Tōrō Nagashi in Outer Space

This project aims at proposing to launch tōrō nagashi (灯籠流し) in the outer space. In coming years, a proposal will be submitted to JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).

Tōrō Nagashi is a traditional Japan ceremony. During the time, people float paper lanterns down a river. This is primarily done on the last evening of the Bon Fesitval. It is traditionally believed that the lanterns will guide the spirits of the departed back to the "other world". Ancient Japanese always have the concept of "other world", where the spirits are living in. There are different incidents such as tokoyo-no-kuni (常世の国) and ne-no-kuni (根の国). The "other world" is located either in the mountain or on an island at the end of the sea. It is a scarey place where people go after death, as well as a wonderland without worry. This contradictory character is strongly attached to the concept of "utopia".

People always have fancy of an utopia found somewhere far from the sea. It was shared among different places of the world. However, this fancy inevitably lost its stand now, after the scientists have shown us the spherical earth. There is no end of the sea. Nowadays, people only recognize tōrō nagashi as a custom, but hardly believe the physical presence of an "other world". Our physical connection to the ancestors and spirits is inevitably broken.

This art project wonders whether tradition could be transformed or metamorphosed into a contemporary version, so that some of our ancient poetic belief could be re-established in front of the scientific dogma. This project thus tries to switch the location of "other world" from the end of the sea to the end of the universe, where we never explore. This new version could re-form a physical utopia in our imagination.

"They" have just gone to another place after death, not disappear.