The story
Mitama Matsuri in Tokyo
Mitama Matsuri, founded in 1947 to console the souls of Japan's war dead, lights roughly thirty thousand lanterns along Yasukuni Shrine's central approach each July, drawing around three hundred thousand visitors over its four-day run. Bon Odori dancing and taiko performances accompany the illuminated grounds, blending a solemn memorial purpose with a festive Obon-season atmosphere.
Mitama Matsuri was first organized in 1947, in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, as a lantern festival intended specifically to console the mitama, or souls, of those who had died in the conflict, held on the grounds of Yasukuni Shrine in central Tokyo, a shrine dedicated to the memory of Japan's war dead since the Meiji era.