The story
Kobe Luminarie in Kobe
Kobe Luminarie began in December 1995, less than a year after the Great Hanshin earthquake devastated the city, as a symbol of hope built from illuminated archways donated by the Italian government. What was planned as a one-time tribute became an annual tradition after drawing 2.5 million visitors in its first year, and now uses over 200,000 hand-painted lights to draw three to five million visitors each December.
The first Kobe Luminarie was staged in December 1995, barely eleven months after the Great Hanshin earthquake tore through the city on January 17 of that year, killing more than 6,000 people and causing damage estimated at 100 billion dollars, one of the most catastrophic natural disasters in modern Japanese history.