A Fusion Of Ancient Tradition And Lighting Technology At Nagoya Castle

As a part of “The Japanese Project,” the executive committee for the Nagoya Castle Festival of Light presented the “Nagoya Castle Night Party by 1→10.” The overall purpose of “The Japanese Project” was to revisit the nation’s culture by fusing tradition, history and nature with creativity and cutting-edge technology. Designers at 1→10 (one to ten) produced an innovative light show that encapsulated all of those elements together. Visitors experienced this fusion of ancient tradition and lighting technology as they arrived at the festival. Custom Gobos of traditional Japanese family crests were projected onto the walls of Nagoya Castle by Rosco Image Spot Projectors.

A Brief History Of Kokumon

Nagoya Castle, considered one of the most elegant samurai castles, was built by Tokugawa Ieyasu (founder and shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate) in 1612. He ordered 20 of the nation’s warlords, or daimyo, to complete the massive construction.

Many of the daimyo that constructed the castle carved marks into the stones they laid as proof of their work. The marks also served to prevent rival warlords from stealing their rocks. These carved crests, called Kokumon can be seen along the extensive stone wall surrounding Nagoya Castle.

Nagoya Castle Night Party

Our Japanese dealer, Coburn Japan Corporation, shared how designers at 1→10 used Rosco Image Spots to project Kokumon gobos onto the stone wall of the castle. The project required a bright and compact gobo projector with DMX control that could be installed outdoors. The IP65-rated Rosco Image Spot projectors met all of these criteria. The designers at 1→10 chose these fixtures because they were the most suitable equipment for this application.

Kokumon projections represented the fusion of ancient tradition and lighting technology that the designers at 1→10 hoped to achieve at their Nagoya Castle Night Party.

The Image Spots were mounted on tripod stands to project the custom Kokumon glass gobos, which were also provided by Coburn. “Nagoya Castle Night Party by 1→10” was a wintertime festival. The robust, weather-resistant fixtures provided reliable performance during the cold, winter nights.

Due to their small size, the Image Spots were able to hide from view behind the hedge outside the castle. From that position, they projected sharp and bright Kokumon projections onto the stone wall that was 13m-15m away on the other side of the moat.

Please explore the Image Spot and Custom Gobo product pages on the Rosco website. There, you can learn more about the products that Coburn Corporation supplied to project Kokumon images onto the Nagoya Castle wall.