Gifu Chochin

Light through thin paper

Gifu lanterns are round or egg-shaped, with a neat form and fine work. The bamboo ribs are only 0.6 to 0.7 mm thick, and the washi is extremely thin, painted with flowers and birds, landscapes or figures. They are used at Obon, the summer festival for welcoming ancestors, and for cool summer evenings. It is made in Gifu, Yamagata, Mizuho and Ginan in Gifu.

A spiral of bamboo

• A wooden mould is assembled, and a long bamboo rib is wound in a spiral along its grooves, joined 20 to 25 times for a mid-sized lantern.
• Glue is applied and washi or silk is pasted on in panels, with overlaps of only about 1 mm.
• Pictures are stencil-printed, sometimes in nearly 100 layers, or painted by hand.
• When dry, the mould is taken out, rings are fitted top and bottom, and the fittings are added.

Lanterns for the shogun

Gifu lanterns are said to have begun in the mid-18th century, helped by plentiful local bamboo and thin, strong Mino washi. They became known after a lantern maker named Juzo presented lanterns to the shogunate in the Horeki era, and for over 200 years they were presented to the shogunate and the imperial household. By the early 19th century lanterns like today's were widespread.