Jump to main content
/

Lighting Equipment

Instruments for lighting

The most primitive form of lighting is fire, and the portable version of this is the torch. In Japan, torches were made by bundling oily parts of pine trees, bamboo, or reeds, and lighting a fire at the end of the bundle. "Kagaribi" (watch fires), in which pine or other wood was burned in an iron basket, were another ancient method of lighting, and were used mainly outdoors for night-time ceremonies, protection, while fishing, and other purposes.

The origin of oil-based lighting devices in Japan is not known, but reliable examples appeared from the Asuka and Nara periods (late 6th - late 8th century) onward. The simplest form was the tomyo zara (oil lamp dish), which was put on a pedestal, called a todai (oil lamp stand). It was used as a major lighting fixture from the Heian to Kamakura periods (late 8th century - mid 14th century) and developed until the Edo period (1603-1868). Lanterns, outdoor lighting fixtures using oil, are believed to have come from mainland China along with Buddhism, and are classified into two types: daitoro (lantern with a pedestal) and tsuritoro (hanging lantern), which were made from wood, stones, metals, and other materials. 

Andon (paper lantern), a type of lantern with a frame built around an oil lamp dish and covered with paper to protect it from the wind, began in the Muromachi period (1336-1573) and was the most widely used lighting device throughout the Edo period. The production of candles in Japan is believed to have begun in the late Heian period (794-1185), with the production of mokuro (Japanese wax) in the Muromachi period, and their use was widespread during the Edo period. Devices in which candles were used for lighting include shokudai (candlestick), teshoku (portable candlestick) and chochin (paper lantern) in which candles are placed in a basket-shaped fire box covered with paper for portable use.

From the end of the Edo period, oil lamps were imported from the West and spread throughout Japan during the Meiji Era (1868-1912). The Meiji Era was a turning point for lighting in Japan, with the first gas lamp in Yokohama in 1872, the first lighting of electric street lights (arc lamp) in Ginza in 1878, and the first incandescent light bulb in Japan produced in 1890.


Related People, Things and Events

Books

Related Works

Torches ・ Watch fires

Oil lamp dishes (Tomyo zara)

Oil lamp stands (Todai)

Lanterns

Candlesticks

Portable candlesticks

Paper lanterns (Andon)

Paper lanterns (Chochin)

Lamps

Gas lamps

Electric lamps

Foreign lighting instruments

Videos

Institutions and External Links

  • 東京ガスネットワークが運営する、日本のガス事業に関する資料を収蔵・展示する博物館。近代以前の灯火具、ガスランプ、ガス灯が描かれた錦絵などが常時展示されている。

  • 北信濃およびその周辺地域の灯火具(金箱正美灯火具コレクション)を公開する日本初の灯火具専門館として開館。コレクションには、灯火具のほか、引き札や看板などあかりの商工に関するもの、灯火具の描かれた絵画なども含まれる。

  • 灯火の変遷と灯火の工夫をテーマに、灯火具、浮世絵、詩歌など約300点を展示。体験館では、火おこし、ろうそくづくりなど、あかりに関する体験学習が可能。

  • ガスミュージアムが収蔵するガス器具、明治錦絵を検索できる。明治錦絵の検索では、ガス灯を描いた錦絵をキーワード検索可能。

References

  1. 関根正直 著,六合館書店
  2. 内阪素夫 著,東京電気
  3. 「灯明皿」「灯籠」の項
  4. 「灯火」「松明」「灯籠」の項
  5. 「松明」「灯台」の項目