Growing Up Protected by Light: A Spring Encounter in Shimabara, Nagasaki 🌸 Japanese Candle Making Experience - Touching on its 6 Charms 🕯️✨ Listen to 'Japanese Candle - The Flickering Flame' 🎶👦 Parenting | Tradition | Nature | After-school Care | Experience | Memories | With Updates ♡ See you again 🐈🐾

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A few days have passed since spring break began.

The other day, my elementary school-aged son went to Shimabara in Nagasaki Prefecture
for an after-school care field trip.

With his lunch and snacks packed in his backpack,
he seemed restless and excited from the morning.

His voice calling out "I'm off!" as he got out of the car
was full of energy.

The place he visited was calledHonda Mokuro Kogyosho.

It is a place where they make
Japanese candlesusing traditional methods and natural wax harvested from sumac berries.

Official Website (Top Page)

Online Shop

Official Instagram

Japanese candles are made by hand, one by one.

Their flames flicker quietly, glowing gently as if they were breathing.

The light of Japanese tradition,

What is the charm of Japanese candles?

① The flame flickers as if it is 'alive'

The flame of a Japanese candle does not burn quietly and straight, but rather sways... flickers... as if it is breathing.

This is because the wick is thick and made of plant-based materials.

② The raw materials are gentle (light born from plants)

Japanese candles are made from 'mokuro' (wood wax) harvested from sumac berries and the like.

Since they are not petroleum-based but made from nature's bounty, they produce little smoke, have a soft scent, and are environmentally friendly.

③ The structure of the wick is beautiful (craftsmanship)

The wick is made by layering Japanese paper, rush, and silk wadding.

Thanks to this structure,
the flame becomes large, creating a warm, spreading light.

It has a nostalgic warmth, somewhat like the fire in a small hearth.

④ The feeling of a 'light you nurture'

Japanese candles are not just about lighting a fire;
they require 'care,' such as trimming the wick or removing the soot.

Because it takes a little extra effort, one of its charms is the attachment you develop toward the light.

⑤ The Art of Painted Candles

“Painted candles,” with flowers or seasonal motifs drawn on their surface, are lights that can be displayed.

They are beautiful even before being lit, and
they show a different expression once lit.

Including the “beauty of disappearing,” it becomes a single work of art.

⑥ The Time Given by Japanese Candles

It is not a light for seeking brightness, but
a “light for returning to oneself.”

While the light of a smartphone brings information,
the light of a Japanese candle brings tranquility.

According to my son.

He said he was able to make the Japanese candle under a cherry tree.

Apparently, there were goats and guinea pigs? near the rapeseed field, too. (laughs)

They were able to experience painting outdoors on a sunny spring day,
and came home with a proud look on their face, saying, 'It was fun!'

🗺 Address: 545 Omisaki-hei, Ariake-cho, Shimabara City, Nagasaki Prefecture

※It is about a 5-minute walk from Omisaki Station 🚶‍♀️

Nearby, there is a place that has even been used as a filming location?!

In Shimabara, Nagasaki, on the Shimabara Railway,
there is the scenery of the 'Yellow Handkerchief of Happiness'
at Omisaki Station.It is there.

It is also famous as one of the 'stations closest to the sea in Japan,' with the Ariake Sea spreading out right in front of it.

On the platform, many yellow handkerchiefs sway in the wind, and each one holds someone's wish.

The sky, the sea, and gentle wishes and prayers.

Somehow, that scenery alone is more than enough.

Come to think of it, last year, as a nursery school graduate

Saga Prefectural Space & Science Museum Yumeginga was another place they took us to.

The Sicilian rice you can have here.
This local gourmet dish originating from Saga City is perfect for lunch!

To put it simply, Sicilian rice is...

🍚 Rice topped with
🥗 plenty of salad,
🥩 sweet and savory stir-fried meat (beef or pork) on top,
🥄 and finished with a mayonnaise-based sauce.

It is a 'happy plate that is complete in one dish'.

Last year, we touched upon space,
and this year, we touched upon the light of a candle.

My son attends a nursery school and after-school care program at a Jodo Shinshu temple.

The head priest is the principal,
and the teachers are all truly warm-hearted people.

For my son, who is sensitive to light, the principal himself recommended an ophthalmologist.

It is a place that doesn't force him to fit in with 'normal,' but instead searches for the light that is just right for him.

As a child of Buddha, each and every one of them is cherished and protected.

As a parent, I don't know how much I have been saved by this.

The light of a Japanese candle is not a light that shines brightly, but a light that gently flickers beside you.

Flickering, seemingly about to go out, yet
a light that is truly there.

My son is surely the same.

While flickering and swaying, I want him to live on with his own light, just as he is.

I feel like I was taught this through after-school activities this spring.

🎧 Today's Recommendation 🎶

'Japanese Candle - The Flicker of the Flame'

Honda Mokuro Kogyosho

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