NHK




 

The Nagasaki Lantern Festival during which the streets of the port city in southwestern Japan are illuminated with approximately 15,000 colorful lanterns got underway on Friday.

Starting this year, the festival began on the first Friday of February instead of coinciding with the start of the Chinese New Year.

A lighting ceremony was held at the main venue, Minato Park.

Around 6:00 p.m., following a countdown, the lanterns and sculptures were all lit simultaneously.

Approximately 15,000 lanterns and objects are on display throughout central Nagasaki.

Among them is a newly designed 11-meter-tall sculpture titled "Ryoma Seishin" representing a youthful and vibrant spirit soaring through the sky like a dragon and galloping across the earth like a horse.

This year's festival runs for 18 days until February 23.

The Emperor Parade, inspired by an imperial visit during China's Qing Dynasty, will take place on February 14 and 21 while the Maso procession, honoring the goddess of sailors and sea voyages, is planned for February 8 and 15.

The organizing committee expects more than one million visitors will attend the festival.