The Chicago Park District is proud to welcome you to our annual Toro Nagashi lantern ceremony in Jackson Park’s Osaka Garden. We invite you to join us in this meaningful ceremony to process the loss of loved ones, and to strengthen our bonds as a community.
Only 300 registrants will be allowed into the space and will receive a lantern. Lanterns will be distributed on a first come first served basis until they run out. Participants may decorate and craft their lantern into any design they wish on-site from 7 -8 pm with the community. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
The ceremony of Toro Nagashi (literally, “floating lanterns”) is a Buddhist tradition held to celebrate the end of the Obon season. Toro Nagashi can be a smaller family affair to remember lost family members or a much bigger event to memorialize those who have been lost to natural disasters, war, and other causes. Toro Nagashi officially begins at the moment the ancestors commence their return to the spirit world. Communities come together to guide the spirits down to the water using traditional candle-lit lanterns (toro). The lanterns visually represent the spirits’ journey home. After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the event has become linked with hopes for a more peaceful future.
Lanterns will be floated in the waters of the Osaka Garden pond, and can be placed throughout the Garden, Yoko Ono’s SKYLANDING, along with the sounds of shamisen courtesy of renowned musician Toyoaki Sanjuro of Asian Improv Arts Midwest will comfort guests throughout the evening.
Speakers include:Chicago Park District General Superintendent and CEO Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, Alexandra Bell President and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and Dr. Yuki Miyamoto, Director of DePaul University Humanities Center and Peace Ambassador to Hiroshima. Ceremony led by Daiyuzenji Rinzai Zen Temple of Chicago.
No dogs, food, or photography are permitted in the Osaka Garden. Thank you for helping us be great stewards of this historic gem in Chicago! This event is free and accessible to all, capacity permitting.
We recommend parking in the Hayes Lot south of the garden, or on Stony Island.
This event is co-sponsored by the DePaul University Humanities Center, Japan America Society of Chicago, and supported by our partners at Asian Improv Arts Midwest, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Daiyuzenji Rinzai Zen Temple of Chicago, Japanese Arts Foundation, and Japanese Culture Center.