Edo Hand-Painted Paper Lantern

▶What is Edo Hand-Painted Paper Lantern?
A chochin is a Japanese lantern made of bamboo frame which Japanese paper is attached to light up a hollow space inside. They are bellows-shaped and can be folded up when it is not in use.

▶Features of Edo Hand-Painted Paper Lanterns
The most distinctive feature of Edo Hand-Painted Paper Lanterns is that all designs are drawn freehand. Craftsmen draw and color not only characters but also family crests and any other complicated patterns by hand. The characters drawn on chochin are generally called Edo characters, and chochin makers used to draw manuscripts of Senja-fuda (a type of paper sign with one’s name and address written on it, which is attached to shrines and temples to commemorate visits to shrines and temples). Senja-fuda have characters within a frame, but chochin do not have a frame line, so characters can be drawn spontaneously. Unlike the way kimono crests are drawn on kimono, family crests are drawn in black letters on a white background. The family crest can be seen easily from a distance and is drawn in a balanced manner with careful attention to the placement of the lines.