Aoyama Hoshi Lantern Executive Committee

Aoyama Hoshi Lantern Night Sky Shadow Picture (2025) Photo by Aoyama Hoshi Lantern Executive Committee

Aoyama Hoshitoro Shibu Noh (2025) Photo by Aoyama Hoshitoro Executive Committee

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Business Overview

The 'Hoshitoro' festival, which was held around Aoyama and Hyakunin-cho from the Edo period to the early Meiji period, was a Bon festival event in which a chochin (paper lantern) was put on the tip of a bamboo pole and held high for one month in July of the old calendar. Since it looked as if many stars were coming out at night, it was called 'Hoshitoro' (star lantern) and was depicted in Ukiyoe (Japanese woodblock prints) by Hiroshige UTAGAWA the second. By reviving this event, we are working to retrace the history of Aoyama, rediscover the environment and life that once existed here, and think about the future of the city and people's lives.
This year, in addition to the reproduction of the lanterns, there will be shadow pictures (Shadow painter: Koheisai KAWAMURA, percussion instrument: Takefumi KOBAYASHI), a tea party (host: Wata Toshiari), and Shibu Noh (Cast: Masamoto Umano, Kyohei Aoki, etc.).

implementation period

Saturday, September 13, 2025 to September 15 (Sun/Holiday) Lighting: 18:00-20:00

Place of implementation

Nonoaoyama (Minato Ward, Tokyo)

Profile

[Aoyama Hoshi Lantern Executive Committee]
The Aoyama Hoshi Lantern Executive Committee was established in 2017 by a group of local volunteers in order to rediscover Aoyama's unique lifestyle by creating a new historical Aoyama tradition. After encountering an ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock print) called 'One Hundred Scenic Views of Various Provinces' painted by Hiroshige UTAGAWA the second, he has been working to revive and hand down the scenery and culture that the people of Aoyama should pass on to future generations.