Over the two evenings of 22 and 23 August, the Echizen Asakura Mantouya welcomed a great many visitors and came to a close without incident. Our sincere thanks to everyone who came, and to everyone who helped.
Ichijodani is the site of the castle town where the Asakura clan ruled the province of Echizen for five generations over 103 years. Burned in 1573 and buried for some four hundred years, the town has been excavated street by street — and once a year, its outline returns in candlelight.
A valley full of light
Along the paths and around the outlines of the ruins, about 15,000 cups were set out. Each flame is small, but together they draw the shape of a town.
Many of the cups carry messages written by primary school children. “So that everyone may be like family” — the wishes showed through the paper as the candles burned.
Lit by hand
None of this is done by machine. Water is poured into each cup, a candle is set, and the flame is lit one at a time. As the light fades, about 150 people keep working until the whole valley is lit.
Alongside residents of the seven former Asuwa districts, many high school and university students joined again this year. Students from Hasui High School and other schools in Fukui lent their hands.
From late afternoon into the night, in the lingering heat of August. These two evenings happened because of them.
The twenty-third year
Mantouya began in the wake of the Fukui floods of July 2004. The damage was such that holding it at all was in doubt; more than 10,000 volunteers came from across Japan to help the recovery, and three months after the flood, 3,000 candles were lit.
Begun in gratitude to those who came, the lights have continued every year since. This year marked the 23rd, and the number of candles has grown to about 15,000.
Next year, the valley will be lit again. We hope to see you then.
Watch the archive
Both evenings were streamed live on YouTube, and the recordings remain available.