Zenkoji Temple in Nagano Illuminated Green, Yellow for Peace; Noto Quake Victims Kept in Mind

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:21 JST, February 10, 2024

Nagano Tomyo Festival, which illuminates Zenkoji temple in Nagano City, started on Friday. This year is the 21st time for the festival to be held. The main hall, a national treasure, is illuminated in green, red, yellow, and other colors, as the areas affected by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake are kept in mind alongside prayers for peace. The festival will be held until Monday.

The main hall is decorated with five colors, of which the longest glowing color is green. World-renowned lighting designer Motoko Ishii, 85, was in charge of the production. She chose green, the color of nature and the earth, to pray for an end to the prolonged fighting in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip.

Ishii said, “I would like people to view the illuminations while appreciating how happy their peaceful lives are.”