Kobe+Luminaire

//**"Kobe Luminarie** (神戸ルミナリエ ) is a light festival held in [|Kobe], Japan , every December since 1995 and commemorating the [|Great Hanshin earthquake] of that year. The lights were donated by the Italian Government and the installation itself is produced by Valerio Festi and Hirokazu Imaoka.//

//Lights are kept up for about two weeks and turned on for a few hours each evening. Each light is individually hand-painted. Major streets in the vicinity are closed to auto traffic during these hours to allow pedestrians to fill the streets and enjoy the lights. It is viewed by about three to five million people each year."// Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_Luminarie  //"The tradition of ‘Kobe Luminaire’ in Kobe (Japan) has become energy efficient with the use of light-emitting diodes that consume less electricity.//

//Kobe Luminaire is an annual festival held on 16 January, marking the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake that occurred on the early morning of 17 Janaury 1995 and claimed more than 6,400 lives. Kobe Luminaire has been held every year since then to wish for the repose of the souls of the quake victims, and expressing hope for the city’s restoration and renaissance. Each of the tiny glitters from the illumination represents the life of each quake victim, and hope for survivors."// Source: “Kansai in focus: Praying under decorative illumination”, Kippo News, 10 January 2007.  Photos taken during from and published on Cyberteen Magazine. 2000 display 2003display [|2004 display]

Official site in Japan (in Japanese, but pictures need no translation.)