A stunning installation in Tokyo's Sumida River created quite a visual spectacle, but it has an important message too.
Kicking off the inaugural Tokyo Hotaru festival, 100,000 solar-powered LEDs were sent down the Sumida River last week. During the 18th century catching "horatu," Japanese for "firefly," was a popular past time on the shores of this expansive river.
Inspired by the fireflies that once inhabited the river, the LEDs were created to resemble those glowing creatures of flight that will always remind me of warm summer nights in Georgia. This luminescent sculpture speaks to a time before urban life and polluted waters pushed these tiny creatures from their homes along the banks of the Sumida. The LED horatu were provided by Panasonic and designed to illuminate upon contact with the water. To prevent further pollution of the Sumida, large nets were used to capture the LEDs further down the river.
Source: Spoon & Tamago
Photo Credits: makure, Mai Suzuki, tokyo-hotaru.com, Jeremy V. and ajpscs
