Origins

• Lantern festivals in Japan don't collectively have a single point of origin. Most are rooted in local folklore or tradition, such as the Dai-Chochin Matsuri (Large Lantern Festival) at the Suwa shrine in Hazu, Aichi prefecture: its origin dates back 450 years, to a time when a fire would be lit nightly to ward away sea demons. The brightly painted lanterns displayed in the modern-day Dai-Chonin Matsuri reflect this practice and other Japanese mythology.
  
  

Religious Significance

• Many lantern festivals aren't just founded in tradition, but take on a deeply spiritual or religious significance as well---which is why nearly every such festival takes place in a shrine. The Kasuga Taisha shrine in Nara houses 3,000 lanterns that are lit twice a year, during the Setsubun ("bean-throwing") and Obon festivals. These two festivals are rooted in dispelling evil from the household and remembering people who have died.
  
  

Meanings

• The Aomori Nebuta Festival's lanterns come in the shape of very large, painted floats that feature pictures of samurai warriors, because the event recreates a battle tactic employed by the shogun Sakanoue no Tamuramaro when he placed large lanterns on a hill as a diversion. On the other hand, the tiny lanterns set afloat during the Obon festival bear no images on them, instead serving as a quiet offering to the deceased from those still living.
  
  

Connection To Ancestors

• Sometimes the festival closely connects participants with their ancestors and others who have died. After three days of giving tribute to friends and family no longer alive, on the last day of the Obon festival the famous Toro Nagashi ceremony is held. Paper lanterns are lit and placed on boats, then sent down a river to guide the deceased back to the realm of the dead.
  
  

Attending a Lantern Festival

• If you want to attend one of these festivals, you can either directly book a trip to the shrine that hosts the festival you're interested in, or hire a bilingual translator who speaks Japanese to help you. The Dai-Chonin Matsuri takes place August 26-27 each year in Hazu. The Setsubun and Obon festivals at Kasuga Taisha are on February 2-4 and August 14-15 each year, respectively. The Aomori Nebuta festival takes place the first week of August.