The Japanese summer is the season of festivals, and the June Lantern Festival (rokugatsudô) is unique in that it is specific to Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyushu. If you think it's a bit late to mention it, don't worry: we're talking about the lunar month of June, which corresponds to our current month of July, which is why this festival takes place every year on July 15th and 16th. Celebrated in 5 shrines in the city of Kagoshima, the most famous is that of the Terukuni shrine, one of those rare shrines dedicated to mortals deified after their death, here the feudal lord Nariakira Shimazu.
And what do you do at this festival?
First, you stroll around in traditional summer attire: yukata for women and jinpei for men. Whether it falls on a weekend or during the week, everyone dresses up to contribute to a festive landscape. You eat, of course, among these rows of stands offering cold drinks, local specialties or not, activities for children and the not-so-young, fruits, noodles, vegetables, and meats in all their forms. Then, you admire the famous lanterns – more than a thousand! –, especially decorated by children. They form corridors through which you walk and canopies under which you pass, your eyes already drawn to the next lanterns.
Finally, it's summer, it's night, you're outdoors... All these elements converge towards the only reasonable summer conclusion: a fireworks display! (Title photo © K.P.V.B)